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Our man in Havana
by George Taylor
Cuba, the island nation just 90 miles off our Florida coast, is a mystery to most Americans. That’s because the U.S. government prohibits its citizens from spending money there—which translates into a travel ban. But from April 20 to 30 of this year, my wife Ellen and I did travel to Cuba as part of a delegation of 44 American citizens, sponsored by Witness for Peace, to attend the Fourth Annual Conference Against CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement).
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All photos by George Taylor. |
Our delegation was completely legal because Witness for Peace had received a special license from the U.S. Treasury Department to travel to Cuba for 10 days. However, the license expired at precisely midnight on April 30, so we had to come back one day before the conference ended on May 1 to avoid fines and/or imprisonment.
Our purpose in Cuba was not to make any political statements either for or against the Castro government. Witness for Peace policy prohibits taking a stand on the Cuban Revolution, which resulted in an overthrow of the Batista government in 1959. Rather, it is our purpose to tell the truth about what we saw and experienced in Cuba and to work to change a set of U.S. policies (travel ban, trade embargo, and interference in the internal affairs of Cuba), which we know to be unjust.
Because of the ban on travel to Cuba – an exclusively American policy – no U.S. airlines fly to or from Cuba. Therefore we had to make arrangements to fly first to Nassau, Bahamas, and then transfer to Cubana Airlines, the national airline of Cuba, for the short flight to Havana. When we arrived at José Martí International Airport in Havana we were given a warm welcome by our hosts and no hassle from Cuban immigration. We observed a vibrant, colorful, beautiful capital city in Havana. (the Cubans say “Habana.”)
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Cubanos congregating at a shady underpass. |
Our delegation, made up of teachers, doctors, nurses, ministers, students and economists, was headquartered in the middle of Havana at the Martin Luther King Memorial Center. We lived there and had most of our meetings there. The center is an ecumenical, faith-based social service organization that grew out of the Marianao Baptist Church in Havana, seeking to build peace and justice on a community, national, and international level.
Most Witness for Peace delegations to Cuba (there have been dozens over the years) stay at the center’s guest house, which can sleep over 100 persons dormitory-style. Because Ellen and I are a married couple, we stayed with the family of a staff member.
Their family of four lives in an apartment about five blocks away from the center, in a typical Havana neighborhood. Although the central government of Cuba assigns all housing, this family owns its apartment. They gave up one of their three bedrooms for seven of the 10 nights that we were in Cuba. We all shared one full bath, a small kitchen, and a living room/dining room.
We spent those seven days in Havana in meetings and discussions and doing some sightseeing. We also visited Puerto Esperanza, (“Port of Hope”), along the coast in the countryside northwest of Havana. We were welcomed to a church retreat house run by the Pentecostal Church of Cuba, and spent two days and nights touring local facilities. First we visited a rural health center, Clinica Hogar (“Home Clinic”), primarily a prenatal health care facility for pregnant women. All Cuban citizens have access to free medical care, no matter their age or employment or health status. Because of the embargo imposed on Cuba by the U.S. government, in place since 1961, sometimes even basic medications are in short supply, but primary health care is available to all the Cubans to whom we spoke. Cuban doctors are highly qualified and sought around the world.
We also visited the Puerto Esperanza elementary school, which is adjacent to Clinica Hogar. The principal was an enthusiastic young man, and he introduced us to two of his students who proudly read to us some of their own poetry. Education is compulsory and available free to all children in Cuba up to the ninth grade. The Puerto Esperanza school is clean and well-stocked with normal school supplies. In each classroom is also a 21-inch television, used to supplement lessons. The school is also equipped with a computer lab and three functional computers, which students could potentially use for Internet access. Most Cubans do not have personal computers in their homes, although they are used in business and banking.
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The third facility, also near the school and the clinic, is an agricultural cooperative. It reminded me of the Israeli model of a kibbutz farm. Each farming family lives in their own home and owns their own land; they simply cultivate the land together using shared labor and mutually-owned machinery. They also share in the profits of their produce: mainly corn, mangos, and tobacco for those famous Cuban cigars that cannot be imported or sold in the U.S. |
Street scene in Havana. |
We had complete freedom of movement while in Puerto Esperanza, and at no time had any government “minders” accompanying us or telling us where we could or could not go.
Our final four days in Cuba were spent attending the meetings of the Fourth International Conference Against CAFTA, as voting delegates from the U.S. Other Americans were there as well, mostly from labor unions. Delegations representing most of the Central American and Latin American countries also attended. Particularly strong were delegations from Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, and Venezuela, which currently have democratically elected left-of-center governments.
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Banner displayed at conference. |
A Chilean woman was the chair of the conference, held in the Palace of the Revolution. When she gaveled the first plenary meeting to order, about 1,200 delegates filled the auditorium. Then in strode Fidel Castro, president of the Republic of Cuba, dressed in his army uniform, from boots to olive-drab hat. He received a standing ovation from the delegates. Castro greeted the assembly but did not give a speech. He is 78 years old now and moves more slowly, but is still vigorous and engaging.
Speakers at the plenary sessions and in smaller breakout groups addressed various trade and economic issues facing Central and Latin America. These included the differences between “free trade,” in which only capital is free to move across national borders; and “fair trade,” in which both capital and labor can move across international borders without penalty or restrictions. Other issues addressed were the environmental impact of industrial development in the fair trade areas of Central and Latin America, rights of indigenous peoples, education, and community development.
On the penultimate day of the conference, the keynote speaker was the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. He spoke eloquently and forcefully for over four hours on his vision for fair trade agreements in the Americas, presenting his alternative to NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and CAFTA. He called his alternative ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative Agreement for Latin America).
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In this agreement, capital and labor could move freely across the borders of the signatory countries and, as with the European Union, there would be no such thing as “illegal immigration.” Tariffs would be removed or reduced under ALBA, but specialty crops would be protected by quotas. |
Panel participants including Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. |
I found it interesting to see the personal chemistry between Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez during and after his speech. They were laughing and bantering back and forth like old friends. I believe they have a genuine comradeship, born out of the mutual needs and necessities of the two countries. They want to be equal trading partners with the U.S.
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The author listening to the panel discussion in English. |
When our time at the conference ended on April 30, we were all close to exhaustion, but were glad to have had the extraordinary experience of witnessing life in a country that has been misunderstood and marginalized by American policy over the past 45 years. The Cuban government has made its share of mistakes in regard to the U.S., to be sure, but reform is possible.
The question remaining is: “How can we move into a better chapter of U.S.-Cuban relations, in which citizens from the two nations can travel and trade in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect?”
As we boarded our Cubana Airlines flight for the trip home, we committed ourselves to work for answers from our side of the water.
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