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| In a futile attempt to shift
a well known responsibility, Mr. Reihle (letters to Daytona Beach News
Journal, 12/21) accuses Europeans, the News-Journal and everyone else of
the increasing anti-American sentiment that pervades the world, while he
purposely ignore or tries to mask a mountain of evidence that have
created and supports this malady. Some supporting evidence:
a) The forceful occupation by the United States government of 40 square miles of Cuban territory for the past 100 years against the will of its people and the construction of a Naval Base on the world’s fifth best natural bay, "leased" in perpetuity for $4000.00 a year, has attracted lots of unneccesary anger. b) The arbitrary witholding for the past 38 years of the retirement benefits of thousands of former US Naval Base employees, who contributed more than 80,000 years of loyal service, only because they refused to abandon their families in Cuba and migrate to the United States. c) The impending threat against Cuban-American citizens and Cuban-American permanent residents, who are allowed legally to visit their families in Cuba once a year and send no more than $100.00 a month: they may see these prerrogatives further curtailed by allowing only citizens to visit their loved ones, not green card holders. d) Although the United States is "theoretically" against terrorisms, highjackings, illegal immigrations and kidnappings, none of this applies to people coming out of Cuba, who in so doing may injure, main or kill and yet are received in Miami as celebrities with open arms. Aren’t these and other misguided decisions the root cause of many anti-American ill feelings and unrest around the world? May our leaders grow up, admit to past mistakes, rectify, and pave the way to a more peaceful and loving world. |
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In the summer of 1980 and as part of the Mariel boatlift, myself and hundreds of other Afro-Cubans and tens of thousands of Cubans from other ethnic groups, landed illegally at the US Naval Base in Key West, Florida, where we were registered, provided with an I-94 document that entitled us to work and healthcare benefits, dined, lodged and flown free of charge to different States around the country, to be further relocated. The spectacle coming out of Miami yesterday, in which over 200 Haitians attempted to enter illegally into the State of Florida, brought to mind a stark contrast with now and then. Multiple factors, including political clout, ideology, race and prejudice have been presented as the cause of such a brutal disparity. Whichever the argument, being Black and coming from the city of Guantanamo in Cuba, 70 miles west of Haiti, it is very easy for me to picture myself jumping off that boat, being rounded up and hauled off to jail, even though the motives for the Haitians now and myself then are maybe the same. Contrary to Haitians and citizens of other Latin American countries, as of 1959 with the advent of the Cuban Revolution, the Government of the United States through the Department of State, Department of Defense, CIA and many other institutions, created an endless list of actions designed to destabilize and overthrow the Cuban government. Swimming across Guantanamo bay into the Naval Base or jumping over its chain link fence, ramming vehicles through embassy gates, maritime and airline highjackings, kidnappings and bribes, are only some of the multi-prong program that was put in place by the United States Government and broadcasted into Cuba on a daily basis, through the Voice of America, Radio Swam, the Armed Forces Radio Station (WGBY), White Papers, Pastoral Letters and all other conceivable means of enticing Cubans to emigrate to the United States. Tens of thousands of Cubans accepted this "humanitarian project" and received, especially those arriving in the early 60s, substantial moral and material support, that enabled them to achieve leading professional, administrative and politic al control of South Florida. Contrary to what we have been made to believe, this achievement was not the result of a spontaneous generation, but rather, a well orchestrated program in detriment of the local African American community. But if all of the above anti-Cuba measures are abhorent, the most despicable ones were the "Peter Pan" program by which over 14,000 children under the age of 17 were lured out of the country without their parents and sent to distant communities where they knew nobody. Some had to wait five or more years to be reunited with their parents, other never did. Many suffered physical, mental and/or sexual abuse. The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1964, -which remains in place today-, is the centerpiece of this deranged and brutal policy, that have caused indirectly the death of thousands of innocent people in the straits of Florida, lured to our shores by the magnet of materialism, consumerism, wealth and happiness, irrespective of the means, cause or effect employed in arriving in the United States. This massive coordinated plan to inflict pain and suffering on everyone living in Cuba, respects no human values, moral principles or religious tenet. Thousands of loyal ex-employees of the United States Naval Base in Guantanamo, Cuba, who faithfully provided over 80,000 years of labor before, during and after every military conflict in which the Department of Defense of the United States Government was engaged in, are now hungry, sick, bitter, or dead, because our Government decided unilaterally, to withhold their pension money for the past thirty eight years. How meaningless can all those rhetorical recitations of Human Rights, Family Values and other principles, sound to hundreds of ex-employees of the US Naval Base in Cuba, who have been forced to break up their families and migrate to neighboring islands, where they immediately receive their monies from the US Treasury Department, that was previously sanctioned by the US State Department, which they then forward to their families living in Cuba? Are these and other abominable governmental behavior ever discussed in the Human Rights Commission in Geneva or New York? Had we not politicized our immigration laws by granting Cubans preferential entry and residency prerogatives in order to use this as a destabilization weapon against that country, by creating mass hysteria and inciting the commission of crimes in order to achieve the end goal, we would not find ourselves now attempting to explain the difference between two similar socio-economic effects. Rescind immediately the Cuban Adjustment Act, save hundreds of lives and live up to the US-CUBA bilateral migratory agreement! |
| One year ago, we saw on the evening news, an irate
Senator Robert Torricelli vehemently denying published accusations of
wrongdoings and promising a fight to the end, to defend his impeccable
political career and deep moral values.
Last week, a tearful, meek and demoralized Torricelli was again on TV, this time slightly admitting his deeds which he described as "human mistakes" and immediately accusing everyone else of being unforgiving. As a New York city resident in the mid 80s, I remember this young man emerging on the New Jersey political arena, introducing a brash, tongue-lashing, moralizing agenda, that was supposed to disinfect and resurrect the decaying political establishment of that region. As any other typical opportunist, he jumped on every "politically correct" issue in order to enhance his standing in the community. And so he became a staunch enemy of Cuba and the point man in Washington for the Cuban American National Foundation and tens of others ultra-right-wing Cuban American bellicose groups based in south Florida. For most Cubans, it was difficult to understand the sudden love, commitment and concerns that this individual expressed for a land with which he had no historical or filial links. He was cheered wildly by intransigent Cuban-Americans, raised to near sainthood and inducted into the hall of fame of such notables anti-Cuba warriors as US Senator Helms and Burton, US Congressman Diaz-Balart, Ross-Lethinen, our Cuban-American Florida Congressional delegation and another hundred organizations based in south Florida, California and New Jersey, that have terrorized the Cuban people for the past 40 years. In 1992, Mr. Torricelli accomplished his highest goal in Congress, when he wrote his political PhD dissertation known as the Torricelli Act. With the stroke of a pen, this universally accepted crook, presented and was later approved by the US Government, the most stringent amendment ever to the 30 year old embargo against Cuba. The centerpiece of this law prohibited all United States company subsidiaries around the world, to sell any of its products to Cuba or to purchase any product or raw material that contained 10% or more of anything produced in Cuba. Any freighter entering Cuban ports, could not enter any United States port for the next 180 days. If we were to add to the inherent cruelty of this law, the fact that this measure was introduced shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the other eastern blocks countries with which Cuba traded and had lost 75% of its market overnight, clearly describes his vicious intent to inflict pain on innocent people. Tens of thousands suffered indescribable pain and suffering. Many died for the lack of a simple anti-asthmatic inhaler, others suffered a demoralizing death because of the lack of pain killers, others died in ambulances without gasoline and children were too hungry to fall asleep at night. As a direct result of these actions, doctors performed surgery without gloves, dentists introduced acupuncture as the only means of extracting teeth in the absence of anesthesia and roots, leaves and vines suddenly became the only pharmacies in town. Then everyone learned, that just as we now know, this vulgar mercenary had accepted money, clothing and dinners from a south Korean businessman in exchange for illegal congressional activities, and like any other petty thief in town, he allowed the Cuban American National Foundation to pump monies into his campaign and private coffers. How many pennies did you receive Mr. Torricelli, for ending the life prematurely of so many in Cuba? How many blood of the hundreds of people that have died in the Florida straits, are dripping from your murderous hands? The Cuban people had the courage and moral values to withstand and survive your onslaught. You, like most cowards, did not have the courage to die standing. You cried publicly like most spoiled babies tend to do. |
| We knew of their meetings, we heard the sound bites, we
felt the steam gathering, we knew it was coming, but most important,
Congresswoman McKinney knew it also. Yet, like so many other brave Black
women in our long and painful history, she did not flinch, she did not
apologize, she did not rewrite her thoughts, she refused to be
"politically correct".
