Roots of Hope: the roots of indiscretion
Over the past few years, we have met many Cuban American college and university students who are part of the Roots of Hope (Raíces de Esperanza) organization. The vast majority of them have been kids with an admirable yearning to make a difference, and a heartfelt desire to see Cuba liberated and the Cuban people released from the shackles of tyrannical oppression. Nevertheless, we still have serious reservations regarding the organization Roots of Hope, and those doubts center around its leadership and its main benefactor and supporter, Carlos Saladrigas.
Roots of Hope was founded in 2003 by Felice Gorordo with a generous donation from Carlos Saladrigas. Since then, its agenda—as dictated by the organization’s leadership—has for the most part mirrored the agenda of another Saladrigas funded organization, The Cuba Study Group. As most of our readers already know, the Cuba Study Group is a staunch and active supporter of lifting all sanctions against the Castro dictatorship, and it fervently advocates and lobbies for the normalization of relations with the criminal and murderous Cuban regime. Although Roots of Hope claims to be a “non-partisan group,” that is a bit difficult to believe when Felice Gorordo, the executive director of the organization, also sits on the board of Saladrigas’ very partisan and agenda driven Cuba Study Group.
Since its inception, the seemingly worthwhile projects and initiatives undertaken by Roots of Hope have been mired and handicapped by the politically driven agenda of the organization's leadership and its partisan benefactors. They have used the labors and efforts of the organization's members to promote their own views, which have little to do with freedom and democracy in Cuba and are focused on business opportunities with the Castro dictatorship. By burdening these projects and initiatives with partisan politics, the leadership and benefactors of Roots of Hope have rendered them useless.
With all of this in mind, it did not come as a surprise when last weekend Roots of Hope co-sponsored a partisan conference at Boston College with the stated purpose of discussing “the most pressing issues to Cubans and Cuban Americans in the world today.” The conference only featured speakers and presenters who shared Cuba Study Group's view of engagement with the Castro dictatorship, and naturally, Carlos Saladrigas was one of their featured speakers. Saladrigas was also joined by Orlando Marquez, a spokesman for the infamous Cuban Catholic Church, who was flown in from Cuba along with Father Jose Conrado expressly to address the conference. However, the conference speaker who may have been arguably the most disturbing and questionable was the founder of Havana Journal, Rob Sequin.
Rob Sequin: first person seated on the extreme left (no pun intended)
Rob Sequin is the epitome of an opportunistic and immoral businessman. When he looks at Cuba, he does not see an island of 11-million people lacking basic freedoms and enslaved by a tyrannical dictatorship. He sees an opportunity to prey on a repressed population with sexual tourism.
Cuban Girls, Sex in Cuba and Jineteras
This site is designed to provide information on Jineteras (Cuban prostitutes and female hustlers), sex laws, escorts, gay hangouts and clubs where you are most likely to find (temporary) love. We will be posting some entertaining stories and eye candy photos but this site will not be X rated.
Check back for Cuban sex stories, Cuban marriages gone bad (and some that have gone right) along with traveler precautions, sex laws, sex customs and places to score whether you are straight, gay or some where in between (for you transvestite lovers) and there is an active transvestite culture in Havana Cuba.
Seriously, Cuba is the place to get laid... man, woman, straight or gay! There may not be freedom of speech but there certainly is freedom of sex. However, if you are looking for strip clubs or any adult video stores, forget it. You're not going to find those in Cuba.
Click image to enlarge
When we found out about Sequin’s appearance at this Roots of Hope conference, Val called Felice Gorordo and asked him why he would have such a contemptible character addressing the conference attendees. Gorordo pleaded ignorance, and told Val he had no idea of Sequin’s deplorable Cuba sex website. He disavowed any knowledge and said that Sequin had been invited to speak by one of the other conference co-sponsors and not by Roots of Hope. To his credit, Gorordo published a statement condemning Rob Sequin on the Roots of Hope blog. Nonetheless, the damage was already done.
Unfortunately, it was brought to our attention after the conference that one of the panelists, Rob Sequin of the "Havana Journal," owns a web site related to sex in Cuba. Conference organizers were not aware of this site nor of its ties to the panelist. This site is absolutely not in line with Roots of Hope's values, and we strongly condemn it.
