After
my condolences were e-mailed to a man in Pakistan
in the wake of the slaughter of school kids there, he replied: Thanks
dear mom, it is very unfortunate. The barbaric act led to killing of our
innocent children. Nation will not forgive them and we are not going to leave
them scot free. Pray for us.
To observe the 20th
anniversary of his death, my daughter Melanie and granddaughter Natasha
made a visit with me out to the country where my older son Andrew is buried. His grave was quite overgrown, but we managed to
clean it up. (See photos, which got slightly out of order when posted.)
Had a good
visit with my former Honduras Peace
Corps buddy Mitch and his family, now living in Austin, Texas. In the
photo, I’m giving him a copy of my Cuba book.
Two young women
staying with me now are Friends (Quakers) and attended the march here on Dec. 13 against police shootings of unarmed black men.
My granddaughter’s friends were also there. All said they felt inspired and
energized by being in such a large interracial crowd. I was reminded of when my
late ex-husband and I participated in MLKing’s “I have a dream” speech and
march, much larger of course.
Ethiopia and
other neighbors of South Sudan are
threatening sanctions unless the leaders of that new country stop fighting and
start cooperating. As someone who went to South Sudan before independence, I’ve
been mourning the current rift in a brand new, impoverished country with almost
no infrastructure and a history of war that it can ill afford to continue.
Anna, a friend
I first met in Colombia and who visited me in Honduras, as per my Honduras book, has ended up in
the hospital, though miraculously not killed in a freak accident. But, then,
accidents by their very nature are freak. She was out walking after dark,
looking for where her car was parked in her retirement complex, when a pickup
truck belonging to the complex ran over her. Then, sensing that he had hit
something, the driver backed up over her again, compounding the damage. She is
77 years old and has already been in the hospital for a month with multiple
fractures of both legs. What can be
said about something like that? Only that she is phenomenally unlucky, though
lucky to be still alive, but, then, luck is capricious, as we all know. Our
very conception and birth are matters of chance, as is our continued existence.
Fidel
Castro, the
88-year-old Cuban Communist revolutionary, added another line to his résumé
when a Chinese group awarded him this year’s Confucius Peace Prize, as reported in Chinese state media. The
award was given to him in absentia. That Fidel Castro’s name should be
associated with peace is rather a joke, given his brutal history. The award was
apparently created to counter the Nobel Peace Prize.
Cuba RAMMED, SUNK
Refugee Boat One Day Before Obama’s Decision To Ease Sanctions, Daily Caller,
12-22-14. Apparently a refugee boat in international waters was rammed, then sunk
by the Cuban Coast Guard, with some passengers still missing and others
arrested. That news was pretty much eclipsed by President Obama’s historic announcement.
The US has also been demanding the
return from Cuba of a number of fugitives
from the law, including Joanne Chesimard,
accused of killing a NJ State trooper. Such matters will be subject to future
negotiations, but Chesimard is unlikely to be returned, in my opinion. Also, Cuba
said it will not negotiate about returning American fugitives.
Now that Alan Gross has been released in
exchange (though it was pointedly stated otherwise) for the 3 remaining Cuban
Five prisoners here in the US, time will tell whether Cuban-American relations
progress and whether Cuban citizen repression continues unabated. (See Cuban
Five billboard, one of many in Cuba.) Readers, please indulge my ramblings
here, as I’m trying to get my bearings and sort out my thinking on the current
state of US-Cuba relations. Certainly the previous US approach to Cuba was not
working, that was President Obama’s strongest argument, and this change may actually
result in an improvement, like Nixon to China. Probably the Cuban regime was
ready to deal because of apprehension about the reliability of continued
support from their patron, Venezuela, which has major problems if its own.
