Hurricane Harold a hero in Holguín

Crops and huge numbers of livestock were irretrievably lost. Food lines now are long, and prices are high because most of the supplies must come from Europe, thanks to the absurd and punitive US embargo. For many Cubans, it probably won’t be a very merry Christmas.

You’d think the last thing these people would need is another hurricane; but in fact Hurricane Harold is welcomed with open arms. He may not arrive with strong winds, but Harold Hosein has all the energy of a force of nature.

A Trini by birth, Hosein now lives in Toronto. In past years, he dabbled in calypso, using the sobriquet Hurricane Harold. These days, it’s more appropriate than he could ever have imagined. As I write this, he has just shipped two containers of mattresses to Cuba – bringing his total this year to 12. Nor were these the first: Hosein has been shipping supplies to Holgu?n, Cuba, since 2004. But I’m putting the cart before the horse.

The story began in 2002, when Hosein and his wife went to Holgu?n on vacation, and fell in love with the place. “I love the Cubans,” he says. “They have no airs. They are most appreciative for whatever they have, and for whatever anyone gives them. They are content to do the best with what they have. They live within their means, buying what they need.”

Still, he could see that there were many needs they couldn’t fill – chief among them being transportation. Cars are few and far between in Cuba, particularly in the rural areas; and public transport is also sparse. People can often be seen waiting at the side of the road, hoping for a lift.

Returning to Canada, a land of waste and plenty, Hosein started thinking about how useful a bicycle would be to the average Cuban. All around him, he could see Torontonians ditching their old bikes at the first sign of rust, or upgrading to fancier models. His brain started to tick. If only these discards could end up in Cuba…

To cut a long story short, Hosein made it happen. At the time he was a radio and television personality – a well-known weatherman – so he had a bit of a public profile. He started Recycle Your Bicycle, a non-profit organisation (actually, it could better be described as a money-losing organisation, since in those early days all the expenses were funded out of Hosein’s own pocket) that gathered up used bicycles and bike parts and shipped them to Holgu?n. Having visited the town several times, Hosein had by now established both personal friendships and official contacts.

It didn’t matter how old and battered the bikes were: Hosein knew that Cubans are the masters of making-do. He points out: “If a rusted old bike is donated to someone who does not have a bike, he is appreciative, because he now has mobility. The look of the bike is unimportant.”

Recycle Your Bicycle (RYB) was extraordinarily successful.

Torontonians who were feeling slightly guilty about their compulsive consumerism now had both a worthy cause to support and a feel-good rationale for buying a new bike. Plus, of course, many Canadians have a fondness for Cuba — they constitute one of the main tourist groups on the island, able to visit while Americans are still barred from doing so.

Bikes poured into Harold’s storage space; businesses and municipal groups jumped on the bandwagon, collecting and donating hundreds of bikes, in every possible state of repair and disrepair. Volunteers, too, came aboard, hailing from every walk of life and more than a dozen countries. “We are indeed a motley crew,” jokes Hosein.

I myself have been part of that motley crew, wheeling out an unending stream of bikes to be loaded onto the containers.

Others help with fundraising to pay for the ever-increasing number of containers being shipped: the project has grown well beyond the reach of Hosein’s pockets.

No longer employed by the television station, Hosein has made the Cuba project almost a full-time occupation. Since 2004, he estimates he has shipped about 2500 bikes.

Nor is it limited to bicycles. Early in the game, he realised there was a lot of empty air between the bikes packed in the containers. His foraging expanded to whatever would fill the space. Now, every square inch is crammed with everything from clothes to medical equipment, computers to cooking pots. Basically, he will accept anything anyone wants to donate, and find a space for it. I pity whoever has to sort everything out at the other end.

Between 2004 and 2007, RYB sent a total of nine containers, often having to hold off until enough money could be raised to pay the shipping costs. However, about a year ago Hosein was invited to align his organisation with the Orion Foundation, which was already shipping medical aid to sub-Saharan Africa. With their logistical and financial support, he has dispatched 12 containers to Cuba this year alone.

Visiting Holgu?n after the hurricanes, Hosein was appalled at the devastation.

He turned his focus to the immediate needs: food, mattresses, building supplies. This past month has been a flurry of packing and shipping, with willing volunteers turning out in the harshest weather.

If there ever was a true Christmas story, this is it. Santa himself must be envious. After all, Harold Hosein does it all year round.

Merry Christmas to all.