Whilst civil society groups opposing the ANC government’s donation of R50 million to Cuba for humanitarian relief are correct in claiming humanitarian relief starts at home, (The Mercury, March 18), the subtext of the issue is ironic for two reasons. First, for sixty years the people of Cuba have experienced an arrested state of development under socialism which has delivered equality in mediocrity and oppression. Yet ANC heavyweights regard Cuba as their preferred holiday destination and as a model socialist state which they seek to replicate in South Africa. But according to socialist propaganda, Cuba is a workers’ paradise.  Why, then, is humanitarian aid required? Surely, the benevolent socialist system makes provision for every need? By its intention to donate humanitarian aid