Had the organizers been aware of the circumstances, Mr. Sequin would not have been invited to participate in the event. After being informed of the existence of this site, the organization strongly urged Mr. Sequin to take it down. At the time of this post, the site was disabled.
Ed.: The site may have been down at the time Gorordo wrote his post, but it was back up later in the day.
This incident perfectly illustrates the concerns and doubts we have had about the Roots of Hope organization. Although they claim to be non-partisan and non-political, as they have done in the past, there was no effort whatsoever to provide opposing points of view at this conference. The speakers and guests were all anti-embargo, and they all advocate engagement with the Castro dictatorship. In their fervor to stack the deck in favor of a specific partisan political view, Roots of Hope ended up associating and allying themselves with one of the most detestable and reprehensible figures in this debate.
Note: In case Rob Sequin decides to take his sexincuba.com site offline, below the fold there are screenshots of all the pages on the site saved forever in cyberspace for posterity.
Click on any of the images to enlarge
sexincuba.com Home Page:
sexincuba.com Cuban Girls page:
sexincuba.com Sex In Cuba page:
sexincuba.com Jineteras page:
sexincuba.com Gay In Cuba page:
sexincuba.com affiliation with Havana Journal closeup:
"The most pressing issues to Cubans and Cuban Americans in the world today.” So what are they, if not the termination and complete eradication of the totalitarian Castro nightmare and everything associated with it? Anybody who tries to dance around that or evade it in any way is at best dubious, if not downright damnable. It's not exactly rocket science.
I've always found Raices de Esperanza to be spot on with its message and always faithful to its core values and mission. This is very disconcerting, but I don't think in any ways it reflects the position of the organization with respect to human rights and youth empowerment. They're a good group who are making a tangible impact in the lives of young people in Cuba today. I'm definitely going to look into this... but for now Raices has my continued support.
Who Dat exposed Sherritt International's secret funding of the Lexington Institute......The Miami Herald?
http://www.babalublog.com/archives/007969.html
Who Dat exposed Havana Journal's secret prostitution racket...the Miami Herald?
Unreal
Humberto, please, get serious. The Miami Herald could barely bring itself to report, in a minuscule blurb that required tenacious searching to be located, that its formerly star journo, Oscar Corral, had been busted for soliciting a teen-aged prostitute. I don't believe the matter was ever broached overtly again, and El Nuevo Herald apparently NEVER touched it, at least not directly. In other words, "investigative reporting" is a figure of speech, and its meaning depends entirely on the speaker.
The question is, hope for what, by whom, for whom, and based on what?
I'm no attorney, but is promotion of prostitution in a country that it's not even legal to travel to in the first place, legal?
Joelima, think of it as cultural interchange. With benefits.
Rob Sequin is a low life , trying to make a buck on the cuban suffering, I known of this character for a long long time.
[...] Babalú blog. Es muy importante [...]
Unfortunately, because of the lack of institution building within our community, [it is simply not part of the Cuban character] all of our organizations get infiltrated and corrupted.
For instance, remember Ramon Cernuda and the Cuban Museum in Miami? Remember CANF? In NYC, there was a Cuban Cultural Center that also got infiltrated by a bunch of folks that started inviting "scholars and artists" from Cuba, etc...
Where are the "hardline" foundations? There are none. Because in general Cuban millionaires do not give money to these causes.
I don't want to generalize, but when I spoke to some kids from this organizations years ago, they seemed terribly naive and confused. The push to fit in, the peer-pressure to be politically correct, to be different from their "right-winged" parents is pretty strong.
Exactly, Ray. The "coolness", "hipness" thing probably motivates much of the rank and file--now the leadership...???
Rayarena:
In all fairness, how many college kids do you meet who are not "terribly naive and confused"? That is the most sinister and dangerous aspect of Saladrigas' Roots of Hope organization: they prey on the inherent naivete and confusion of teenagers.
It is not a surprise that a large number of these Raices kids end up leaving the organization the moment they get mature enough to figure out it is a scam. The list of "defectors" is huge, and each and every one of them leaves for the same reason: the organization is not honest.
Wow, Alberto, there's a huge list of "defectors"? Where is it? Can you publish it?
Alberto, I'm sorry, but I have to take exception. Felice Gorordo is one of the most passionate, honest, and hard-working people out there for the future of Cuba and he has my full support.
