Schools filled with men… and prisons? / Reyner Aguero
Posted on August 28, 2013
By Reyner Aguero
Due to recent experiences I have chosen to address an core issue
critical to the future of our country. I mean the few opportunities for
young people, often under 20, to succeed as workers in our society; and
in addition the way, not at all educational, that they are judged when
they go before a court of law.
Have you ever wondered how many people in Cuba led a life of crime, such
as prostitution, pimping, diversion of funds, theft, racketeering, etc.
… who on leaving the country continue to commit the same offenses? Or
why Cuba has a such a high rate of its population behind bars and in
prisons? If they did, no doubt you can find the answer yourself. Justice
and the social system in other parts of the world operate in ways that
encourage their citizens to opt for a sustainable and prosperous life
without committing violations of law that may lead to a prison.
In Cuba, youth live a paradox partly responsible for the increase in
crime. Of 13 million Cubans, 2 million live outside the country, which
means their families in Cuban can survive and lead a relatively normal
life, without complications. But for the rest, going to a nightclub or a
cabaret could cost them the fruit of their labor for a whole month, that
is they can't enjoy these things without balancing the scales by the
illegal means mentioned. Because an element that characterizes Cubans,
given the economic differences, is to appeal to whatever resource to
keep our pride intact.
Thefts from the State are the most frequent crimes. "What belongs to
everyone, belongs to no one." It is an axiom within most of the Cuban
population. Therefore such actions aren't that embarrassing to people.
Event National TV has shown shorts confirming the veracity of such
arguments: "In many minds stealing from the State is not stealing, it's
fighting."
In other cases leaving the country by different routes, whether
temporarily or definitively, is the greatest hope of every young Cuban.
Prostitution and pimping are the choices made by a considerable number,
to which you can add those who have not played those roles, who would be
willing in certain circumstances to do so as a way to escape the dismal
status quo and thus gain opportunities elsewhere in the world.
For the most part the youngest can't rely on an education policy that
will motivate them to contribute to society, with either detention in a
work camp or another alternative outside the bars; rather than educate
them, we corrupt them in every way.
The solution in many cases is not to repress us or deprive us of our
most precious rights. There are plenty of alternatives that can educate
our youth preventatively. If there's anything I've learned in my young
life is that you win more with intelligence, than with bureaucracy.
24 August 2013
Source: "Schools filled with men… and prisons? / Reyner Aguero |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/schools-filled-with-men-and-prisons-reyner-aguero/
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Discipline vs. Survival
Discipline vs. Survival / Reinaldo Escobar
Posted on August 28, 2013
The theme of social indiscipline occupied an important space on the
national television news this morning. Music played too loud, trash
thrown off balconies, graffiti on public walls, the rubble in the middle
of the street, and many more examples from daily life, especially in the
country's capital. We learned that there are "Operations Groups"
dedicated to detecting and punishing such irregularities.
Many of these indisciplines, dare I say most, are the reflection of a
combination of two elements: on the one hand the lack of conditions to
make things as they should be, and on the other the lack of civic
education that leads citizens to behave in an uncivilized way. I have
seen some tourists (obviously foreigners) walk for blocks and blocks
carrying the little paper wrappings from peanuts, while local
pedestrians happily throw them anywhere at all. Neither ever found a bin
to dispose of their trash. And some residents, when they're forced to
solve their problem of access to the sewer, have had no choice but to
cut into the street, thus creating a new pothole in the city.
In fact, one could say that "nothing justifies" the commission of an
indiscipline that affects the community, but the truth is that many of
them have at least one explanation. And, indeed, there is an overarching
general explanation related to this "acimarronada"* conduct of thousands
of Cubans every day, and it is the lack of resources available to
address our problems, coupled with little ability to participate in the
decisions that affect society as a whole.
As always, duties and rights must go together. When the State only seems
interested in citizens fulfilling their duties, it entrenches them in
their rights and they ignore all the rules. Such a situation is a
breeding ground for other excesses, unjustifiable and difficult to explain.
*Translator's note: "Acimarronada" comes from word cimarrones, runaway
slaves. It refers to the way Cubans pretend to do and think one thing,
but in reality are always thinking of fleeing.
27 August 2013
Source: "Discipline vs. Survival / Reinaldo Escobar | Translating Cuba"
- http://translatingcuba.com/discipline-vs-survival-reinaldo-escobar/
Posted on August 28, 2013
The theme of social indiscipline occupied an important space on the
national television news this morning. Music played too loud, trash
thrown off balconies, graffiti on public walls, the rubble in the middle
of the street, and many more examples from daily life, especially in the
country's capital. We learned that there are "Operations Groups"
dedicated to detecting and punishing such irregularities.
Many of these indisciplines, dare I say most, are the reflection of a
combination of two elements: on the one hand the lack of conditions to
make things as they should be, and on the other the lack of civic
education that leads citizens to behave in an uncivilized way. I have
seen some tourists (obviously foreigners) walk for blocks and blocks
carrying the little paper wrappings from peanuts, while local
pedestrians happily throw them anywhere at all. Neither ever found a bin
to dispose of their trash. And some residents, when they're forced to
solve their problem of access to the sewer, have had no choice but to
cut into the street, thus creating a new pothole in the city.
In fact, one could say that "nothing justifies" the commission of an
indiscipline that affects the community, but the truth is that many of
them have at least one explanation. And, indeed, there is an overarching
general explanation related to this "acimarronada"* conduct of thousands
of Cubans every day, and it is the lack of resources available to
address our problems, coupled with little ability to participate in the
decisions that affect society as a whole.
As always, duties and rights must go together. When the State only seems
interested in citizens fulfilling their duties, it entrenches them in
their rights and they ignore all the rules. Such a situation is a
breeding ground for other excesses, unjustifiable and difficult to explain.
*Translator's note: "Acimarronada" comes from word cimarrones, runaway
slaves. It refers to the way Cubans pretend to do and think one thing,
but in reality are always thinking of fleeing.
27 August 2013
Source: "Discipline vs. Survival / Reinaldo Escobar | Translating Cuba"
- http://translatingcuba.com/discipline-vs-survival-reinaldo-escobar/
We aren’t the kind of people they are trying to make us out to be
We aren't the kind of people they are trying to make us out to be /
Ernesto Santana Zaldivar, Antonio Rodiles
Posted on August 29, 2013
HAVANA, Cuba, August, www.cubanet.org- The organizers of Estado de SATS
have worked very hard and the result is that, three years after its
inception, in July 2010 in Casa Gaia, this civic project is a
fundamental component in the network of organizations that, from civil
society and with great variety in points of view, fight to promote
changes to democratize our country. Because of this it has also been
repressed by the political police and accused of everything the
authorities usually accuse those who propose a solution to the crisis.
Estado de SATS takes as a fundamental cause that there is no dispute
between Cuba and the United States, but rather the dictatorial practices
of the Cuban government against its own people.
Hence in the last year, they have focused most of their efforts to
disseminate and gather support for the Citizens' Demand for Another Cuba
which, as we know, demands that the Cuban government ratify the UN
Covenants on Human Rights. In that work, the project has engaged with
many important civil society groups for the sake of a purpose that
supersedes political interests, and focuses on citizens and their basic
needs.
In recent days, we were able to talk with Antonio Rodiles about the
prospects of the project, three years since its inception. The director
of Estado de SATS said "Our main goal now is to achieve much more
drawing power. Hopefully State Security will stop bothering us," he
said, although he recognized that "at this time there really is
something less than harassment of the work we are doing."
The idea, according Rodiles, is to try to reach many more sectors and to
be a place that helps articulate civil society, and above all,"to be
able to expand and work on all the plans we have: holding exhibitions,
film screenings, panels, debates, literary cafes. All we can do to
articulate civil society and grow like any normal country."
Although it seems like a very easy program to carry out, the reality
suggests otherwise. The proof is in the recent past and if recently the
political police haven't harassed as many activities, it has been in
part because they have not been as intense as around a year ago, when
the Citizen Demand was launched. "Evidently," observes Rodiles, "we know
that everything is not as we would like, but well, I think it's
important to accept the challenge and work focused on everything we have
proposed, despite the obstacles."
Some people have commented that, lately, they have been showing college
students videos about civil society activists, including Estado de SATS,
where it's presented through the usual procedures, with a negative
image. On this subject Antonio Rodiles says, "The same as always. That's
part of what the system can't quit doing."
But, he says, he would like to know exactly what they're putting out
there so he'll be able to make statements about it. "Unfortunately," he
says , "there is a group of people who have always been characterized by
trying to devalue and personally offend any opponent, anyone who thinks
differently from the official line."
In events such as this he sees a disturbing characteristic. "I think
this shows the low level of those who have organized it ," he says,
"because they are not able to enter into any discussion of ideas or
plans . It is a manipulation, but in any event, thank God, the new
technologies allow us to show who we are," he says, convincingly.
Well, ironically and contrary to the intentions of those who orchestrate
this slanderous propaganda, the results could be otherwise. "In a way,
this type of action helps disseminate our work. When people look for our
CDs, our work, and they see them, then they realize perfectly well that
we are not the kind of people they are trying to make us out to be," he
concludes.
He's probably right. In addition, the days are long gone when some
opponents thought Estado de Sats was a project of the "opposition light"
and it has gained respect and collaboration, including that of almost
all of the most important political opponents, as well as countless
artists and intellectuals.
As the director of this project, what lies ahead is a major challenge.
Perhaps the hardest path, with all the cultural activities and the
panels put on, but especially with the commitment to strengthen the
Citizen Demand for Another Cuba and the continuation of this work, in
cooperation with other civil organizations, he tries to contribute,
gradually, to the extent possible but always with sights set still
higher, for a positive change in the country.
A few months ago, Antonio Rodlies and Ailer González — his domestic
partner and main collaborator — were in Miami and there at Cuba 8 and at
Miami Dade College, they organized panels and concerts of Estado de
SATS, besides promoting the Citizen Demand, which has managed to
strengthen the support of Cubans from the outside, but inside Cuba there
has not been remarkable progress of the campaign in recent months.
According to Rodiles itself, the term "Estado de SATS" (State of Sats)
is a phrase used in the theater to represent the moment when all the
energy is concentrated to begin the action, or when an athlete is at the
precise moment before the starting gun. It is the concentration required
to later explode. Hopefully, after three years of hard and complex work,
this project is mature and ready to take off, against all obstacles, as
the crucible where the forces of the emerging civil society are articulated.
Call for Estado de SATS : First International Meeting on Human Rights
and UN Covenants
The independent Estado de SATS project invites artists, intellectuals,
activists and human rights defenders to participate in the First
International Meeting on Human Rights and the UN Covenants as part of
the Campaign for Another Cuba and the 65th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
Estado de SATS has worked for the past three years in the creation and
growth of a public space where different perspectives on reality and the
future of our nation can be openly discussed and planned.
Since August of 2012, together with various groups and activists
committed to the social situation of our nation, we started the Campaign
for another Cuba. This initiative has been involving a growing number of
Cubans on and off the island in a civic demand that the Cuban government
ratify and implement the United Nation Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and the Covenant Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In a time when Cuban civil society is growing the direct exchange with
different actors within and outside the island is essential. Holding of
this meeting will allow an approach from the perspective of art and
thought to a subject as vital as human rights. Activists, artists,
intellectuals and professionals, Cubans and the international community,
will spend two days sharing views and experiences, in a country where
such guarantees and rights are not part of the everyday reality.
The inaugural meeting will be on December 10, 2013 and during the event
there will be thematic panels, audiovisual displays, an exhibition with
the theme: Art and Human Rights (painting , graphics , photography,
installations), performances and a closing concert .
For more information the interested can communicate to this email
address: estadodesats@gmail.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ernesto Santana Zaldívar, born in Puerto Padre, Las Tunas, 1958.
Graduate of the Enrique José Varona Pedagogical Institute in Spanish and
Literature. He has been a radio writer for Radio Progreso, Radio
Metropolitana and Radio Arte. He is a member of the Union of Writers and
Artists of Cuba. Awards won: Mentions in the genre of story in the David
contest of 1977 and Trece de Marzo, 1979; prizes in Pinos Nuevos, 1995,
Sed de Belleza, 1996 (both in the genre of story) Dador, 1998, (novel
project) and Alejo Carpentier, 2002 (novel), the Franz Kafka Prize,
2010, for his novel The Carnival and the Dead.
From Cubanet
23 August 2013
Source: "We aren't the kind of people they are trying to make us out to
be / Ernesto Santana Zaldivar, Antonio Rodiles | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/we-arent-the-kind-of-people-they-are-trying-to-make-us-out-to-be-ernesto-santana-zaldivar-antonio-rodiles/
Ernesto Santana Zaldivar, Antonio Rodiles
Posted on August 29, 2013
HAVANA, Cuba, August, www.cubanet.org- The organizers of Estado de SATS
have worked very hard and the result is that, three years after its
inception, in July 2010 in Casa Gaia, this civic project is a
fundamental component in the network of organizations that, from civil
society and with great variety in points of view, fight to promote
changes to democratize our country. Because of this it has also been
repressed by the political police and accused of everything the
authorities usually accuse those who propose a solution to the crisis.
Estado de SATS takes as a fundamental cause that there is no dispute
between Cuba and the United States, but rather the dictatorial practices
of the Cuban government against its own people.
Hence in the last year, they have focused most of their efforts to
disseminate and gather support for the Citizens' Demand for Another Cuba
which, as we know, demands that the Cuban government ratify the UN
Covenants on Human Rights. In that work, the project has engaged with
many important civil society groups for the sake of a purpose that
supersedes political interests, and focuses on citizens and their basic
needs.
In recent days, we were able to talk with Antonio Rodiles about the
prospects of the project, three years since its inception. The director
of Estado de SATS said "Our main goal now is to achieve much more
drawing power. Hopefully State Security will stop bothering us," he
said, although he recognized that "at this time there really is
something less than harassment of the work we are doing."
The idea, according Rodiles, is to try to reach many more sectors and to
be a place that helps articulate civil society, and above all,"to be
able to expand and work on all the plans we have: holding exhibitions,
film screenings, panels, debates, literary cafes. All we can do to
articulate civil society and grow like any normal country."
Although it seems like a very easy program to carry out, the reality
suggests otherwise. The proof is in the recent past and if recently the
political police haven't harassed as many activities, it has been in
part because they have not been as intense as around a year ago, when
the Citizen Demand was launched. "Evidently," observes Rodiles, "we know
that everything is not as we would like, but well, I think it's
important to accept the challenge and work focused on everything we have
proposed, despite the obstacles."
Some people have commented that, lately, they have been showing college
students videos about civil society activists, including Estado de SATS,
where it's presented through the usual procedures, with a negative
image. On this subject Antonio Rodiles says, "The same as always. That's
part of what the system can't quit doing."
But, he says, he would like to know exactly what they're putting out
there so he'll be able to make statements about it. "Unfortunately," he
says , "there is a group of people who have always been characterized by
trying to devalue and personally offend any opponent, anyone who thinks
differently from the official line."
In events such as this he sees a disturbing characteristic. "I think
this shows the low level of those who have organized it ," he says,
"because they are not able to enter into any discussion of ideas or
plans . It is a manipulation, but in any event, thank God, the new
technologies allow us to show who we are," he says, convincingly.
Well, ironically and contrary to the intentions of those who orchestrate
this slanderous propaganda, the results could be otherwise. "In a way,
this type of action helps disseminate our work. When people look for our
CDs, our work, and they see them, then they realize perfectly well that
we are not the kind of people they are trying to make us out to be," he
concludes.
He's probably right. In addition, the days are long gone when some
opponents thought Estado de Sats was a project of the "opposition light"
and it has gained respect and collaboration, including that of almost
all of the most important political opponents, as well as countless
artists and intellectuals.
As the director of this project, what lies ahead is a major challenge.
Perhaps the hardest path, with all the cultural activities and the
panels put on, but especially with the commitment to strengthen the
Citizen Demand for Another Cuba and the continuation of this work, in
cooperation with other civil organizations, he tries to contribute,
gradually, to the extent possible but always with sights set still
higher, for a positive change in the country.
A few months ago, Antonio Rodlies and Ailer González — his domestic
partner and main collaborator — were in Miami and there at Cuba 8 and at
Miami Dade College, they organized panels and concerts of Estado de
SATS, besides promoting the Citizen Demand, which has managed to
strengthen the support of Cubans from the outside, but inside Cuba there
has not been remarkable progress of the campaign in recent months.
According to Rodiles itself, the term "Estado de SATS" (State of Sats)
is a phrase used in the theater to represent the moment when all the
energy is concentrated to begin the action, or when an athlete is at the
precise moment before the starting gun. It is the concentration required
to later explode. Hopefully, after three years of hard and complex work,
this project is mature and ready to take off, against all obstacles, as
the crucible where the forces of the emerging civil society are articulated.
Call for Estado de SATS : First International Meeting on Human Rights
and UN Covenants
The independent Estado de SATS project invites artists, intellectuals,
activists and human rights defenders to participate in the First
International Meeting on Human Rights and the UN Covenants as part of
the Campaign for Another Cuba and the 65th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
Estado de SATS has worked for the past three years in the creation and
growth of a public space where different perspectives on reality and the
future of our nation can be openly discussed and planned.
