Author(s):
Arzucan Askin, Caitlan Read, Marta Santiváñez
Type:
Photograph
Department:
Department of Geography and Environment
Exhibit no:
1
A woman in a wheelchair overlooks the hills of Topes de Collantes in Trinidad, Cuba. With free access to healthcare for all of its citizen, its cutting-edge innovations in preventative medicine and community-based support programs for the women and elderly, Cuba’s community-based medical system has presented model of success for the world to follow.
Yet, the economic conditions imposed by the US embargo and the country’s geographical susceptibility to extreme weather events leaves the islands infrastructure debilitated. Individuals in wheelchairs spend their lives unable to move through cities on their own and bound to non-accessible housing structures.
Acknowledgements: This photograph was taken during fieldwork conducted in Cuba for Project Mujeres Tarea Vida, a research expedition supported by a grant from the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers (RGS-IBG) and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
Caitlan Read, Department of International Relations
Marta Santiváñez, Department of Social Policy