And then yesterday, it hit us like a brick! US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was voted out of the US House of representatives, a complete victory for the most retrograde political forces in our county and a strong and clear message to others like her, to stay the line or else. But this action should not be construed as a victory/loss. Different reasons by themselves speaks volumes of where we are and what we need to do. Four hundred years ago, she would have been whipped to death. Two hundred years ago she would have been hanged in her town square with hundreds of men, women and children, wearing their Sunday’s garments, their lunch baskets and in a party atmosphere, they would have been exceptional witnesses of the price imposed on this daring women. In more recent times, men wrapped in sheets with burning crosses, hiding their murderous faces, would have dragged her from her home and hung her on the nearest oak tree. She could have been falsely accused of any crime, taken to the local Sheriff’s office, locked up and later that night on her way to jail, she would be killed in a hail of bullet, during her failed escape attempt. Or she could have been confronted by a group of barbarians like those involved in the Rodney King, Diallo or hundreds of other similar cases, beaten into a pulp if not killed, only to suffer further humiliation by seeing these murderers acquitted by our partial Judicial System. Or, she may have been caught by simply Driving While Black! Therefore, there are no reasons for tears or despair. We have seen how much the technique have been upgraded, refined, perfected. And so, the Limbaughs, the Bob Graham, the Neils, the Religious Right and brothers like George, Keyes, Williams, Condolezza, Thomas and hundreds of others, have sound reason to celebrate their pyrrhic victory. Their program and the system works as it should. For centuries we have seen force impose itself over right. The powerful, the rich, those well connected have come to believe that might is all that is required in life. History have provided ample example to the contrary. This should not be an exception to the rule. Why is it, that most of these blatant abuses have been and continue to be committed against people like ourselves? Simply because those who have a mindset and an opinion about who and how we are, are also acutely aware of our disunity and unwillingness to defend our rights. They can rest easy, knowing that through tens of divisive methods introduced into our communities -ignorance, poverty, lack of solidarity, drugs, manipulation of some religious, academic, civic, social and administrative leaders, we have been rendered defenseless and unwilling to strike back. Every year, Daytona Beach which is dubbed the Special Events Capital of the World, organize tens of activities drawing thousands of people to the area. Of all of them, the only one in which tons of garbage, gallons of urine or number of illegal sexual activity are tallied, is Black College Reunion. Yet, many of our moral leaders in lieu of instilling proper behavior, self respect and principles in our youths, even by encouraging them to stay away from the yearly demeaning and humiliating experience, they take part in the pilgrimage to City Hall, plead for some silver coins and organize, over and over another round of embarrassment for our students. A comparative social analysis of the status of our people today and during the sixties, presents a shocking negative outcome. No one except us can reverse this tragedy. Courage, willingness to pay the price is what is needed; not personal gain. Thanks, Thank you very much Cynthia! |
| FLORIDA VOICES The News-Journal Daytona Beach, FL Eye doctors have a host of scientific terminologies to describe different Types and level of eye illnesses. The most serious of all of these pathologies, "Unwillingness to See," is never part of their findings. As a thirteen year resident of Flagler county operating a business in Volusia county, I have always tried to follow the economical trend, perspective and outlook of the area. Early on, I learned that our region did not have a strong economical support base. Tourism and special events played an important role in our financial stability. Although we describe ourselves as the most famous beach in the world which many world travelers are quick to dispute, the fact remain that we have limited natural resources to attract a constant flow of newcomers. For someone who have lived 1/3 of his life in the United States and 2/3 in Cuba where I travel frequently to visit family members, I have seen a country that had renounced for 40 years its condition as premier tourist destination, slowly emerging from its ashes and within an arm’s length of regaining its supremacy. Numerous examples of this intentionally well kept secret appears every day in the media as isolated, disconnected bits and pieces of news. No local analysts, official entity or study group, has engaged in a serious research of what this all means and how these developments may impact our community. We have seen the endless stream of dignitaries that travels every week, not To the State of Florida, but to a country with which we do not have diplomatic relations or economical ties, one where travel by US citizens is officially banned. What motivated the Pope, President Carter, Senators, Governors, Non Governmental Organizations, Bishops, Congressional Delegations, University Presidents, Health, Cultural and Sports leaders, Business leaders, United Nations and others risking their lives and the wrath of the right wing Cuban-American community in south Florida. Even the Mayor of Saint Augustine and Tampa went on separate fact finding trips to Cuba. Our local leaders may pretend nothing is happening, they may hide their heads in the sand or cover their ears, but that will not alter the inevitable. Cuba is there, its economy is being re-directed towards tourism and, although some may be quick to disregard these notions, we are already feeling the first drafts of that developing hurricane. Numerous reports have described a drop in the number of European and Canadian tourists to our area. LTU, the German Airliner which had a weekly flight to Daytona Beach, decided to cancel this stop and continue its flight to Cuba. Since building our beautiful airport terminal it has been on life support. Five years ago I met with some of its leaders, to whom I explained the importance of requesting and opening a connecting flight to Cuba which could become a boon to our economy. Nothing happened! Los Angeles International and Kennedy Airport did and are now reaping the fruits, while others awaits federal approval. The ports of Mobile, Louisiana, Gulfport and others have secured shipping rights for agricultural products sold to Cuba under a recent exemption of the embargo. Tampa and Jacksonville are now vying for the same rights that should have been ours for multiple reasons. Are more examples necessary to explain how we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot, only because of an archaic behavior shrouded in cold war mentality and because of threats coming out of small but powerful south Florida community that has taken hostage our Foreign Relations Policy decision making? Our local, state or national leaders may choose the easy way out of this dilemma, by accepting the status quo and by pleasing those with whom they have contracted debt of gratitude. History however, will record the position that each of us took on behalf of the well being of all of those we are morally obliged to protect. To remain oblivious to the enormous challenges and economical hardship that thousands in our communities may be faced with may be more than a severe symptom of myopia. |
| Since President George W. Bush's installation as the 43rd
President of the United States, one of his most controversial nomination
has been that of Mr. Otto Reich. Anticipating a bitter fight during
Congressional hearings and the potential leaks of a murky past,
President Bush opted to appoint Mr Reich as Undersecretary of State for
Latin America during a Congressional recess.