Since August of 2012, together with various groups and activists
committed to the social situation of our nation, we started the Campaign
for another Cuba. This initiative has been involving a growing number of
Cubans on and off the island in a civic demand that the Cuban government
ratify and implement the United Nation Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and the Covenant Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In a time when Cuban civil society is growing the direct exchange with
different actors within and outside the island is essential. Holding of
this meeting will allow an approach from the perspective of art and
thought to a subject as vital as human rights. Activists, artists,
intellectuals and professionals, Cubans and the international community,
will spend two days sharing views and experiences, in a country where
such guarantees and rights are not part of the everyday reality.
The inaugural meeting will be on December 10, 2013 and during the event
there will be thematic panels, audiovisual displays, an exhibition with
the theme: Art and Human Rights (painting , graphics , photography,
installations), performances and a closing concert .
For more information the interested can communicate to this email
address: estadodesats@gmail.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ernesto Santana Zaldívar, born in Puerto Padre, Las Tunas, 1958.
Graduate of the Enrique José Varona Pedagogical Institute in Spanish and
Literature. He has been a radio writer for Radio Progreso, Radio
Metropolitana and Radio Arte. He is a member of the Union of Writers and
Artists of Cuba. Awards won: Mentions in the genre of story in the David
contest of 1977 and Trece de Marzo, 1979; prizes in Pinos Nuevos, 1995,
Sed de Belleza, 1996 (both in the genre of story) Dador, 1998, (novel
project) and Alejo Carpentier, 2002 (novel), the Franz Kafka Prize,
2010, for his novel The Carnival and the Dead.
From Cubanet
23 August 2013
Source: "We aren't the kind of people they are trying to make us out to
be / Ernesto Santana Zaldivar, Antonio Rodiles | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/we-arent-the-kind-of-people-they-are-trying-to-make-us-out-to-be-ernesto-santana-zaldivar-antonio-rodiles/
Medical students may not return to Cuba
Medical students may not return to Cuba
THURSDAY, 29 AUGUST 2013 04:27
GOVERNMENT funded students studying medicine in Cuba are threatening to
remain back in the country if their traveling allowances are not paid on
time.
Speaking to the Solomon Star to express their frustrations, a group of
students who visited our Chinatown office Tuesday evening, said the
non-payment of their allowances on time resulted in some of the students
unable to board their flight early this week.
"We have exhausted all avenues to finding the answer to our dilemma
since last week," they said.
Their last visit on Tuesday was to the Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Education Dr Fred Isom Rohorua, who the students said
offered no solution to their case.
"From the meeting with the National Training Unit (NTU) and the
permanent secretary, it was obvious the government is in deep financial
problem," the medical students said.
According to them, each student is entitled to USD$1750.00 (SBD$12,350)
to be paid by the government before they can travel to Cuba.
They said they need the money to help with their transits on their way
to Cuba and upon arrival at Cuba airport to the university.
Most of them have returned airline tickets paid for by the government.
The students, who are in their third and fourth year of studies, said
they were supposed to return to Cuba this week in time for the start of
their second semester 1st September.
About 20 students arrived in the country on July 26 for their holiday
break and that the government was responsible for meeting their
allowances on their return.
Most of them had spent three to four years before returning to spend a
few weeks with families and relatives.
They said given this problem, it made it harder for them to get ready
for their trip and to arrive on time for the start of the second semester.
"Failure to arrive on time and missing out on registration for some of
the courses will impact a lot on our studies," the students expressed.
The first lot of students were supposed to leave early this week.
However, only three students managed to fly off through the help of
their families who have supported them with some money.
The next lot of students are expected to leave this coming Saturday, but
with the uncertainty of allowance payments, the students said their
flight is in doubt.
The students have appealed to Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo to
intervene and help address their plight.
Officials from the ministry of education could not be reached for comments.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Shadrach Fanega when
contacted said he was not aware of the situation and declined to comment
further.
He however, admitted the ministry of education is facing a lot of
pressure with the issue of scholarships and payment of allowances –
something the government was trying to address.
Mr Fanega encouraged the students to visit the ministry and discuss with
them their situation in order to find solutions to their predicament.
Currently about 90 local students are studying medicine in Cuba with the
first lot expected to graduate at the end of this year.
Under the deal the Cuban government was responsible for the students'
tuition, accommodation and food while the national government was
responsible for airfares and allowances.
The situation had prompted the students to warn young students to be
mindful about plans to study in Cuba because such a problem was not a
new thing.
Apart from the Cuba-based students, government funded students at
Solomon Islands National University (SINU) and the University of the
South Pacific both here and in Fiji are also awaiting their allowances.
By Moffat Mamu
Source: "Medical students may not return to Cuba" -
http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/18706-medical-students-may-not-return-to-cuba
THURSDAY, 29 AUGUST 2013 04:27
GOVERNMENT funded students studying medicine in Cuba are threatening to
remain back in the country if their traveling allowances are not paid on
time.
Speaking to the Solomon Star to express their frustrations, a group of
students who visited our Chinatown office Tuesday evening, said the
non-payment of their allowances on time resulted in some of the students
unable to board their flight early this week.
"We have exhausted all avenues to finding the answer to our dilemma
since last week," they said.
Their last visit on Tuesday was to the Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Education Dr Fred Isom Rohorua, who the students said
offered no solution to their case.
"From the meeting with the National Training Unit (NTU) and the
permanent secretary, it was obvious the government is in deep financial
problem," the medical students said.
According to them, each student is entitled to USD$1750.00 (SBD$12,350)
to be paid by the government before they can travel to Cuba.
They said they need the money to help with their transits on their way
to Cuba and upon arrival at Cuba airport to the university.
Most of them have returned airline tickets paid for by the government.
The students, who are in their third and fourth year of studies, said
they were supposed to return to Cuba this week in time for the start of
their second semester 1st September.
About 20 students arrived in the country on July 26 for their holiday
break and that the government was responsible for meeting their
allowances on their return.
Most of them had spent three to four years before returning to spend a
few weeks with families and relatives.
They said given this problem, it made it harder for them to get ready
for their trip and to arrive on time for the start of the second semester.
"Failure to arrive on time and missing out on registration for some of
the courses will impact a lot on our studies," the students expressed.
The first lot of students were supposed to leave early this week.
However, only three students managed to fly off through the help of
their families who have supported them with some money.
The next lot of students are expected to leave this coming Saturday, but
with the uncertainty of allowance payments, the students said their
flight is in doubt.
The students have appealed to Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo to
intervene and help address their plight.
Officials from the ministry of education could not be reached for comments.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Shadrach Fanega when
contacted said he was not aware of the situation and declined to comment
further.
He however, admitted the ministry of education is facing a lot of
pressure with the issue of scholarships and payment of allowances –
something the government was trying to address.
Mr Fanega encouraged the students to visit the ministry and discuss with
them their situation in order to find solutions to their predicament.
Currently about 90 local students are studying medicine in Cuba with the
first lot expected to graduate at the end of this year.
Under the deal the Cuban government was responsible for the students'
tuition, accommodation and food while the national government was
responsible for airfares and allowances.
The situation had prompted the students to warn young students to be
mindful about plans to study in Cuba because such a problem was not a
new thing.
Apart from the Cuba-based students, government funded students at
Solomon Islands National University (SINU) and the University of the
South Pacific both here and in Fiji are also awaiting their allowances.
By Moffat Mamu
Source: "Medical students may not return to Cuba" -
http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/18706-medical-students-may-not-return-to-cuba
Postcard from Cuba
Postcard from Cuba
29 August 2013 Last updated at 07:19 GMT
Mark Easton, Home editor
"What's changed in Cuba?" Carlos sat in the lobby of Havana's Parque
Central hotel and repeated my question. After a few moments thought, he
replied. "Options."
Cuba is a country preparing itself for a new chapter in its history. El
Presidente Fidel has retired from public life and younger brother Raul,
now at the helm, is not so young. The Castro era is coming to a close.
The pages of the old revolutionary constitution have become dog-eared
and tattered. A new one is promised.
"Today we have options to do this, to do that, to go here and go there,"
Carlos continues. "Before we weren't able to have a cell phone. It was
forbidden. We can now. We couldn't go to many hotels. Now we are again
accepted in the hotels."
Carlos is a tour company representative. He wears a crisply laundered
tour company shirt, and a shiny tour company badge.
"I wanted to be a diver," he confides. But after graduating in English
at the university in Havana, it was inevitable he would end up working
in Cuba's burgeoning tourist industry. There was no option.
Almost three million tourists now come to Cuba each year, a country with
a population of just over 11 million. A trickle now come quite legally
from the US but dwarfed by a million visitors from Canada and more than
200,000 from the UK. Each visitor brings desperately needed hard
currency to the island.
For the Castro government, tourism's economic advantages have
necessitated ideological sacrifices. To cater for the hordes of benign
foreign invaders, the private sector has been allowed to expand.
Socialist principle has been swallowed.
"Cuba is improving thanks to the private sector," Carlos tells me. There
is still plenty of desperate poverty on the island. "[But] work,
economics, pleasure - everything is better," he says.
The US trade blockade on Cuba has twisted the economy into an
extraordinary shape. You will find a McDonald's in Moscow, Beijing and
Ho Chi Minh City, but not Havana. Just 90 miles from the Florida coast,
the Caribbean island Christopher Columbus described as the most
beautiful land on earth is a no-go area for voracious American corporations.
The sanctions have deprived Cuba of investment, but they have also
allowed it to escape the homogenising force of global capitalism.
Sitting in the back of a cherry-red Desoto 1955 cruising along Havana's
waterfront, I am tempted to ask whether the next part of this island's
story will see a Cuba financially richer but culturally poorer.
The car is one of 35,000 vintage American automobiles that, for half a
century and more, have been painstakingly and lovingly coaxed onto
Cuba's highways. The speedometer rumbas energetically between 40 and
60mph as we drive hood down, the crow-black diesel fumes of a lorry up
ahead filling our nostrils.
Sitting in the leather armchair of a front seat, Guillermo doesn't think
the country's unique style is threatened by the arrival of foreign
investors.
"We won't stop caring about our cars, our rum and our salsa just because
someone starts to invest here," my guide suggests. As we pull up in
Revolution Square, the vast visages of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos
staring down from the walls of government buildings, Guillermo explains
that American culture has long been available on television and radio.
"State TV stations air American shows all the time," he says. "Young
people can listen to US pop music." Cuban culture, he seems to be
saying, has grown deep roots during the years of economic isolation.
Colour-coded plates
Cuban communism and its promise of la patria nueva (the new homeland),
on the other hand, seems to have withered among green shoots of economic
freedom.
"Cars like this one used to have a blue plate if they were owned by the
state and a yellow plate if they were private," Guillermo tells me. "Now
all new vehicles have a white plate." The boundaries are being blurred.
Second-hand car salesmen are everywhere. Since 2011, private citizens
have been allowed to buy and sell used motors - one among a series of
liberal reforms introduced by Raul Castro since he took over from his
brother.
Cubans can now buy private property and borrow money from banks. Almost
400,000 now work in small businesses - more than double what it was just
three years ago.
Paladars, or private restaurants, are popping up all over the capital,
helping create a new and thriving Cuban bourgeoisie as they do so.
"You can see very wealthy Cubans these days," Carlos says. "The rules
have been relaxed so a private enterprise can employ staff outside their
own family. You won't find many millionaires yet, but people can make
good money."
La Imprenta is a state-run restaurant in the heart of old Havana.
Opposite, a private-run place plies its trade. You would be hard pressed
to tell which is which. Both are fun and inventive and could probably
make a good turn on a dollar in Miami.
The difference is invisible to the customer. In one, the profit goes
into government coffers. In the other, some ends up in the pockets of a
growing middle-class. And that is what is quietly but dramatically
changing this country.
The hotels once available only to foreigners with convertible notes in
their wallets are now welcoming Cuban guests with access to
international currency. A domestic tourist industry is developing
rapidly, and the same local entrepreneurs which created it are now
looking to exploit it.
Listening to a pianist play My Way, that American anthem to
independence, in the bar of Hemingway's favourite Ambos Mundos hotel,
through the window I see an old gentleman standing by a pram. Inside are
three Dachshunds - each animal sporting a pair of lens-less wire
spectacles. "You want a picture, senor?" he asks a passerby. Pianist and
pram-man both want the same thing - convertible pesos.
When George W Bush tightened rules on Cuban Americans sending dollars to
relatives on the island in 2004, Fidel Castro's response was to announce
that the greenback would no longer be accepted in state-run stores.
Today, the convertible peso or cuc (pronounced cook) has become the
predominant currency for anything beyond household basics on the island.
There were predictions that the end of the dollar would decimate the
Cuban middle class. Looking around now, it appears to have strengthened
it. Cooks' perks, perhaps.
"Bush put the cuc in a much more important position," Carlos explains
with a wry grin. "Private companies had money which meant they could
import raw materials unavailable from state sources. Restaurateurs were
able to buy ham and nuts from Venezuela and Mexico."
With the income from tourism, the Cuban government is able to
painstakingly and lovingly coax Old Havana back to life, just as they do
their automobiles. It is the jewel in the island's crown. Renovation is
a vast undertaking, but scaffolding now cocoons many of the capital's
most celebrated buildings. The Gran Teatro and the National Capitol
building are close to refurbishment.
Unesco has granted the old city world heritage status and, under the
strict guidance of the enigmatic Cuban historian Eusebio Leal, one can
begin to believe that Havana is ready to start a new chapter in its life.
It is a project with many challenges, of course. Having recobbled most
of the old city's narrow streets just a year ago, a major power cut at
the height of the tourist season last autumn plunged the entire district
into darkness and threatened to kill many of the embryonic businesses
that had been born there. A five-year plan to replace the wiring and
pipes was telescoped into 12 months and today almost every alley and
road in the district has been dug up again.
A bicycle taxi tried to take me from the Vieja Plaza to my hotel late
one night after a thunderstorm. The narrow dark streets were obstacle
courses of puddles and ditches interspersed with piles of rocks and sand.
At one point he had to double back, cursing in Spanish. Our detour led
down even narrower alleyways, where each doorway offered a glimpse of
real life in Havana: a family watching TV; an old woman eating a meagre
meal; a couple quarrelling; a prostitute looking for business; a barber
attending to a neighbour's head beneath a single flickering bulb.
"The city historian was adamant that old Havana should not become a
lifeless tourist attraction," Guillermo told me later. "If the state
restores a building, they can make sure local people are looked after."
He showed me the blocks which had been erected to provide city slum
dwellers with a decent home 40 years ago. Now a protection notice has
been slapped on the people of Old Havana as well as its architecture.
And that is why I feel optimistic about the next chapter in Cuba's
story. The people know what is truly valuable on the island. It is not
fat cigars or vintage rum. It is not brand Che or even a Desoto '55.
The government has labelled it Autentica Cuba. It is the spirit of
people who have endured so much and still manage to sing and to dance
and to smile. As one guide put it to me: "We are like the dolphins in
the bay. Up to our necks in water but still laughing."
Source: "BBC News - Postcard from Cuba" -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23863675
29 August 2013 Last updated at 07:19 GMT
Mark Easton, Home editor
"What's changed in Cuba?" Carlos sat in the lobby of Havana's Parque
Central hotel and repeated my question. After a few moments thought, he
replied. "Options."
Cuba is a country preparing itself for a new chapter in its history. El
Presidente Fidel has retired from public life and younger brother Raul,
now at the helm, is not so young. The Castro era is coming to a close.
The pages of the old revolutionary constitution have become dog-eared
and tattered. A new one is promised.
"Today we have options to do this, to do that, to go here and go there,"
Carlos continues. "Before we weren't able to have a cell phone. It was
forbidden. We can now. We couldn't go to many hotels. Now we are again
accepted in the hotels."
Carlos is a tour company representative. He wears a crisply laundered
tour company shirt, and a shiny tour company badge.
"I wanted to be a diver," he confides. But after graduating in English
at the university in Havana, it was inevitable he would end up working
in Cuba's burgeoning tourist industry. There was no option.
Almost three million tourists now come to Cuba each year, a country with
a population of just over 11 million. A trickle now come quite legally
from the US but dwarfed by a million visitors from Canada and more than
200,000 from the UK. Each visitor brings desperately needed hard
currency to the island.
For the Castro government, tourism's economic advantages have
necessitated ideological sacrifices. To cater for the hordes of benign
foreign invaders, the private sector has been allowed to expand.
Socialist principle has been swallowed.
"Cuba is improving thanks to the private sector," Carlos tells me. There
is still plenty of desperate poverty on the island. "[But] work,
economics, pleasure - everything is better," he says.
The US trade blockade on Cuba has twisted the economy into an
extraordinary shape. You will find a McDonald's in Moscow, Beijing and
Ho Chi Minh City, but not Havana. Just 90 miles from the Florida coast,
the Caribbean island Christopher Columbus described as the most
beautiful land on earth is a no-go area for voracious American corporations.
The sanctions have deprived Cuba of investment, but they have also
allowed it to escape the homogenising force of global capitalism.
Sitting in the back of a cherry-red Desoto 1955 cruising along Havana's
waterfront, I am tempted to ask whether the next part of this island's
story will see a Cuba financially richer but culturally poorer.
