On the morning of Friday, October 14, the Second Secretary of the Cuban Embassy in Liberia, Carmen Maury Toledo, spoke to an audience comprised of more than 100 students from pre-university level. Students of Harbel College, a recently opened pre-university school on the outskirts of the rural county of Margibi, could learn first hand about of the geography and history of Cuba, its ties of solidarity with African peoples and social progress made, that have earned international recognition of the Greater Antilles, despite the tight blockade imposed by the United States administrations for more than 50 years.
The diplomatic exemplified how the economic, commercial and financial blockade longer than humanity has known, is the main drag on the economy and development of the Caribbean island, particularly in the field of education. She highlighted the high costs for the purchase, import and transfer to Cuba of school equipment, publications and teaching equipment for mid-level technical centers. She also noted the difficulties in the payment of collaboration agreements by the impossibility of using the dollar in financial transactions to and from Cuba. Finally she alluded to limitations in the use of new Communications and Informatic Technologies by the inability to have a higher bandwidth for Internet access.
The President of the academic institution, Dr. Syrulwa Somah, who declared himself as an admirer of Fidel and the Cuban Revolution, when performing the closure of the activity, thanked the Cuban diplomat for the visit, information sharing and opportunity to contribute to the overall culture of learners. In turn, the students inquired about different aspects of Cuban daily life and shared their thoughts on how Cuba's example inspires them to prepare more to be useful people for the benefit of its country.