As a result of a life-threatening fire at an oil storage tanks based in the city of Matanzas, Cubans living in the UK condemned last week that the extraterritorial US blockade against Cuba precluded them from opening accounts on GoFundMe, JustGiven and Crowfunder UK platforms to receive donations.
As explained by the UK association, such companies use Stripe, a suite of APIs powering online payment processing and commerce solutions for internet businesses of all sizes, subject to unilateral sanctions that prevent US companies from processing bank transactions or make commercial operations for Cuba. Few hours after the campaign began, the UK NGO´s official website had collected on Sunday more than £300 pounds (about $360).
Funds will be used to purchase perfusion solutions, antibiotics, painkillers and medical dressing materials, in response to a request for humanitarian aid made by the Cuba solidarity movement following the devastating fire that left over a hundred injured, two dead and 14 missing.
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