Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Sedona, Arizona
Posts: 19516

Policies for forcing refugees and smugglers to use flimsy boats to escape Cuba.

Ummm... Fidel, old chum... Did you think about the fact that it is YOUR policies that cause these people to resort to sneaking out of your country in any fashion they can, no matter how perilous?

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35917

It always made me laugh, his policy of sending Merka Cuba's criminals and degenerates. Is it not true that the US coastguard turns them back now, if they catch them soon enough?

But it is true that Fidel seems to be losing his powers of late. Apparently some of his speeches are under an hour long nowadays. Not to mention his economic problems since the russkie money dried up and also a world drop in the sugar prices (they had to trade one year's crop for 3 million bicycles from China as I recall).

Surely it won't be long until Cuba enjoys the benefits from US aid to reform itself as a capitalist haven again? At least their food woulf improve, people I know who have been there on holiday say that the food is rank. But I can't see Cuba lasting for long as a communist country once Fidel pops his clogs.

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Registered: Apr 2001
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I understand there is also a super secret diabolical plan to wipe out Cuba's honey bees.
God we are such bastards.

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 7504

quote:

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Originally posted by Smug Git
But I can't see Cuba lasting for long as a communist country once Fidel pops his clogs.

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Registered: Jul 2000
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FYI. The speech in text form given at Jose Marti Anti-Imperialist Square, Havana.


It was through the American television networks and press agencies that we first learned that 30 Cubans, 13 of them children, had perished in a human traffic operation on a fast boat registered in the United States, coming from that country and funded by people living there.

It was not the first time, since similar events have occurred a thousand times before as a sinister consequence of the murderous Cuban Adjustment Act. Whenever something like this happens, the US authorities fail to provide us with information on the names, places of residence, age, sex or any other data on the victims they identify through information offered by survivors or by other means. The Cuban authorities are thus forced to look for a needle in a hay stack, that is, going through lengthy and complicated procedures to find the relevant data to inform families, schools, health and social security centres and other institutions on the situation of people who suddenly vanished without previous notice.

From day one of the revolutionary victory our country has never set obstacles to the legal emigration of Cuban citizens to the United States or to any other country. At the time of the triumph of the Revolution many people in Cuba, like in the rest of the Caribbean and Latin America, who endured poverty and underdevelopment, wanted to migrate to seek for better paid jobs and better living conditions than they could find in their countries subjected to centuries of exploitation and plundering. Until 1959, an extremely limited number of visas were issued to Cubans. After that, for obvious reasons, the gates were opened wide and that is how an important number of Cubans began settling in the United States.

The politicisation of the migratory issue by the United States is at the source of this and many other similar tragedies. They choose the prospective travelers, demanding health and education certificates as well as other documents, which are often used to select highly trained professionals or people particularly relevant in their communities thus depriving our country of medical doctors, engineers, architects and other university graduates who have been educated here, absolutely free of charge. This way, the United States does not need to invest the tens and hundreds of thousands that it would take to train any of them over there.

Cuba has been forced to set a number of restrictions in order to avoid the damage that would be caused to important services.

Why is it that Cuban children, must suffer that horrible death due to that American law? Why must the deep sea swallow Cuban children?

Cuba was the first country to voice its support for the American people after the atrocious crime of September 11, advancing the idea of building a universal awareness against terrorism and carrying forward an active international policy of struggle to efficiently and adequately end the scourge of terrorism, which has caused so much damage to our country throughout more than 40 years.

Now, it is Cuba that is dealt a hard blow with the death of a number of children swallowed by the sea in the fatal wreckage of the early hours of November 17, the result of a repugnant human traffic operation with Cuban emigrants.

For the dead adults, some of them at fault for having been lured to the adventure that took their children's lives, we feel grief and sorrow, and to their relatives we express our sympathy. For the innocent children, who were dragged to such an unfair and unwarranted death, we are truly in mourning.

The Cuban Adjustment Act is not only a murderous law but it is also a terrorist law, one that fosters the worst kind of terrorism since it deliberately and remorselessly kills innocent children. Homeland or Death! We shall overcome!