As do all the other hard-working young people in Raices who truly believe in working for a better Cuba, free from the oppression it faces today. (Thank you for stating that in your post.) I can attest to this from first-hand experience. I am a proud -- very proud -- member myself.
I know that all of the Raices leadership were absolutely horrified to learn of Rob Sequin's website and it is unfair of you to use something that Raices has publicly rebuked. This is something that everyone in Raices is 1,000% opposed to.
Furthermore, Raices IS non-partisan and has not ever taken any position on the embargo. Ever.
As far as being balanced, I remember seeing an amazing speaker at the recent Raices conference in Miami:
Marco Rubio. He inspired us all. I have seen speakers from various ends of the spectrum engage in respectful debate (the kind of debate that is lacking in Cuba), including Jaime Suchlicki and Orlando Gutierrez. So it's also unfair to look at only one or a few speakers, when you should really be looking at the entire roster.
Raices does great work, including the very important Cell Phones for Cuba project, which Babalu supports. And I know that Felice is a tireless worker against oppression in Cuba.
We should support ALL anti-castro voices within our community -- especially an organization like Raices that is constantly calling for an end to the injustices in Cuba. And sending out action alerts anytime a young activist is detained or imprisoned. And trying to provide cell phones to young people, giving them a voice.
But a house divided against cannot stand. If someone is opposed to the regime, then we should work together in our common cause, rather than silencing an ally. Wikileaks was right. With this kind of in-fighting, a true Cuban opposition can never really merge -- not in Havana or Miami.
I believe that we all, on this blog, have one common cause: an end to autocratic rule in Cuba, and supporting true democracy and human rights in Cuba. We can disagree about the rest, but as long as we share those core principles, we should all support one another as a community, and we can debate the details internally, but we should ALL stand together, as exiles, and the sons and daughters of exiles, in our common cause.
Please don't unfairly besmirch the hard work and reputation of countless kids and young professionals who are passionately anti-castro, and who carry their parents' torch into the future, constantly beliving in, and working for, a better Cuba.
David:
You are just as much entitled to your opinion on ROH as I am to mine. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many others, including former members, the organization has embarked on a course that clearly exhibits and mimics the partisan political agenda of the Cuba Study Group. You may not agree, and I respect that, but the evidence, I believe, is overwhelming.
I don't think there is anyone who feels a stronger desire for unity amongst the Cuban exile community as I, and I take no pleasure in pointing out what I believe to be serious missteps and questionable decisions made by ROH. But it would be grossly irresponsible of me, and all of us, to sit idly by and say nothing while we see a worthwhile group hijacked by partisan hacks with political agendas, all in the name of "unity."
You may not agree with my assessment of ROH, and that is your right. But I also have the right, and the responsibility, to point out and call attention to the egregious and harmful act of indiscretion committed by ROH when they allowed a despicable sex peddler who preys on the misery of Cubans on the island to join together with them at this conference. If I were to remain silent, I would become an accomplice to this fiasco.
Unfortunately, although this has been the most disturbing incident that we know of, it is not an isolated case.
Calling attention to serious lapses in judgment and harmful acts, which hurt our common cause of a free Cuba is not, in my book, "besmirching" anyone.
Pepe, please. No te me hagas el bobo.
[...] http://babalublog.com/2011/04/roots-of-hope-the-roots-of-indiscretion/ Posted in Cubaverdad, Culture, Freedom, Tourism | Tags: blog, customs, embargo, freedom, freedom of speech, tourism, travel, university [...]
Alberto, you are certainly entitled to your opinion -- the beauty of living in a free country. And I never implied, nor would I ever imply that you don't have this right.
I also agree that it is an important service of this blog, to point out despicable acts like Sequin's sex site, as well as countless others, like Col. Wilkerson's stupefyingly ignorant statements about Cuban-Americans, which I responded to: http://www.thehavananote.com/2011/04/hello_washington_anyone_there_0
However, my point is that the REAL guilty party here is Rob Sequin; NOT the hard-working kids of Raices. And I know you wouldn't suggest that anyone at Raices turned a blind eye to this; that's preposterous! Anyone in Raices is there because they care deeply about Cuba, and is highly offeneded, as I am, when they see people wanting to turn it into a brothel.
