Steven’s Cuba Blog

Turning the page.

Not having posted anything here in over a month - and not having posted anything of substance in longer than that - I’ve been feeling ambivalent as to how to continue writing about Cuba, which is ironic because I’ve never been short of words in the past.

I’ve already said that I love Cuba, and nearly everything about it and its people. It’s the closest place on Earth to home that I can find, yet it’s also maddening that there is so much that seems to be left undone. But I am not Cuban. I don’t live in Cuba, with all its beauty, its problems, its dreams, its hopes, and most of all, its people. Some of the most sincere, no-bullshit, and fun people I’ve ever met are in Cuba. I, however, won’t ever know what it’s like to wake up in the morning knowing that the Playas del Este are only a short bike ride from my house. I won’t know the frustrations of being a working professional, trying to improve the lot of my society… yet struggling to make ends meet, while the bartender who serves me drinks is dressed in the latest fashions. I’ll never understand the joys of being a student in a Cuban grade school, or the indignity of being stopped and having my ID checked when I’m taking my girlfriend out for the night. I won’t know how difficult it is to try to acquire a car in Santiago de Cuba, or how easy it is to just live off the land and be at peace with oneself off the coast of la Isla de la Juventud.

When I started this blog, I took an oath with myself to try and stay as non-partisan as I could. I talked about my trips, the things I’d seen and how they affected me, personally. I talked about current events, trying to keep my own feelings and opinions, and the way things appeared as filtered through the prism of my own eyes. Most of all, I wasn’t ever trying to tell Cuba’s story, but only my own, as I passed through the valleys and towns that dot the island’s landscape. Despite all this, I was treated as someone with a political agenda, on both - as if there were only two - sides of the political arena. Those on the left called me a selfish liar, a sellout and a profiteer when I’d mention things like how I had to wait in lines longer when I was mistaken for a local Cuban. I received my very first death threats - two, to be exact - shortly after returning from my first Cuban trip, a two-month bicycle odyssey that changed my life and was the reason for this blog’s existence. Both of those threats were via emails that can be tracerouted back to Miami, Florida; seems I’m not very popular on Calle Ocho.

Now, it’s been almost exactly one year to the day that I haven’t returned to Cuba. I’ve lost touch with many of the friends and colleagues I’d met - though not all - and haven’t followed Cuban developments as well as I had in the past. I do, however, have a will to continue writing and refocus my attention on Cuba and Cuban affairs. I avoided doing this over the past few months because I had something of an apprehension to writing something that seem too partisan or biased, on either side of the fence. Now that I’ve distanced myself a little from the subject matter, though, that fear has dissolved into a drive to say what I feel is right, as seen from my own eyes. Rightists will call me a communist and Leftists will call me a fascist, and you know what?

That’s just fine with me.

I think it’s amazing that a well-known writer in the Cuban exile community can make a thinly veiled suggestion that Havana should be hit with Nuclear Weapons, and not have anyone else in the media even make a mention of it. It’s also ridiculous that I cannot even invite friends in Cuba to visit me without going through a wholly unreasonable ’screening process’.

A bunch of cranky, greedy old men with bad memories and their suburb SoBe grandkids who have never even been to Cuba basically control a huge swath of the political spectrum in the most powerful country in the world. If you are are a presidential candidate in the US, you pretty much cannot win without Florida, and that means that you cannot win on an agenda that doesn’t include the continued aggression and punishment against Cuba and its people, at the behest of the aforementioned bloodthirsty villagers with torches and pitchforks. In a very real sense, as someone of Iraqi descent, I feel that Cuban-Americans share a huge deal of the responsibility for the invasion of Iraq, and the slaughter of countless innocents.

On the other hand, things inside Cuba aren’t that much better. When I was in Eastern Europe a few days ago, I felt an eerie deja vu of 80s communist or ex-communist party members dining at fine restaurants with a beautiful girl 1/3 of their age hanging off their shoulders (actually, Budapest still felt like that a little) while the real ‘proletariat’ didn’t see very much improvement in their lives during a revolution which was supposedly intended to make everybody equal. Cuba is in a very real danger of being overrun by corruption, and even if it wins that fight, the sheer amount of bureaucracy required to get the simplest permit or license is enough to put most people off from ever achieving what they set out to do in the first place.

So, we are where we are. Now what? No one knows, least of all me, but the least I can do is to continue speaking my mind and writing about Cuba - a topic that everyone seems to be an expert on and no one wants to compromise on.

Train Crash in Cuba

BBC NEWS | Americas | Many killed in Cuban train crash

At least 28 people have been killed and more than 70 injured in Cuba after a train collided with a bus at a level crossing, official media say.

The accident - which is the worst in Cuba for years - happened in Granma province in the east of the island.

Fifteen people are reported to be critically injured, and local people have been helping treat them.

Cubans treat man who killed Che

BBC NEWS | Americas | Cubans treat man who killed Che

Cuban doctors working in Bolivia have saved the sight of the man who executed revolutionary leader Che Guevara in 1967, Cuban official media report.

Mario Teran, a Bolivian army sergeant, shot dead Che Guevara after he was captured in Bolivia’s eastern lowlands.

Cuban media reported news of the surgery ahead of the 40th anniversary of Che’s death on 9 October.

Mr Teran had cataracts removed under a Cuban programme to offer free eye treatment across Latin America.