I suspect that the
best we can hope for now is a greater economic opening in Cuba together with
continued political repression, as in both China and Viet Nam. Still, that will
be better for most Cubans. Maybe, as in China, we can even send Peace Corps
volunteers to Cuba. The changed tone of the relationship allows more
possibilities. President Obama has acknowledged the failures of human and civil
rights in Cuba, but perhaps has decided there is little to be done about that
and that half a loaf if better than none. He had to get Alan Gross out of
prison—the Cuban regime’s seizing of Gross was a very smart investment on their
part—and we live in an imperfect world where compromises are necessary. That’s
realpolitik. Meanwhile,
dissidents do feel abandoned and the families of the four Brothers-to-Rescue
whose deaths were attributed to one of the Cuban Five are anguished. I can understand
their dismay. And as an Amnesty International and human rights activist, I cannot
to forget Cuban human rights advocates on the island, though helping them achieve
free expression and assembly will not get any easier. After
Raul and Fidel pass on, more changes are possible, even likely. I'm
trying to maintain a realistic optimism about the situation.
As an interpreter
myself, I do envy the interpreter on the 45-minute phone conversation between
Obama and Raul Castro, which would have been very interesting to witness,
though interpreters must maintain strict confidentiality.
I had a premonition
that something was going to happen before the end of the year, though I didn’t
expect it to be so sweeping. Before the Republicans took over the Senate, I thought
that some steps would be taken by the Obama administration, so I was
trying to promote, at least, an economic opening more like China's,
whereby outsiders can purchase services directly from local citizens instead of
paying the state, but I don't know that my message ever reached anyone with
influence. If I had been able to give a presentation on my new book, I would
have said as much.
As for re-establishing embassies and diplomatic
relations, the respective embassies have never totally closed--they just
have been converted into "Interests Sections." They already function much
like embassies, granting visas, arranging meetings, etc., so it's partly a
matter of name changes. Crucially, however, they do not engage directly with
the other government and their staff movements within the “host” country are
restricted in both cases. Two months ago, I was at a meeting at the State
Dept. with the new US Interests Section head in Havana, Jeffery DeLaurentis, and
everyone at the meeting addressed him as "Mr. Ambassador," though
apparently he had been an ambassador in a previous post, so that was proper protocol.
“Mr. Head of US Interests Section” or “Mr. Chief of Mission” would have seemed
a bit awkward. I imagine that DeLaurentis would be considered for the
ambassador post. In fact, he may have been named in anticipation of that
transition. On the other hand, since the Cuba-US accords represent a brand new
policy, perhaps he will be swept out with the “old,” though his tenure will
have been short, and someone brand new may then be brought in. Typically,
ambassadors must be acceptable to the host country. Meanwhile, Republican
lawmakers are threatening to block any ambassador nominations to Cuba.
We
shall have to see if these changes in US-Cuba relations result in fewer political
arrests--certainly the excuse for arresting people as agents of "the
empire" should diminish. Maybe if they feel more secure in power, Cuban
leaders won’t be as harsh against those who disagree with them and fewer Cubans
will actually be discontent. Also, "actos de repudio" may go down if
tourism increases, because tourists might witness such acts. But rhetoric and
habits won't change overnight. If the Castro brothers were no longer living, obviously
more changes would be possible.
“I want to see now who they blame for
the economic collapse and lack of freedoms we have in Cuba,” independent
blogger Yoani Sanchez tweeted after
Obama’s announcement.
I tend to agree with Ada Ferrer, Professor
of History and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University, that there is
much excitement on both sides because of the change, but we really don't know
yet how it will play out. The devil is in the details. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ada-ferrer/
The main argument for
change has been that after more than 50 years, the current policy has
not worked in undermining the Castro brothers' control and that much of
the world, especially among Latin American leaders, has condemned US
Cuba policy and has supported the Castros. China does seem to be Raul's model--an
economic opening, while maintaining tight political control. I predicted as
much in my book.
In Cuba now, Lady in White Sonia Garro, her husband, and her
neighbor have all been released to house arrest after more than 2 ½ years in
pretrial detention, so maybe our efforts at Amnesty International have made a
difference, though more probably, her release was in anticipation of the
Cuba-US accord. NYTimes’ editorial
writer Londoño might do well now to comment on her situation as an afro-Cuban
member of the Ladies in White mercilessly harassed by Rapid Response Brigades
and soldiers who subjected her and her husband to repeated acts of repudiation.