From a personal standpoint, once I learned about Sequin's website, it turned my stomach.
But instead of blasting Sequin, you are taking down the entire Raices organization. This is an organization that has tirelessly: organized huge marches with celebrity and media attention in the news in favor of Las Damas De Blanco; put out action alerts when student organizers are detained or arrested, gotten petitions out, which contributed to their release; provided cell phones to Cuban youth, giving them a voice; personally invited exiled/expelled Cuban student activists to speak at its conferences; and many, many others. If you want to criticize Raices, that's of course fine and your right. But there's critique, and there is blasting. You should blast Sequin, and critique Raices, if that's your feeling. Because Raices would NEVER be complicit in Sequin's actions; that is preposterous and highly offensive.
Babalu is a great website; I read it almost every day. The work you do is very, very important, especially since the MSM will never cover some of the stories you cover. That's why what you write is so important: you have influence. Your posting focused its condemnation on Raices, instead of Sequin, and that hurts our common cause, rather than singling out the real culprit.
You got the wrong guy, Alberto. The right guy to blast is Sequin. Not the Raices kids.
Dave, doesn't the fact that that RoH did ZERO due diligence on this guy concern you in the least? What does that say about their judgment? Not much, I'm afraid. This guy was a speaker on a dais, not behind the scenes. As for blasting RoH, I'll ask this: was Val invited to share his points of view? Was Alberto? Was Mauricio Claver-Carone of Capitol Hill Cubans? No. Sequin was. That, my naive and deluded reader, speaks volumes.
David,
I believe we're all in agreement the RDE has and does good work in some areas vis-a-vis Cuba and the deplorable condition the Cuban people live under, and, of course, that the RDE kids do put much energy and effort in said work. No one is arguing that.
however, to say the organization is above reproach or criticism is unacceptable, and we would not be doing our jobs to bring to light what we consider to be some questionable connections and actions. Their direct connection to Saladrigas and his Cuba Study Group in and of itself is worthy of that criticism.
Nobody is above criticism or beyond reproach except God. Not the pope, not the president, not Gandhi, NOBODY. Ever. Whatever is wrong should be condemned, and whatever is dubious should be doubted and questioned. Always.
Ditto asombra...
Alberto, not that I expect you to because you have a history of running your mouth and then going on tangents when pressured. (Which is the very definition of "hacerse el bobo" and like my dad used to say "no le pongas a otros nombretes que te queden bien a tí".)
Just saying, if there's a "huge list of defectors", if there are people leaving Roots because "the organization is not honest"; I'd like for you to back up your big words and show the proof. Do you even know anybody at ROH? Have you been to any of the conferences? Seems to me they get bigger every time, so I'm very surprised to hear about this tsunami of defectors.
Those RDE kids should realize that if ever genuine "rebels", "iconoclasts", etc. (all the things supposedly attractive to "hip" youth) existed --its the historic Cuban exiles, the very people they snub! What the Brigadistas managed on that beachead against overwhelming Communist firepower, that entire generation of Cuban exiles manages against the overwhelming opinion of the "the establishment", political and cultural, worldwide...!
http://bigjournalism.com/hfontova/2010/10/09/cuban-americans-the-only-ethnic-group-the-left-feels-free-to-hate/
Unreal
Val, a well-reasoned response. No one is above reproach, and this blog does great work in calling out those who deserve it.
But it's not fair and it's not right to lump Raices in with the likes of Sequin. We all agree here that Raices does good work vis-a-vis Cuba, and Raices is an organization that gets young people motivated and passionate about making a positive difference in Cuba. That is a FAR cry from a sex-in-Cuba website.
I'm not saying Raices is above reproach; in fact, I welcome any criticism. Debate can only make us better (something the castros don't understand). But there should be a distinction between the full-out attack on someone like Sequin, and the well-intentioned youth movement of Raices whose membership care passionately about contributing to a free Cuba. Capitol Hill gets it right by focusing their attack on Sequin. If we agree that Raices does good work, then maybe looking at the organization's work as a whole is more appropriate, and reserving a more nuanced critique for Raices rather than the full-scale assault that only Sequin deserves.