The car is one of 35,000 vintage American automobiles that, for half a
century and more, have been painstakingly and lovingly coaxed onto
Cuba's highways. The speedometer rumbas energetically between 40 and
60mph as we drive hood down, the crow-black diesel fumes of a lorry up
ahead filling our nostrils.
Sitting in the leather armchair of a front seat, Guillermo doesn't think
the country's unique style is threatened by the arrival of foreign
investors.
"We won't stop caring about our cars, our rum and our salsa just because
someone starts to invest here," my guide suggests. As we pull up in
Revolution Square, the vast visages of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos
staring down from the walls of government buildings, Guillermo explains
that American culture has long been available on television and radio.
"State TV stations air American shows all the time," he says. "Young
people can listen to US pop music." Cuban culture, he seems to be
saying, has grown deep roots during the years of economic isolation.
Colour-coded plates
Cuban communism and its promise of la patria nueva (the new homeland),
on the other hand, seems to have withered among green shoots of economic
freedom.
"Cars like this one used to have a blue plate if they were owned by the
state and a yellow plate if they were private," Guillermo tells me. "Now
all new vehicles have a white plate." The boundaries are being blurred.
Second-hand car salesmen are everywhere. Since 2011, private citizens
have been allowed to buy and sell used motors - one among a series of
liberal reforms introduced by Raul Castro since he took over from his
brother.
Cubans can now buy private property and borrow money from banks. Almost
400,000 now work in small businesses - more than double what it was just
three years ago.
Paladars, or private restaurants, are popping up all over the capital,
helping create a new and thriving Cuban bourgeoisie as they do so.
"You can see very wealthy Cubans these days," Carlos says. "The rules
have been relaxed so a private enterprise can employ staff outside their
own family. You won't find many millionaires yet, but people can make
good money."
La Imprenta is a state-run restaurant in the heart of old Havana.
Opposite, a private-run place plies its trade. You would be hard pressed
to tell which is which. Both are fun and inventive and could probably
make a good turn on a dollar in Miami.
The difference is invisible to the customer. In one, the profit goes
into government coffers. In the other, some ends up in the pockets of a
growing middle-class. And that is what is quietly but dramatically
changing this country.
The hotels once available only to foreigners with convertible notes in
their wallets are now welcoming Cuban guests with access to
international currency. A domestic tourist industry is developing
rapidly, and the same local entrepreneurs which created it are now
looking to exploit it.
Listening to a pianist play My Way, that American anthem to
independence, in the bar of Hemingway's favourite Ambos Mundos hotel,
through the window I see an old gentleman standing by a pram. Inside are
three Dachshunds - each animal sporting a pair of lens-less wire
spectacles. "You want a picture, senor?" he asks a passerby. Pianist and
pram-man both want the same thing - convertible pesos.
When George W Bush tightened rules on Cuban Americans sending dollars to
relatives on the island in 2004, Fidel Castro's response was to announce
that the greenback would no longer be accepted in state-run stores.
Today, the convertible peso or cuc (pronounced cook) has become the
predominant currency for anything beyond household basics on the island.
There were predictions that the end of the dollar would decimate the
Cuban middle class. Looking around now, it appears to have strengthened
it. Cooks' perks, perhaps.
"Bush put the cuc in a much more important position," Carlos explains
with a wry grin. "Private companies had money which meant they could
import raw materials unavailable from state sources. Restaurateurs were
able to buy ham and nuts from Venezuela and Mexico."
With the income from tourism, the Cuban government is able to
painstakingly and lovingly coax Old Havana back to life, just as they do
their automobiles. It is the jewel in the island's crown. Renovation is
a vast undertaking, but scaffolding now cocoons many of the capital's
most celebrated buildings. The Gran Teatro and the National Capitol
building are close to refurbishment.
Unesco has granted the old city world heritage status and, under the
strict guidance of the enigmatic Cuban historian Eusebio Leal, one can
begin to believe that Havana is ready to start a new chapter in its life.
It is a project with many challenges, of course. Having recobbled most
of the old city's narrow streets just a year ago, a major power cut at
the height of the tourist season last autumn plunged the entire district
into darkness and threatened to kill many of the embryonic businesses
that had been born there. A five-year plan to replace the wiring and
pipes was telescoped into 12 months and today almost every alley and
road in the district has been dug up again.
A bicycle taxi tried to take me from the Vieja Plaza to my hotel late
one night after a thunderstorm. The narrow dark streets were obstacle
courses of puddles and ditches interspersed with piles of rocks and sand.
At one point he had to double back, cursing in Spanish. Our detour led
down even narrower alleyways, where each doorway offered a glimpse of
real life in Havana: a family watching TV; an old woman eating a meagre
meal; a couple quarrelling; a prostitute looking for business; a barber
attending to a neighbour's head beneath a single flickering bulb.
"The city historian was adamant that old Havana should not become a
lifeless tourist attraction," Guillermo told me later. "If the state
restores a building, they can make sure local people are looked after."
He showed me the blocks which had been erected to provide city slum
dwellers with a decent home 40 years ago. Now a protection notice has
been slapped on the people of Old Havana as well as its architecture.
And that is why I feel optimistic about the next chapter in Cuba's
story. The people know what is truly valuable on the island. It is not
fat cigars or vintage rum. It is not brand Che or even a Desoto '55.
The government has labelled it Autentica Cuba. It is the spirit of
people who have endured so much and still manage to sing and to dance
and to smile. As one guide put it to me: "We are like the dolphins in
the bay. Up to our necks in water but still laughing."
Source: "BBC News - Postcard from Cuba" -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23863675
U.S.-Cuba talks on direct mail service proposed for next month
Posted on Thursday, 08.29.13
U.S.-Cuba talks on direct mail service proposed for next month
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
JTAMAYO@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
Cuba has proposed that a U.S. government delegation visit Havana next
month for a second round of talks since June on resuming direct postal
services, interrupted for the past 50 years, knowledgeable officials
said Wednesday.
Mail service between the United States and Cuba was cancelled in 1963 as
Washington tightened economic sanctions on Havana. Letters and packages
now go through third countries such as Mexico, Canada or Panama.
Cuba proposed the talks be held Sept. 16 in Havana, according to the
officials, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to
comment on the issue. The U.S. Department of State said it had no
immediate comment on this report.
Talks on reopening the postal service took place in 2009 in Havana, but
the Obama administration cancelled the contacts after U.S. government
contractor Alan P. Gross was sentenced to 15 years in a Havana prison
for delivering sophisticated communications equipment to Cuba's tiny
Jewish community.
The mail talks were resumed in Washington June 17-18, however, and the
following month the two sides also renewed talks on migration issues,
considered far more important to the bilateral relations.
After the June talks, the Cuban government declared that those meetings
had been satisfactory and helpful even though the issue of direct mail
service was subject to unspecified "obstacles" because of the U.S.
embargo on the island.
Cuba presented an analysis of its international mail services at the
talks, according to the declaration published in the
government-controlled Cubadebate web site, and "agreed to continue the
conversations in the coming months."
State Department officials maintained at the time that the mail talks
were purely technical in nature and did not reflect any change in the
U.S. policy toward Cuba.
The United States is the destination of one out of every four packages
and letters mailed from Cuba, according to official Havana figures,
while mail and packages sent from the United States account for 42
percent of the total received on the island.
The June talks were headed by Lea Emerson, director of international
postal matters for the U.S. Postal Service, and José Ramón Cabañas
Rodríguez, head of the Cuban diplomatic mission in Washington.
Source: "U.S.-Cuba talks on direct mail service proposed for next month
- Cuba - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/29/3592264/us-cuba-talks-on-direct-mail.html
U.S.-Cuba talks on direct mail service proposed for next month
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
JTAMAYO@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
Cuba has proposed that a U.S. government delegation visit Havana next
month for a second round of talks since June on resuming direct postal
services, interrupted for the past 50 years, knowledgeable officials
said Wednesday.
Mail service between the United States and Cuba was cancelled in 1963 as
Washington tightened economic sanctions on Havana. Letters and packages
now go through third countries such as Mexico, Canada or Panama.
Cuba proposed the talks be held Sept. 16 in Havana, according to the
officials, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to
comment on the issue. The U.S. Department of State said it had no
immediate comment on this report.
Talks on reopening the postal service took place in 2009 in Havana, but
the Obama administration cancelled the contacts after U.S. government
contractor Alan P. Gross was sentenced to 15 years in a Havana prison
for delivering sophisticated communications equipment to Cuba's tiny
Jewish community.
The mail talks were resumed in Washington June 17-18, however, and the
following month the two sides also renewed talks on migration issues,
considered far more important to the bilateral relations.
After the June talks, the Cuban government declared that those meetings
had been satisfactory and helpful even though the issue of direct mail
service was subject to unspecified "obstacles" because of the U.S.
embargo on the island.
Cuba presented an analysis of its international mail services at the
talks, according to the declaration published in the
government-controlled Cubadebate web site, and "agreed to continue the
conversations in the coming months."
State Department officials maintained at the time that the mail talks
were purely technical in nature and did not reflect any change in the
U.S. policy toward Cuba.
The United States is the destination of one out of every four packages
and letters mailed from Cuba, according to official Havana figures,
while mail and packages sent from the United States account for 42
percent of the total received on the island.
The June talks were headed by Lea Emerson, director of international
postal matters for the U.S. Postal Service, and José Ramón Cabañas
Rodríguez, head of the Cuban diplomatic mission in Washington.
Source: "U.S.-Cuba talks on direct mail service proposed for next month
- Cuba - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/29/3592264/us-cuba-talks-on-direct-mail.html
U.N. agency may sponsor “modern-day slavery”
Posted on Wednesday, 08.28.13
U.N. agency may sponsor "modern-day slavery"
BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
AOPPENHEIMER@MIAMIHERALD.COM
The United Nations Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is doing
great things in Latin America, but I wonder whether its latest role as a
middleman to help place 4,000 Cuban doctors in remote areas of Brazil
does not amount to sponsoring slavery.
Under a deal between Brazil and Cuba that was brokered by the
Washington-based PAHO, the Latin American branch of the U.N. World
Health Organization, the Brazilian government will pay Cuba the
equivalent of $4,080 a month — or nearly $49,000 a year — for each of
the Cuban doctors.
The Brazilian government says the Cuban doctors are needed in remote
areas of northern and northwestern Brazil, because no Brazilian
physicians want to take those jobs. The first 400 Cuban doctors started
arriving in the South American country on Aug. 24 amid public criticism
from Brazil's biggest physicians' associations.
Brazil's National Federation of Brazilian Physicians, Fenam, has said
that "the Cuban doctors contracts have the characteristics of slave labor."
Under the PAHO-brokered Brazilian program, called Mais Medicos (More
doctors), Brazil pays Cuba the entire amount of the Cuban doctors'
wages, and Cuba later pays a fraction of it to the doctors.
Here's the problem: Neither Brazil, nor Cuba, nor PAHO are saying how
much of the $4,080 a month per doctor will go to the doctors working in
Brazil.
Solidarity without Borders, a Miami-based organization that helps Cuban
doctors around the world, says the Cuban government pays its doctors
working in Brazil and other countries between $250 and $300 a month, or
about 7 percent of the full amount it gets from the Brazilian
government. The remaining 93 percent are pocketed by the Cuban
government, the group says.
"It's a modern-day slavery system," Solidarity Without Borders President
Julio Cesar Alfonso told me in an interview. "The only difference is
that it uses highly skilled slave work."
Asked how does he know the amount paid by Cuba to its doctors in Brazil,
since it's an official secret, Alfonso responded, "It's very simple:
there are about 30,000 Cuban doctors in Venezuela, and other tens of
thousands around the world, and more than 5,000 have already defected.
They tell us how much they were being paid by the Cuban government."
Former Cuban ruler Fidel Castro created this doctors-for-export racket
in 1982 as a way to earn cash for the country. Castro opened medical
schools throughout Cuba to produce as many doctors as fast as possible.
As Cuba's economic situation deteriorated over the years, Cuba stepped
up its doctors' export business, Alfonso says.
Some of the Cuban doctors that are being sent abroad have not even
graduated, Alfonso said.
"They are now exporting 5th and 6th-year medicine students to Venezuela,
as part of their training to get their degree," he said.
Cuban doctors who are sent to Brazil, Venezuela and other countries
don't complain about their pay: the $250-$300 a month that they can make
in Brazil is nearly ten times more than the average of $30 a month that
they make in Cuba. In addition, it gives them a chance to defect,
Alfonso says.
"It's a good business deal for Cuba, and it also serves as a way to
export Cuba's ideology to the poorest parts of the world," Alfonso says,
adding that Cuban doctors played a big role in helping late Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez win support in poverty-stricken parts of
Venezuela. "In remote jungle regions where they never saw a doctor, the
presence of a fifth-year Cuban medicine student is a godsend."
When I called PAHO to ask how much the Cuban doctors in Brazil will be
paid by Cuba, I was told that PAHO's director, Carissa E. Etienne, was
not available but that PAHO's Brazil office would respond via e-mail.
A few hours later, I got PAHO's non-answer. It said that that "the Cuban
doctors are Cuban government officials," and that they will be paid
their normal wages with "an additional salary" by the Cuban government
"according to the laws of that country."
As for the Brazilian doctor's federation assertion that the deal amounts
to "slave labor," PAHO's response was that, "This question has been
examined by various departments of the Brazilian government and the
country's authorities do not agree with that assertion."
My opinion: There is nothing wrong with Brazil hiring Cuban doctors who
are willing to go to remote areas of the country, where Brazilian
doctors allegedly refuse to go.
But the Brazil-Cuba deal whereby the Cuban government reportedly pockets
93 percent commission on the Cuban doctors' salaries is scandalous.
And for an affiliate of the United Nations — an organization whose
charter calls for the abolition of all sorts of slavery, and that
celebrated the U.N. International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave
Trade just last week — is even more outrageous.
Cuban doctors should be allowed to work in Brazil, but they should be
paid their full salary. Otherwise, it's hard to see the ongoing deal —
and the fact that all three sides are not disclosing how much the Cuban
doctors in Brazil will be paid — as anything other than a modern day
high-skilled slave trade.
Source: "Andres Oppenheimer: U.N. agency may sponsor "modern-day
slavery" - Andres Oppenheimer - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/28/v-fullstory/3592257/andres-oppenheimer-un-agency-may.html
U.N. agency may sponsor "modern-day slavery"
BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
AOPPENHEIMER@MIAMIHERALD.COM
The United Nations Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is doing
great things in Latin America, but I wonder whether its latest role as a
middleman to help place 4,000 Cuban doctors in remote areas of Brazil
does not amount to sponsoring slavery.
Under a deal between Brazil and Cuba that was brokered by the
Washington-based PAHO, the Latin American branch of the U.N. World
Health Organization, the Brazilian government will pay Cuba the
equivalent of $4,080 a month — or nearly $49,000 a year — for each of
the Cuban doctors.
The Brazilian government says the Cuban doctors are needed in remote
areas of northern and northwestern Brazil, because no Brazilian
physicians want to take those jobs. The first 400 Cuban doctors started
arriving in the South American country on Aug. 24 amid public criticism
from Brazil's biggest physicians' associations.
Brazil's National Federation of Brazilian Physicians, Fenam, has said
that "the Cuban doctors contracts have the characteristics of slave labor."
Under the PAHO-brokered Brazilian program, called Mais Medicos (More
doctors), Brazil pays Cuba the entire amount of the Cuban doctors'
wages, and Cuba later pays a fraction of it to the doctors.
Here's the problem: Neither Brazil, nor Cuba, nor PAHO are saying how
much of the $4,080 a month per doctor will go to the doctors working in
Brazil.
Solidarity without Borders, a Miami-based organization that helps Cuban
doctors around the world, says the Cuban government pays its doctors
working in Brazil and other countries between $250 and $300 a month, or
about 7 percent of the full amount it gets from the Brazilian
government. The remaining 93 percent are pocketed by the Cuban
government, the group says.
"It's a modern-day slavery system," Solidarity Without Borders President
Julio Cesar Alfonso told me in an interview. "The only difference is
that it uses highly skilled slave work."
Asked how does he know the amount paid by Cuba to its doctors in Brazil,
since it's an official secret, Alfonso responded, "It's very simple:
there are about 30,000 Cuban doctors in Venezuela, and other tens of
thousands around the world, and more than 5,000 have already defected.
They tell us how much they were being paid by the Cuban government."
Former Cuban ruler Fidel Castro created this doctors-for-export racket
in 1982 as a way to earn cash for the country. Castro opened medical
schools throughout Cuba to produce as many doctors as fast as possible.
As Cuba's economic situation deteriorated over the years, Cuba stepped
up its doctors' export business, Alfonso says.
Some of the Cuban doctors that are being sent abroad have not even
graduated, Alfonso said.
"They are now exporting 5th and 6th-year medicine students to Venezuela,
as part of their training to get their degree," he said.
Cuban doctors who are sent to Brazil, Venezuela and other countries
don't complain about their pay: the $250-$300 a month that they can make
in Brazil is nearly ten times more than the average of $30 a month that
they make in Cuba. In addition, it gives them a chance to defect,
Alfonso says.
"It's a good business deal for Cuba, and it also serves as a way to
export Cuba's ideology to the poorest parts of the world," Alfonso says,
adding that Cuban doctors played a big role in helping late Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez win support in poverty-stricken parts of
Venezuela. "In remote jungle regions where they never saw a doctor, the
presence of a fifth-year Cuban medicine student is a godsend."
