I might get a whole lot of people angry at me with the following, but someone has to say it. Please watch the short video below from Encuentro en la Red via Penultimos Dias:
Now can anyone guarantee me that those brown shirts manhandling the peaceful Damas de Blanco and the murder of crowing banshees there to vociferously denigrate them do not get periodic monetary stipends from family in Miami?
And who’s to say the Damas don’t, either, money they use to survive as they continue with their campaign on behalf of their husbands, fathers, sons, etc?
Yes, it is distasteful to think that money from the U.S. may be going to support the brownshirts, but it is illogical to imply there is some sort of connection between their goonish behavior and whether they receive remittances from the U.S. I would guess they would have acted the same with or without support from family in the U.S.
Marc,
The only way the Damas survive is with money from abroad, as the government allows them no employment or income. That’s obvious.
However, the thought of these goons – and they are goons – that are at the castro regime’s beck and call and most assuredly on the official payroll serve to denigrate these women, violate their basic civil and human rights whil receiving money from exiles abroad is enraging.
Im by no means saying that the brown shirts do what they do because of said money as you state. they do what they do despite it.
Val,
It seems that even you are confusing an exile with an immigrant. It is quite possible that some of these goons are getting money from folks here in the US. But this once again proves the point that remittances are not a black and white issue. There are some like the Damas and other people that their survival depends on it and there are others that are lowlifes that dserve death rather than help. As Marc said the goons will be goons with or without the money.
There are some like the Damas and other people that their survival depends on it and there are others that are lowlifes that dserve death rather than help.
Let me go one further, Pototo:
The regime’s survival depends on remittance money from abroad.
Else, why hold the cuban people hostage? And, what impetus does that regime have to release said hostages when its the ransom that keeps said regime afloat?
Val –
I am not sure of what you were asking in your original question, or if it really matters to the reality of Cuba today.
Answer me this: Would you starve the people in order to starve the regime?
Maybe a tightening of remittances would starve the goons, but wouldn’t it also starve the people we need to be helping, like the Damas? I am not denying that at least some of the money sent to Cuba ends up with the regime, but that is no excuse for denying people needed assistance.
It is easy to be against remittances or in favor of wet-foot, dry-foot because of how we think it might affect the castros and their dictatorship. But it is ignoble to ignore the real life consequences of those policies to Cubans on the ground.
Don’t the Goons realize that there day will come?
I hope I’m the one dragging the goons off to iron maiden. I don’t about you guys, but this Cuban American doesn’t forgive and forget.
Val, Marc, and others,
We can argue till we are blue in the face about wet foot/dry foot, remittances, etc. The bottom line is that Cuba will never be free until the people rise up against the regime. If we attempt to starve the regime chavez, China, Iran, and others are there to help. I believe that the idea that US remittances can make the regime fall is right in line with the myth that US tourists will make the regime fall. Until the people CHOOSE to fight for their freedom it will NEVER come. This has much more to do with desire and personal sacrifice than with economic quality of life.
The way Juan Amador Rodriguez puts it is the way I see it. He says if you send money to your family in Cuba so they can buy shoes you should at least be able to provide the caveat that the shoes not be worn to march on behalf of the regime.
BTW if the cash spigot were shut off (voluntarily) for six months the regime would be toppled. But to be honest there’s a lot of people down there who honestly have no motivation to work or work for the end of the regime because they have a relative who sends them a couple of hundred bucks a month (which is relatively little here in the U.S. but a lot of cash in Cuba). The winner is the status quo.
We have seen the enemy and it us.
So which Cubans are we expecting to rise up? The lazy ones living off of remittances? Do we expect them to all of a sudden rise up because the American ATM has been turned off? What makes you think that Cubans too lazy to work now are going to be reliable enough to lead a new revolution?
I agree, Cuba will change only from within, I just don’t think that will happen by sacrificing Cubans so that we can adhere to this or that American policy. American policy has not brought down the regime for 50 years. Why do we think we have that power now?
Marc,
Would you starve the people in order to starve the regime?
“Give a man a fish, and you will quench his hunger. teach a man – or in this case – allow a man to fish and he will never go hungry again.”