Many wondered why was the President willing to take this huge political risk on behalf of someone that was opposed by the right, left and center of the political spectrum. This decision was a clear "Than You", to the ultra-right wing Cuban American community in south Florida, who were instrumental in winning Florida twenty five electoral votes and hence, the Presidency. Since Mr. Otto Reich acceptance speech at the State Department in which he thanked his family, supporters, his culture and even his indicted friends for helping him reach this very high position in the administration, little has been seen, heard or read about him. Although some are surprised by his behavior, those who knows him best are familiar with his secretive, conspiratorial, intriguing and concocting personality. The near insurmountable problems afflicting Latin America, would lead us to believe that Mr. Reich would be out there, sensitizing, arguing, elaborating programs, visiting the UN, OAS, Banking, NGOs and everyone who supposedly could assist in mitigating or reversing this downward social spiral that has engulfed the region. Instead, he is not seen or heard of; only felt. Is Mr. Reich in anyway dealing with the financial crisis that has Argentina on the verge of bankrupcy? No. Is Mr Reich in anyway involved in the power vacuum and tremendous social unrest in Peru, after "our Man" Fujimore had to run under the cover of night? No. Has Mr. Reich come up with any suggestion or proposal to deal with huge social implosion that has turned El Salvador into the most violent country in this hemisphere? No. Is Mr. Reich and his department working on any project directed to deal with hunger, analphabetism and lack of healthcare for half of the population of this region? No. Has Mr. Reich as undersecretary for Latin America, developed any road map that may lead to a negotiated agreement in the fifty year old civil war in Colombia, that is decimating that country, except for his views of bringing in more sophisticated weaponry for the military to kill more civilians? No. Have Mr. Reich heard anything about the despair and hopelessness in Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Jamaica and Haiti? No. No, evidently not. His focus, -which is congruent with his life history of hurting those he has determined to be his enemy- has not changed. He is fully devoted to create, organize, finance, control and direct, the hostile forces that show up every week in the streets of Caracas, Venezuela, wreaking havoc, unrest and the destruction of that country’s economy. Although every time people like Mr. Reich open their mouths, the first expression coming out of it is, Democracy, Free Enterprise, Freedom of Speech, Separation of Powers, etc., etc, none of which is respected by them, when this is done by someone they dislike. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, -like it or not-, has been elected overwhelmingly in three consecutive referendum/elections by the people of that country, who happens to be predominantly Poor and Brown. Is the Government of Mr. Chavez perfect? I do not know. That is to be determined by the citizens of that country! What I do know by reading the papers, is that for the first time in recent history, the majority of the people of that country feels that their Government is behind them, that someone cares. We saw it late last year when torrential rains and mudslides washed away entire communities. The Government was there. We saw it, when the majority of the people who never had access to healthcare or could not afford crucial and expensive medical treatment, the Government was there, providing it in the country or abroad. Now, the same ones who until recently bragged about coming to Disney World for the week-end or seeing their doctors at the Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai Hospital or any other of our elite healthcare provider, are now bitterly upset because some of those citizens of Venezuela who for decades had no hopes of similar medical care, are now able to receive such level of medical treatment in Cuba. We saw it, when the Government of President Chavez tried to shake up the entrenched oligarchs in the oil industry of that country, that have dilapidated its enormous resources, how quickly they were able to regroup, request a meeting and being received by high level officials at the State and Defense Departments. Coincidentally, shortly after these meetings, a failed coup removed President Chavez from his post for 48 hours, where he was re-installed by a massive outcry of the have nots. How do we know about these inner workings? Simply, by reading history books, newspapers and the evening news. There is a pattern, lack of creativity and contempt on part of the State Department planners. If we go back to the electoral process, election and short lived government of Salvador Allende in Chile, what we see today in Venezuela is a carbon copy of that conspiracy, destabilization, enlisting of the upper class and pitting them against the poor, demonization, massive scare tactics followed by a coup d’etat and the assassination of thousands of citizens who supported the government. Thirty years after, mothers are still searching for their missing love ones in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, where the most sophisticated torture technique, murder and dismembering of victims, was first instituted in this hemisphere. Florida on the other hand, hold the world pennant for having the largest pool of international assassins, human right violators, rapists, dictators and thieves per square foot, coming from every Latin American country and around the world. A couple of weeks ago, in another Judicial travesty that typifies how justice is selectively dispensed in this very peculiar region of the country, General Vides Casanova and Jose Guillermo Garcia, heads of the security forces in the 80€™ s, during the bloody counterinsurgency campaign in El Salvador that took the lives of over 80,000 of its citizens, were found guilty in civil court and ordered to pay 54.6 million dollars to their victims. How was it possible, that both men were acquitted in previous criminal trials? How could an endless list of witnesses, testimonies, documents presented even by then US Embassador, was not sufficient to convict these murderers? Why have Mr. Reich, those who preceeded him and those that will follow in his post, not bring these and other well known murderers to the International Court in The Hague and sit them next to Milosevic? Could it be, that these and all other holders of Masters Degree, PhD and Doctorate in torture, murder and rape coming out of the prestigious School of the Americas in Georgia, are also immune to the Judicial System? Cuba alone, has a horde of old murderers in their 70 and 80 living in Miami, West Palm Beach, New Jersey and elsewhere, with more blood dripping from their hands, than our largest local blood bank, were apparently assured by high ranking US officials that justice will never be applied against them. This tragic experience of Latin-America and the Caribbean, is what makes most of its citizen skeptical of some concepts that are frequently exposed by those covering up for our tormentors. Will Mr. Reich and his operatives succeed? Who knows? Either way, it will become an integral part of Latin America history of foreign intervention, submission, loss of sovereignty, imposition and tutelage, which children in these countries will eventually learn in school and some of our ideologues, will try to explain away by depicting it as €œAnti€ whatever. Persistent, relentless, unwavering as he is, Mr Reich have devoted much of his time and resources, not to attempt to mitigate the suffering in any of our 30 nations south of the Rio Grande, rather, in addition to Venezuela, much attention has been devoted to Cuba, his most cherished project. Millions of dollars have been introduced illegally in the country to buy souls and spirit, distribute printed subversive materials, provide fax machines, cell phones and most recently, a massive distribution of short wave radios across the country, supervised by Ms Hudlesson, head of the US Interest Section in Cuba. Geographically, there is no way possible to live in a country 90 miles away, and not be able to access AM radio and occasionally TV signals. Why then the short wave radios, except for the transmission of coded subversive messages? Great hopes have been placed by M.r Reich and his ilk on August 5, 2002, when a massive effort have been put in place in hopes of recreating the first and only public unrest that have taken place in Cuba, eight years ago. The population is receiving a barrage of incitement for them to take over the streets, vandalize building, steal material good, destroy properties. If this open conspiracy would succeed, will it overthrow the Cuban Government? No, Mr. Reich and his pals knows that. What they are hoping to accomplish while they are all safe, well fed and secure in their air-cooled offices on these shores, is to have those in Cuba that they have provided a few silver coins, go on the streets in Havana, confront the Government, vandalize buildings, get their heads broken, arrested and better yet, if this could yield a dead body. These are the elements the yearn for, to document and present at the next Human Rights Commission meeting, in hopes of once again, extracting a condemnation against Cuba, for its blatant Human Rights violation. Just as it took the world ten years to learn that all of the grandstanding concerns, speeches and moralizing debate that then Congressman Torricelli brought to Congress that led to the enactment of the Torricelli Amendment, which tightened the Embargo against Cuba, that have caused unspeakable suffering to the innocent in that country, is nothing more than a vulgar crook, petty thief who was on the payroll of Mafia Boss, Jorge Mas Canosa, head of the Cuban American National Foundation. Who can the world trust, when we see these daily parade on "honorable" men in pinstripes suits, lobby shoes and designer portfolio, under which is hidden the souls of vulgar thieves, invoking their fifth amendment? The day will come, when we will have Mr. Reich in his pin suit, apologizing publicly for having deceived his friends, his country and his miserable soul. |
| For the past three
days, the daily news have repeated ad-nauseam, the sickening spectacle
of a young, mentally challenged youngster, beaten soft by a horde of
beasts in human skin.