Humberto, absolutely wrong, Raices does no such thing. There is no snubbing of los historicos. They are the people who inspire us, who have taught us, and are a large reason of why anyone is a member of Raices in the first place -- because we are aware of our own history and the suffering of our own families. They are my personal inspiration and always will be.
At the very least, the Raices organization needs to examine how and why such a flagrant offender went undetected by their vetting process, assuming they have one, and make very sure nothing like that ever happens again. There's no question a ball was dropped here, and rather badly. It sure as hell looks bad. Very.
David:
Check ROH's speakers and panelists the past 2 or 3 years, and you will not find anyone who is considered a "hardliner" or "intransigent." Yes, when the organization began, it embraced all voices in exile. Now, however, they have a very narrow focus on who they associate with.
This makes the question of allowing Sequin a forum at an ROH conference even more disturbing. They surely do vet the hardliners, but do not seem to do much vetting on those who share Saladrigas' point of view. Which goes to the original point of my post: in an effort to espouse a particular political point of view, ROH ended up associating themselves with the likes of Rob Sequin.
And to set the record straight, we did not lump ROH in with Sequin. ROH lumped Sequin in with themselves.
Pepe:
What is your obsession with obtaining a list of defectors? Are you the jefe del comité? Are you collecting names for someone?
And I ask you to please remember that you have already been banned from commenting on this site for violating the rules of conduct. I have allowed your comments to be published for the entertainment of our readers. However, if you continue with your insulting tone, the ban will be put back in place and become permanent.
Asombra, I agree with your comment 100% and I know that there is discussion within Raices on how to avoid something like this from every happening again.
Alberto, I respectfully suggest that your critique of Raices should have looked more like Asombra's, and your last post. It should have stated that Raices should do a better job vetting speakers, which I think we all agree on.
Yes Alberto, you may be on to something.
I think Pepe may be one of the jefes del comite de los comemierdas.
Over the years Babalu has gotten quite a few visits from some of these characters, they have surely provided colorful entertaining.
David,
"Dime con quien andas, y te dire quien eres."
I cant even begin to tell you the times I heard that from my parents, nor how absolutely right they were every single time.
The fact that RDE enjoys a very close relationship - both financially and incentively - with the Cuba Study Group and Carlos Saladrigas, is incredibly off-putting to many, if not most, in the exile community. CSG and Saladrigas have a particular agenda and one which is not in keeping with the majority of this community. A fact proven, quite easily, by whom this community elects as its Congressional representatives. Remember, Joe Garcia was Saladrigas' boy, and he got his ass handed to him once again, despite Mr. Saladrigas very public exhortations at one particular RDE conference prior to the midterm elections that "The Balart era of US/Cuba politics is over."
fact is that as long as RDE aligns itself as an organization with the CSG and Saladrigas, despite the "great work" they may be doing via other ventures, RDE, its leadership, and conferences such as the one in Boston will remain suspect.
You state that we are being unfair to RDE in our coverage of this and criticism towards same, yet, considering the information readily available to us, I believe we are being very, very kind. Email me if you wish further clarification on same.
*ever happening again
David:
I sincerely believe that I have been nothing but fair with RDE in this post. As I matter of fact, I honestly believe I have been more than fair, actually generous, with the way I addressed RDE's involvement with Sequin.
You may not agree with me, but I ask that you trust me on this.
It's been years since I've heard anything about this group, so this discussion is very interesting: if we have registered sex offenders in our communities, published lists of felons, and vetting procedures in place for teachers, child welfare workers, nurses, even ministers --- how can Sequin be invited to this type of forum without anyone taking objective notice? Sorry, it smells of something other than Chanel.
[...] Babalú Blog denunció ayer que el empresario Rob Sequin, fundador del sitio Havana Journal y habló hace unos días en un evento organizado por Raíces de Esperanza en el Boston College, tenía una web dedicada a dar información sobre jineteras en Cuba. [...]
[...] de un sitio web que “promueve” el turismo sexual a la Isla.La denuncia, publicada por BabaluBlog a propósito de la participación de Sequin en una conferencia sobre Cuba copatrocinada por Raíces [...]
In my defense against this libelous attack and related posts and comments:
http://sexincuba.com/About-this-sex-in-Cuba-website.html
Rob:
About the only libelous behavior I see here is your continued classification of sexincuba.com, which shamelessly peddles sexual tourism in Cuba, as an "educational site." You are giving real educational websites -- and real sex sites for that matter -- a bad name.
