The Cuban Exile And Embargo Thing

I know I mentioned that this site is not meant to be a political statement but part of the Cuban Thing has a lot to do with politics.  No matter how unpolitical I try to be I’m going to step on some toes anyway.  So here goes.

Every Cuban on this planet, with the exception of those still living on the Island,  has had some connection with some other Cuban who has either escaped or attempted to escape from Castro’s grasps.  I can personally relate to two instances where a family member and a close friend’s relative made the dangerous 90 mile trek to freedom.

The connection goes even deeper with those Cubans who have suffered the loss of a relative that was killed in search of that freedom.  Though the number has dropped in recent months, thousands each year attempt to escape Cuba and cross the shark infested waters of the Caribbean.  The number of souls lost to failed attempts can only be speculated upon.

For non-Cubans and possibly for some 3rd or 4th generation Cuban Americans who have taken their freedom for granted it may be hard to fathom the reasons why people would try such a dangerous crossing.   But people will go to extreme measures when  their freedom is in jeopardy.

The political climate that was created when Castro took over Cuba has many different camps.  These camps range from one extreme to the other with fanatics at both ends.  It is this political climate that is to blame for all the suffering  the Cuban people have undergone.  Sure Castro can be directly blamed for the deaths of tens of thousands but there are others who should also share in that blame.

There are many who today are still fighting to keep the embargo on Cuba.  This group will not give an inch until Castro’s government is disposed of.  The US governments position is that the embargo will remain until the issue of human rights is resolved.  Forty years ago the US went to war against another Communist nation to defend human rights.  Hundreds of thousands of American lives were lost in the Vietnam War.  Yet one can travel to Vietnam today.

Why then is Cuba different.  Is it because Castro threaten to shoot nuclear missiles at the US? The Soviet Union supplied the missiles, but anyone today can buy a ticket to Moscow.  Cuba is still  communist.  China is communist yet there is no trade embargo with them.  So what is really going on?

It is time to end the misery.  Like any other dictator Castro will pay for his misdeeds one way or another.  It is time to bury the hatchet and begin negotiations with Cuba.  I believe that instead of a trade embargo the US and the rest of the free world should flood Cuba with trade.  Fill the island with so much bounty that Castro and his henchmen would not know how to react.

As long as there is an embargo all Cubans are exiles.  My parents, like many others, died without being able to return to their homeland.  I for one would like to someday return to the land of my birth and share with my children and grandchildren our Cuban Thing.

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