It’s simplistic, I know, and I am by no means propsoing that we starve the Cuban people. But realistically speaking, the Cuban people are “starving” as we speak. But the fact is that we are a resilient people, that we “resolver”. Surely, not all elleven million Cubans receive remittances from abroad, so how is it that those millions that dont receive penny one survive? Resuelven. In all honesty, I don t think the Cuban people would starve for a lack of remittances. They will, as historically proven, find a way.
I am not denying that at least some of the money sent to Cuba ends up with the regime, but that is no excuse for denying people needed assistance.
It’s not some of the money, Marc. It is all of the money since the regime controls every aspect of the economy. Every single penny sent to Cuba ends up in the castro coffers.
Ive stated here a million times that I am no one to tell a Cuban not to send money to their families, but that “needed assistance” is merely a Bandaid on a gaping wound. Sure, it stops the wound from bleeding, but it does absolutely nothing to heal the infection that festers within.
It is easy to be against remittances or in favor of wet-foot, dry-foot because of how we think it might affect the castros and their dictatorship. But it is ignoble to ignore the real life consequences of those policies to Cubans on the ground.
I am against remittances and totally against the wet foot/dry foot policy as Ive stated here many many times. But, given today’s sentiments on immigration in this country, I think that wanting the w/d foot policy lifted in favor of allowing all Cubans into the country whether they make it to land or not is a pipe dream. It just aint gonna happen. The US is simply not going to allow another pressure valve type mass immigration from Cuba.
I dont think Im ignoring the real life consequences on the ground in Cuba, on the contrary. Im fully aware of the consequences and fully aware of the cause of same. And yes, its easy for me to curry this opinion from my comfortable home here in exile with full cupboards.
If you ask me, what is truly ignoble is ignoring the cause of the consequences and to a certain extent, be complicit in said cause by circumventing its existence while easing those consequences.
I fsome creep grabbed your wife and a gun point told you “give me money or Ill shoot her.” and you gave him money and he told you “give me more money or Ill shoot her.” and you gave him more money and he once again tells you “give me money or ill shoot her.” Where does it end? What impetus does that creep have to free your wife, given that each and every time he asks you for money you give it to him?
I don’t mean to minimize the issue of family remittances, but the resolution of this particular issue is not what will cure the disease that has inflicted Cuba’s people for half a century. In my humble opinion, this issue plays right into the regime’s propaganda. It is a win/win for them because as long as the money keeps flowing, it makes it a lot easier for them to keep their grip on power. If the money stops, they know all the blame will be placed on the exile community and the US. For Cubans, it is a lose/lose proposition because although they get money to eat and buy clothes, that helps the regime remain in power. And if the money were to be cut off, they would suffer greatly while waiting for a regime to crumble, which could take years.
As Pototo said, we can argue the good and the bad behind these issues all day long, but I do not believe it is the crux of the issue, nor is it even near to being part of the solution. Nothing short of the Cuban people rising up and fighting for their freedom will bring liberty to the island of Cuba.
In the meantime, the regime will sit back and enjoy watching us argue over issues that can do little to affect their lifestyles and their power.
Just my 2 cents worth.
The lazy ones living off of remittances?
I dont think anyone here is calling anyone in Cuba “lazy.” Perhaps “complacent” is a better word.
I agree, Cuba will change only from within, I just don’t think that will happen by sacrificing Cubans so that we can adhere to this or that American policy. American policy has not brought down the regime for 50 years.
By that logic, we should lift the embargo, allow all trade with the Cuban government, eliminate the Cuban adjustment act and treat every single Cuban wanting to live in freedom in the US as just another immigrant and let the Cuban people fend for themselves.