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35917

quote:

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Originally posted by CHiPsJr
Cuba remains the most barbarous nation in the western hemisphere, and continues to torture and execute political dissidents like it's going out of style, and the American left continues to love them in spite of, or becuase of, these facts.

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Registered: Nov 2001
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despite the rise of regimes seeking free trade, human rights abuses are still rife throughout much of central and south america.

according to human rights watch, in the US as well, but that's usually referring to prison rape, etc., which--while bad--does not affect the general population in teh same way.

People still "dissappear" for their political beliefs.

adn the situation in columbia and that ridiculous "Plan Columbia" they passed last year. That makes me want to vomit. It seriously makes me feel ill. even the GAO was like it WILL NOT WORK. the title of the report was something like "it will take many many years and much treasure to make even a slight impact on the drug trade in columbia. plan columbia will not work and will only make life in columbia worse." but no one listens to the GAO. *sigh*


at any rate, it is true, castro loves to hear himself speak. he's funny that way.

and he is on at the end. raul is his stated heir, but raul's liver is shot from alcoholism, and he's in a worse state than castro.

outside of that, they do have a younger generation of leaders poised to take power...though there could be a struggle.

more interesting to me is if the florida cubans, the despised upper class in the first place, do try to, at some point in the future, reclaim their abandoned property. what a mess that would be!i don't really know much about central/south american politics, unfortunately. I know it decently well, but i take spanish classes with Latin American scholars and Development people, and they make realize how incredibly ignorant I am on the topic.

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Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:

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Originally posted by Indigo

more interesting to me is if the florida cubans, the despised upper class in the first place,

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Registered: Nov 2001
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Just wondering, many of the first Cubans that fled to Florida were the landed class, and were not particularly liked by some of the lower classes who gained under castro. "Despised upper class" is too harsh. despised is too harsh. I think time has changed the outlook, and any more, most have family back home they send money to. the more recent groups of immigrants from Cuba are a different people. but the point is, i'm curious as to what the result would be if they tried to go back to cuba after castro's death. COuld be messy...

it's a very interesting question. most of their property has been retaken. Honestly, I don't think anyone would go back expecting to reclaim their homes and property, but you never know.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: A New England
Posts: 9187

I always thought the Florida Cubans were the ousted bourgeois which is why they are so fervently anti-Castro.

I was also given to believe (by a native Cuban) that equality (and the associated poverty) was preferable to the return of the ruling class regimes.

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35917

quote:

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Originally posted by Goatboy
I always thought the Florida Cubans were the ousted bourgeois which is why they are so fervently anti-Castro.

I was also given to believe (by a native Cuban) that equality (and the associated poverty) was preferable to the return of the ruling class regimes.

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Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:

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Originally posted by Smug Git


I think that Castro has recieved an excessively bad press in the US

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I think most of his bad press is because of the number of desperate people who float over here in order to get away from there.
If they hit shore they cant be made to go back and the live footage of the coast guard chasing them is highly vivid when you see their sheer joy if they hit the beach before caught.
The Coast Guard just turns around and goes back out to sea, the Cubans are seemingly full of relief and thankfulness.
I’m pretty sure that’s where most of his bad press comes from these days.
There maybe much more coverage of him in the news in south Florida where a lot of Cubans live, but only for major things for the rest of us.
Down in South Texas there was a lot of Mexican and central American news reported, a lot of coverage of the Gorilla groups and such which isn’t reported here, and I’m sure where ever you go here in the states where there are concentrations of ethnic groups the original country’s news is covered.
The Cubans here hate Castro and I think that is where popular opinion of him comes from. I also agree that the first Cubans to leave were wealthy, we have one in the family (in-law)who's family’s sins were no greater than being successful at what they did, but the ones drowning and risking being shot by patrols on the Cuban beach to escape certainly are not rich. The only rich people there now are Castro and his friends and family. Funny how that works eh?

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35917

quote:

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Originally posted by euphorbia


The only rich people there now are Castro and his friends and family. Funny how that works eh?

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Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:

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Originally posted by Smug Git


That is true. They should elect their corrupt officials like we have to. That way, at least we get a new set every few years and they never get rich enough to own a large part of the country.

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lol
indeed.

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