Hundreds of notes, books and pictures, have attempted to document our 400 years of painful history on these shores. Slavery, lynching, segregation, poverty, abuse are some of the best known aspects of this malaise, that fortunately with the arrival of the Camcorder on the marketplace, the world is beginning to see what we have said all along. Some historians have described the atrocities inflicted on our people, since we were chased down, captured and brought through the "door of no return" all of which continued on the slave vessels, on the plantation and until today. But what makes this issue so tragic, is the complicit behavior of some of our own. If that white monster that slammed the head of that youngster on the hood or trunk of that patrol car, and the other ice-age, cave-man, with a cruelty that is difficult to describe, could, totally unprovoked, punch this kid in his face; it was more despicable to see a police of African ancestry, remain unmoved and become an accomplice in this crime. I first heard in the early 80’s in New York City, a theory that it was some Blacks who actually captured fellow Blacks and sold them into slavery to the Portuguese slave traders. Although I did not have any hard evidence to the contrary, relying on principles, honor, loyalty, it was too much of a heinous description to be true. Today, I am less sure. I have seen many of today’s Blacks, capturing our brothers and sisters and turning them over to our tormentors. On May 20th, 2002, President George W. Bush traveled to Miami on behalf of his stoic, right wing Cuban-American faithful constituency, who played a crucial role in the questionable electoral process, that enabled the Supreme Court to select Mr Bush to be the next dweller of the White House. M Bush immediately pulled out and read an extensive laundry list of demands, threats, offenses and a timetable for the Cuban government to implement his orders or, the 40 year-old embargo would remain firmly in place. At times, his congested face, bulging neck blood vessels, profuse salivation suggested that he was on the verge of having a vascular accident. His bellicose and intransigent audience was thrilled by his war mongering speech. For Cubans on the island, this was just another example of his prepotency, arrogance and disrespect for those he assumes to be inferior. But that is OK. Such attitude is fitting with his upbringing, social status, views of life and ethnic bias. Although most people in the United States have finally come to know that Cuba is predominantly a black country, days after the President wildly acclaimed speech in Miami, Ms Condoleeza Rice, a Black lady that for obvious reasons I cannot deescribe as a sister, went from one TV station to another, to explain and support the President decision to keep in place and strengthen the embargo against people like herself, although she is acutely aware of the devastating effect that this have had on the lives of hundred of thousands of people. She should know through her close relation with the State and Treasury Department, that thousands of people that are now victimized, were loyal, former employees of the United States Naval Base in Guantanamo Cuba, who provided thousands of years of service, before, during and after every military conflagration that this country have been involved in. She should also be aware, that as a result of another of our cruel determination, most of those employees retirement benefits, have been arbitrarily witheld by the US Treasury Department and refused payment to beneficiaries, as long as they live in Cuba, which indirectly have caused the break-up of tens of families, by forcing one or more of its member, to migrate to another Caribbean island, in order to receive payment and support financially their relatives in Cuba. Others less fortunate are old, sick, hungry or have died bitter with their former employer. A few weeks before, I had returned from Cuba where I visited my dear friends, the Knight-James described in response to an article published by Mr. Raspberry. One of the girls in that family, a 39 year old Biochemist, is stricken with breast cancer that has metastasized to her brains and lungs. The outcome is clear. This young woman that had devoted her entire life to research and develop pharmaceuticals products in one of Cuba’s top biotechnology laboratories, that may have mitigated the pain and suffering of many around the world, is now helpless, on a slow irreversible countdown. But if it is painful to see a person in the prime of their life who had played by the rules, slipping away day by day, it is heartbreaking to see the desperate efforts of the family, who hits the streets every day, asking everyone they encounter for leads, in their endless search for an anti-nausea medication, a sedative or any other medication, that may make the patient’s day less miserable. Because of the continuing actions taken by different Presidents since Eisenhower to George W. Bush, this lady and thousands others like her, are condemned, not to live, but to die in indignity, stricken by indescribable pain. For me, the actions may differ but the result is the same. Some may have captured slaves, some allowed beatings, others have condoned actions like those described above. Either way, they have been active participants in stifling our development and decimating our people. It was not the Belgians who brought down Lumumba. It was Mobutu! It was not the South African Apartheid regime that caused hundreds of thousands of maimed and dead Angolan. It was Jonas Savimbi! It was not an Anglo, Asian or Latin American who murdered Malcolm X. It was people just like him! Thousands of people that were butchered in Haiti in the 50’s and 60’s, were not done by De Gaulle; the perpetrator was Duvalier! So therefore, with such a shameful history, why should we be surprised by some of "our" people speaking out against affirmative action? Why should we be shocked, when the most outrageous legal determination against Black people coming out of the Supreme Court, may not be supported by some Whites, but always by a Black person. Although there are a deluge of right-wing Radio Talk Show hosts around the country, the most vicious attacks on anything that may benefit the survival of people of African ancestry in the United States, comes from those self labeled, Black Conservative Republicans in the Media, who in their endless quest in search of acceptance and benevolence from the media moguls. The daily crimes coming out of the Middle East, as a direct result of the barbaric actions of Gen. Sharon and those who preceeded him, in which defenseless peoples lives are shattered, maimed or murdered by tanks, gunships, rockets and bulldozers, against youngsters armed with stones, slingshots or an occasional AK 47, is usually presented by the media commentators, as a response to events that took place last week, last month or when Jesus was on earth. For the Armstrongs, Georges, Keeyes et al, nuking the victims, the defenseless, the weak, is the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It has been 11 years since the famous Turkey Shoot that so many have bragged about, in which the sons of thousands of mothers of color, retreating from the front line, with their backs to the enemy , were mercilessly incinerated on that now infamous highway. Israeli have demanded and are being paid for propety losses during WW II, Japanese that were unjustly interned in camps in the US during WW II have received compensation. Those bombed recently in Afthanistan, will be receiving a nominal compensation for their loss. 400 years of slavery have meant nothing to some very well placed and influential Blacks, who adamantly opposes any discussion of compensation for our people. It is therefore no accident, that these are the same folks that have spent millions of tax payers dollars to buy, bribe or coerce different governments around the world, in order to accuse, vote against and extract a condemnation in the Human Rights Commission against Cuba, the only country in this hemisphere, in which cases like Rodney King and Chavis beatings, the dragging death in Texas, the four girls in Alabama blown to bits or the monthly death of a Black youth in Cincinnatti, have never happened in over 40 years. If any police in Cuba would dare to slam a citizen head on the hood of a car, no one would be guessing as we are, why he did it or what went through his mind. His fate would be sealed as we speak! The ultra-right-wing creed that was ushered in during the Reagan administration and which have reached its highest peak through the despicable events of September 11, have created the appropiate environment of fear, doubt, suspicion and intimidation, that have lead most "independent" writers to jump in line and follow the prevailing thinking. Tens of Black social activists, clergy, journalists, academics, humanists, that we had come to admire and revere for their clear cut and decisive position in defense of the voiceless, the have nots, are now rewriting their texts, constraining their vires and praying for forgiveness, all in gross detriment of the helpless. A group of first class, highly qualified Black Journalists recently returned from a visit to Cuba, where Blacks are adversely impacted by the current Dollarization and other social problems. I was in part, dissapointed with some of the articles presented at the end of such trip, in which issue dealing with the survival and integrity of the Afrocuban family, were supplanted with petty issues, such as people unwilling to speak with them, supposedly afraid of the Cuban Government repressive measures. Why should anyone, anywhere in the world, speak to people they do not know, especially when those asking the questions, comes from a country, that for real or percieved reasons, have proven aggressive intent in the past 40 years? Why dont any of these journalist not travel to Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and other communities, and talk to those people whose retirement benefits have been denied for the past 37 years, what life have been for them? Why not ask some of those, who have been forcefully separated from parents or children, what is it like and how does it feel? Are they really looking for people willing to talk about burning issues or rather those, who may unwittingly become part of a diversionist Q & A? Would any of these very sophisticated journalists, attempt to get people in the New York, DC or Chicago subway platform, to indulge in a conversation with strangers? Who are the kidding? Arent we the same people who constantly complain, that we do not know or talk to our neighbors? Why should we demand people to speak to strangers, when we do not even say €œGood Morning€ to others when entering a school or workplace? Why be upset with any journalist in Cuba, whose answer is highly supportive of the Government, when we never question those simplistic question that are posed by our €œfree€ journalists, during the White House, State Department or Pentagon briefings? My fellow leader, we need to regain our courage, assume our responsibilities and do what is right, even when such action may be cause for retaliation from the powerful. Had Rosa Parks, Malcolm or Martin Luther acted like some of us today, we would still be using a different rest room. We have lacked the courage to stand up and defend our rights. That may explain why Blacks continue to suffer those sav |
| Three weeks ago, in an incredibly courageous decision,
President Carter gave the world another example of human virtues, valour
and the principles that have guided his life, when he ignored every
effort to thwart, undermine and derail his trip to Cuba by members of
the Bush administration and tens of ultra-right wing Americans and
Cuban-American groups across the country.