Alberto,
My fear has been that we in exile are falling for the economy factors in Cuba’s freedom just as others fall for the free education/healtcare farce. A poor hungry man needs freedom as well as anyone else. The hunger for freedom is not dictated by want for material items. If it is driven by that then it is not a true desire for freedom, but for economic stability with a willingness to sell your soul for that end. Not much unlike what is going on in the US political scheme today. If people in Cuba do not want freedom for the sake of freedom then it will never come. They will just shift their allegiance to the highest bidder. I wish the Cuban Blogosphere would shift its focus on the need for the Cuban people to rise up against the tyranny. I used to make the excuse that they were too physically hungry to fight. But the more I thought about it the more I realize that they must be hungrier for freedom than they are for food. We need to stop getting sidetracked by wet foot/dry foot, remittances, and many of the other distractions. Cubans need to be exhorted to fight for their freedom. Patria o muerte never had caveats regarding money and food. Lets shift our focus towards what will bring about freedom rather than argue about things that serve only to divide.
Actually, Val, no I do not think we should lift the embargo, such as it is, or the Adjustment Act. Because while they have not brought down the regime, they make clear on which side of the Cuba question the United States falls. I think we are on the correct, moral side. (Which is why WFDF is so abhorrant, since it calls into question what we really care about.)
But there also is no denying that our policies — or more precisely, the inconsistency of our policies — have not effected change in Cuba. The tighening of the travel and remittances rules adopted by the Bush adminstration also have not effected that change.
The suffering of the Cuban people is the sole responsibility of the castro dictatorship. I just don’t want our policies abetting that responsibility.
The Cuban brown shirts do not worry me because we all know who they are and will deal with them in due time…unless the brown shirts that you ALL do not see interrupt you future in the mean time.
I know of someone here in the US, now deceased, who was literally obsessed with sending as much to relatives in Cuba as she possibly could. Not just necessities, but everything she could manage to send them (much of it was clearly non-essential). Her family here understandably objected, since they were not well off, but she was basically out of control. This went on for years. When she died, the gravy train abruptly stopped. And the relatives in Cuba? Nobody starved, or died, or went crazy. They managed, just as they would have managed without her extravagant assistance. There’s a lesson in there somewhere.
Nobody wants to see family members starve and nobody wants to see Cubans repatriated under wet/dry foot. But we have to recognize that sending cash to Cuba does not bring the country any closer to freedom and neither does removing the W/D foot policy. That DOES NOT mean remittance restrictions and W/D policy bring us any closer either.
I think the remittance restrictions are largely a canard. Anyone who wants to send unlimited funds to Cuba can do so using Canadian services with minimal red tape or risk. It’s being used a wedge issue by politicians from the Donkey party but that doesn’t make it a top issue for voters. The same with the travel restrictions. Many of the people who are advocating for the lifting of the 2004 restrictions have never been to Cuba, have no family in Cuba etc. As I’ve pointed out many times there hasn’t been one reported case of Cuban-American who went to Cuba for a legitimate purpose (but in violation of the 2004 restrictions) and was fined by OFAC. Another canard.
Marc, I don’t know what the majority of people will do in Cuba if remittances stopped abruptly but I have to believe it would cause some sort of disruption in the daily lives of people who are living not off of their official salaries but off the kindness of their relatives abroad. In a way, we Cubans have created a welfare state in Cuba. A person that receives $100 a month (the legal limit) is getting more than five times his monthly salary. In economic terms this is an interference with the market. Supply and demand. Why would the public demand more from their government if they were being supplied what they needed from an outside source?
I don’t know what the answer is. All the alternatives stink. But Val is right, as night follows day, every dollar sent to or spent in Cuba helps the regime either in a direct or indirect way.
The tighening of the travel and remittances rules adopted by the Bush adminstration also have not effected that change.
I beg to differ. Why else would the regime allow the purchase of dvd’s, cellphones, etc…? Surely it cant be solely to display raul’s magananimity.
face it, the regime is cash strapped. And their history regarding business ventures and credit is abysmal. While yeah, the regime may turn to Venezuela for subsidies and they may make some deals with Chin and other commie/terrorist states, these states know better than to give the regime such economic leeway and will demand certain assurances from same. Assurances that I dont think the regime is capable of granting. Let’s not mention the billions of dollars in debt.
The suffering of the Cuban people is the sole responsibility of the castro dictatorship.I just don’t want our policies abetting that responsibility.