When I called PAHO to ask how much the Cuban doctors in Brazil will be
paid by Cuba, I was told that PAHO's director, Carissa E. Etienne, was
not available but that PAHO's Brazil office would respond via e-mail.
A few hours later, I got PAHO's non-answer. It said that that "the Cuban
doctors are Cuban government officials," and that they will be paid
their normal wages with "an additional salary" by the Cuban government
"according to the laws of that country."
As for the Brazilian doctor's federation assertion that the deal amounts
to "slave labor," PAHO's response was that, "This question has been
examined by various departments of the Brazilian government and the
country's authorities do not agree with that assertion."
My opinion: There is nothing wrong with Brazil hiring Cuban doctors who
are willing to go to remote areas of the country, where Brazilian
doctors allegedly refuse to go.
But the Brazil-Cuba deal whereby the Cuban government reportedly pockets
93 percent commission on the Cuban doctors' salaries is scandalous.
And for an affiliate of the United Nations — an organization whose
charter calls for the abolition of all sorts of slavery, and that
celebrated the U.N. International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave
Trade just last week — is even more outrageous.
Cuban doctors should be allowed to work in Brazil, but they should be
paid their full salary. Otherwise, it's hard to see the ongoing deal —
and the fact that all three sides are not disclosing how much the Cuban
doctors in Brazil will be paid — as anything other than a modern day
high-skilled slave trade.
Source: "Andres Oppenheimer: U.N. agency may sponsor "modern-day
slavery" - Andres Oppenheimer - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/28/v-fullstory/3592257/andres-oppenheimer-un-agency-may.html
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
The Myth of Transition
The Myth of Transition / Juan Juan Almeida
Posted on August 27, 2013
I often ask myself why we do not take a moment and dispassionately take
note of the indications and evidence that, starting at the top, the
Cuban government is trying to design the post-Castro future for us.
Not long ago General Raúl Castro organized meetings throughout the
country at the neighborhood level and at places of work. People were
asked to discuss their problems at these events without fear.
The sense of catharsis these provided was important. People discussed
their problems, though without seeing them resolved, and the government
bought itself some time. As a result commissions were set up and plans
were laid down.
Raúl Castro is a military man who retains a Cold War mentality. Before
adopting a strategy, he creates commissions and studies every situation
in detail before moving forward. Every demonstrable problem has three
separate commissions studying it.
All this compartmentalization means deserters, critics, dissidents and
the new public faces on political scene can, therefore, act only as
reporters. They cannot speak of governmental plans or the future without
venturing into the dangerous territory of speculation and error.
Even Miguel Díaz-Canel — first vice-president of Cuba and the person
who, according to the current constitution, succeeds the president in
the event of the latter's absence, illness or death — criticized the
restraints on the press during an address to the recent Ninth Congress
of the Cuban Union of Journalists, but avoided making any commitments to
eliminating them.
Personally, I consider Miguel to be an honest man, but he is an official
puppet who is not part of the inner power circle. Therefore, he is not
privy to what will happen tomorrow, or even in the next fifteen minutes.
The results of the recent elections and the inclusion of new faces in
the Cuban government do not represent a significant change. It is a
feeble attempt to promote the false image of a transition, a simulation
which aims simply to appear pluralistic. Cuban elections are controlled
voting procedures designed to obtain public approval of hand-picked
candidates and to place civilian marionettes in government posts.
Ah, but might these people's thinking boomerang, turning them into
tomorrow's faces of change? I think so, but I do not believe for a
moment that during the initial phases of the long-awaited post-Castro
era these people are capable of moving the foundations of government,
changing the character of the judicial system or altering the solid
chain of command that currently exists among the power elite and the
military.
I presume that in time the eventual passing of the so-called historic
leaders will allow for the emergence of new group who, once in power,
will be more disposed or will feel obliged to implement truly democratic
reforms.
The self-employment initiative — notice they never call it
entrepreneurship so as to distance it from capitalism — was a masterful
stroke. It showed a convenient — I would add apparent — path to a market
economy. It also created hope in a wide segment of the population which
looked towards micro-businesses as a way up. With any luck it would
allow these people to ascend from the micro to the small, and from the
medium to the macro.
But let us not kid ourselves. This is all a myth. The Cuban
micro-business economy is one of tiny shops and subsistence. Instead of
a stimulus policy, entrepreneurship is hampered. Profits made by the
self-employed do not lead to prosperity because they cannot be
reinvested; they can only be used to plug holes.
But every rule has its exceptions. There are private businesses with
parallel, presumably illegal entrances which — along with a dangerous
but necessary moneyed class of entrepreneurs and intellectuals — are
tolerated and used to give society a timely touch of success and prosperity.
It is a well thought-out plan for governing. Pretend conditions are
good, confuse everyone, and continue down the path that increasingly
concentrates rights in the hands of the state rather than promoting a
state of rights.
21 August 2013
Source: "The Myth of Transition / Juan Juan Almeida | Translating Cuba"
- http://translatingcuba.com/the-myth-of-transition-juan-juan-almeida/
Posted on August 27, 2013
I often ask myself why we do not take a moment and dispassionately take
note of the indications and evidence that, starting at the top, the
Cuban government is trying to design the post-Castro future for us.
Not long ago General Raúl Castro organized meetings throughout the
country at the neighborhood level and at places of work. People were
asked to discuss their problems at these events without fear.
The sense of catharsis these provided was important. People discussed
their problems, though without seeing them resolved, and the government
bought itself some time. As a result commissions were set up and plans
were laid down.
Raúl Castro is a military man who retains a Cold War mentality. Before
adopting a strategy, he creates commissions and studies every situation
in detail before moving forward. Every demonstrable problem has three
separate commissions studying it.
All this compartmentalization means deserters, critics, dissidents and
the new public faces on political scene can, therefore, act only as
reporters. They cannot speak of governmental plans or the future without
venturing into the dangerous territory of speculation and error.
Even Miguel Díaz-Canel — first vice-president of Cuba and the person
who, according to the current constitution, succeeds the president in
the event of the latter's absence, illness or death — criticized the
restraints on the press during an address to the recent Ninth Congress
of the Cuban Union of Journalists, but avoided making any commitments to
eliminating them.
Personally, I consider Miguel to be an honest man, but he is an official
puppet who is not part of the inner power circle. Therefore, he is not
privy to what will happen tomorrow, or even in the next fifteen minutes.
The results of the recent elections and the inclusion of new faces in
the Cuban government do not represent a significant change. It is a
feeble attempt to promote the false image of a transition, a simulation
which aims simply to appear pluralistic. Cuban elections are controlled
voting procedures designed to obtain public approval of hand-picked
candidates and to place civilian marionettes in government posts.
Ah, but might these people's thinking boomerang, turning them into
tomorrow's faces of change? I think so, but I do not believe for a
moment that during the initial phases of the long-awaited post-Castro
era these people are capable of moving the foundations of government,
changing the character of the judicial system or altering the solid
chain of command that currently exists among the power elite and the
military.
I presume that in time the eventual passing of the so-called historic
leaders will allow for the emergence of new group who, once in power,
will be more disposed or will feel obliged to implement truly democratic
reforms.
The self-employment initiative — notice they never call it
entrepreneurship so as to distance it from capitalism — was a masterful
stroke. It showed a convenient — I would add apparent — path to a market
economy. It also created hope in a wide segment of the population which
looked towards micro-businesses as a way up. With any luck it would
allow these people to ascend from the micro to the small, and from the
medium to the macro.
But let us not kid ourselves. This is all a myth. The Cuban
micro-business economy is one of tiny shops and subsistence. Instead of
a stimulus policy, entrepreneurship is hampered. Profits made by the
self-employed do not lead to prosperity because they cannot be
reinvested; they can only be used to plug holes.
But every rule has its exceptions. There are private businesses with
parallel, presumably illegal entrances which — along with a dangerous
but necessary moneyed class of entrepreneurs and intellectuals — are
tolerated and used to give society a timely touch of success and prosperity.
It is a well thought-out plan for governing. Pretend conditions are
good, confuse everyone, and continue down the path that increasingly
concentrates rights in the hands of the state rather than promoting a
state of rights.
21 August 2013
Source: "The Myth of Transition / Juan Juan Almeida | Translating Cuba"
- http://translatingcuba.com/the-myth-of-transition-juan-juan-almeida/
Cuban fighter jets seized in Panama canal likely intended for NKorean use, says think-tank
Cuban fighter jets seized in Panama canal likely intended for NKorean
use, says think-tank
BY MATTHEW PENNINGTON, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUGUST 27, 2013
WASHINGTON - Fighter jet parts seized from a North Korean ship by
Panamanian authorities were likely intended for use by North Korea, an
apparent violation of U.N. sanctions, an arms control institute says.
The findings by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
contradict Cuba's claim that it was not violating the sanctions as it
was sending equipment to North Korea for repairs and expected it to be
returned, including MiG aircraft and motors, missiles and anti-aircraft
missile systems.
U.N. sanctions forbid North Korea from trading arms to deprive it of
technology and revenue for its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic
missiles. If the Cuban equipment was intended for North Korean use, it
would suggest Pyongyang is struggling to maintain its aging conventional
forces.
The ship, Chong Chon Gang, was intercepted July 15 in the Panama Canal,
with 25 containers of Cuban military equipment found beneath the 10,000
tons of sugar. The equipment was not listed on the ship's manifest.
Experts at the Stockholm institute say they have seen a report and
photographs compiled by Panamanian authorities and the United Nations
Organization on Drugs and Crime on what was found in the containers. The
institute's experts said there was other cargo not mentioned by Cuban
officials in public statements, including items of ammunition for
rocket-propelled grenades and conventional artillery, much of it in mint
condition and in the original packing cases.
"They clearly were not 'to be repaired and returned to Cuba,'" the
institute says in an analysis.
The analysis was published Tuesday by 38 North, the website for the
U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International
Studies. It was written by Hugh Griffiths, who heads the Stockholm
institute's program on countering illicit trafficking, and research
intern Roope Siiritola.
After the seizure, Cuba said the cargo included "obsolete defensive
weapons" including two MiG-21 jet aircraft and 15 motors, nine missiles
in parts, and two anti-aircraft systems that they were sending to North
Korea "to be repaired and returned." North Korea also said it had a
"legitimate contract" to overhaul "aging weapons" to be sent back to Cuba.
U.N. sanctions state that member states shall prevent the direct or
indirect supply, sale or transfer of all arms and materiel to North
Korea, and related spare parts, except for small arms and light weapons.
The Stockholm institute says the MiG fuselages were packed carelessly,
with no padding to protect the extremities from damage at sea,
suggesting there were intended to be culled for spare parts. The engines
were more securely attached and protected, suggesting they were intended
to be used as replacement engines.
The institute says North Korea has a track record of attempted illicit
or clandestine procurement of the MiG engines and aircraft, including
two other reported instances of it since 2009 and another in 1999. The
July seizure came less than two weeks after a North Korean military
delegation met Cuban leader Raul Castro in Havana on July 2.
In mid-August, a U.N. panel of experts monitoring sanctions against
North Korea travelled to Panama to investigate the arms seizure. Their
report has yet to be made public. If they find sanctions have been
violated they could recommend the Security Council add individuals or
entities involved in the transfer to a U.N. sanctions list. Member
states may then follow up by imposing travel and financial restrictions
on those added to the list.
Years of sanctions have restricted if not stopped North Korea's sale of
arms in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It's also hurting its ability
to procure conventional military equipment, including for its prized air
force.
The latest arms seizure, "tells us the North Koreans are pretty
desperate when it comes to air force procurement. They are scraping the
bottom of the barrel," Griffiths told The Associated Press.
Source: "Cuban fighter jets seized in Panama canal likely intended for
NKorean use, says think-tank" -
http://www.canada.com/technology/Cuban+fighter+jets+seized+Panama+canal+likely+intended+NKorean+says/8839526/story.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3a+canwest%2fF77+(canada.com+World+News)
use, says think-tank
BY MATTHEW PENNINGTON, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUGUST 27, 2013
WASHINGTON - Fighter jet parts seized from a North Korean ship by
Panamanian authorities were likely intended for use by North Korea, an
apparent violation of U.N. sanctions, an arms control institute says.
The findings by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
contradict Cuba's claim that it was not violating the sanctions as it
was sending equipment to North Korea for repairs and expected it to be
returned, including MiG aircraft and motors, missiles and anti-aircraft
missile systems.
U.N. sanctions forbid North Korea from trading arms to deprive it of
technology and revenue for its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic
missiles. If the Cuban equipment was intended for North Korean use, it
would suggest Pyongyang is struggling to maintain its aging conventional
forces.
The ship, Chong Chon Gang, was intercepted July 15 in the Panama Canal,
with 25 containers of Cuban military equipment found beneath the 10,000
tons of sugar. The equipment was not listed on the ship's manifest.
Experts at the Stockholm institute say they have seen a report and
photographs compiled by Panamanian authorities and the United Nations
Organization on Drugs and Crime on what was found in the containers. The
institute's experts said there was other cargo not mentioned by Cuban
officials in public statements, including items of ammunition for
rocket-propelled grenades and conventional artillery, much of it in mint
condition and in the original packing cases.
"They clearly were not 'to be repaired and returned to Cuba,'" the
institute says in an analysis.
The analysis was published Tuesday by 38 North, the website for the
U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International
Studies. It was written by Hugh Griffiths, who heads the Stockholm
institute's program on countering illicit trafficking, and research
intern Roope Siiritola.
After the seizure, Cuba said the cargo included "obsolete defensive
weapons" including two MiG-21 jet aircraft and 15 motors, nine missiles
in parts, and two anti-aircraft systems that they were sending to North
Korea "to be repaired and returned." North Korea also said it had a
"legitimate contract" to overhaul "aging weapons" to be sent back to Cuba.
U.N. sanctions state that member states shall prevent the direct or
indirect supply, sale or transfer of all arms and materiel to North
Korea, and related spare parts, except for small arms and light weapons.
The Stockholm institute says the MiG fuselages were packed carelessly,
with no padding to protect the extremities from damage at sea,
suggesting there were intended to be culled for spare parts. The engines
were more securely attached and protected, suggesting they were intended
to be used as replacement engines.
The institute says North Korea has a track record of attempted illicit
or clandestine procurement of the MiG engines and aircraft, including
two other reported instances of it since 2009 and another in 1999. The
July seizure came less than two weeks after a North Korean military
delegation met Cuban leader Raul Castro in Havana on July 2.
In mid-August, a U.N. panel of experts monitoring sanctions against
North Korea travelled to Panama to investigate the arms seizure. Their
report has yet to be made public. If they find sanctions have been
violated they could recommend the Security Council add individuals or
entities involved in the transfer to a U.N. sanctions list. Member
states may then follow up by imposing travel and financial restrictions
on those added to the list.
Years of sanctions have restricted if not stopped North Korea's sale of
arms in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It's also hurting its ability
to procure conventional military equipment, including for its prized air
force.
The latest arms seizure, "tells us the North Koreans are pretty
desperate when it comes to air force procurement. They are scraping the
bottom of the barrel," Griffiths told The Associated Press.
Source: "Cuban fighter jets seized in Panama canal likely intended for
NKorean use, says think-tank" -
http://www.canada.com/technology/Cuban+fighter+jets+seized+Panama+canal+likely+intended+NKorean+says/8839526/story.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3a+canwest%2fF77+(canada.com+World+News)
Cuba orders 300 dmus from Russia
Cuba orders 300 dmus from Russia
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Written by Erwin Reidinger
CUBAN Union Railways (UFC) has placed an order for 300 two-car dmus with
Russian manufacturer Murom, the first of which has already been shipped
to the island.
The 100km/h four wheel motor cars are classified type SV-10 and are
equipped with a 176kW Yamz-238M5 diesel engine with mechanical
transmission, while the trailer vehicles are designated VS-5. The
powered vehicle weighs 22 tonnes while the weight of the unpowered car
is 15 tonnes. A 2+3 seating layout provides 45 seats in the motor car
and 48 in the trailer.
The 25.2m-long trains are based on track maintenance vehicles produced
by Murom in large numbers for customers in the CIS region. The first 17
sets will be manufactured at Murom while the remaining 283 trains will
be assembled in Cuba.
Cuban officials have stated that the first sets will be used in Artemisa
province, where a new line to the port of Mariel is under construction.
While the design appears to be very basic, the trains should be much
better suited to Cuban operating conditions than more advanced
equipment. Apart from the ill-fated Class Dm11 single-car units built
for VR Group, Finland by GEC Alsthom in Spain, which were rejected by
the Finns and later sold to Cuba, Class SV-10 will be the first new dmus
delivered to Cuba in decades. Class Dm11 never worked properly in Cuba
due to their sophisticated engineering. Only a few are serviceable at
present and some have not worked at all since arriving on the island.
Source: "Cuba orders 300 dmus from Russia | International Railway
Journal" -
http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/central-south-america/cuba-orders-300-dmus-from-russia.html?channel=542
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Written by Erwin Reidinger
CUBAN Union Railways (UFC) has placed an order for 300 two-car dmus with
Russian manufacturer Murom, the first of which has already been shipped
to the island.