President Carter stated objective was to explore the possibility of creating a bridge, extend a hand of friendship and hope to begin a healing process. Rather than applaud and encourage such a humanitarian endevour, especially after our own experience with the destructive effects of hatred, these individuals whose principles are based on causing pain, suffering and death, assembled overnight a spectacular army of hatemongers who were ordered to extract from their sick minds, their most immoral and wicked accusations against Cuba. Fortunately for the world, all of their machinations backfired, many people in very prestigious positions are now known around the world as vulgar liars, others as conspirators and all displayed an absolute ignorance of the history behind the 150 years old US-CUBA conflict. For reasons that may never be known to us, the United States have always hoped that Cuba would become another star on its flag. For better or for worse, the Cubans have rejected this idea with the same vehemence. It was in 1853, the same year in which Jose Marti, the father of the Cuban nation was born, that President Pierce instructed Mr James Buchanan, Minister to Great Britain and other American Ministers in Europe, to draw up what was later known as the Ostend Manifesto, which defined a plan to purchase Cuba from Spain. It also included a clause that said, if Spain refused the sale, the United States would be justified to seize Cuba from Spain. Many other attempts were made to annex Cuba to the United States, including the use of southern states plantation slave owners and foreign mercenaries such as General Narciso Lopez, who organized two naval expeditions to Cuba with such purpose, was captured and executed in his second fateful attempt. These efforts had their climax in 1898, when President McKinley sent the United States battleship Maine to the port of Havana to protect the lives and properties of US citizens. On February 15 1898, this battleship blew up misteriously causing the death of over 260 members of its crew. The US immediately accused Spain of this abominable act and Spain denied having anything to do with it. With the complicitity of such notables as Hearst and Pulitzer, a mass media hysteria campaign was unleashed under the battle cry of "Remember the Maine." Spain complained and requested from the International Maritime Organization in Holland to send a fact finding team to establish the cause of this disaster. Prior to its arrival, the US Navy pulled the partially sunken Maine out of the harbor to deep waters, where it has remained sunken with the cause of the explosion, safely guarded in its hull. This very suspicious event -when the Spaniards were virtually defeated by the Cuban forces- led to the first invasion of Cuba by the United States under the leadership of General Teddy Roosevelt and his rough riders. The simultaneous destruction of the Spanish fleet outside the port of Santiago de Cuba by Admiral George Dewey, forced the Spanish occupying forces to surrender at now famous San Juan Hills, bringing the Spanish-American War to an end. This military skirmish which lasted less than three months and 5,500 US deaths, 5000 of which was attributed to malaria and other infectious diseases, led to what Teddy Roosevelt described as "Our best little dirty war," which raised the United States overnight to the status of world power, by acquiring a vast colonial empire in which 8 000,000 people lived. In December of 1898, the United States and Spain signed what is known as the Treaty of Paris, ending this military conflict. Cuba was not allowed to participate. In exchange, the United States demanded and received from Spain, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam and for all purposes Cuba. Cuba remained occupied by the United States until May 20, 1902. During these four years, the fully integrated Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, of which, many divisions were headed by Blacks , including the second highest ranking military officer, instilled fear in Teddy Roosevelt segregationist mind, which lead him to dismantle this force and create another segregated Rural Guard in which Blacks could not rise above the rank of lieutenant and Blacks were barred from the Police force. The political arm of the Revolutionary struggle was vanished and replaced by a group of unprincipled sell-outs, many of whom had not lived in Cuba for a quarter of a century and had acquired US citizenship. Among the worst legacy of that fatidic experience, was the Monroe Doctrine, the imposition on the Cuban Constitution of the Platt Amendment, which gave the US Government the right to intervene militarily in Cuba whenever they saw fit, which they did in four occasions. Cuba was prohibited from entering any agreement with another country without being sanctioned by the US State Department and the three best ports in Cuba, Bahia Honda, Cienfuegos and Guantanamo, were forcefully "leased" for 99 years to the United States Navy. After the so called "Independence" in which Blacks constituted the bulk of the fighting forces and war casualties, we once again found ourselves abandoned and segregated, leading Generals like Quintin Banderas who led the second largest Cuban Liberation Army in Oriente, to be given only a job sweeping the streets of Havana, while over a hundred thousand citizens from the Canary Islands were smuggled into Cuba by orders of Teddy Roosevelt, who said, Cuba had to be "bleached". Contrary to Blacks that fought and died for Cuba's independence, these newcomers were all given plots of lands and funds to develop agriculture in western Cuba. Blacks were confined to work as laborers in the predominantly owned United States sugar cane plantations in Oriente and Camaguey. Frustrated with the status quo, fed up, Black leaders from the war of independence created on or around 1910, the Independent Party of People of Color, in order to be able to fight for their rights. The most slanderous and vicious attacks was unleashed against the victims, portraying them as savages, interested only in creating a "Black Republic" like Haiti. In 1912 and with the help of the United States Army, the Cuban Army moved on to the province of Oriente where Blacks had their most important strongholds, slaughtering an estimated 6000 of them. The dead were paraded on horse backs through townships or laid in public parks for viewing, as an example to other Blacks, what they could expect if they did not conform. Among the endless list of social ills that was brought to Cuba by the new masters, racisms, ignorance, lack of healthcare, nepotism, prostitution, political corruption, squandering of public funds, robbery, violence, gangsterism, tyrants of all walks, murder etc., were some of the most blatant expression of what "Democracy and Free Enterprise" meant to Cubans. After years of bitter social struggle in Cuba, the Platt Amendment was abolished in 1934, the United States Navy continue to occupy the Naval Base in Guantanamo and our foreign policy was safely kept on the 4th floor of the US State Department in Washington, until the advent of the Revolution in 1959. Thousands of Blacks and underprivileged of all races had to pay the ultimate price in their struggle for survival and for human dignity. Unfortunately, all successive United States administrations, -with the sole exception of Franklin D. Roosevelt-, meant for our people, the pillage of our resources, abuse, siding with the victimizer and supporting every political and military tyrant, every crook, every corrupt administrator, that bowed to and carried out the interest of the Government of the United States. This partial summary of the ills that have plagued the relations between our countries, are the root cause of the social divide of this never ending crisis. Contrary to the great effort on part of the spin doctors and the media, to turn this tragedy into a political, ideological confrontation, irrevocable facts prove otherwise. On May 20, 2002, during his pilgrimage to Miami to celebrate 100 years of the "Independence" of Cuba, at a gathering with a crowd of ultra-right-wing Cuban-American segregationists, our poorly read, history deprived and morally compromised President, told the people of Cuba, that the United States had not changed, that Mr Bush will do exactly the same that Teddy Roosevelt, Platt, McKinley, Taft and others did before him. Simply pathetic! Cuba's History 101 will prove once again, how misguided he is. |
| Although we may assume we are living in the XXI century,
an article appearing in the Miami Herald on 3/06/02 entitled "With
hard-liners in place, federal pressure on Cuba may increase"
reminds us of those edicts coming from Sir Francis Drake, Sir Henry
Morgan, Captain Kidd and many other Buccaneers and Pirates who roamed,
terrorized, robbed and slaughtered thousands of Innocent sailors and
citizens living in the Caribbean basin during the XVI, XVII, XVIII and
XIX century.