Is not funding the regime abetting it? If through the embargo and the CAA we are on the right, moral side, then how can it be right to line the pockets of the regime?
Val, most likely none of those in the video vociferando receive any stipends from their relatives.
No te lo puedo garantizar pero usualmente en estos casos esos comecandelas no tienen familia aca, otros son de familias divididas que aunque tengan familiares aca no se hablan por ende no reciben envios, recuerda esa gente no pueden tener ningun contacto con la gusanera porque ellos mismos son vigilados por la seguridad y seria muy penoso que los agarrasen con la masa en la mano, tampoco pueden recibir western u bajos sus nombres, porque el partido no se los permite, algunos de ellos firman documentos donde especifica todo esto, lo que si puedes estar seguro, estos que gritan tendran preferencia y mejores precios a veces se los dan como merito gratis de conseguir una olla nueva, una estadia en algun hotel o un celular eso si lo obtienen primero que la poblacion . Es su incentivo es su premio por ser goons
Abajo,
But can you guarantee it? because if just one – JUST ONE – of those goons get a fucking penny from here, then we truly are our own worst enemy.
Sure they do. You think they’re telling their relatives in Miami “Hey, I just beat up and old woman today and dragged her off the street. Should’ve seen the look on their faces, those gusanos. Oh, hey, don’t forget to send some deoderant this month.” You should put their faces on billboards.
No te lo puedo garantizar No, seria imposible hacerlo , pero yo diria 95% o mas no reciben dolares ni euros
In my opinion
Val Tambien recuerda que si es como dice el granma (which i doubt) que estas mujeres venian de oficinas aledañas en su camino al trabajo para defender la revolucion entonces tienes el caso de personas “obligadas” a hacer estos actos de repudio y ahi SI Pudiese haber alguien que reciba dinero .ahi si
El gob cubano te hace como Vito Corleone el gobierno te hace una oferta que you cant refuse vas o no vas al acto de repudio
Since most of us agree that neither remittances nor wet foot dry foot make a hill of beans difference why do we beat the dead horse?
I often question whether we avoid discussing the real solutions as they are a bit painful to stomach. We need to flood the blogs in hopes that those who have access on the island see that the only solution is to stand up to the regime. Its about hunger for genuine freedom. Its been 50 years of nothing. Its time to face reality. We need to keep our plicies in place as a matter of principle and nothing else. Val, I must disagree that US pressure has anything to do with raul’s moves. He is in survival mode as fidel’s fear factor is fading. Once he is declared dead I would not be surprised to see some uprisings. I believe the crackdown on the damas shows that nervousness. I wish more men had the cojones that the damas are showing.
I like the billboards idea.
Better yet, when we find names, circulate Wanted posters with their pictures, names, addresses, and known relatives in Cuba. Make them fear for their own families for once.
This is enraging… can anyone tell me how a cameraman (or woman) managed to capture this?
When I lived in Cuba I got hassled by military personnel for taking pictures of propaganda billboards..
1. Have the Cuban people lost the will to fight?
2. It can be argued that the Cubans who had the chance to flee Cuba in the 60’s 70’s and 80’s and didn’t leave, was because they were straight up communist. Correct me if I’m wrong but only the blind and deaf wouldn’t be aware of Castro’s intentions once he took power. So if they stayed, they believed in it. Maybe the Cuban people should stop crying and create thier own revolution, to topple the regime.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that “Freedom is not just a word, it is a mind set” I don’t believe the Cubans in todays Cuba have that mind set. Maybe it’s because of all the years of brain washing. Honestly a bunch of ladies in white, crying to release thier family members isn’t going to sway the regime. Cuba needs to be taken back the same way it was stolen….In the cover of night, but remember the fat cats in gov’t will not go quitley, off with thier heads.
Readytoshoot,
Stop crying and start their own Revolution? Cuba is a police state, if you can’t sit peacefully with other women simply wearing a certain t-shirt, imagine how hard it would be to organize some sort of violent overthrow.
The government has spies on every single block in every single town (or at least, has the Cuban people thinking this is the case) monitoring conversations… think of it like our NSA, but a whole lot more efficient.