Wanting to change a regime that subjects its citizens to such outrages is a
crime?
Therefore, now I have taken a “wait and
see” attitude toward the new policy, which, like anything in life, is something
of a gamble. It seems that
Obama is counting on improved diplomatic relations and more American money
flowing into to Cuba to improve life for most people on the island, even if
their civil liberties are curtailed and political arrests continue. For most
Cubans, bread-and-butter does top civil rights, which they have never enjoyed
anyway.
Rightly or wrongly,
America’s Cuba policy has been condemned around the world, especially in Latin
America, so now much of the grounds for that criticism has been removed. However, any
condemnation of the Castro brothers for their decades of human rights abuses
will probably have to wait until after they are no longer with us, even if they
survive after Raul steps down from the presidency four years hence. Any
investigation into the recent suspicious deaths of Oswaldo Payá, Laura Pollán, and other dissidents will have to be deferred. Dictators often have sufficient followers
while still living to make investigation almost impossible, even if they are no
longer formally in office. We’ve seen that happen in Latin America with
Pinochet, Duvalier, and Rios Montt, to name just a few.
Unlike the Times,
the Washington Post has condemned the
US-Cuba deal,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-obama-administration-extends-the-castro-regime-in-cuba-a-bailout-it-doesnt-deserve/2014/12/17/a25a15d4-860c-11e4-9534-f79a23c40e6c_story.html?tid=pm_pop.
(2)
Obama
gives the Castro regime in Cuba an undeserved bailout
In recent
months, the outlook for the Castro regime in Cuba was growing steadily darker.
The modest reforms it adopted in recent years to improve abysmal economic
conditions had stalled, due to the regime’s refusal to allow Cubans greater
freedoms. Worse, the accelerating economic collapse of Venezuela meant that the
huge subsidies that have kept the Castros afloat for the past decade were in
peril. A growing number of Cubans were demanding basic human rights, such as
freedom of speech and assembly.
On
Wednesday, the Castros suddenly obtained a comprehensive bailout — from the
Obama administration. President Obama granted the regime everything on its wish
list that was within his power to grant; a full lifting of the trade embargo
requires congressional action. Full diplomatic relations will be established,
Cuba’s place on the list of terrorism sponsors reviewed and restrictions lifted
on U.S. investment and most travel to Cuba. That liberalization will provide
Havana with a fresh source of desperately needed hard currency and eliminate
U.S. leverage for political reforms.
As part of
the bargain, Havana released Alan Gross, a U.S. Agency for International
Development contractor who was unjustly imprisoned five years ago for trying to
help Cuban Jews. Also freed was an unidentified U.S. intelligence agent in Cuba
— as were three Cuban spies who had been convicted of operations in Florida
that led to Cuba’s 1996 shootdown of a plane carrying anti-Castro activists.
While Mr. Obama sought to portray Mr. Gross’s release as unrelated to the spy
swap, there can be no question that Cuba’s hard-line intelligence apparatus
obtained exactly what it sought when it made Mr. Gross a de facto hostage.
No wonder
Yoani Sánchez, Cuba’s leading dissident blogger, concluded Wednesday that
“Castroism has won” and predicted that for weeks Cubans will have to endure
proclamations by the government that it is the “winner of its ultimate battle.”
Mr. Obama
argued that his sweeping change of policy was overdue because the strategy of
isolating the Communist regime “has had little effect.” In fact, Cuba has been
marginalized in the Americas for decades, and the regime has been deprived of
financial resources it could have used to spread its malignant influence in the
region, as Venezuela has done. That the embargo has not succeeded in destroying
communism does not explain why all sanctions should be lifted without any
meaningful political concessions by Cuba.
U.S.
officials said the regime agreed to release 53 political prisoners and allow
more access to the Internet. But Raúl Castro promised four years ago to release
all political prisoners, so the White House has purchased the same horse
already sold to the Vatican and Spain.