A quick review of the Cuban history tells us that the Cuban people fought against every pirate attack to their country and the few times they were conquered and occupied, it was only for a short period of time before the invaders were driven back to sea. It is therefore evident that most of these newly appointed hard-line Cuban-Americans that have been incorporated to the Bush administration under the brilliant leadership of Mr. Otto Reich, -the new leader of this pack of hyenas - charged with devouring their country, never received or flunked their HIS 101 on Cuba. For the past 20 years, this obscure and pathetic individual has risen through the ranks of different United States institutions, by concocting, conspiring and being always ready to enact each and every dirty order against his country of birth. How miserable! Deprived of all legal arguments capable of supporting another invasion of Cuba as it was with the Bay of Pigs, they are now busy formulating theories in order to keep Cuba and their self-created/managed list of terrorist nations, or by presenting Cuba as a genuine bio-terrorist threat to the United States, for having shot down two unarmed civilian airplanes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue or for some assumed super cyber scientific knowledge accrued in Cuba, that is capable of disrupting the computer network system of the most powerful and sophisticated nation on earth. Although all of these statements cannot hold water and they could be dismissed as blatant stupidity, they continue to put them out over and over, following Pavlov’s principle, in order to have them imprinted in the minds of the Untrained, creating the psychological momentum that may lead to the destruction of 11 million people living in Cuba. History if full of these mass mental programming by supposedly wise
men! A few words about each of their foolishness: Terrorist Nation: Following the same principle, an arbitrary selection and labeling of nations around the world takes places every year in the halls of the State Department, in which, based upon the level of friendship, submission or the capability of infringing on said country’s sovereignty, it maybe labeled terrorist or not. Only countries that have been deemed unfriendly or enemies of the United States, will ever be labeled as "Terrorists." El Salvador, the most Violent country in this hemisphere, where the Bishop was shot dead during mass and four American nuns were raped and murdered and added to another 30,000 natives massacred by the security forces, are never brought to this very prestigious tribunal. Chile and Argentina, the leaders in this hemisphere of disappeared persons and the creators of the most wicked torture technique ever invented by man, by which, infants were taken away from their parents and scattered around the world, leaving desperate parents still searching for their offspring 30 years after. Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Australia, Pakistan or the mother of all of them, Israel, is never mentioned, no matter how many Palestinian children are murdered everyday in the Middle East. As I write these notes, the voiceless of the world are appalled at the horror of seeing the Israeli army, armed to the teeth with the most sophisticated weaponry that has been provided them by the United States, shooting, bombing or strafing indiscriminately the overcrowded neighborhoods with their F-16, M-1 tanks, attack helicopters, gunships, armored vehicles or navy vessels, slaughtering the old, women and children., and leaving a path of destruction comparable to the worst natural disaster. The spectacle of seeing these monsters demolish homes with their inhabitants inside, murdering innocent children defending their homeland or stopping emergency vehicles at check points, leaving their occupant to die, is the most graphic example of the bestiality that have taken hold of that government. It is clear criminals cannot be rehabilitated. In 1982, the world got its first full size picture of that monster called General Ariel Sharon, when he reduced a large portion of Lebanon to rubble. Not satisfied with that, this butcher, under the cover of darkness, went into Sabra and Shatilla, two refugee camps, where he slaughtered over a 1000 women, elderly and children. Just as the Nazi and Spanish Fascists wiped Lidice and its people off the map in 1936, this reincarnated Hitler has demolished Jenin. Yet, this is the honorable Prime Minister that our President receives in the Oval Office and he has to carefully mince his words if he is to express any disagreement with his behavior. Our world has become a disgrace to all of us. Personally I do not know enough to impartially and accurately judge what is taking place in the courtroom in the Hague, where Milosevic is being tried for Crimes Against Humanity. What every occasional reader of the daily newspapers knows, is that no one in good faith, could bring before this "impartial and prestigious" tribunal the ex president of Serbia, while Sharon, Nixon, Kissinger, Mobutu, Suharto, Pinochet, The Shah, Marcos, Van Tieu and hundreds of others of our protegees lived the life of dignitaries. This blatant manipulation of International institutions, their laws and their selective enforcement which never affects our sacred cows, is destroying the basis upon which, justice and fairness should be dispensed around the world. Why was it a crime when Libya was accused of blowing up PanAm 103, leading us to send cruise missiles into that country, but nothing happened when we blew an Iranian airliner out of the skies? Why was the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq such a crime, that led to the invasion and the imposition of one of the worlds most stringent embargo for the past 10 years that have caused the death of over a million Iraqis, but it is OK, when Israel invades Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank or when we do so in Panama, Grenada, Somalia, Afghanistan, Haiti, The Dominican Republic and everywhere else? An endless list of these contradictions would make this analysis too extensive. A simple review of the names and background of the ultra-right-wing Cuban Americans that have been placed in multiple strategic positions in the Bush II administration, suggests a massive expansion and reinforcement of the victimization of innocent people in Latin America. Taking advantage of a Congressional recess, Mr. Bush skillfully nominated Herr Otto Reich as undersecretary of State for Latin America and leader of the pack of rabid Cuban-American, charged with inflicting increased pain and suffering on those countries who do not conform to his doctrine. For those unfamiliar with the underlying causes that lead the President to nominate these individual with such a despicable background of conspiracy, arm twisting, bribing and blackmail, suffice to remit ourselves to the questionable Presidential election of the year 2000, in which, the Cuban American community in south Florida, applied all of its corrupt electoral expertise, that eventually tipped the balance that lead Mr. Bush to the White House. Now it is pay back time! Just a few months on the job and Herr Otto Reich fingerprint is all over everything that is wrong in this hemisphere. Obsessed with the delusion of portraying Cuba as a living hell, millions of dollars have been spent in coercing the government of Argentina -on the verge of bankruptcy-, to support a US government prepared resolution, that would be presented by another accomplice, Uruguay. The government of Chekoslovakia under Mr. Havel and his so called Velvet Revolution, had spearheaded this initiative for years, until it was labeled by most European countries as a lackey of the United States, forcing a newer lackey to pick up the baton. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras only needed a phone call from Herr Reich for them to jump in line. The case of Mexico was the most painful for most Latin Americans, because that country had stood up faithfully to the principle that was put forth by Benito Juarez, one of that country’s most prestigious President, when he stated "The respect for the rights of others, is peace." Yet, Mr. Fox, the President of Mexico and his Secretary of State, were slowly drawn into a morass that have caused severe damage to Mexico internationally recognized independence and self determination. As a result of this, all Latin America citizens have suffered an irreparable loss of one of the few countries that had stood tall, defending our sovereignty. Herr Reich unrelenting quest to design a Latin America according to his ultra right wing dogma, led him not only to ignore that President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, held one referendum and two consecutive elections, in which he was overwhelmingly elected by 80% of that country marginalized population. Contrary to Herr Reich’s boss who gained access to the White House by one vote of the Supreme Court following a lengthy dispute over a rigged election, again, this individual opted to side with a small fraction of the 20% of the Venezuelan population, that have squandered the resources of one of Latin America’s richest country, leaving most of its nationals living in abject poverty. Concocting, conspiring as he has done most of his life, this Machiavellian individual held numerous meetings with members of the most rancid aristocracy and right wing military officers, to plot a coup d’etat, that led to the overthrowing of that democratically elected government - fortunately for the underprivileged - it lasted only 48 hours. We are also sure, he and his ilk will keep on trying until Venezuela is once again governed by another despotic and submissive oligarch. Although every time these individuals open their mouths it is to spread the gospel of democracy, free election and free enterprise, they neither practice nor respect it contents. In Guatemala in 1954, the popular government of General Arbenz was brutally overthrown by a CIA hand-made thug, Coronel Castillo Armas. In 1973 we did it again, this time against extremely popular President Salvador Allende in Chile, which marked one of Herr Henry Kissinger greatest foreign relations coup and a 17 years nightmare with thousands of murdered citizens. It is increasingly clear, Herr Otto Reich will stop at nothing. This abominable individual intentionally ignores the most basic protocolar principles that governs the actions of people in his position. In a daring and courageous determination and putting his personal reputation on the line, President Jimmy Carter decided to venture into the convulsive US-CUBA chronic antagonistic relation, hoping to create a dialogue, a bridge that could begin to close the gap among our peoples, that have caused so much unnecessary suffering. Rather than supporting this humanitarian effort, this professional conspirator who rejoices in the destruction of others, locked himself in his office and extracted from his malignant neurons, the most heinous, macabre accusations against Cuba in recent history, which was passed on to his messenger, in order to thwart and compromise Mr. Carter’s good will trip. This individual, Mr. Bolton, said to a large congregation of right wingers at the Heritage Foundation in DC, that Cuba had the capability of producing and may have transferred bio-terrorism technologies to what they label as "rogue" states. Pretending to ignore that Cuba is the only country in this hemisphere that have suffered at least 11 bio-terrorist attacks, all coming from or supervised by the United States, the last of which, was caught in-flagrante, while a US State Department light plane was spraying virulent fungi over the province of Matanzas, in Cuba. For someone with his rank to make such an irresponsible statement, especially in the rarefied environment following September 11, is tantamount of laying the groundwork for any trigger-happy individual in a position of command, to start bombing innocent people in Cuba. But what makes the action of this individual so cold-blooded, so miserable, is that a few months before his department had released a report on this issue and Cuba was not included, nor did he raise this concern during a briefing with President Carter, prior to his trip to Cuba. Such unscrupulous individuals and their miserable actions, have caused the deaths of thousands of people around the world. How much longer must mankind endure such specimens in decision-making positions, becomes critical. Less than a year on the job, Herr Otto Reich have excelled and surpassed all of the monstrosity contained in his ugly curriculum. Even he personally admits to his truculent past, when he extended his best wishes to his indicted friends, during his acceptance speech to the State Department. Sadly, the actions of this individual goes beyond him. None of his co-workers, bosses, advisers, associates, can claim innocence in the future. His work has been too despicable, too treacherous to have been ignored by them! Most people who have come in contact with Herr Reich have agreed, that had this individual birthday been 10-20 years before his real birthday, there is no doubt, that his rotten feelings and lack of respect for human dignity, would have placed him at the helm of Buchenwald, Treblinka or any other of those house of horror created by Hitler. It is clear such individuals have no principles, only interests. The long list of those who have betrayed their country for a few silver coins, continue to grow. This modern Narcisco Lopez [a 19th century buccaneer who attacked Cuba] have imprinted his name, on that wall of infamy in Cuban history. |
| In a few hours, the world will have completed its first
six months after the tragic events of September 11 in New York,
Pennsylvania and Washington.