The 100km/h four wheel motor cars are classified type SV-10 and are
equipped with a 176kW Yamz-238M5 diesel engine with mechanical
transmission, while the trailer vehicles are designated VS-5. The
powered vehicle weighs 22 tonnes while the weight of the unpowered car
is 15 tonnes. A 2+3 seating layout provides 45 seats in the motor car
and 48 in the trailer.
The 25.2m-long trains are based on track maintenance vehicles produced
by Murom in large numbers for customers in the CIS region. The first 17
sets will be manufactured at Murom while the remaining 283 trains will
be assembled in Cuba.
Cuban officials have stated that the first sets will be used in Artemisa
province, where a new line to the port of Mariel is under construction.
While the design appears to be very basic, the trains should be much
better suited to Cuban operating conditions than more advanced
equipment. Apart from the ill-fated Class Dm11 single-car units built
for VR Group, Finland by GEC Alsthom in Spain, which were rejected by
the Finns and later sold to Cuba, Class SV-10 will be the first new dmus
delivered to Cuba in decades. Class Dm11 never worked properly in Cuba
due to their sophisticated engineering. Only a few are serviceable at
present and some have not worked at all since arriving on the island.
Source: "Cuba orders 300 dmus from Russia | International Railway
Journal" -
http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/central-south-america/cuba-orders-300-dmus-from-russia.html?channel=542
Cuban Airline launches scheduled service to Jamaica
Cuban Airline launches scheduled service to Jamaica
BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
THE options for travel from Cuba to Jamaica each year have been boosted
with yesterday's official launch of Aerogaviota's scheduled air service
between Havana and Kingston. The airline has been operating chartered
flights to Kingston for the past three years
Speaking at the launch at the Norman Manley International Airport in
Kingston, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Transport, Water
and Housing Dr Morais Guy said that, under the partnership, the
Havana-based airline will make three weekly trips between Cuba and
Jamaica -- flying Mondays and Fridays between Havana and Kingston and on
Wednesdays between Havana and Montego Bay, St James.
"We take pride in welcoming this group partnership," said Guy, who
described the partnership as a win-win situation for Jamaica and Cuba.
He said the partnership adds diversity to the travelling options.
He also said that the introduction of air service by Aerogaviota signals
that there was confidence not just in the Jamaican economy, but in the
people and Government.
His sentiments were shared by Damion Crawford, minister of state in the
Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment.
Crawford also said that the development will open the gates for many
visitors to the country, and that it was another step towards building
the partnership between the two countries.
Meanwhile, outgoing Cuban Ambassador to Jamaica Yuri Gala Lopez
described the move as the starting of a new phase in terms of linkages
between Jamaica and Cuba.
"The launch will facilitate the flow of passengers between both
countries. In a way this will also help the multi-destination component
in our bilateral relationship," said the ambassador.
"I think it will be an additional tool in our joint effort to not only
maintain the dynamic and very close relationships that we have, but to
take it to another level," he added.
Yesterday, Judie O'Sullivan, sales and marketing executive for Jetaway
Travel Service Limited, said the development means that it will be less
hassling and cheaper to travel between the two cities as travellers will
no longer have to book connecting flights.
Source: "Cuban Airline launches scheduled service to Jamaica - News -
JamaicaObserver.com" -
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Cuban-Airline-launches-scheduled-service-to-Jamaica_14952022
BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
THE options for travel from Cuba to Jamaica each year have been boosted
with yesterday's official launch of Aerogaviota's scheduled air service
between Havana and Kingston. The airline has been operating chartered
flights to Kingston for the past three years
Speaking at the launch at the Norman Manley International Airport in
Kingston, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Transport, Water
and Housing Dr Morais Guy said that, under the partnership, the
Havana-based airline will make three weekly trips between Cuba and
Jamaica -- flying Mondays and Fridays between Havana and Kingston and on
Wednesdays between Havana and Montego Bay, St James.
"We take pride in welcoming this group partnership," said Guy, who
described the partnership as a win-win situation for Jamaica and Cuba.
He said the partnership adds diversity to the travelling options.
He also said that the introduction of air service by Aerogaviota signals
that there was confidence not just in the Jamaican economy, but in the
people and Government.
His sentiments were shared by Damion Crawford, minister of state in the
Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment.
Crawford also said that the development will open the gates for many
visitors to the country, and that it was another step towards building
the partnership between the two countries.
Meanwhile, outgoing Cuban Ambassador to Jamaica Yuri Gala Lopez
described the move as the starting of a new phase in terms of linkages
between Jamaica and Cuba.
"The launch will facilitate the flow of passengers between both
countries. In a way this will also help the multi-destination component
in our bilateral relationship," said the ambassador.
"I think it will be an additional tool in our joint effort to not only
maintain the dynamic and very close relationships that we have, but to
take it to another level," he added.
Yesterday, Judie O'Sullivan, sales and marketing executive for Jetaway
Travel Service Limited, said the development means that it will be less
hassling and cheaper to travel between the two cities as travellers will
no longer have to book connecting flights.
Source: "Cuban Airline launches scheduled service to Jamaica - News -
JamaicaObserver.com" -
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Cuban-Airline-launches-scheduled-service-to-Jamaica_14952022
The Privatization of Education in Cuba - Kissing the Right Frog
The Privatization of Education in Cuba: Kissing the Right Frog
August 27, 2013
Cuban society is slowly becoming exposed to two visibly different ways
of accessing education
Haroldo Dilla Alfonso*
HAVANA TIMES — An ad for a private day care center in Havana has been
posted on the Internet (including Cuba's classifieds page, Revolico) for
some days now. The owner, Zulema Rosales, is reportedly the daughter of
General Rosales del Toro.
Since I don't know this person, or the general's family, or the general,
for that matter, I can't really confirm this claim. I don't know whether
they are good or bad people, if they are hard-working or lazy, honest or
not. As such, none of this stems from a personal judgment of these
individuals.
In any event, such judgments are unnecessary here. Whoever her father
is, I think it's reasonable to assume that Zulema Rosales is a rather
fortunate person, as the day care center is housed by a spacious,
two-story home located in Havana's posh neighborhood of Kohly.
The neighborhood has always been privileged, first as the home of an
upper middle-class that found refuge in its pleasant environment,
winding streets and green surroundings, and, later, because its
residences were shared out to the new political class, who would enjoy
the privacy afforded by this community – which would become a segregated
and mysterious part of town – behind the protection of armed guards and
closed-off thoroughfares.
On its web-page (http://guarderiainfantil.webng.com/ ) and other
promotional materials, the day care center advertises a whole range of
products, from regular nursery to per-hour services, announcing that the
center employs highly qualified personnel who will give customers the
"satisfaction of seeing the educational development of their little ones."
Someone mentioned that this nursery charges 85 CUC (95 USD) a month per
child. If this is so, it would place its rate in the high-mid-range for
Latin America (at around four times the average monthly salary in Cuba).
This news have steered my thoughts in two directions.
My first reflection centers on what it means to place the advertised
activities in private hands. What we're talking about, after all, is not
simply looking after children, but of providing them with their earliest
education. Though not obligatory, this type of early education is
advisable and, in Cuba, is aimed at children up to six years old.
For decades, however, education in Cuba has been proclaimed as a public
– or, better, State – domain, and equal, unrestricted and free access to
education has been one of the pillars of the country's social consensus.
Note that I am not objecting to any one particular way of conceiving
educational services. Needless to say, I have my own convictions and
preferences in this regard – but that's not the issue at the moment.
What is important is that parts of the public sphere are being handed
over to the private sector without the slightest bit of transparency,
such that Cubans are unable to decide what they want for their society
in an open and plural debate.
In this connection, Zulema's day care center is one case among many
others, which include private schools maintained by international
organizations, to which the children of Cuba's nouveaux riches flock in
a mad, happy rush. As such, Cuban society is slowly becoming exposed to
two visibly different ways of accessing education.
At the top, we have the children of those who have come out victorious
in the process of capitalist restoration, comfortable in their private
institutions and nurseries. At the very broad base, we have the heirs of
poverty, in an educational system that is in shambles, with badly-paid
teachers and ramshackle facilities. Some go up while others plunge
further down.
This shameful process, in which capitalism is secretly restored while
loyalty is demanded to a decrepit system, which the Cuban leadership –
and, curiously enough, neo-liberals – insist on calling "socialism",
that is actually the worst kind of privatization.
The reason for this, among others, is that it is being implemented
without clear norms that set down the infrastructural, ethical, personal
and methodological requirements that someone who wishes to provide
educational services privately must meet.
Rather than regulations, what we are witnessing is total permissiveness:
this day care center, for instance, operates in the shadow of a medieval
legislation that authorizes the private care of children. What would
happen, I wonder, if, availing themselves of a permit to care for the
ill, someone as "fortunate" as Zulema decided to open a private clinic?
My second reflection focuses on Zulema's fortunate circumstances. If
there is something we have to concede here, it is the fact of Zulema's
good fortune. She is fortunate to have a two-story home, surrounded by
gardens, in an upper-class area of Havana, in a country where the more
fortunate of the lot would secure an apartment in the working-class
neighborhood of Alamar after many years of work, in construction
brigades that erected whatever buildings the Comandante deemed
convenient to build.
She is fortunate to have Internet access, a web-page and email account,
in a country where such services, we are told, aren't offered to private
residences. Inherently – and perhaps through inheritance – she is
fortunate to be able to purchase toys, furniture and flat-screen TVs, in
a society gripped by poverty.
She has also been very, very fortunate to have been permitted to operate
a business whose legality is indeed questionable, particularly in a
country where the police clamp down on and fine elderly people who
refill cigarette lighters, and where former government delegate Sirley
Avila was fined for selling mangos that grew in a tree in her own backyard.
We have to acknowledge this is indeed good fortune, but not any kind of
fortune. It is the kind that accompanies the descendants of the
post-revolutionary elite.
A case like Zulema's shows the true meaning of the "slow but sure"
restructuring process, a process aimed at restoring capitalism in Cuba,
to the benefit of an elite that is slowly becoming the country's new
bourgeoisie – a bourgeoisie that relies on the State to make its initial
profits and, at the same time, protect itself from competitors.
This is the class that Zulema Rosales and her day care center represent.
Again, her good fortune isn't just any old luck. It is the good fortune
inherent to her social position, a position which is increasingly
classist. It is the good fortune which comes with Cuba's new class, its
budding bourgeoisie.
Posted on one of the walls of the nursery, we see a decorative hanging
which alludes to the Grimm Brother's The Frog Prince. A text, in
English, explains that, before finding the right frog (which turns into
a prince on being touched by true love's kiss), one must first kiss many
frogs.
Zulema Rosales didn't have to do this. She knew what frog to kiss from
the very beginning.
—–
(*) A Havana Times translation of the original published in Spanish by
Cubaencuentro.com
Source: "The Privatization of Education in Cuba: Kissing the Right Frog"
- http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=98336
August 27, 2013
Cuban society is slowly becoming exposed to two visibly different ways
of accessing education
Haroldo Dilla Alfonso*
HAVANA TIMES — An ad for a private day care center in Havana has been
posted on the Internet (including Cuba's classifieds page, Revolico) for
some days now. The owner, Zulema Rosales, is reportedly the daughter of
General Rosales del Toro.
Since I don't know this person, or the general's family, or the general,
for that matter, I can't really confirm this claim. I don't know whether
they are good or bad people, if they are hard-working or lazy, honest or
not. As such, none of this stems from a personal judgment of these
individuals.
In any event, such judgments are unnecessary here. Whoever her father
is, I think it's reasonable to assume that Zulema Rosales is a rather
fortunate person, as the day care center is housed by a spacious,
two-story home located in Havana's posh neighborhood of Kohly.
The neighborhood has always been privileged, first as the home of an
upper middle-class that found refuge in its pleasant environment,
winding streets and green surroundings, and, later, because its
residences were shared out to the new political class, who would enjoy
the privacy afforded by this community – which would become a segregated
and mysterious part of town – behind the protection of armed guards and
closed-off thoroughfares.
On its web-page (http://guarderiainfantil.webng.com/ ) and other
promotional materials, the day care center advertises a whole range of
products, from regular nursery to per-hour services, announcing that the
center employs highly qualified personnel who will give customers the
"satisfaction of seeing the educational development of their little ones."
Someone mentioned that this nursery charges 85 CUC (95 USD) a month per
child. If this is so, it would place its rate in the high-mid-range for
Latin America (at around four times the average monthly salary in Cuba).
This news have steered my thoughts in two directions.
My first reflection centers on what it means to place the advertised
activities in private hands. What we're talking about, after all, is not
simply looking after children, but of providing them with their earliest
education. Though not obligatory, this type of early education is
advisable and, in Cuba, is aimed at children up to six years old.
For decades, however, education in Cuba has been proclaimed as a public
– or, better, State – domain, and equal, unrestricted and free access to
education has been one of the pillars of the country's social consensus.
Note that I am not objecting to any one particular way of conceiving
educational services. Needless to say, I have my own convictions and
preferences in this regard – but that's not the issue at the moment.
What is important is that parts of the public sphere are being handed
over to the private sector without the slightest bit of transparency,
such that Cubans are unable to decide what they want for their society
in an open and plural debate.
In this connection, Zulema's day care center is one case among many
others, which include private schools maintained by international
organizations, to which the children of Cuba's nouveaux riches flock in
a mad, happy rush. As such, Cuban society is slowly becoming exposed to
two visibly different ways of accessing education.
At the top, we have the children of those who have come out victorious
in the process of capitalist restoration, comfortable in their private
institutions and nurseries. At the very broad base, we have the heirs of
poverty, in an educational system that is in shambles, with badly-paid
teachers and ramshackle facilities. Some go up while others plunge
further down.
This shameful process, in which capitalism is secretly restored while
loyalty is demanded to a decrepit system, which the Cuban leadership –
and, curiously enough, neo-liberals – insist on calling "socialism",
that is actually the worst kind of privatization.
The reason for this, among others, is that it is being implemented
without clear norms that set down the infrastructural, ethical, personal
and methodological requirements that someone who wishes to provide
educational services privately must meet.
Rather than regulations, what we are witnessing is total permissiveness:
this day care center, for instance, operates in the shadow of a medieval
legislation that authorizes the private care of children. What would
happen, I wonder, if, availing themselves of a permit to care for the
ill, someone as "fortunate" as Zulema decided to open a private clinic?
My second reflection focuses on Zulema's fortunate circumstances. If
there is something we have to concede here, it is the fact of Zulema's
good fortune. She is fortunate to have a two-story home, surrounded by
gardens, in an upper-class area of Havana, in a country where the more
fortunate of the lot would secure an apartment in the working-class
neighborhood of Alamar after many years of work, in construction
brigades that erected whatever buildings the Comandante deemed
convenient to build.
She is fortunate to have Internet access, a web-page and email account,
in a country where such services, we are told, aren't offered to private
residences. Inherently – and perhaps through inheritance – she is
fortunate to be able to purchase toys, furniture and flat-screen TVs, in
a society gripped by poverty.
She has also been very, very fortunate to have been permitted to operate
a business whose legality is indeed questionable, particularly in a
country where the police clamp down on and fine elderly people who
refill cigarette lighters, and where former government delegate Sirley
Avila was fined for selling mangos that grew in a tree in her own backyard.
We have to acknowledge this is indeed good fortune, but not any kind of
fortune. It is the kind that accompanies the descendants of the
post-revolutionary elite.
A case like Zulema's shows the true meaning of the "slow but sure"
restructuring process, a process aimed at restoring capitalism in Cuba,
to the benefit of an elite that is slowly becoming the country's new
bourgeoisie – a bourgeoisie that relies on the State to make its initial
profits and, at the same time, protect itself from competitors.
This is the class that Zulema Rosales and her day care center represent.
Again, her good fortune isn't just any old luck. It is the good fortune
inherent to her social position, a position which is increasingly
classist. It is the good fortune which comes with Cuba's new class, its
budding bourgeoisie.
Posted on one of the walls of the nursery, we see a decorative hanging
which alludes to the Grimm Brother's The Frog Prince. A text, in
English, explains that, before finding the right frog (which turns into
a prince on being touched by true love's kiss), one must first kiss many
frogs.
Zulema Rosales didn't have to do this. She knew what frog to kiss from
the very beginning.
—–
(*) A Havana Times translation of the original published in Spanish by
Cubaencuentro.com
Source: "The Privatization of Education in Cuba: Kissing the Right Frog"
- http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=98336
Cuban weapons in North Korean ship violated U.N. sanctions
Posted on Wednesday, 08.28.13
Report: Cuban weapons in North Korean ship violated U.N. sanctions
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
JTAMAYO@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
Cuban weapons found in a freighter bound for North Korea "without a
doubt" violate U.N. sanctions and some of it seemed intended for
Pyongyang's own use, not for repair and return as Havana claims,
according to a report Tuesday.
The weapons shipment hidden in deliberately modified sections of the
ship also was much larger than previously reported, and included
anti-tank cannon and night vision equipment, said the report in 38
North, a U.S.-based Web page on North Korean issues.
Taken together, the evidence makes clear "that contrary to both the
North Korean shipping declaration and Cuban government statements the
shipment was without a doubt a violation of United Nations sanctions on
North Korea," it said.
