Toronto newspaper The Star gets hit with a barrage of letters from their Canadian readers blasting them for reporting on a Canadian tourist being held illegally in Cuba by the Castro dictatorship while including in the same edition a glossy spread on the wonderful vacations available in Cuba:
Cautionary tale on Cuba travel
Re: No chance to say goodbye, Feb. 6
No chance to say goodbye, Feb. 6
The fact that traffic accident victims are considered primary suspects who can be detained at the whim of the communist regime should be a wakeup call to those considering traveling to Cuba.
Justine Davis was not only being held against her will, unable to attend the funeral of her 3-year-old son, but was also denied state of the art medical treatment when her air ambulance from Toronto was turned away.
It is no secret that Cuban hospitals face shortages of live-saving antibiotics, pain medications, and modern surgical equipment. Those who are lucky enough to make it to U.S. or Canadian hospitals may still face consequences from surgery in Cuban hospitals.
This a cautionary tale for those entranced by glossy travel brochures. Cuba is a Communist country.
Susan Cusimano, Toronto
The Star sometimes really surprises me with it’s lack of taste. You have a story on the front page about the trials and tribulations of Justine Davis surviving a traffic accident and her son being killed in the same traffic accident while in Cuba.
Then you then have a large front page spread on the Travel section in the same issue promoting travel to this bastion of Marxism. Really — in the same issue?
Steve Engyel, Mississauga
I found it ironic and a bit insensitive that your front page article was about a woman’s ordeal in Cuba as a result of a traffic accident, and then on the front page of the Travel section, there was an article basically encouraging tourists to go drive around Cuba. There was a photo of someone driving in full colour.
Luanne Rayvals, Scarborough
If I find these articles to be a complete contradiction of one another, not to mention the lack of caution for Canadians contemplating a trip to Cuba, imagine how Justine Davis’ family and friends feel after reading this.
Lynda Doumani, Toronto
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