Little or nothing more can be said, after millions of hours of Radio/TV programs, documentaries and millions of print articles around the world have tried in vain to understand and explain the latest expression in this endless, irrational, and tragic human conduct. For the victims and their families, we extend our painful respect for their grief and sorrow. For the emergency personnel, who in a daring act of heroism were willing to give up their lives on behalf of others; they have left us an indelible lesson of human caring and values of what most of us could be, and are not. Sadly, 180 days after this despicable act took place, we have not seen the introduction of any measure intended to uncover or explain the root causes of such acts or worse yet, the development of a corrective, healing procedure capable of assuring everyone, that this experience will not repeat itself. For those inclined to watch the Sunday morning TV political Talk Shows, it is frightening to experience the overwhelming bellicose, threatening, and vengeful trend that is expoused by most of the participants. Many people feel muzzled and refrain from expressing their doubts and concerns, for fear of being unfairly labelled. This environment is not conducive to an honest, in-depth, unbiased analysis of this extremely important matter. From a medical perspective we all know, that no matter how good a heart medicine can be, it will never cure a back ailment. As a guest of this country that has accepted me as one of their own for the past 20 years, I sincerely wish the American people the very best and the brightest future for everyone living within its border. But we are also in need of more than wishes. We are in dire need of a vision, of humility and acceptance. If we are ever to establish the etiological factors of most of our present ills, we need to be critical of our actions and to be honest and courageous to accept whatever the outcome. My personal life experience with the 100 year old US-Cuba senseless diferendo, is a study case of when simple issues has been mishandled, when arrogance have taken control of our reasoning and when I-know-best attitude governs our action. On this day, fifty years ago, with the encouragement, consent and backing of the US State Department, General Fulgencio Batista and his cronies, like all vulgar thieves, forced themselves before dawn into Cuba’s main military garrison in Havana, deposing the "democratically" elected President. Corrupt as that government was with rampant gangsterism, prostitution, drugs, plundering of public funds, nepothism, ignorance, hopelesness and loss of the country's sovereingty; what followed Batista's take-over was the living hell, with the murder, torture, maiming, dissapearance and rape of thousands of the best and brightest of that society, while he enjoyed the US complicit silence, military support, and political backing. A massive outcry of the population with thousands of students, workers and women on the streets denouncing this onslaught on our constitution, was followed by a legal impeachment proceedings that was introduced by a then unknown Attorney, Fidel Castro, which as expected, was ignored by the Cuban Supreme Court. This sequence of events was followed by a failed attack on Cuba's second largest garrison in Santiago de Cuba and the slaughter after surrendering of most of the attackers. The surviving attackers were sent to jail, released after 3 years and exiled in Mexico where they regrouped, trained, invaded the country and overthrew in 1959, what history describes as Cuba's most corrupt regime. Thousands of Cuban citizens' ill-gotten properties were confiscated , hundreds of US and other foreign countries companies, - many of whom were acquired under questionable or corrupt circumstances- were nationalized and offered full payments with 20 year old bonds. This program was accepted and paid for in full to Italy, England, Canada, Germany, Holland and others, except United States owned enterprises, who rejected compensation under orders from our State Department. Caught up in this retaliatory environment, hundreds of get-even measures were implemented by the State Department, the CIA and others, directed to bring the Cuban people and its government to their knees. In moments like these, when the Catholic church is immersed in its worst sexual abuse scandal, I cannot avoid reflecting on one of the most sinister plots that has been applied against that country. In 1960, the CIA designed and Monsignor Bryan O. Walsh from the Miami diocese created the largest mass hysteria ever in Cuba, by spreading horrific rumors that children would be taken away from their parents and sent to Russia. Thousands of terrified parents willingly sent over 14,000 children between 10 and 17 years of age, to places they did not know and to people they had never seen in the United States. Many of these children had to wait for 5 or more years to be reunited with their families. Some never did. Many refer to mental and physical abuse. Others who may have being sexually abused are too ashamed and remain silent. These uncalled for and painful examples of human frailty, which are caused primarily by anger and poor judgement, cannot restore the lives of those that have been destroyed. It can though, serve as a wake-up call of things we should never repeat. If the tragic US-Cuba experience may serve as a basis for us dealing more rationally with these vexing social issues affecting the world, it may well worth the pain and suffering the Cuban people have endured. |
| Senility, Alzheimer and many other illnesses have
frequently been attributed to the abnormal behavior of aging
individuals; but, wathching today's evening news with all of those so
called respectable members of the Cuban exile community, who were self
appointed Presidents, Ministers, Mayors and Generals of "Free
Cuba", reduced to yelling profanities at the Mexican Government and
swearing not to eat Chilli or drink Corona beer for the next 3 months,
is the best example of a human scourge well into its rotting process.
How pathetic could this sad and mourning gathering result to other onlookers, who knows that a river of blood flows from the murderous hands of many in that group? As a popular North American expression says; "What goes around, comes around". The pain, suffering, hunger, tears and deaths that with their support or execution have been inflicted on tens of thousands of innocent people in Cuba, shall haunt them the rest of their lives. May they all remember this prophetic statement; "Rome pays its traitors, but it despises them"!! |
| On February 4th and 11th 2002, the Daytona Beach
News-Journal reported Mr. William Raspberry reflections on his one week
visit to Cuba, in which he clearly expresses his bias and
preconceptions, such as "The place isn't as bleak as I'd imagined
it" or "Naturally, we were treated well when we traveled or
went sightseeing as a group." [The same column was published as Cuban
surprise on 2/4/02 in the Boston Globe].