The North Korea-flagged Chong Chon Gang declared a cargo of 10,000 tons
of sugar and 2,000 empty polyethylene bags after it left Cuba and
approached the Panama Canal in July on its way home. Panama authorities
searched it after a tip that it carried drugs and found the weapons in
25 metal shipping containers hidden under the sugar.
Havana claimed the 240 tons of "obsolete" equipment, including two
MiG-21 jets, 15 engines for the MiGs, nine missiles and parts and two
anti-aircraft missile radar systems, was sent to Pyongyang for repairs only.
"The statement was misleading to say the least," said the report,
co-authored by Hugh Griffiths, a global arms trafficking expert with the
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in Sweden, and research
intern Roope Siiritola. 38 North is run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at
the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Maryland.
The most obvious discrepancy, the report said, was that North Korea has
a long record of trying to buy MiG-21s and engines for its own military
in violation of the U.N. arms embargo sparked by its missile and nuclear
weapons development programs.
What's more, the fuselages of the MiG-21s "were rather carelessly
packed" in 40-foot metal shipping containers, it added, with no
protective padding covering sensitive parts that could have been damaged
should the ship have encountered rough seas.
"The method of packing does not suggest that the aircraft themselves
were to be 'repaired' and 'returned' to Cuba, but rather (were intended)
for end use in North Korea" as scrap or spare parts, the report said.
In contrast, it added, the engines "were securely attached and
adequately spaced … covered in layers of protective plastic sheeting and
brown packing paper" and cradled in improvised transport frames,
"suggesting their end use as replacement engines."
North Korea attaches great importance to its fleet of MiG-21 jets, the
report added, which may be "obsolete by western standards" but are
capable of flying as fast as the KF-16, the South Korean variant of the
U.S.-made F-16.
The shipment also included a variety of small arms, ammunition and
conventional artillery ammunition for anti-tank guns and howitzer
artillery as well as generators, batteries and night vision equipment,
among other items, according to the report.
Many of the rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and artillery ammunition
were "in mint condition … and much of it was in original packing cases,"
it said. "They clearly were not 'to be repaired and returned to Cuba.'
Rather, these items were intended simply for delivery to North Korea for
its own use.
The report also noted that the shipping containers — each has a unique
ID number — had not been used for declared cargo for many years and
suggested they were taken out of storage "for the express purpose of
transporting the sanctioned military goods to North Korea."
The holds of the freighter, designed for bulk cargo such as sugar and
grains, also were "deliberately modified" so that the containers could
be hidden under the sugar cargo "to facilitate a clandestine transfer,"
according to the report.
The report, which includes several previously unpublished photos of the
weaponry, mentioned information gathered by Panamanian authorities and
the U.N. Organization on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Container Control
Programme (CCP).
It added that a report filed last week to the U.N. Security Council by
the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea, which inspected the weaponry
in Panama earlier this month, makes for "interesting reading" but did
not mention any specific details.
The Chong Chon Gang and its 35-man crew remain detained in Panama, where
the government has said that it will decide what to do with the
freighter and the sugar only after the U.N. Security Council makes a
ruling on the case.
Source: "Report: Cuban weapons in North Korean ship violated U.N.
sanctions - Cuba - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/28/3590027/report-cuban-weapons-in-north.html
Report: Cuban weapons in North Korean ship violated U.N. sanctions
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
JTAMAYO@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
Cuban weapons found in a freighter bound for North Korea "without a
doubt" violate U.N. sanctions and some of it seemed intended for
Pyongyang's own use, not for repair and return as Havana claims,
according to a report Tuesday.
The weapons shipment hidden in deliberately modified sections of the
ship also was much larger than previously reported, and included
anti-tank cannon and night vision equipment, said the report in 38
North, a U.S.-based Web page on North Korean issues.
Taken together, the evidence makes clear "that contrary to both the
North Korean shipping declaration and Cuban government statements the
shipment was without a doubt a violation of United Nations sanctions on
North Korea," it said.
The North Korea-flagged Chong Chon Gang declared a cargo of 10,000 tons
of sugar and 2,000 empty polyethylene bags after it left Cuba and
approached the Panama Canal in July on its way home. Panama authorities
searched it after a tip that it carried drugs and found the weapons in
25 metal shipping containers hidden under the sugar.
Havana claimed the 240 tons of "obsolete" equipment, including two
MiG-21 jets, 15 engines for the MiGs, nine missiles and parts and two
anti-aircraft missile radar systems, was sent to Pyongyang for repairs only.
"The statement was misleading to say the least," said the report,
co-authored by Hugh Griffiths, a global arms trafficking expert with the
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in Sweden, and research
intern Roope Siiritola. 38 North is run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at
the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Maryland.
The most obvious discrepancy, the report said, was that North Korea has
a long record of trying to buy MiG-21s and engines for its own military
in violation of the U.N. arms embargo sparked by its missile and nuclear
weapons development programs.
What's more, the fuselages of the MiG-21s "were rather carelessly
packed" in 40-foot metal shipping containers, it added, with no
protective padding covering sensitive parts that could have been damaged
should the ship have encountered rough seas.
"The method of packing does not suggest that the aircraft themselves
were to be 'repaired' and 'returned' to Cuba, but rather (were intended)
for end use in North Korea" as scrap or spare parts, the report said.
In contrast, it added, the engines "were securely attached and
adequately spaced … covered in layers of protective plastic sheeting and
brown packing paper" and cradled in improvised transport frames,
"suggesting their end use as replacement engines."
North Korea attaches great importance to its fleet of MiG-21 jets, the
report added, which may be "obsolete by western standards" but are
capable of flying as fast as the KF-16, the South Korean variant of the
U.S.-made F-16.
The shipment also included a variety of small arms, ammunition and
conventional artillery ammunition for anti-tank guns and howitzer
artillery as well as generators, batteries and night vision equipment,
among other items, according to the report.
Many of the rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and artillery ammunition
were "in mint condition … and much of it was in original packing cases,"
it said. "They clearly were not 'to be repaired and returned to Cuba.'
Rather, these items were intended simply for delivery to North Korea for
its own use.
The report also noted that the shipping containers — each has a unique
ID number — had not been used for declared cargo for many years and
suggested they were taken out of storage "for the express purpose of
transporting the sanctioned military goods to North Korea."
The holds of the freighter, designed for bulk cargo such as sugar and
grains, also were "deliberately modified" so that the containers could
be hidden under the sugar cargo "to facilitate a clandestine transfer,"
according to the report.
The report, which includes several previously unpublished photos of the
weaponry, mentioned information gathered by Panamanian authorities and
the U.N. Organization on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Container Control
Programme (CCP).
It added that a report filed last week to the U.N. Security Council by
the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea, which inspected the weaponry
in Panama earlier this month, makes for "interesting reading" but did
not mention any specific details.
The Chong Chon Gang and its 35-man crew remain detained in Panama, where
the government has said that it will decide what to do with the
freighter and the sugar only after the U.N. Security Council makes a
ruling on the case.
Source: "Report: Cuban weapons in North Korean ship violated U.N.
sanctions - Cuba - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/28/3590027/report-cuban-weapons-in-north.html
Cuban dissident on hunger strike was sent back to prison
Posted on Tuesday, 08.27.13
Cuban dissident on hunger strike was sent back to prison
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
JTAMAYO@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
A Cuban dissident who declared a hunger strike four weeks ago to protest
his arrest, trial and conviction — all in just three days — is suffering
from bouts of dizziness and other health problems, opposition activists
said Tuesday.
Iván Fernández Depestre was transferred from the Guamajal prison to the
Arnaldo Milian Hospital in Santa Clara earlier this month because of the
effects of his protest, said Santa Clara dissident Damarys Moya.
Other opposition activists who visited him Monday in the hospital said
he looked extremely thin and complained of bouts of dizziness, high
blood pressure and stomach and joint pains, Moya said.
She added that Fernández told her in an earlier phone conversation that
a prison official had warned him that as soon as he was discharged from
the hospital he would be sent to the isolation wing of the Guamajal prison.
A nurse at the hospital told her on Tuesday that Fernández was
discharged at 10 p.m. Monday and was taken away by prison officials,
Moya told El Nuevo Herald by phone from Santa Clara.
"They returned him to the prison because they want to hide him in the
prison, in case he dies," said another Santa Clara dissident, Loreto
Hernández. 'We fear for his life."
Fernández, who is about 40 years old and an activist in the Orlando
Zapata National Civic Resistance Front, was arrested July 30 during an
opposition march in his hometown of Placetas near Santa Clara, according
to Cuban Democratic Directorate.
He was tried on Aug. 2 for "pre-criminal dangerousness," a catch-all
charge often used by prosecutors against dissidents, and was sentenced
to two years in prison, the Miami-based directorate reported.
Fernández launched his hunger strike on the very day of his arrest, but
his protest did not become public until Aug. 19, according to the
dissidents in Santa Clara.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami Republican, issued a statement Tuesday
branding Fernández's imprisonment as "unjust" and "outrageous" and
saying that she is concerned about his deteriorating health.
"The international community must express solidarity with the 11 million
Cubans oppressed by the Castros and it must demand the immediate release
of not only Iván but all those innocent Cubans being held unjustly in
Castro's gulags," Ros-Lehtinen added.
Source: "Cuban dissident on hunger strike was sent back to prison - Cuba
- MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/27/3589769/cuban-dissident-on-hunger-strike.html
Cuban dissident on hunger strike was sent back to prison
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
JTAMAYO@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
A Cuban dissident who declared a hunger strike four weeks ago to protest
his arrest, trial and conviction — all in just three days — is suffering
from bouts of dizziness and other health problems, opposition activists
said Tuesday.
Iván Fernández Depestre was transferred from the Guamajal prison to the
Arnaldo Milian Hospital in Santa Clara earlier this month because of the
effects of his protest, said Santa Clara dissident Damarys Moya.
Other opposition activists who visited him Monday in the hospital said
he looked extremely thin and complained of bouts of dizziness, high
blood pressure and stomach and joint pains, Moya said.
She added that Fernández told her in an earlier phone conversation that
a prison official had warned him that as soon as he was discharged from
the hospital he would be sent to the isolation wing of the Guamajal prison.
A nurse at the hospital told her on Tuesday that Fernández was
discharged at 10 p.m. Monday and was taken away by prison officials,
Moya told El Nuevo Herald by phone from Santa Clara.
"They returned him to the prison because they want to hide him in the
prison, in case he dies," said another Santa Clara dissident, Loreto
Hernández. 'We fear for his life."
Fernández, who is about 40 years old and an activist in the Orlando
Zapata National Civic Resistance Front, was arrested July 30 during an
opposition march in his hometown of Placetas near Santa Clara, according
to Cuban Democratic Directorate.
He was tried on Aug. 2 for "pre-criminal dangerousness," a catch-all
charge often used by prosecutors against dissidents, and was sentenced
to two years in prison, the Miami-based directorate reported.
Fernández launched his hunger strike on the very day of his arrest, but
his protest did not become public until Aug. 19, according to the
dissidents in Santa Clara.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami Republican, issued a statement Tuesday
branding Fernández's imprisonment as "unjust" and "outrageous" and
saying that she is concerned about his deteriorating health.
"The international community must express solidarity with the 11 million
Cubans oppressed by the Castros and it must demand the immediate release
of not only Iván but all those innocent Cubans being held unjustly in
Castro's gulags," Ros-Lehtinen added.
Source: "Cuban dissident on hunger strike was sent back to prison - Cuba
- MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/27/3589769/cuban-dissident-on-hunger-strike.html
Cuba reports 163 new cholera cases for year
Posted on Tuesday, 08.27.13
Cuba reports 163 new cholera cases for year
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAVANA -- Cuba has reported a cholera outbreak to international health
monitors, with 163 new cases this year associated with three provinces.
According to a bulletin by the Pan American Health Organization, island
authorities reported Friday that the cases were linked to Havana,
Santiago and Camaguey provinces.
Patients who contracted the waterborne disease included 12 travelers
from European and Latin American nations. There were no reported fatalities.
In Havana, the outbreak was traced to two food service centers where
some food handlers were found to be infected with cholera without
displaying any symptoms.
"The food outlets have since adopted appropriate sanitary measures," the
Pan American Health Organization said.
Cuban state media announced last summer that cholera had sickened 417
people and killed three. It had been unheard of on the island for years.
In January there was another report of 51 cases in Havana.
There has been no word since then about the disease in official media
such as Communist Party newspaper Granma.
But state television and posters in clinics have been reminding Cubans
of the importance of good hygiene lately, as they typically do during
the country's hot and humid tropical summers, when diarrheic diseases
increase.
Last week the United States issued a travel alert for Cuba due to cholera.
Cholera causes severe dehydration that can be fatal, but it is treatable
if detected in time.
Cuban medical workers have played an important role in treating the
disease in nearby Haiti, where cholera has killed thousands in recent years.
Source: "HAVANA: Cuba reports 163 new cholera cases for year - Latest
News - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/27/3588523/cuba-reports-163-new-cholera-chases.html
Cuba reports 163 new cholera cases for year
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAVANA -- Cuba has reported a cholera outbreak to international health
monitors, with 163 new cases this year associated with three provinces.
According to a bulletin by the Pan American Health Organization, island
authorities reported Friday that the cases were linked to Havana,
Santiago and Camaguey provinces.
Patients who contracted the waterborne disease included 12 travelers
from European and Latin American nations. There were no reported fatalities.
In Havana, the outbreak was traced to two food service centers where
some food handlers were found to be infected with cholera without
displaying any symptoms.
"The food outlets have since adopted appropriate sanitary measures," the
Pan American Health Organization said.
Cuban state media announced last summer that cholera had sickened 417
people and killed three. It had been unheard of on the island for years.
In January there was another report of 51 cases in Havana.
There has been no word since then about the disease in official media
such as Communist Party newspaper Granma.
But state television and posters in clinics have been reminding Cubans
of the importance of good hygiene lately, as they typically do during
the country's hot and humid tropical summers, when diarrheic diseases
increase.
Last week the United States issued a travel alert for Cuba due to cholera.
Cholera causes severe dehydration that can be fatal, but it is treatable
if detected in time.
Cuban medical workers have played an important role in treating the
disease in nearby Haiti, where cholera has killed thousands in recent years.
Source: "HAVANA: Cuba reports 163 new cholera cases for year - Latest
News - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/27/3588523/cuba-reports-163-new-cholera-chases.html
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Marginalization and Promiscuity
Marginalization and Promiscuity / Rebeca Monzo
Posted on August 26, 2013
Much has been said lately about the subject, after the most recent
address of Raul, where he addressed these social problems that were
simply ignored. Now the media constantly make programs dedicated to this
social phenomenon, in efforts to improve what they themselves decided to
ignore all these years of Revolution, becoming unwitting accomplices and
partners.
Television, one of the most important means of dissemination, is
precisely the one that has influenced programs and novels, where vulgar
language and gestures have been the constant, regardless of the old and
well-known phrase of "a picture is worth a thousand words." This method,
therefore, is a massive "fixer" of good and evil.
I remember about twenty years ago, in a famous and popular TV show on
Saturdays, led by an elegant and fine presenter. Interviewing the famed
Spanish actor Echenove, she asked: "How has your visit to Cuba been?"
Echenove, totally uninhibited, replied, "pues me ha ido de pin…"* She
blushed, then said "excuse me, but that word is ugly and you shouldn't
say it." "What?" he argued, "it can't be, because everyone here says it."
As for promiscuity and poor hygiene habits, our press emphasizes
offenses committed by individuals, and closes its eyes to the problems
caused by bad management and the continued lack of hygiene in food
handling practiced in state facilities. The most representative example
is the sale of unrefrigerated pork in the farmers market, not to mention
that it is transported without any hygiene in open air vehicles, even on
occasion with workers sitting on the pieces of meat.
They also criticize how and where coffee cups are rinsed, that are sold
freshly brewed at the various private and public establishments, as well
as the water used to make fruit juices sold, improper handling of
certain foods, etc. and, what is never mentioned, is where did they
learn all these bad habits reminiscent of the Middle Ages.
Weren't voluntary work and the schools in the countryside the genesis of
all this promiscuity that also brought so much of this social
indiscipline? What were the conditions of those camps and schools so
that these situations didn't occur, mainly due to the lack of clean
water and adequate facilities, forcing many students to have to relieve
themselves "open air" like animals? Why, then, weren't adequate
provision taken so that this didn't happen? On the contrary, they were
established as standard practice.
On the other hand, they are now also attacking the phenomenon of noise
and music at soaring that makes people scream to be heard, and annoys
the neighbors, forcing them to listen to what they don't want to. This
also happens in many buses, where in addition to crowding, heat and
odors, we must also must stoically endure the deafening sound of music,
imposed by the driver or some lazy and rude passenger who doesn't care
about disturbing the other occupants of the vehicle.
"It's never too late if the reaction is good", I would say, to
paraphrase an old maxim, given the new concern of the media. But what
concerns me, extraordinarily, is that we have had to wait nearly half a
century, for Raul to talk about it in a speech, to "become aware" of it,
and that, as he usually does, he continues to attack the effects without
having the courage to denounce the causes and, above all, those who
caused these and other social ills.
*Translator's note: He uses a vulgar phrase [which Rebeca does not spell
out in full] meaning, roughly, "it's all gone to hell," thinking it
means "it's been fantastic."
