July 11, 2005

The Longest Storm

Lots of people left comments in the Hurricane Dennis timeline post looking for word about friends and relatives that were vacationing in Cuba during the storm. My heart goes out to these people and I do hope their vacationing loved ones are safe and well.

We Cuban exiles can relate, you see. We have had loved ones on the island for forty-six years weathering every kind of storm imaginable. Physical storms. Hurricanes, tropical storms, severe weather. And ideological storms. Indoctrination, repression, isolation, separation.

You folks with friends in Cuba are worried about their spending a few days during the storm in Cuba. We worry because our friends and family must live there permanently with little or no chance of leaving those third world conditions behind.

Those of you that travel there, that have friends and family there serve as fiscal sponsors of the dreary lives that Cubans live. Every cent you spend there goes to the very same government that isloates its own people. That separates their families. That incarcerates Cubans who dare to express their need for something different.

When you finally do hear from your loved ones, remember that there are over 2 million Cubans in exile that live this fear of losing their own every single day of their lives. And when your loved ones are finally at home, sipping tea and recounting their adventures of Hurricane Dennis going through Cuba, remember that those Cubans left on the island are still weathering the storm.

Posted by Val Prieto at July 11, 2005 06:44 AM



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Comments

.....not only are they still there, they have practically no means to rebuild their lives. the have to depend on a government that would rather spend money exporting its revolution than help its people. there's no all state or state farm to help people there. it's going to be pretty bleak for them for quite some time.

thanks for bringing this up val.

Posted by: tony v at July 11, 2005 08:30 AM

Excellent post Val, but I think you were too kind. I mostly feel disgust for those who go to vacation and exploit the slave labor provided by castro. And I am sickened that so many are visiting Cuba primarily on sex vacations and come back to brag to their friends. Unfortunately, many of these exploiters are fellow Cubans and that is why I fully support the new stricter travel policies.

Posted by: Jose Aguirre at July 11, 2005 08:42 AM

Beautiful post, Val. I admire your restraint and bigheartedness. I was struggling to keep from being sarcastic, especially since London's terror attack 'gee will MY vacation be ruined?' offered such a window for it. It's a serious situation in Cuba and it will be felt for a long while and needs to be dealt with seriously. Aid is going to have to come from the west, Cubans cannot count on castro to do a thing for them. castro will only help castro and his nomenklatura.

Posted by: A.M. Mora y Leon at July 11, 2005 09:00 AM