These superficial, presumptuous and self-serving assurances of many beltway Scholars and Cubanologists have led them to believe that one week in a country with one of the most complex socio-historical experience in this hemisphere suffices for them to extrapolate from a few shallow, tourist-related, unscientific questions, and will allow them to understand and write about the past, present and future of that nation. Although I have not had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Raspberry, I have lived in the United States for 1,118 weeks and have visited approximately 19 states and over 300 cities and towns. I would not only refrain from purporting to be a specialist and offering solutions for the complex issues facing the United States, I must at the same time, question the validity of his conclusions with such a limited sampling. Having re-read both of his articles, I am not sure if some of his comments are an honest product of an anti-Cuba sentiment, his unwillingness to irritate the powerful right wing Cuban forces, or a conflict of interest with his newspaper’s philosophy. Whichever one of these assumptions we may choose, they boil down to some sort of cowardice. If Mr Raspberry was unwilling to conduct and in-depth analysis of this issue and fulfill his sacred responsibility to his readers by reporting his findings as accurately as he could, why then did he made this trip? Was a dinner/sight seeing outing so important? No serious or realistic person could possibly expect that 500 years of slavery and its legacy that can be found all around us, could have been eradicated in 40 years in Cuba. Why then, this selective, harsh, overdemanding, punitive tally of how many Black Cubans are doing this as opposed to White Cubans? Is this a standard research procedure or one created only for Cuba? No one, especially Blacks in Cuba, can deny or ignore the negative effects of lingering inequalities affecting our communities since the late 1980’s, when the Cuban Government took their first steps towards creating a mix economy, introducing Joint Ventures, in which, the foreign investors are responsible for managing, hiring and firing. The Afro-Cuban community is also acutely aware of the level of education they have achieved during the past 40 years, which has lead to the creation of the first or second largest pool of people of African ancestry with higher education in the world, and they are not ready and will not allow themselves to be used as pawns, precisely by the people or their agents who inflicted so much , pain, suffering and ignorance on us over the past 500 years. The root cause of this problem lies with the powerful Cuban American right wing community in south Florida and with USAID, who have carefully selected, trained, nurtured and supported through a network of front charities and foundations, every group of two or more Afro-Cubans willing to create an organization with a catchy name such as Human Right Watch, Independent Journalist, Independent Farmers and Independent everything else, who are all instructed to organize conferences, seminars, wander on Universities campuses, prepare bogus reports and spreading their venom, in hopes of creating the psychological conditions in Cuba, for re-enacting the Kosovo, West Bank or Northern Ireland experience. What makes these actions so reprehensible, is that the architects and instigators of these hate crimes, are no other than Cuba’s most racist segment, such as US Congressman Diaz Balart, whose father and grandfather, oversaw and ran one of Cuba’s Soweto-type township in Banes. The other force behind this is Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lethinen, who is still proud of her Santa Clara hometown, where public parks were divided in three sections and they bragged about their different religious order and dress code, for black girls wishing to become nuns. When tens of thousands of Blacks were forced to live in shacks without running water, sewer, electricity, jobs, schools or healthcare and when we could only walk on 5th avenue in Havana or Manduley in Santiago de Cuba on our way to and from cooking, cleaning or picking up their trash , it was OK and no one was concerned with and busy counting how many black waiters were there in Hotels, precisely those where Nat King Cole and Josephine Baker were forced to use the kitchen door in order to perform while Lucky Luciano was received as a celebrity. No matter how well packaged, deodorized, disguised as Mother Theresa, Ghandi or by shedding tons of Crocodile tears, we can identify these specimens and some, who unknowingly, may serve as vehicle of these treacherous practices. In order to understand our progress or lack thereof, Afro-Cubans resort to a more objective, simple, clear-cut parameter of where we are and where we were. A case in point. The Knight-James family in Guantanamo City, coming out of the segregated sugar plantation of Marti, Camaguey, since their arrival in the New World no member of this family had gone beyond 4th grade before 1950. Since, that family have produced one of Cuba’s best known actor, an accountant, a teacher, four physicians, two construction engineers, one electrical engineer, one dentist, two biochemist and two nurses. End of subject. The Afro-Cuban community sincerely appreciate the concerns and desire to help of every honest human being. If anyone in Cuba have a clear understanding of the effects and devastating consequences of the embargo, that is this community, with little or no support base abroad. People of all colors, creed and faith, honestly concerned with this community on the verge of collapse, have devised ways of providing moral and material support to preserve its value, culture and integrity. We encourage everyone to join in this struggle for human dignity. But for those solely interested in establishing ratios or percentage, we strongly refer them to the exemplary life of Mariana Grajales, -the unofficial mother of the Cuban nation- and her son, General Antonio Maceo, the greatest son of Africa ever to live in that country, both of whom, did not cave in to the rigors of life, but rather instilled in us their principles and were willing to die with respect and dignity! |
| As a 63 year old Afro-Cuban and on behalf of another 5-6 million living in
Cuba, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to Mr Sidney Royal for his
couraous stance living in violent-prone Miami: he is still willing to denounce the
disgraceful behaviour of Mr Frank Calzon. [Executive Director of the Center
for a Free Cuba]. Acting as if the Calzon family came from the moon and not out of Cuba, one of the most racist country in this hemisphere, where blacks were forced to live in thatched shacks without electricity, running water, sewer, jobs, schools, healthcare, separate aisles in public parks, different catholic religious order for black nuns, and thousands of unnecessary deaths due to preventible diseases. As all hired pen, Mr Calzon outright lies may sit well in Iowa, Nebraska or south Dakota, but not in Miami, where the Afro-American community knows that the worst hurricane ever to hit our state was that one associated with 1959. Alberto N. Jones DVM |
| On Friday, December 21, 2001, the media reported in its
Obituary, an apparently innocuous information about the recent death of
Monsignor Bryan O. Walsh in Miami, who led "Operation Peter
Pan", which brought 14,000 children out of Fidel Castro's Cuba.
The manner in which this news was formulated would lead most readers to give Monsignor Walsh a standing ovation. The world knows otherwise! As a father, grandfather and an exceptional witness of the most despicable act that the United States has applied against Cuba in its never ending 40 year war of attrition, this may well be the most revolting of all of them. As early as May 1959, five months after the ousting of the murderous Government of Batista from Cuba, the first counterrevolutionary group was formed under the auspices of the CIA, which was headed by Dr. Rafael Diaz Balart, father of our very vocal, US Congressman Diaz Balart, leader of the pack of the anti-Cuba crusade. In order to support the war of terror that they were about to unleash, Monsignor Bryan Walsh of the Miami Diocese was recruited and given the assignment of creating the greatest mass hysteria in the history of Cuba, by alleging that the Cuban Government was about to take away the children from their parents, send them off to Russia and in fact, some were already returning to Cuba as canned meat. Unbelievable as it may sound today, we need to keep this in the context of a society where for years the mass media had created and imprinted in the minds of its citizenry all the ingredients that made this outlandish statement believeable. Additionally, the country was surrounded by a host of hostile radio stations such as WGBY on the United States Naval Base in Guantanamo, the Voice of America now transmitting in Spanish, Radio Swam and others, constantly beaming the same message. White Papers, Pastoral Letters, Sermons and Special Masses became a daily or weekly activity of the Catholic Church and 4 or 5 other fringe religious groups, all determined to ratify such fallacies. By 1960, parents were running around like crazy, not knowing what to do. Then suddenly, like a miracle, help was on its way, and "Waiver Visas" began to be handed out through the Catholic Church and other underground groups, primarily to white, Middle to Upper Class children between the ages of 10 and 17. How paranoid or deranged had we made those parents, who were now willing to put their children on an airplane and send them off to distant places they have never been and to people they did not know? Hundreds of these children have later referred to mental, physical and sexual abuse. Hundreds had to wait 5, 6, or more years to be reunited with their parents. Many never did! And now, in order to white-wash and ignore this monstrous human tragedy, U. S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Mel Martinez, and Mr. Joe Carollo, former Mayor of the City of Miami, are both highlighted as outstanding examples of this program, without uttering a word of sorrow or condolences for the victims. Psychiatrists, Ppychologists and others engaged in analyzing deranged human behaviour have long argued that the abused exhibit an increased tendency to be an abuser. That may explain Mayor Carollo's propensity to beat up his wife and Mr. Martinez staunch support for the attempted kidnapping of 6 year old Elian Gonzalez. And yet some wonder, how is it possible that one set of Cubans thinks and feels like Mr. Martinez and others like myself. The answer is simple. While our forefathers were ripped away from their homeland, tied to the hull of a slave boat, dispersed around the world and enslaved for 400 years, the forefathers of these individuals were either steering those slave boats, running plantations, or segregating us until today. Not even now, when people of all other ethnic groups have received apologies or compensation for abuses inflicted on them, they and their "sell out" that they have strategically placed in key positions, feels and have expressed publicly, that we do not need an apology or compensation. No political or social argument can ever excuse these monsters, who now, as "Born Again" defenders of people of African Ancestry, are desperately trying to wash their sins in that septic tank called Human Rights. If anyone in the Catholic order have ever earned the right to be excomulgated and directed in the opposite direction of Heaven, Monsignor Bryan O. Walsh, a vulgar kidnapper, have fulfilled all the prerrequisites. May someone, somewhere, someday, be able to forgive his soul! Alberto N. Jones 1. 'Pedro Pan' priest dies; Walsh guided Cuban kids 12/21/01 Miami Herald: "Guided" them very well! Monsignor Bryan Walsh, was responsible for the kidnapping of 14,000 children on the hysterical pretext that they they were going to be sent to Russia and turned into canned meat. That this passes for a good deed shows how hard it is for Americans to understand right from wrong and just who is a terrorist. 2. `A gentleman, a gentle man' 12/23/01 Miami Herald 3. Pedro
Pan—'60s evacuation of Cuban kids created broken families
Chicago Tribune: 1998 article on Monsignor Walsh's
Pedro Pan operation For a parallel story, see the abuse of 10,000
British children sent to Australia for servitude with the Catholic
organization, Christian Brothers Academy: The
Lost Children, CBS News, 2/3/02.
|
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The Alberto Jones Column
V - 2002