26 August 2013
Source: "Marginalization and Promiscuity / Rebeca Monzo | Translating
Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/marginalization-and-promiscuity-rebeca-monzo/
Posted on August 26, 2013
Much has been said lately about the subject, after the most recent
address of Raul, where he addressed these social problems that were
simply ignored. Now the media constantly make programs dedicated to this
social phenomenon, in efforts to improve what they themselves decided to
ignore all these years of Revolution, becoming unwitting accomplices and
partners.
Television, one of the most important means of dissemination, is
precisely the one that has influenced programs and novels, where vulgar
language and gestures have been the constant, regardless of the old and
well-known phrase of "a picture is worth a thousand words." This method,
therefore, is a massive "fixer" of good and evil.
I remember about twenty years ago, in a famous and popular TV show on
Saturdays, led by an elegant and fine presenter. Interviewing the famed
Spanish actor Echenove, she asked: "How has your visit to Cuba been?"
Echenove, totally uninhibited, replied, "pues me ha ido de pin…"* She
blushed, then said "excuse me, but that word is ugly and you shouldn't
say it." "What?" he argued, "it can't be, because everyone here says it."
As for promiscuity and poor hygiene habits, our press emphasizes
offenses committed by individuals, and closes its eyes to the problems
caused by bad management and the continued lack of hygiene in food
handling practiced in state facilities. The most representative example
is the sale of unrefrigerated pork in the farmers market, not to mention
that it is transported without any hygiene in open air vehicles, even on
occasion with workers sitting on the pieces of meat.
They also criticize how and where coffee cups are rinsed, that are sold
freshly brewed at the various private and public establishments, as well
as the water used to make fruit juices sold, improper handling of
certain foods, etc. and, what is never mentioned, is where did they
learn all these bad habits reminiscent of the Middle Ages.
Weren't voluntary work and the schools in the countryside the genesis of
all this promiscuity that also brought so much of this social
indiscipline? What were the conditions of those camps and schools so
that these situations didn't occur, mainly due to the lack of clean
water and adequate facilities, forcing many students to have to relieve
themselves "open air" like animals? Why, then, weren't adequate
provision taken so that this didn't happen? On the contrary, they were
established as standard practice.
On the other hand, they are now also attacking the phenomenon of noise
and music at soaring that makes people scream to be heard, and annoys
the neighbors, forcing them to listen to what they don't want to. This
also happens in many buses, where in addition to crowding, heat and
odors, we must also must stoically endure the deafening sound of music,
imposed by the driver or some lazy and rude passenger who doesn't care
about disturbing the other occupants of the vehicle.
"It's never too late if the reaction is good", I would say, to
paraphrase an old maxim, given the new concern of the media. But what
concerns me, extraordinarily, is that we have had to wait nearly half a
century, for Raul to talk about it in a speech, to "become aware" of it,
and that, as he usually does, he continues to attack the effects without
having the courage to denounce the causes and, above all, those who
caused these and other social ills.
*Translator's note: He uses a vulgar phrase [which Rebeca does not spell
out in full] meaning, roughly, "it's all gone to hell," thinking it
means "it's been fantastic."
26 August 2013
Source: "Marginalization and Promiscuity / Rebeca Monzo | Translating
Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/marginalization-and-promiscuity-rebeca-monzo/
ECURED Ministry of Truth
ECURED: Ministry of Truth / Regina Coyula
Posted on August 26, 2013
The esteemed Haroldo Dilla, after exploring ECURED, has written an
entertaining article where he notes some deficiencies in what tries to
present itself as a reference encyclopedia for Cubans. Although I am not
frequent user of the page, I agree with Dilla about its slowness and
other defects identified by him and Rafael Rojas.
What is alarming is that, unlike Wikipedia, ECURED is found on every
computer in the island's schools, it is the obligatory reference for
students for their classwork, and announces its access via mobile phones
and digital television. ECURED is "fed" by the workers of the Youth Club
of Computing, students at the University of Information Sciences (UCI),
and others with similar profiles who must expand it by ten articles a
month each, copied from printed sources. That is the meaning, here, of
"collaborative." Lacking rigor, lacking qualifications, quantity for
quality.
Before its imminent appearance, I could not fathom the need for a labor
of such enormous scope, even with the duplication of contents previously
published on other sites; and one can only understand ECURED as the
Ministry of Truth, like a version of the world far beyond the
"destruction of history" facing the excessive freedom of Wikipedia.
It would have been rational to create a team of Cuban collaborators to
contribute content to the global encyclopedia, to post those other
points of view that balance (or not), and to have avoided this
ill-conceived network, poorly executed and with no future, as evidenced
by the diffusion of and avidity for the portable versions of Wikipedia,
which can be accessed from multiple paths through the same computers
that offer their services privately, but not before meeting the goal of
feeding ECURED.
Regina Coyula, Havana
Translated from Penultimos Dias
26 August 2013
Source: "ECURED: Ministry of Truth / Regina Coyula | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/ecured-ministry-of-truth-regina-coyula/
Posted on August 26, 2013
The esteemed Haroldo Dilla, after exploring ECURED, has written an
entertaining article where he notes some deficiencies in what tries to
present itself as a reference encyclopedia for Cubans. Although I am not
frequent user of the page, I agree with Dilla about its slowness and
other defects identified by him and Rafael Rojas.
What is alarming is that, unlike Wikipedia, ECURED is found on every
computer in the island's schools, it is the obligatory reference for
students for their classwork, and announces its access via mobile phones
and digital television. ECURED is "fed" by the workers of the Youth Club
of Computing, students at the University of Information Sciences (UCI),
and others with similar profiles who must expand it by ten articles a
month each, copied from printed sources. That is the meaning, here, of
"collaborative." Lacking rigor, lacking qualifications, quantity for
quality.
Before its imminent appearance, I could not fathom the need for a labor
of such enormous scope, even with the duplication of contents previously
published on other sites; and one can only understand ECURED as the
Ministry of Truth, like a version of the world far beyond the
"destruction of history" facing the excessive freedom of Wikipedia.
It would have been rational to create a team of Cuban collaborators to
contribute content to the global encyclopedia, to post those other
points of view that balance (or not), and to have avoided this
ill-conceived network, poorly executed and with no future, as evidenced
by the diffusion of and avidity for the portable versions of Wikipedia,
which can be accessed from multiple paths through the same computers
that offer their services privately, but not before meeting the goal of
feeding ECURED.
Regina Coyula, Havana
Translated from Penultimos Dias
26 August 2013
Source: "ECURED: Ministry of Truth / Regina Coyula | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/ecured-ministry-of-truth-regina-coyula/
The Political Burden of the Dictatorship after the Dictatorship
The Political Burden of the Dictatorship after the Dictatorship / Miriam
Celaya
Posted on August 26, 2013
Days ago, I had the opportunity to read a smart and funny article by
Eugenio Yáñez, in which, based on the age of the highest representatives
of the government, the writer was questioning the "youth" proclaimed by
Castro 2 in his recent speech for the 60th anniversary of the assault on
Moncada barracks. Almost at the end of that article, Yáñez successfully
launches a judgment referring to the olive green gerontocracy still in
power in Cuba: "Instead of trying to distort reality, it would be better
to clear the way for new generations that will do it better, because
it's impossible to do it any worse".
The extent of the case, as simple as it is accurate, brings to mind a
debate a couple of years ago with several of my friends that focused on
a discussion about who could be the alternative political actors we
might consider for the presidency of a Cuba in transition. On that
occasion, there were very interesting analyses around opposition figures
and programs of the most diverse leanings and positions, including the
dissident spectrum from the last part of the '80s decade until today.
The opinions of those debating were, of course, also very different and
emotional at times.
I will not fall into the naïve temptation of retelling a version of that
reunion here, or the viewpoints of each participant because, after all,
it was not about trying to decide the Cuban transition in a simple
dialogue among friends, nor does Cuba possess the necessary minimal
conditions for freedom and democracy, political maturity or enough
civility, even among the dissident ranks, to tolerate criticism or
opinions that are different from their own evaluations. In fact, almost
every figure carries within him the messiah virus or the belief that he
eats the egg of absolute truth for breakfast every morning, and only the
more honest ones, the best, have the ability to recognize the evil in
their own hearts, and to keep it duly restrained and not allow it to
expand and dominate them. Even the people seem to interpret the
criticism of any leader or program as a divisive attempt. Often, people
seem to need idols more than freedom itself.
But back to the question, the fact is that at that unique and
unforgettable meeting attended by several intelligent and acute
individuals, the idea that raised the most debate was that of a fellow
member who closed the circle, declaring: "Anyone who is democratically
elected and supports civil liberties conducive to the exercise of all
human rights will do as president for me, since, if that were the case,
we would be guaranteed the right to criticize him, to speak out against
his administration, to demand, to force him to listen to demands and,
within a reasonable period of a few years, to remove him from office in
new elections if he doesn't meet the voters' expectations".
I must confess that at that time I wasn't 100% on board with his
proposal, though I could understand he had made a good point. Maybe I
was driven by distrust in imagining what the performance of certain
shady characters would be when anointed with legitimate power leading
the destiny of a nation in the turmoil of a transition that will
undoubtedly be difficult. That prospect terrifies me still.
However, Yáñez's article has made me think about the Cuban reality and
once again taken me back to that memorable gathering where, as so often
happens, a group of friends discussed the hypothetical future of a
democratic Cuba. That friend and Yáñez are both right: the Castro regime
has deliberately performed so badly that no one else could do it worse,
not even the worst of the worst hidden kingpins we have in every sector
of Cuban society. But, to elect "the wrong thing" so we won't have the
worst one, doesn't sound to me like a good political sense.
Definitely, in the presence of a democratic election, I would not vote
for just anyone. However, due to the stubbornness of the eternal Moncada
octogenarian boys who cling to power, I can't help but to recognize that
any other option would be preferable, at least for the majority. The
dictatorship has become the point of reference to such an extent of what
a government should not be that it has sealed the evil within the fate
of the Cuban people, even long after it's gone. And so, paradoxically,
it could still play a political role, in case it becomes indirectly
responsible of an unfortunate future election of the transition that
awaits us.
Translated by Norma Whiting
9 August 2013
Source: "The Political Burden of the Dictatorship after the Dictatorship
/ Miriam Celaya | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-political-burden-of-the-dictatorship-after-the-dictatorship-miriam-celaya/
Celaya
Posted on August 26, 2013
Days ago, I had the opportunity to read a smart and funny article by
Eugenio Yáñez, in which, based on the age of the highest representatives
of the government, the writer was questioning the "youth" proclaimed by
Castro 2 in his recent speech for the 60th anniversary of the assault on
Moncada barracks. Almost at the end of that article, Yáñez successfully
launches a judgment referring to the olive green gerontocracy still in
power in Cuba: "Instead of trying to distort reality, it would be better
to clear the way for new generations that will do it better, because
it's impossible to do it any worse".
The extent of the case, as simple as it is accurate, brings to mind a
debate a couple of years ago with several of my friends that focused on
a discussion about who could be the alternative political actors we
might consider for the presidency of a Cuba in transition. On that
occasion, there were very interesting analyses around opposition figures
and programs of the most diverse leanings and positions, including the
dissident spectrum from the last part of the '80s decade until today.
The opinions of those debating were, of course, also very different and
emotional at times.
I will not fall into the naïve temptation of retelling a version of that
reunion here, or the viewpoints of each participant because, after all,
it was not about trying to decide the Cuban transition in a simple
dialogue among friends, nor does Cuba possess the necessary minimal
conditions for freedom and democracy, political maturity or enough
civility, even among the dissident ranks, to tolerate criticism or
opinions that are different from their own evaluations. In fact, almost
every figure carries within him the messiah virus or the belief that he
eats the egg of absolute truth for breakfast every morning, and only the
more honest ones, the best, have the ability to recognize the evil in
their own hearts, and to keep it duly restrained and not allow it to
expand and dominate them. Even the people seem to interpret the
criticism of any leader or program as a divisive attempt. Often, people
seem to need idols more than freedom itself.
But back to the question, the fact is that at that unique and
unforgettable meeting attended by several intelligent and acute
individuals, the idea that raised the most debate was that of a fellow
member who closed the circle, declaring: "Anyone who is democratically
elected and supports civil liberties conducive to the exercise of all
human rights will do as president for me, since, if that were the case,
we would be guaranteed the right to criticize him, to speak out against
his administration, to demand, to force him to listen to demands and,
within a reasonable period of a few years, to remove him from office in
new elections if he doesn't meet the voters' expectations".
I must confess that at that time I wasn't 100% on board with his
proposal, though I could understand he had made a good point. Maybe I
was driven by distrust in imagining what the performance of certain
shady characters would be when anointed with legitimate power leading
the destiny of a nation in the turmoil of a transition that will
undoubtedly be difficult. That prospect terrifies me still.
However, Yáñez's article has made me think about the Cuban reality and
once again taken me back to that memorable gathering where, as so often
happens, a group of friends discussed the hypothetical future of a
democratic Cuba. That friend and Yáñez are both right: the Castro regime
has deliberately performed so badly that no one else could do it worse,
not even the worst of the worst hidden kingpins we have in every sector
of Cuban society. But, to elect "the wrong thing" so we won't have the
worst one, doesn't sound to me like a good political sense.
Definitely, in the presence of a democratic election, I would not vote
for just anyone. However, due to the stubbornness of the eternal Moncada
octogenarian boys who cling to power, I can't help but to recognize that
any other option would be preferable, at least for the majority. The
dictatorship has become the point of reference to such an extent of what
a government should not be that it has sealed the evil within the fate
of the Cuban people, even long after it's gone. And so, paradoxically,
it could still play a political role, in case it becomes indirectly
responsible of an unfortunate future election of the transition that
awaits us.
Translated by Norma Whiting
9 August 2013
Source: "The Political Burden of the Dictatorship after the Dictatorship
/ Miriam Celaya | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-political-burden-of-the-dictatorship-after-the-dictatorship-miriam-celaya/
Cuba issues alert on cholera outbreak
Cuba issues alert on cholera outbreak
26 August, 2013
The Cayman Islands Ministry of Health and the Public Health Department
confirmed their awareness of the situation following the release of a
U.S. State Department security message on Aug. 20.
Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by ingesting food or water
contaminated with cholera bacteria. Symptoms include diarrhea and
vomiting which, if severe enough, can cause death. In most cases,
symptoms occur within 24 to 48 hours of infection but in others it can
take several days for signs of the infection to appear.
Although no travel restrictions are in place, the Pan American Health
Organization confirmed that, between late July and early August of this
year, there have been five cases of cholera associated with a history of
travel to Cuba.
Travellers to Cuba should contact their doctor immediately if they
develop watery diarrhea and vomiting within five days of leaving the
country. This advice also applies to travellers to Haiti and the
Dominican Republic, which are also currently affected by cholera.
Acting Medical Officer with the Health Services Authority Samuel
Williams-Rodriguez advised travellers to Cuba to be vigilant in ensuring
hygienic food preparation, and to make sure disinfected water is used
for everything from making ice to washing hands.
"Travellers should also carry an ample supply of oral re-hydration
salts," he said. Dr. Williams-Rodriguez explained that re-hydration is
extremely important in preventing death from cholera.
Cholera resurfaced in Cuba last year after a century without any
outbreaks. A year later, Cuban officials are still battling the disease.
It is not known exactly how the disease was reintroduced to the country.
Local health officials said that cholera is not present in the Cayman
Islands and that an outbreak is unlikely due to the water and sewage
treatment systems in place.
Source: "Cuba issues alert on cholera outbreak :: cayCompass.com" -
http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2013/08/26/Cuba-issues-alert-on-cholera-outbreak/
26 August, 2013
The Cayman Islands Ministry of Health and the Public Health Department
confirmed their awareness of the situation following the release of a
U.S. State Department security message on Aug. 20.
Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by ingesting food or water
contaminated with cholera bacteria. Symptoms include diarrhea and
vomiting which, if severe enough, can cause death. In most cases,
symptoms occur within 24 to 48 hours of infection but in others it can
take several days for signs of the infection to appear.
Although no travel restrictions are in place, the Pan American Health
Organization confirmed that, between late July and early August of this
year, there have been five cases of cholera associated with a history of
travel to Cuba.
Travellers to Cuba should contact their doctor immediately if they
develop watery diarrhea and vomiting within five days of leaving the
country. This advice also applies to travellers to Haiti and the
Dominican Republic, which are also currently affected by cholera.
Acting Medical Officer with the Health Services Authority Samuel
Williams-Rodriguez advised travellers to Cuba to be vigilant in ensuring
hygienic food preparation, and to make sure disinfected water is used
for everything from making ice to washing hands.
"Travellers should also carry an ample supply of oral re-hydration
salts," he said. Dr. Williams-Rodriguez explained that re-hydration is
extremely important in preventing death from cholera.
Cholera resurfaced in Cuba last year after a century without any
outbreaks. A year later, Cuban officials are still battling the disease.
It is not known exactly how the disease was reintroduced to the country.
Local health officials said that cholera is not present in the Cayman
Islands and that an outbreak is unlikely due to the water and sewage
treatment systems in place.
