BlogCuba - Operation Enduring Service

WB of Operation Enduring Service just sent me an email apologizing for not having much time to put together a BlogCuba post. Accompanying the note was the following, which despite its brevity, really hit home because reaching people and helping them understand a bit more about Cuba is why this Babalu Blog exists. Gracias WB. Es un placer y un honor.

Castro eres un espanol cubano grande gordo pantalones estupido.

I sit here at my desk, cup of coffee in hand, reading my latest exciting report: GAO Findings: Combating Terrorism: DOD Efforts to Improve Installation Preparedness Can Be Enhanced with Clarified Responsibilities and Comprehensive Planning. I told Val that I would try to write something for his BlogCuba, but time and pressures of emergency response work pushed it aside…until now. I thought about it again and wanted to take a minute and reflect on Cuba and on what Val has been doing…

Cuba, 21.30 N, 80. 00 W. A Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida. Discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and was a Spanish colony during the next several hundred years. The USS Maine sank in the harbor at Havana February15, 1898. Teddy Roosevelt and his rough riders fought the Spanish there. This lead to the Treaty of Paris which established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Was once a big resort island…Castro nullified all of that in 1959 when he led a rebel army to overthrow Cuba’s government and set up a communist dictatorship. Later, the Bay of Pigs invasion was a half-hearted US attempt to oust Castro. It failed for a number of reasons, all of which are the United States’ fault—many Cubans were betrayed by the US in that ill-fated attempt. Then there was the Cuban Missile Crisis which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war…the closest it has ever come since WWII. Now most US tourists to Cuba are Marines stationed at Guantánamo Bay or “Gitmo” as it is often called. Terrorists go there to be interrogated. Cuba makes great cigars that are illegal to import.

That about summed up my knowledge of Cuba (or Cubans for that matter) until I began reading Babalu Blog earlier this year. Even though I’m not like many Americans (I read about and study history endlessly and research political issues so that I know what I believe before I open my mouth), I must admit that for whatever reason, Cuba was not very high on my radar screen.

The loss, I’m afraid, was mine. I have begun to see over the last few months the true damages done to Cuba by Castro. The wholesale rape and pillage of a country, a people, and a culture. The trials and issues of the Cuban community here in the US…of their counterparts in Cuba…is not something that can ever be understood from media sound bites and talking heads. What faces Cubans each day is more than just a political dogma or clash of ideals. It is about the return of a nation to its people—a people that are indelibly tied to the United States. It is about a people that struggle to maintain their identity and their dignity. And I have begun to truly hear and understand the cries for justice against a dictator that is responsible for the death and injury of so many people…and so very close to US shores. So many lives lost…so much suffering—all from a madman that has inexcusably remained in power for almost 50 years. An evil serpent who has beyond all reason become a Hollywood and media darling. It defies all logic and understanding. But I see more clearly now, and the veil is lifting.

Thanks, Val. I’ve learned a lot from you and others over the last few months. I plan on learning a lot more before it’s over with.

Castro eres un espanol cubano grande gordo pantalones estupido.

Ok, so I have a lot more to learn about the Cuban language….

Posted by Val Prieto at August 12, 2004 02:11 PM

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Posted by: Jane at August 14, 2004 12:36 AM