Online workshops 16 to 19 November · Culture week in Berlin 20 to 24 November 2026
What does a blockade cost the people who decided nothing?
Focus 2026: Cuba
Helping instead of Blocking. Sanctions reach far beyond the country they target. They affect banks, supply chains, companies and schools in Europe and, in the end, people who decided nothing. The week asks how help still gets through, and listens to several sides. It is non-partisan: no party, no party-affiliated foundation and no government acts as sponsor or supporter.
Live stream. A live stream is planned for booked performances: if you are not in Berlin, you can watch online and donate to the aid organisations. You will receive access with your booking confirmation as soon as the stream has been agreed with everyone taking part.
The occasion
On 22 November 1996 the Council of the European Union adopted the EU Blocking Statute (Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96), which protects companies in the EU against the effects of foreign sanctions laws. On 22 November 2026, the Sunday of the Dead (Totensonntag), it turns 30.
The Bank Melli case
Court of Justice of the European Union, judgment of 21 December 2021, Case C-124/20.
Our standard
Anyone who makes a promise or a demand should say later whether it came true. That applies to the sanctions we write about, and to us. So before the week we write down what we expect, and afterwards we show what happened, even when the result is poor. Every enquiry gets a reply. We mark evidence, assessments and opinions separately, mistakes go on a corrections list, and after the week we disclose what came in and what it was spent on.
For groups
School day on 24 November. Pre-registration by 12 November.
Workshops W5, W8, W11 in English and the forum on 23 November. New briefing: Russia sanctions in 2026: circumvention, the contract clause and tougher criminal law
Membership from 2026, virtual founding round on 23 November, 14:00.
A situation report in eight chapters: how the world economy is doing in autumn 2026, which blockades are in effect, what they do in the Americas, Europe, Russia, China, Asia, the Gulf, Africa and Cuba, what money, law and labour need, and which paths the …
Anyone working with property that Cuba expropriated after 1959 can be sued in the United States, including European companies. Two Supreme Court rulings made such suits easier in 2026. This article explains what has changed, who sues, and what the EU Blocking …
On Cuba this website always names two halves: the US embargo and the failure of the Cuban leadership. Until now the second half appeared in subordinate clauses. This page brings together what independent bodies find on political prisoners, releases and …
Who sanctions whom? The globe shows the states and organisations that impose sanctions and the countries they affect. Every entry with source and date.
As of 3 November 2026. Covered: 19 actors, 347 entries on 85 countries and territories.
Help
Donations for the people of Cuba go directly to the aid organisations, not to the organiser. All aid organisations collect from Friday to Monday; no day belongs to one aid organisation alone. No collection is taken on the school day. You can take part without donating.
Project: microloans in Cuba. “They are granted to women and men with a business idea that enables them to earn their own income.”
Freikirchen.Bank eG (SKB Bad Homburg) · Gottfried-Wilhelm-Lehmann-Straße 4, 14641 Wustermark OT Elstal · promotion@ebm-international.org · Donation receipt as a combined annual receipt in January of the following year, earlier on request.
Project “Hoffnung für Kuba” (Hope for Cuba): the Loyola centres in Cuba, from Nuremberg mainly the centres in Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba. According to the aid organisation, earmarked donations go in full to the project.
Königstraße 64, 90402 Nürnberg · According to the parish, the Sunday collection goes to jesuitenweltweit.
Netzwerk InterRed Cooperacion e.V.
Project: solar installation for a children’s hospital in Havana. According to the association, donations go in full to the solar project.
Up to 300 € the German tax office accepts the bank statement as proof; for a donation receipt please give your postal address.
Separate: the costs of the week. For venues, technical equipment and contributors the organiser runs a separate fundraiser. It is clearly separate from the donations; contributions receive nothing in return and no donation receipt. Money from the fundraiser does not go to Cuba.
Helfen statt Blockieren is preparing its own in-kind aid for people in Cuba: wheelchairs and non-perishable food. Collection will only begin once a partner on the ground and an authorised recipient are confirmed. Contact: info@aciel-martinez-poll.com.
Those who help carry the week and wish to be named. Supporters decide for themselves whether and how we name them.
Partner
Partner in the network, CubaJena
Aid organisation of the week
EBM INTERNATIONAL
Microloans in Cuba
Aid organisation of the week
jesuitenweltweit
“Hoffnung für Kuba” (Hope for Cuba), Loyola centres
Aid organisation of the week
Solar installation for a children’s hospital in Havana
Media partner
Communications
Which case is the focus next year is decided by a vote. Experts put forward three to four vetted proposals. Every registered person may vote, at the forum or online, one vote per person; no funder votes as a funder.
Registration for the vote by email: info@aciel-martinez-poll.com
Rehearsal photos, new guests, dates and voices from the week: on Instagram at @helfenstattblockieren.
The button is a plain link. Nothing from Instagram is embedded on this website, and no data is sent to Instagram unless you click the link.