Category Archive:Central America

By Krysta Summerfield

Despite Colombia being categorized as the fifth most dangerous city in the world, its situation is

not as precarious as media and other social entities portray it to be. In fact, Colombia is recognized for its

friendly culture and its commitment to its community. It is exceedingly common in the Colombian culture

for neighbors to offer a helping hand when others are experiencing difficulties or hardship. For example,

when a neighbor requests to borrow an egg, it is not uncommon for another neighbor to lend it to them; or

when a neighbor requests assistance fixing their plumbing, another neighbor would willingly lend a

helping hand free of cost. This paper will focus on the cultural practice surrounding the Colombian

Throughout the many conversations I have engaged in with my Colombian relatives, I have found

the act of La Rifa most philanthropic. La Rifa typically occurs in times of crisis, when a member of your

community is encountering adversity. The three most prevalent episodes of La Rifa that I have witnessed

occurred because the father and primary breadwinner of the family was incarcerated, or the father and

primary breadwinner of the family lost employment or a member of a family from the community had

passed away and the family was unable to afford adequate burial services.

When unfortunate occasions similar to the ones mentioned above occur, the community leader,

usually a self-elected male elder, will gather donations. In the Colombian culture large donations are

luxury items such as electric blenders, electric radios, etc. He then raffles these items off to community

members. Everyone in the community is eager to participate in La Rifa because not only does it mean

they have a chance to win a luxury item, but they are also consciously aware that by participating the

proceeds from their raffle ticket will grant aid to another community member in need.

In addition to the proceeds of La Rifa, the leader of the community will also go door-to-door and

collect donations for the family/individual in crisis. With the average monthly wages of a Colombian

estimated to be $692, it is difficult and impractical for individuals to make large monetary donations.

Instead, community members donate as much food as they can spare. Typical donations consist of rice

In the Colombian society there is a heavy reliance on the community and less on government

officials. Instead of allocating funding towards the creation of a social safety net, the Colombian

government allots the majority of their funding towards military strategies and movements favoring the

eradication of Colombia’s largest rebel group, The Farc. This therefore, places the responsibility of social

welfare on community members and increasing the continuation of La Rifa.

It is evident that Colombians do not take an individualist approach within their community. In the

Colombian culture there is a strong emphasis placed on communal generosity and the donation of one’s

time and inclusiveness and less on the donation of monetary funds. These acts of generosity are only

expected to act as a temporary solution. Instead, the idea of reciprocity is highlighted. This in turn

encourages the suffering family/community member to resume their position within their community and

one day give back to those that have given to them in their time of need.

Works Cited

A. Sanclemente (personal communication, September 25, 2013)

BBC News. (N.d.). Where are you on the global pay scale? Retrieved September 26th, 2013.

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17543356.

C. Lopez (personal communication, September 26, 2013)

Global Burden of Armed Violence. (2011). Trends and Patterns of Lethal Violence. Retrieved

September 27th, 2013. From

www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/GBAV2/GBAV2011-Ch2-Summary.pdf.

Peters, T. (N.d.). Colombia’s average wages less than half global average. Colombia Reports.

Retrieved September 27th, 2013. From http://www.colombiareports.co/colombias-

average-salary-lower-than-global-average/.

By Alex Holton

After the Cuban revolution in 1959, the newly established socialist government identified free
universal health care as a basic human right and responsibility of the state. The Cuban revolution has
always had an international perspective and the use of medical aid has become a way of exporting this
ideal and revolutionary politics to the developing world (Feinsilver, 2008). Although these missions
are undoubtedly politically motivated, and in some cases vehicles for economic gain, postrevolutionary
Cuba has consistently made international medical aid part of its character and in doing so
has incorporated it into its tradition of giving.

In Haiti, Cuba has been praised for its roll in helping to contain the Cholera epidemic that
emerged in the wake of the devastating earthquake of 2010. Cuba was in a unique position to provide
aid after the quake because of a preexisting contingent already on the ground, which had been
providing aid since a hurricane in 1998. As of November 2011, the Cuban mission had treated 76,000
cases of the disease (Archibold, 2011). Another poignant example is Operacion Milagro or Operation
Miracle, a program established in 2004, that by 2009 had helped restore vision to 1.6 million people in
Latin America through a variety of surgical procedures, free of cost (Voss, 2009)

These missions are definitely not without their political aims. For example, a 2005 agreement
with Venezuela assigned 30,000 Cuban doctors and included a promise to train 50,000 Venezuelan
physicians in exchange for 53,000 barrels of oil per day (Feinsilver, 2008). That being said, disaster
relief missions like the one in Haiti and “operation miracle” are conducted without cost to the recipient
nation. Castro reiterated the importance of foreign medical aid in a 2005 speech: “Not once,
throughout the selfless history of the Revolution, have our people failed to offer its supportive medical
assistance to other nations in need of this aid at times when catastrophes have hit them, regardless of
wide ideological and political differences…” (Castro, 2005)

An argument could also be made that these missions are little more than political propaganda.
For Example, the Cuban Government’s offer after hurricane Katrina, to send 1,500 doctors to New
Orleans, could easily be framed as political theater (Archibold, 2007). Furthermore, the frequency of
these missions in Latin America and Africa can be seen as a method of cementing relationships in a
political climate that is often hostile to the island nation (Feinsilver, 2008). However, regardless of
political gain these services are sorely needed. During a 2009 meeting in Havana, Honduran Foreign
Minister Patricia Rodas commented on the characterization of Cuban aid as ‘medical diplomacy’ by
saying, “If offering a helping hand is an extension of foreign policy, then (it is) welcome. I wish other
countries would do the same” (Voss, 2009).

Although in it’s earliest forms, Cuban medical aid came in conjunction with military support, as
with the Algerian Independence struggle in 1963, more recently medical aid has been tied to good will
and disaster relief (Voss, 2009). This commitment is reinforced through the establishment of
organizations within Cuba like the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, an organization committed to natural
disaster relief world-wide (Archibold, 2007). Throughout its existence, post-revolutionary Cuba has
made foreign medical aid a national priority and established it as a pivotal part of its character. In
doing this, regardless of political aims, the nation has established international medical aid as part of its
tradition of giving.

Works Cited

Archibold, Randal C. (2007). “Cuba Takes Lead Roll in Haiti’s Cholera Fight”, New York Times Times. Accessed online
January 29th 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/world/americas/in-haitis-cholera-fight-cuba-takes-lead-role.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2

Castro, Fidel. (Sept 19, 2005).”Speech at the foundation ceremony of the ‘Henry Reeve’ International Contingent of Doctors Specialized in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics, and the national graduation of students of Medical Sciences,” Cuba.cu. Accessed online January 29th 2012.

http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/2005/ing/f190905i.html

Feinsilver, Julie M. (2008) “Oil-for-Doctors: Cuban Medical Diplomacy Gets a Little Help From a Venezuelan Friend”,
Nueva Sociedad # 216. Accessed online January 29th 2012

Voss, Michael. (2009) “Cuba Pushes its ‘Medical Diplomacy” BBC, Accessed Online January 29th 2012.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8059287.stm