EMAIL TO THE EDITOR
This Is the Best Christmas Gift Ever!
On renewed relations between the U.S. and Cuba
To The Editor:
The antiquated 50-plus year US policy towards Cuba has not accomplished its goal of toppling the Castro regime. One can argue that, particularly in the past two decades, it has in fact helped the Castro government. It has brought forth nothing but poverty, a lack of medical services and misery upon the Cuban people, which many times culminated in a desperate and dangerous voyage across the Straits of Florida in makeshift boats and rafts.
This hypocritical policy that allows certain entities to trade with Cuba, while blocking the basic human need of family contact, is a farce. Locally, the implications of the new policy announced by our President will be huge. The cultural and historical ties between the two islands are and will be forever intertwined.
Key West for more than a century was considered the de facto seventh province of Cuba. When I visited the Cuban Interest Section in Washington, DC, twice last year, I was pleasantly surprised as at the love, curiosity and concern from the Cuban diplomats as to how the people of our island felt about Cuba. They expressed a desire to visit us, to see first-hand the local landmarks that bind us to them: The Jose Marti memorial at Bayview Park, the San Carlos Institute — the first bi-lingual and bi-racial school in the U.S. — and the memorial to the heroes of the Cuban Revolutionary War as well as the graves of the heroes of the battleship Maine.
Cayo Hueso has always been a historical and cultural mecca for Cubans. In 1874, after losing the 10-Year War, its supporters migrated in masse to Key West and established the cigar industry. In the decade that followed, thanks in part to having a “reader”in the cigar factories, the émigrés became more worldly and middle class. This proved to be a fertile ground for finance and support for José Marti’s and Jose Antonio Maceo’s dream of a Cuba free from the Spanish yoke.
Now today, once relations are stabilized, the tourist flow will be in both directions, with Cubans seeking to rediscover their Key West roots. For U.S. citizens, originally their stays will be shorter as we demand full creature comforts wherever we travel. This makes us the perfect complement to Cuban tourism.
In the final analysis, I can only share my sentiments, which have been echoed by many these past 48 hours, that although our parents and grandparents did not get an opportunity to be able to visit their “Patria”whenever they wanted, we, thanks to a proactive decision by the leader of the free world with the encouragement from the Pope, will now be able to visit and be able to send more help to our brethren. And the people of our sister island of Cuba will have an opportunity, lost in time over 50 years, to choose which type of government they prefer. Quite candidly, Hollywood could not have scripted a better ending!
So: There is a Santa! President Obama’s message actually has me in tears. Finally, after a draconian 54-year policy that only hurt the people of Cuba, we are going to open the doors. Great for our nation and outstanding for Key West. I only wish my mother was alive to see this day. Many of my compatriots echoed her sentiments: “I want to see my Homeland before I die” This is the best Christmas gift ever!
And foremost, of course, Alan Gross is a free man. What a wonderful holiday present for him and his family. I want to thank Mr. Gross. I believe that he, in large part, was the catalyst for this dramatic change. And I am proud that last May, our city commission unanimously endorsed a resolution asking Cuba to release him.
Let’s look at options: Option A, do and nothing and maintain a policy that has not moved Cuba towards a “free” (read capitalistic) Cuba. Option B, normalize relations, open up internet, allow more funds to be sent in by Cuban-American families to their folks in Cuba; recognize that Cuba is no longer a “terrorist” thereat, allow that country to join in making decisions regarding the Americas, etc. Or option C: well, I am still waiting for what the conservative right’s third option would be; except, as I’ve heard some of the more myopic members of the opposition state that, “The Castro regime was on the verge of collapse!” Yeah, right. Simply stated, if you’ve been on a diet for half a century and you’re still obese, wouldn’t you consider another option? The definition of insanity is doing the same over and over again and expecting to get different results.
Let’s apply some logic: We have diplomatic relations with Communist China, a country that did not make any concessions to us. We also have a relationship with North Vietnam where 50 thousand-plus of our young men and women died in a war. So what is the conservative logic? They don’t have one, so instead they’ve come up with a catchy phrase: “Not this way, not today!”
The isolation of the island nation of Cuba by the U.S. has only served two purposes: To deprive the people of economic relief and medical access, and help maintain the current regime in power. I’ve heard the chant about the violation of human rights. Well, the U.S. currently has 50 percent more prisoners per capita than Cuba. Daily, in our country, minorities are disenfranchised, workers are exploited and we live in an environment where huge corporate bank accounts buy our elected leaders. We are arguably the greatest country in the world but we are not without sin.
So I applaud my President’s decisions to willingly end a failed 54-year policy and his vision for Option B. Thank you, Mr. President, for bringing down this wall!
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Hear Hear Tony! Well stated and true. The embargo has been a dismal failure. I was listening to a WLRN report that was on the scene of a pro-embargo rally in Miami. A nice lady was going on about how the folks that want to lift the embargo are nothing but a handful of the wealthy special interest….This floored me because, in reality, she was describing the the well heeled right wing exile community’s vice-like grip on congress and the 54 year control of our nations foreign policy in regards to Cuba. The psychoanalysts call this mental aberration, “projection”. Viva Cuba! Can’t wait for Los Van Van to come back to Key West for a celebration!
Everything Commissioner Yaniz said is true. Beyond that, with the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba, the San Carlos Institute should be returned to the ownership of the Cuban people.
Jose Marti called it “Casa Cuba.” It is time we returned it to Cuba– as a gesture of goodwill from one friendly nation to another.