It’s true, some of them still believe in the cause but this is dissipating, Raul’s reforms are a DIRECT consequence of unrest in the country: the people have been demanding hotel access, cell phones, and the ability to leave the country for the past two decades, and soon they will have all three.
Whether or not democracy is soon to follow is a whole other question, that might require the death of Raul.
“It can be argued that the Cubans who had the chance to flee Cuba in the 60’s 70’s and 80’s and didn’t leave, was because they were straight up communist. ”
the animal that said this disparate should be shot inmediately.. This is the result of someone talking about somethin they know nothing about
Ignorant fool
I just posted this on RCAB, and at the risk of being sent into permanent exile from this virtual island, I thought I’d post it here too.
As Manny has said on many occasions, the Cuban people are helpless. They have no guns, no organization and no leader. So let’s stop dreaming. Cubans will never get rid of the fidelistas because the fidelistas have it too good to give it all away for free. Besides, after 50 years of indoctrination, enough people will never revolt. They’ll complain whenever they feel it’s safe, but that’s about it. Cubans were socialist-leaning even before the robolution (check out the 1940 constitution, its liberal by today’s standards), imagine now.
I used to think that revolutions sparked when the level of misery and discontent of a people reached high enough levels to sub-consciously justify in enough minds the taking of extraordinary risks, even death, for a cause greater than themselves and their families. Basically the pressure cooker theory. Silly me. Thanks to Manuel now I know that is just silly talk.
Without a sergeants or lieutenants level revolt within the Cuban military or an outside invasion, both highly unlikely it seems, the best we can hope for is a kinder gentler totalitarian capita-communist state in Cuba for generations to come. And if that’s what its gonna be, the sooner the better.
Thanks to the remittances of more recent Cuban exiles, and a few cosmetic changes from the regime in recent days, the level of unrest is lower now than its been in years. Even with today’s remittance restrictions, there are enough dollars floating around in Cuba to keep the level of general discontent manageable for the ruling elite for decades to come. So what are we waiting for?
Now that “any Cuban with convertible currency” can buy cell phones, computers and microwaves and stay in hotels and maybe even travel, thanks to same relatives’ dollar remittances, the future looks brighter than ever to the average Juan inside the island. There’s hope once again within the system…no reason whatever to take personal risks now. And no chance of lighting any pressure cookers.
So why hold back? Why limit remittances at all, there should be no limit. Unlimited travel to Cuba? Absolutely! Even more money for the Cuban government, I mean, people. Embargo? Fogetaboutit, what for? Cuban Adjustment Act? We wouldn’t need it anymore! Why should anyone leave the island with all that money floating around inside and free education and health care to boot!
And if that’s the way Cubans in the island want it, who am I to deny them?
ArrozConMango- “…the best we can hope for is a kinder gentler totalitarian capita-communist state in Cuba for generations to come. And if that’s what its gonna be, the sooner the better.”
Thankfully, your willingness to abandon Cubans to an indefinite “China model” of dictatorial subjugation is not shared by the majority of patriotic exiles, their supporters, nor is it accepted as inevitable by those enslaved on the island. Otherwise, we all may as well all close up shop and mourn in private.
Ziva,
What you missed is that I am not abandoning Cubans to anything. Wishing for something “really, really haaard” from Miami does not make it so. I’ve tried it for 49 years and it hasn’t worked for me. Not even close.
I wish the Cuban people “woke up” tomorrow and grabbed anything they could carry, the sharper and heavier the better, and all walked in unison towards Havana. Along the way, tens of thousands would die – valiant heroic martyrs for the cause – but hundreds of thousands if not millions would still be standing. When they got there, they could storm the capitol and hang the castros, el cabezon, and all the others from lamposts. I would be so proud of them.
But then I wake up and have to deal with the harsh realities we live in.
What if, the repressive machinery is so thorough that there is zero, 0, chance now or in the next 50 years that any significant opposition will ever emerge, meet, organize, find a leader and arm themselves enough to make a difference? Can we agree the USA will never invade either?