Video of Hugo Chávez meeting with Raul and Fidel Castro

Many people thought the images of a recovering Fidel Castro were doctored. Here is a video proving otherwise. Posted apolitically of course.

Will Hydro-Québec help solve Cuba’s energy woes?

Over the holidays, I had the opportunity to have dinner with a family friend who used to occupy a rather senior position at Hydro-Québec, one of the world’s premier authorities on hydro-electric power generation and transmission.

After a while, the conversation turned to Cuba (as it does so often with me…), and I was surprised to find out that there were, in fact, high-level discussions going on in the late 80s to build a large network of hydro-electric dams in Cuba. Apparently, these talks have recently been restarted.

Today, nearly all of the nation’s electricity is generated by nine plants, which are running on either oil or gas power. Largely based on ex-USSR technologies, these plants can be costly are difficult to repair as the parts needed are no longer manufactured and must be custom-ordered. The increasing number of blackouts in 2004 and early 2005 testifies to the problem, although recent measures taken by the Cuban state have helped rectify the situation somewhat. Regardless of its uptime, electricity reaches everywhere in Cuba; for better or worse. You find power lines in the most remote locations, and even the tiniest of villages has lights and television.

Despite the fact that Cuba does not have very large rivers, four sites were identified as being favorable to damming; it was asserted that on hydro-electricity alone, Cuba could go a long way towards power self-sufficiency.

The initial project never went through not because of economic or political concerns, but environmental ones. During and after the difficult “periodo especial” which Cuba went through following the fall of the Soviet Union, environmental protection became a huge priority for the state, since manufacturers and producers “could no longer ignore the possibility of a future with very limited resources.”

Because of necessity, conservation, self-sustenance and environmentalism became the keywords of the day. Organic inner-city gardens began sprouting up; 90% (!) of Havana’s fresh produce is from local farms and gardens. The bicycle made a comeback in force - to this day, I can personally attest to the fact that Cuba in general, and Havana specifically, is one of the greatest cities to cycle in. Eco-tourism is taking off all over Cuba, with health spas and uber-specialized health clinics all over the island.

Given the growing sense of eco-responsibility at the time, it didn’t make sense to flood hundreds of square kilometers of land - destroying countless species of flora and fauna that exist only in Cuba - and invest billions in hydro-electricity while nuclear energy was also being invested in (The two nuclear reactors are over 50% complete but are now mothballed).

Nuclear Central, Jurugua, Cuba

However, recent advances in hydro-electric manufacturing and production have allowed damming with minimal effect to the surrounding environment; our growing understanding of ecology also allows gives us more flexibility in gently displacing species - and, soon, entire ecosystems - without destroying them. Consequently, there is fresh interest in large-scale hydro-electric development in Cuba.

Solar, wind and other renewable resources are also high on the list of Cuban researchers and power producers. Regardless of the economic, political and social causes behind it, the truth is that Cuba is now in a very interesting position with regards to the use of renewable energy. The current economic climate leaves Cuba little choice but to slowly consider abandoning fossil fuels, and move on to become one of the first countries in the world to adopt environmentally-friendly, renewable power.

U.S. Treasury - Major League Morons

I learned via just a minute man that the U.S. treasury has finally decided that Cuba can’t play in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. It blows my mind that they would make such a stupid call; actually, no, it doesn’t. Could you just imagine how awesome it would be if the Cuban team played and beat the Americans, on their home turf no less?

Seriously… what could possibly be the justification for disallowing Cuba to play? Citing the completely idiotic embargo doesn’t do much to add credibility to the Treasury Department’s case; there isn’t a great financial interest for Cuba or for Cuban nationals to participate. It’s a sport, but once again the U.S. government seems intent on infecting the rest of the world with its misguided, malevolent politicking. It would be in the interest of both countries if Cuba participated in the tournament, as the U.S. would be applauded for its diplomatic gesture, and Cuba would have added exposure and credibility on the world stage (something which, obviously, the U.S. won’t stand for).

It’s not America’s blind hatred of Cuba and all things Castro that leads to idiotic outcomes like this; every U.S. government in recent memory has had to cater to the immensely powerful Miami Cuban exile community, or severely cripple their chances of winning an election. The way the districts are divided in the U.S., it’s nearly impossible to win an election without their support.

Funny to think that if the electoral system was shaped just a little differently in the United States, Cuba would be allowed to be play baseball in a supposedly international tournament.

Hmmm… this post was supposed to be about baseball, wasn’t it? I guess the Cubans I’ve met are right when they say that “every conversation eventually degenerates into politics”, and my blog is obviously no exception…
Let them play!

Update:

Canadian International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound said yesterday that U.S. bids to play host to future Olympic Games will be damaged by the Bush administration’s decision to prevent Cuba from playing in next year’s inaugural World Baseball Classic.

[…]

“Certainly it’s important for any country that’s bidding for the Games to be able to represent with confidence that athletes and coaches from around the world will be able to come to their country.”

[…]

“Sports should be separated from politics,” U.S. Soccer Federation president Bob Contiguglia said. “That’s been a FIFA and an IOC philosophy, and we concur with that philosophy. In soccer, we’ve played Cuba in sport on many occasions and it’s never been a problem. We’ve had teams go to Cuba and they’ve come here. So it seems kind of short-sighted that the administration would do that.”