A poem by students from the Escuela Solidaridad con Panama in Havana Cuba addressed to children in Gaza.
Dear Leila,
My name is Yaniuska
from Cuba. I am 11 years old
just like you.
Even though, just like you,
I don’t have hands,
I can still write.
I was born this way but
my country taught me to use a pencil.
What was Gaza
like before the bombs?
We don’t have those in my country.
I’m sorry you have to pray for cloudy days.
We don’t have those in my country.
I hope
one day you can visit my country.
It’s okay if you can’t
write back.
We love you.
Endnote
Escuela Solidaridad con Panama is a boarding school in Havana which provides education and rehabilitation to disabled children. This poem was inspired by my visit to the school and meeting a young girl named Yaniuska, pictured here in this article with Raúl Castro and Miguel Díaz-Canel: https://bit.ly/3Up0e9i
Yaniuska and her class crafted a poem for children in Gaza which she wrote down for my group:
A poem written by Yaniuska and other students from the Escuela Solidaridad con Panama in Havana.