Then at what point do we in exile stop, take a deep breath, re-group, accept that our frontal attack has to meet our strategic goal, and gather up the courage to try a different tactic? How about a massive infiltration campaign right under the DGI’s noses? What better way than as legal visitors of all types? Hundreds of thousands of them – CA’s and Americans. Thousands of small planes and pleasure boats constantly moving in and out of the island. Imagine the possibilities on one hand and doing nothing on the other. Still with me?
If we do nothing, and what we are doing now is basically nothing, then there is a good chance we’ll be having this same discussion 10 or 20 years from now. And that, would be truly sad.
My point is that if after careful analysis it is clear there is virtually no chance the popular violent and cathartic revolt we want will take place in Cuba, if there is no chance of this, then we are perhaps better able to make a difference by being inside than out. Do we want to make a difference or not?
I follow you, but disagree with your premise. I think the chances of the regime allowing “us” inside Cuba in massive numbers, is a pipe dream. Even if Cubans are “allowed” to travel, and even if the travel restrictions for Americans are lifted, that doesn’t mean that the regime is going to allow liberating exiles to flood the nation. When people talk about lifting restrictions and normalizing relations, they seem to loose the fact that it’s a one-sided deal with the US lifting and normalizing. Cuba isn’t going to open its borders anymore than China has. I remember everyone talking about how China would become democratic and we all know how that worked out.
I agree with your reservations. They are valid. There are risks in everything we do or don’t do.
If we are happy with our current strategy there is a risk the status quo will remain in place for years.
If we change our tactics as has been suggested there is a risk we won’t get everything we all want. I’m starting to believe that at a minimum we’ll get a LOT more.
Either way, as a people we’ll make a choice. Want to or not.
Or the next US government will make it for us and we will have zero leverage on how it’s done and with what restrictions.
ArrozConMango- Under the current administration, the U.S. is not going to lift the embargo until the conditions proscribed by the law are met. Those conditions preclude negotiating with the regime and demand that certain conditions signaling democratic change have occurred, and so far, I don’t see the regime showing any inclination to satisfy those conditions. If we get a democratic administration with a majority congress, they most likely will end the embargo, but money will be the motivator, and they don’t give a rat’s ass about the Cuban people. The regime will get what it wants. They’ll have access to credit, and the U.S. stamp of legitimacy without having to concede anything in return. Once they have that credit, they will no longer need exile dollars, or exile tourists, and will put in place strict controls on who gets into Cuba. The average American who will visit Cuba won’t be any different from the thousands who have already visited. If that scenario happens, I truly believe that you can kiss any hope of freedom for Cuba goodbye.
“You cannot offer friendship to tyrants and murderers without advancing the cause of tyranny and murder.”
I need to clarify, when I say you can kiss any hope of freedom for Cuba goodbye, I mean other than massive rebellion from within. With the U.S. at least having a moral stand in favor of Cuban democracy, and the promise of aid, there is hope. If the U.S. recognizes the Cuban regime as it does, say China, that will be gone, along with the wet foot/dry foot and any accommodation of refugees. The only other hope I see is if the Venezuelan people unseat Chavez, and with a new understanding of the importance of ridding the hemisphere of the cancer in Cuba provide a launch pad for exiles to man an invasion.
“You cannot offer friendship to tyrants and murderers without advancing the cause of tyranny and murder.”
Or to put it another way, when you dance with the Devil, you don’t change him. He changes you.
There is one aspect of modern technology that puts time on our side. No matter what kind of crackdowns Castro, Inc., tries, the Cuban people will steadily get more and more info from the outside world because of internet, satellite radio, etc.
I know very few Cubans have internet and all that, but I’m reminded of the Allied POW’s in the Pacific Theater who with literally nothing managed to build shortwave radios from scratch and keep up with war news to such an extent that the Japanese commandants and guards regularly had to look for them.
The Cuban people have learned how to maintain old cars, appliances, etc., because they knew that no replacements are available or affordable if they break down, so there is plenty of ingenuity in Cuba. I suspect that info technology will start to proliferate to such an extent that the regime will begin to be steadily undermined.
On the other hand, if they get a steady diet from outside media of the Pelosi Doctrine, this may well backfire.