The licentiousness of your defense is only surpassed by the fact that sexincuba.com in its "new" form is still peddling sexual tourism in Cuba.
Rob,
Obviously, the fact that you're peddling sex in Cuba has placed you in a precarious position with some of your "collaborators" and thus youve just resorted to the tried and true "bash the source and not their argument." I wont reply to any of your absurdities mentioned therein.
That said, there are two things I know for sure:
This Blog isnt a business for me, nor do I receive any monetary compensation for the work we do here. No one does. The same cannot be said about you and your Havana Journal endeavor.
And, with the above in mind, while your sex in Cuba site and its content may not be illegal, it certainly is void of any semblance of morality, especially since you use it not of a desire to educate anyone about sex in Cuba or to help the oppressed people of Cuba in any way shape or form, but as a means to line your pockets at the expense of a beaten and downtrodden people.
The fact that you have re-incarnated the site just makes the aforementioned all the more crystal clear.
“My defense against the extremist right wing bullies at Babalu Blog and Capitol Hill Cubans."
“How come Babalu Blog has never had a conference? I'd love to see the panelist for that one… Luis Posada, anti-freedom politicians like Diaz Balart and Ros Lehtinen, anybody who ever tried to kill Fidel Castro and others, but have me on a panel and the whole organization is tainted? Just plain crazy extremism at it's worst.”
“I have remained silent for too long about their extremist, anti-American bullying behavior. I'm sorry that the Cuban American organization had to be dragged into this attack but I know that nothing will matter to Val or Mauricio and they will not stop their bullying tactics until a Diaz Balart or Ros Lehtinen is President of Cuba.”
Sorry Rob,
You can make the smoke screen excuse that you want the Castro brothers shot, but your comments above are typical for Castro regime supporters and individuals who do business with the tyranny, the rest is nonsense.
Your comments expose who you’re. Trust me, you are not fooling anyone, only yourself...
Attack me all you want, means nothing to me. Attack Carlos, I doubt he cares much either but you crossed the line when you used me to attack your own flesh and blood... your Cuban brothers and sisters at Roots of Hope.
Now you have to live with that.
Someday I hope you will apologize to Felice and Roots of Hope for your abhorrent behavior.
Shame on me for putting them in a position to be attacked but shame on you too for attempting to discredit all the positive work they do there.
Shame on you alright Rob, that's the only thing we'll ever agree...
Rob,
You really get top prize for DESCARAO…
Talking about our abhorrent behavior and all we have to do is go and read your web site contents.
Like Humberto says, UNREAL!!!
"shame on you too for attempting to discredit all the positive work they (Raices)do there.(in Cuba)"...
This guy's dumber than I thought...laid himself wide open and continues to smear Raices with his association. He should seek guidance on this matter from Phil Peters...
That's right Humberto,
The more he writes, the more he exposes himself, lol.
Rob,
I'm not attacking you, personally, I'm criticizing, and rightly so, that part of your business which exploits the Cuban people sexually, directly or indirectly, for profit. And, had our interests been in "attacking" our "own flesh and blood", I would not have given them a heads up and consequently the opportunity to release a statement condemning your exploitation and distancing themselves from you prior to our covering the story.
The sex in Cuba website and pages, and their re-incarnation have done more damage to Raices than any criticism we could have published here on any of their other associations and actions. and, while the Raices kids and I may not see eye to eye on many things, and while we may have different visions as to how to best achieve freedom in Cuba and empower the Cuban people, they are well aware of the fact that neither Raices nor we at babalu are in this for money.
If you had an iota of decency you'd refrain from trying to pit babalu and Raices against each other with the self-serving goal of regaining your reputation and "Cuba expert" bonafides.
if your sex in Cuba websites have been cause for other, legitimate Cuba related organizations, political action committees and other entities to refuse to work with you, then that's your own doing. To cast dispersions on those of us that do this out of love and not greed,and to pit two not for profit organizations with the same goals against each other in order to further your own agenda of exploitation for profit, only makes it worse, and much less likely that any organization, political action committee or entity will ally itself with you and Havana Journal.
This is your own doing, Rob. Accept it and stop trying to lay the blame on me or babalu.
You nailed it Val...