Source: "Cuba issues alert on cholera outbreak :: cayCompass.com" -
http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2013/08/26/Cuba-issues-alert-on-cholera-outbreak/
The Castros’ Cuba
The Castros' Cuba
PETER O'CONNOR
Contributing Columnist
oconnor@lbknews.com
Fidel Castro and his entourage, while in New York for the 1960 opening
session of the United Nations, stayed at the Hotel Theresa after
storming out of the midtown Hotel Shelburne because of that hotel
manager's "unacceptable cash" demands. Castro's entourage rented 80
rooms at the Theresa for $800 per day.
(Wikipedia)
Some of you might remember those heady days in America. Fidel had come
down from the Sierra Maestra Mountains. He was the darling of New York
for a time. That was before the Cuban Missile Crisis which pitted
Kennedy against Khrushchev over Soviet missiles transported to Cuba by
sea. It seems little has changed, but the players, as we learn of Cuban
weapons found aboard ship in Panama on their way to North Korea. This
is 50+ years later.
"The news that Cuba was caught smuggling fuel and weaponry on a North
Korean freighter through the Panama Canal surprised many who had bought
the line that the Castro regime is reforming and eager to lose its
reputation for criminality." ("The Castro Brothers Get Caught in the
Act" by Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2013)
Ms. O'Grady recounts the story of the frog and the scorpion. You might
recall; the scorpion explains that he stung the frog because "I t's my
nature." "The same goes for the Castro Brothers. They are simply
incapable of containing their beastliness."
"To pretend otherwise is to deny that the Castros, who lobbied the
Soviets for nuclear war against the U.S. in 1962, are still dangerous.
Yet denial is the fashion in some newsrooms and in the cloakrooms on
Capitol Hill, which is why the weapons-smuggling story was so evanescent
(vanishing, disappearing)."
Ms. O'Grady continues, " The scorpion nature of the Castros is hardly
news to Cubans. They are not permitted to use the internet, to watch
independent news broadcasts, to earn dollars, to speak their minds, to
send their children to private school or to worship freely. Something
as basic as milk for children is hard to find. Some Cubans who rebel
languish for years in dungeons."
At Tampa's International Airport you can see crowds queuing up for the
regular flights to Cuba. O'Grady again, "Increased repression has
accompanied recent efforts to bring in more foreign exchange by
attracting American visitors through 'educational' and 'cultural'
excursions that are permitted by the U.S. under its long-standing
embargo. The movements of these visitors and their interaction with
Cubans must be tightly controlled by the dictatorship to ensure that
they don't see too much of the real Cuba. They are supposed to go away
singing the praises of the happy communist paradise, and many do."
O'Grady, a perceptive observer, opines, "A dictatorship is apparently an
exotic curiosity for well-to-do Americans. They are being herded
through selected parts of the country in large numbers to view
first-hand what deprivation can inspire."
It has been reported that Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, N.H.) would
join with Miss Porter's School (Farmington, Connecticut) on a week's
exploration of the fascinating art and culture of Cuba. Some of you
might think this is just what our young preppies need. I doubt if they
will see much of the real Cuban society. Money talks, eh?
Back to O'Grady's account, "Now comes the news of the arms shipment
aboard the Chong Chon Gang headed for North Korea, a land of barbed-wire
fences and starvation, a regime so dangerous to world peace that even
the dithering United Nations Security Council, China included, agreed
unanimously in March to heightened sanctions against it."
"The Cuban foreign ministry immediately clamed that the weaponry hidden
under 10 tons of sugar and undeclared was obsolete and going abroad for
repair. But Jose' Otero writes in the Panamanian daily La Prensa that
Panamanian officials found two MIG fighters and full tanks of jet fuel,
along with a 'mid-air refueling plane, two vehicles for towing radars, a
rocket launching platform and more."
This story doesn't add up. Repairs might be made by bringing
technicians and parts to the weapons. These materials were made in the
Soviet Union; why take them to North Korea for repair? One might ask
what came to Cuba from North Korea on the ships outbound trip?
O'Grady finishes, "All of this smells bad. Cuba wants to shake off its
international pariah status so that it can get World Bank and
InterAmerican Development Bank handouts, thereby avoiding economic and
political reform. Indoctrinating the girls at Miss Porter's School is
part of that effort. The arms-trafficking is, or should be, a wake-up
call."
Cuba is close, very close to us in Florida. Those Kennedy Brothers stare
down of the older Castro so long ago maybe saved our world. Graham
Allison, later dean of the Kennedy School at Harvard, wrote a seminal
work "Essence of Decision" which describes these events in detail. We
used it at the School, again so long ago.
Cuba is still there, its dictatorial regime is still there. Vigilance
is, as always, necessary.
Source: "The Castros' Cuba | Longboat Key News" -
http://www.lbknews.com/2013/08/26/the-castros-cuba/
PETER O'CONNOR
Contributing Columnist
oconnor@lbknews.com
Fidel Castro and his entourage, while in New York for the 1960 opening
session of the United Nations, stayed at the Hotel Theresa after
storming out of the midtown Hotel Shelburne because of that hotel
manager's "unacceptable cash" demands. Castro's entourage rented 80
rooms at the Theresa for $800 per day.
(Wikipedia)
Some of you might remember those heady days in America. Fidel had come
down from the Sierra Maestra Mountains. He was the darling of New York
for a time. That was before the Cuban Missile Crisis which pitted
Kennedy against Khrushchev over Soviet missiles transported to Cuba by
sea. It seems little has changed, but the players, as we learn of Cuban
weapons found aboard ship in Panama on their way to North Korea. This
is 50+ years later.
"The news that Cuba was caught smuggling fuel and weaponry on a North
Korean freighter through the Panama Canal surprised many who had bought
the line that the Castro regime is reforming and eager to lose its
reputation for criminality." ("The Castro Brothers Get Caught in the
Act" by Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2013)
Ms. O'Grady recounts the story of the frog and the scorpion. You might
recall; the scorpion explains that he stung the frog because "I t's my
nature." "The same goes for the Castro Brothers. They are simply
incapable of containing their beastliness."
"To pretend otherwise is to deny that the Castros, who lobbied the
Soviets for nuclear war against the U.S. in 1962, are still dangerous.
Yet denial is the fashion in some newsrooms and in the cloakrooms on
Capitol Hill, which is why the weapons-smuggling story was so evanescent
(vanishing, disappearing)."
Ms. O'Grady continues, " The scorpion nature of the Castros is hardly
news to Cubans. They are not permitted to use the internet, to watch
independent news broadcasts, to earn dollars, to speak their minds, to
send their children to private school or to worship freely. Something
as basic as milk for children is hard to find. Some Cubans who rebel
languish for years in dungeons."
At Tampa's International Airport you can see crowds queuing up for the
regular flights to Cuba. O'Grady again, "Increased repression has
accompanied recent efforts to bring in more foreign exchange by
attracting American visitors through 'educational' and 'cultural'
excursions that are permitted by the U.S. under its long-standing
embargo. The movements of these visitors and their interaction with
Cubans must be tightly controlled by the dictatorship to ensure that
they don't see too much of the real Cuba. They are supposed to go away
singing the praises of the happy communist paradise, and many do."
O'Grady, a perceptive observer, opines, "A dictatorship is apparently an
exotic curiosity for well-to-do Americans. They are being herded
through selected parts of the country in large numbers to view
first-hand what deprivation can inspire."
It has been reported that Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, N.H.) would
join with Miss Porter's School (Farmington, Connecticut) on a week's
exploration of the fascinating art and culture of Cuba. Some of you
might think this is just what our young preppies need. I doubt if they
will see much of the real Cuban society. Money talks, eh?
Back to O'Grady's account, "Now comes the news of the arms shipment
aboard the Chong Chon Gang headed for North Korea, a land of barbed-wire
fences and starvation, a regime so dangerous to world peace that even
the dithering United Nations Security Council, China included, agreed
unanimously in March to heightened sanctions against it."
"The Cuban foreign ministry immediately clamed that the weaponry hidden
under 10 tons of sugar and undeclared was obsolete and going abroad for
repair. But Jose' Otero writes in the Panamanian daily La Prensa that
Panamanian officials found two MIG fighters and full tanks of jet fuel,
along with a 'mid-air refueling plane, two vehicles for towing radars, a
rocket launching platform and more."
This story doesn't add up. Repairs might be made by bringing
technicians and parts to the weapons. These materials were made in the
Soviet Union; why take them to North Korea for repair? One might ask
what came to Cuba from North Korea on the ships outbound trip?
O'Grady finishes, "All of this smells bad. Cuba wants to shake off its
international pariah status so that it can get World Bank and
InterAmerican Development Bank handouts, thereby avoiding economic and
political reform. Indoctrinating the girls at Miss Porter's School is
part of that effort. The arms-trafficking is, or should be, a wake-up
call."
Cuba is close, very close to us in Florida. Those Kennedy Brothers stare
down of the older Castro so long ago maybe saved our world. Graham
Allison, later dean of the Kennedy School at Harvard, wrote a seminal
work "Essence of Decision" which describes these events in detail. We
used it at the School, again so long ago.
Cuba is still there, its dictatorial regime is still there. Vigilance
is, as always, necessary.
Source: "The Castros' Cuba | Longboat Key News" -
http://www.lbknews.com/2013/08/26/the-castros-cuba/
Cuban state begins to move out of the restaurant business
Cuban state begins to move out of the restaurant business
By Marc Frank
HAVANA | Mon Aug 26, 2013 3:03pm EDT
(Reuters) - More than 20 state restaurants in Cuba are about to become
employee-run cooperatives as Raul Castro's communist government
continues its retreat from running just about everything on the
Caribbean island.
The restaurants will become cooperatives in October, with hundreds more
likely to follow if the experiment succeeds.
All aspects of the business from buying the food to splitting the
profits will be decided by the employees, not from on high in the
government. A similar process is already under way in other sectors from
construction and transportation to farmers' markets and light manufacturing.
The restaurants are the first to be ceded by the state since communist
authorities took over all eateries in 1968.
Until 5 years ago, visitors venturing from their hotels had basically
one option: state-run eateries, often with a reputation for poor quality.
Today, there are close to 2,000 private restaurants as local
entrepreneurs take advantage of market-oriented reforms initiated by
President Raul Castro, who took over for his ailing older brother Fidel
in 2008.
"The government is hoping that cooperative owners, with pride in their
establishments and motivated by profits, will offer much better service
and higher quality goods to customers, both to tourists and fellow
Cubans," said Richard Feinberg, a nonresident senior fellow of the
Washington-based Brookings Institution and author of a number of studies
on Cuba's economic reforms.
Some of the restaurants slated to become coops are off the beaten track
and cater to a mainly Cuban clientele using the local peso currency.
Others - for example La Casona de 17 and La Divina Pastora, both in
Havana - operate in a dollar equivalent, called the convertible peso or
CUC, and serve mainly tourists.
The Divina Pastora, nestled under Moro Castle at the narrow entrance to
the Bay of Havana, sits on some of the city's most valuable real estate,
owned by the military-run Gaviota tourism corporation.
La Casona de 17 is part of the tourism ministry's entertainment and
restaurant chain, Palmares, which operates upscale establishments across
the island.
"We are a pilot project, but in the future I think all Palmares
restaurants will become cooperatives," said Marylin Herrera, 25, as she
waited on tables at La Casona de 17, located in the busy Vedado district
in the city center.
Herrera said it would be quite a challenge for the 50-odd workers to run
the restaurant, which they will lease from the state, but looked forward
to having "much more flexibility in how we operate and what we offer."
A DIFFICULT BUSINESS CLIMATE
Castro, speaking at a Communist Party congress in 2011 where a sweeping
plan to revamp the Soviet-style economy was approved, outlined efforts
to create a "non-state" sector of private and cooperative businesses.
"The growth of the non-public sector of the economy ... will allow the
state to focus on raising the efficiency of the basic means of
production ... while relieving itself from those management activities
that are not strategic for the country," he said.
Castro has already taken steps to deregulate small private businesses in
the retail service sector. Thousands of smaller state shops and taxis
have been leased to individual employees, and fallow state lands have
been leased to would-be small farmers in search of improved production
and efficiency.
"We are in an experimental phase with a group of cooperatives in certain
sectors of the economy. This allows us to follow each project, learning
as we go along before they become generalized," Grisell Trista Albasu, a
member of the Communist Party commission charged with implementing the
reform plan for state businesses, told official media last week.
The cooperatives function independently of state entities and
businesses, set prices according to the market in most cases, and
receive better tax treatment than individually owned businesses,
according to a decree published in December.
The law allows for an unlimited number of members and use of contracted
employees on a three-month basis.
While it is difficult to find any local experts who oppose the state
getting out of secondary economic activity such as the restaurant
business, it is relatively easy to find critics of the process.
In the case of cooperatives, which are supposedly being formed on a
voluntary basis, the vast majority to date have been the result of
decisions made at the highest level of government and imposed on the
employees, who must accept their fate or be laid off.
"This was not a spontaneous process ... at least in the vast majority of
cases," a Cuban economist said, requesting anonymity due to restrictions
on talking with foreign journalists.
The cooperatives "face a difficult business environment where a decrepit
infrastructure, obsolete equipment and banking practices, high taxes and
restrictions on trade will make success difficult," he said.
(Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by Gary Hill)
Source: "Cuban state begins to move out of the restaurant business |
Reuters" -
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/26/us-cuba-reform-cooperatives-idUSBRE97P0R620130826
By Marc Frank
HAVANA | Mon Aug 26, 2013 3:03pm EDT
(Reuters) - More than 20 state restaurants in Cuba are about to become
employee-run cooperatives as Raul Castro's communist government
continues its retreat from running just about everything on the
Caribbean island.
The restaurants will become cooperatives in October, with hundreds more
likely to follow if the experiment succeeds.
All aspects of the business from buying the food to splitting the
profits will be decided by the employees, not from on high in the
government. A similar process is already under way in other sectors from
construction and transportation to farmers' markets and light manufacturing.
The restaurants are the first to be ceded by the state since communist
authorities took over all eateries in 1968.
Until 5 years ago, visitors venturing from their hotels had basically
one option: state-run eateries, often with a reputation for poor quality.
Today, there are close to 2,000 private restaurants as local
entrepreneurs take advantage of market-oriented reforms initiated by
President Raul Castro, who took over for his ailing older brother Fidel
in 2008.
"The government is hoping that cooperative owners, with pride in their
establishments and motivated by profits, will offer much better service
and higher quality goods to customers, both to tourists and fellow
Cubans," said Richard Feinberg, a nonresident senior fellow of the
Washington-based Brookings Institution and author of a number of studies
on Cuba's economic reforms.
Some of the restaurants slated to become coops are off the beaten track
and cater to a mainly Cuban clientele using the local peso currency.
Others - for example La Casona de 17 and La Divina Pastora, both in
Havana - operate in a dollar equivalent, called the convertible peso or
CUC, and serve mainly tourists.
The Divina Pastora, nestled under Moro Castle at the narrow entrance to
the Bay of Havana, sits on some of the city's most valuable real estate,
owned by the military-run Gaviota tourism corporation.
La Casona de 17 is part of the tourism ministry's entertainment and
restaurant chain, Palmares, which operates upscale establishments across
the island.
"We are a pilot project, but in the future I think all Palmares
restaurants will become cooperatives," said Marylin Herrera, 25, as she
waited on tables at La Casona de 17, located in the busy Vedado district
in the city center.
Herrera said it would be quite a challenge for the 50-odd workers to run
the restaurant, which they will lease from the state, but looked forward
to having "much more flexibility in how we operate and what we offer."
A DIFFICULT BUSINESS CLIMATE
Castro, speaking at a Communist Party congress in 2011 where a sweeping
plan to revamp the Soviet-style economy was approved, outlined efforts
to create a "non-state" sector of private and cooperative businesses.
"The growth of the non-public sector of the economy ... will allow the
state to focus on raising the efficiency of the basic means of
production ... while relieving itself from those management activities
that are not strategic for the country," he said.
Castro has already taken steps to deregulate small private businesses in
the retail service sector. Thousands of smaller state shops and taxis
have been leased to individual employees, and fallow state lands have
been leased to would-be small farmers in search of improved production
and efficiency.
"We are in an experimental phase with a group of cooperatives in certain
sectors of the economy. This allows us to follow each project, learning
as we go along before they become generalized," Grisell Trista Albasu, a
member of the Communist Party commission charged with implementing the
reform plan for state businesses, told official media last week.
The cooperatives function independently of state entities and
businesses, set prices according to the market in most cases, and
receive better tax treatment than individually owned businesses,
according to a decree published in December.
The law allows for an unlimited number of members and use of contracted
employees on a three-month basis.
While it is difficult to find any local experts who oppose the state
getting out of secondary economic activity such as the restaurant
business, it is relatively easy to find critics of the process.
In the case of cooperatives, which are supposedly being formed on a
voluntary basis, the vast majority to date have been the result of
decisions made at the highest level of government and imposed on the
employees, who must accept their fate or be laid off.
"This was not a spontaneous process ... at least in the vast majority of
cases," a Cuban economist said, requesting anonymity due to restrictions
on talking with foreign journalists.
The cooperatives "face a difficult business environment where a decrepit
infrastructure, obsolete equipment and banking practices, high taxes and
restrictions on trade will make success difficult," he said.
(Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by Gary Hill)
Source: "Cuban state begins to move out of the restaurant business |
Reuters" -
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/26/us-cuba-reform-cooperatives-idUSBRE97P0R620130826
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