The
administration says its move will transform relations with Latin America, but
that is naive. Countries that previously demanded an end to U.S. sanctions on
Cuba will not now look to Havana for reforms; instead, they will press the
Obama administration not to sanction Venezuela. Mr. Obama says normalizing
relations will allow the United States to be more effective in promoting
political change in Cuba. That is contrary to U.S. experience with Communist
regimes such as Vietnam, where normalization has led to no improvements on
human rights in two decades. Moreover, nothing in Mr. Obama’s record of
lukewarm and inconstant support for democratic change across the globe can give
Ms. Sánchez and her fellow freedom fighters confidence in this promise.
The Vietnam
outcome is what the Castros are counting on: a flood of U.S. tourists and
business investment that will allow the regime to maintain its totalitarian
system indefinitely. Mr. Obama may claim that he has dismantled a 50-year-old
failed policy; what he has really done is give a 50-year-old failed regime a
new lease on life.
Here’s another dissent:
The
Cuban people will pay the price for Obama's careless concessions
Roger F. Noriega
The Cuban regime's
decision to release American hostage Alan Gross to celebrate Hanukkah with his
family is long overdue, welcome news. Gross is free today; 11 million Cubans
are not. President Obama's decision to move toward normalizing diplomatic
relations with the Castro regime resuscitates a gasping dictatorship without
even asking for anything in return. (Full Story: Noriega on CNBC.)
Some opposition figures on the island have condemned the
US-Cuba pact as an abandonment of themselves and of democracy and a
legitimizing of authoritarianism, as expressed in the following
Spanish-language post, which also says that, at best, only half of political
prisoners are to be released.
Although the
Castro regime is a dictatorship that has treated too many Cubans cruelly for
their peaceful expression and assembly, nonetheless, more than half a century of
sanctions and lack of formal relations with the US have not stopped that. As I
say in my Cuba book, Obama has seemed to be trying to offer a carrot rather
than a stick, since the stick obviously hasn’t worked. More economic
development in Cuba, stemming from improved relations, will improve the
economic well-being of many ordinary Cubans, while, admittedly at the same time
bolstering support for the Castro brothers and their inner circle. It’s a
trade-off. Probably the Castro regime was willing to make this deal because of
the probability of failing support from Venezuela. As I mention in my new book,
sanctions worked in South Africa, but that was because the whole world got
behind them and they were of relatively short duration. The Cuban regime has won
the PR battle in terms of world opinion and has managed to maintain moral
support and trade even after the USSR crumbled. Fifty years is long enough to
test out a policy. Apparently, even President Kennedy was considering outreach
to Castro before he was assassinated.
I have gone on too long on this matter
in this posting, though, obviously will have more to say as events unfold.
Pope
Francis was reportedly a key player
in brokering the Cuba-US prisoner exchange and diplomatic accords. I’ve also
been glad to see Francis taking a more conciliatory approach than his
predecessor toward American nuns,
who do so much of the church’s front-line work with children and people in
need. Again, he has struck the right tone, trying to bring everyone together.
Another example is his offer to help close G’tmo—not sure what he can do there,
but the intent is welcome.
I just did an interpretation which exemplified what it means to be “on call,” being called only 20 minutes
beforehand and told to be there at noon. It was pouring rain and, of course, I
got soaked. Also, the metro was running slowly due to a water main break earlier
and I had to take 2 trains, then walk several blocks. When I got to the
designated apartment building (having been given no name or phone number), I
looked through an outside directory in vain, trying to guess who my clients
might be and where they might live. The front door was locked. I was about to leave when I noticed a hidden doorway under the
stairs. Down there, I found an underground warren of tiny windowless
apartments, one of which was the one I was looking for. I can scarcely believe these are legal abodes. Inside, I found a “vision
therapist” (never worked with one before) and a child under two who looked
familiar, though much younger when I last saw him and living elsewhere. His grandmother
cares for him while the mother works. The circumstances for such kids are not
optimal, especially for those with developmental disabilities. He was also
getting speech, physical, and occupational therapy, according to the
grandmother, all as part of DC’s early intervention program. On my way home on
the metro, still soaking wet, a young man who said he was moving to Colorado, which gets little rain, gave me his umbrella.
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