Right-Wing Extremists Unmoved by Devastation in Cuba

In a little over a week's time, the Caribbean was hit by two Category 4 hurricanes -- Gustav and Ike. Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Turks and Caicos were hit extremely hard by the storms. As Americans, we have an obligation to help our Caribbean neighbors. We have to increase our aid to the Caribbean substantially, and help in the recovery effort. While there has been overwhelming bipartisan support for extending a helping hand to our neighbors, there is a group of right-wing extremists who are determined to hijack the issue to advance their failed policies on Cuba.

Cuba's infrastructure, neglected for five decades by a regime more preoccupied with oppressing its people than building roads and houses, immediately collapsed. According to news reports, over 600,000 houses were either destroyed or damaged, and an estimated 2.6 million people were displaced.

Cubans are facing one of the country's worst humanitarian crises in decades, and they need our help. The $100,000 pledged by the Bush administration is tragically inadequate. Sadly, Cuban Americans yearning to help their struggling relatives on the island can't because of draconian restrictions imposed on them by the Bush administration and the extreme right wing of the community. The restrictions, put into place in 2004, limit the amount of money we can send to our Cuban relatives and how often we go visit them. The constraints have, for years, further divided families, and diminished our ability to help out dissident groups and foster civil society in Cuba.

After the hurricanes, the need to lift the restrictions has become even more urgent. We have a moral obligation to make sure that Cubans, abandoned by their cruel, self-serving government, get the help they need. This is a fundamental humanitarian call.

However, extremist Republicans and the Bush administration did not waste time in politicizing the Cuban people's suffering.

Instead of offering solutions, Miami Congressmen Mario and Lincoln Diaz Balart resorted to the same vapid demagoguery that has alienated their constituents, and made them completely inept in Washington. Everyone knows that the Castro brothers are cruel tyrants; we all want a democratic government in Cuba. However, ranting about it will not bring about change in the island, and, in these times of crisis, it only makes things worse. The greatest impediment to the wellbeing of the Cuban people is the Cuban government itself. But this fact does not give us license to throw our hands in the air and not offer our help.

We need to lift the restrictions on travel and remittances immediately. Cuban Americans want to help their brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers who live in Cuba. Cubans have already suffered enough at the hands of the Castros' tyranny and nature's fury; they do not need the added burden of the ineffective policies of the Diaz-Balarts and the Bush Administration adding to their misery.

Comments

[LeBelAge]

This article is why I'm voting for Joe Garcia for Congress. Joe makes me feel proud to be a liberal Cuban American. I'm tired of the right wing extremism controlling the United States and all interactions with Cuba.

The reason the Castro family has been able to maintain power in Cuba all these years is by playing the fear card against the United States. If the Cuban people see that Americans are trying to help them, all of that fear mongering will lose merit.

[wideout179]

Since when did you expect right-wingers to care about someone after they pop out of the womb? SUre, Castro is bad and a Cuban democracy would be great. But the embargo does nothing more than to impoverish the ordinary Cubans and propo up the Castro regime. The sanctions and rules we impose don't HURT Castro. They HELP Castro and hurt Cubans- and we won't deal with them because they don't have oil or something else we value, like China and Venezuela do.

[MRF]

While Bill-O and Hannity and others in the media http://mediamatters.org/items/200808260020?f=s_search and the usual wingnuts http://mediamatters.org/items/200808270006?f=s_search
have flashbacks and search for the illusive old VW Microbus with Bill Ayers behind the wheel along with members of the Weather Underground thus ending up in a wild goose chase.

Where are they when it comes to the terrorists who happen to be part of a key Republican constituency hiding out in Miami drinking Cuba Libre"s
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/25/195811/157/570/575062

[Sharischul]

Duh---they can't help us in the oil department. When will someone in this country lift this dumb embargo and start dealing with Cuba? We can't blame it on communism or human rights issues, right???? (Certainly sounds like it could be China, which just in case you didn't know, just about owns us because of our present administration.)

[sharpstyx]

No oil in cuba.

No reason to play nice

we deal with nasty situations all over the world, and by deal i dont mean go along to get along i mean we cut deals. Venezuela springs to mind. But we are their best customer when it comes to oil.
Cuba has no oil or any other resource we can exploit so why be nice. they arent even in a strategic location that we could use. Forget the 11 million people that are there. No we will just continue to teach our children that the way to cuba is through canada or mexico. Now if they had oil we'd be there with bells on.

[Calinative]

They do have a lot of sugar cane fields.

Ever tasted the difference between Coca-Cola made with corn Syrup, and Coca-Cola made with real sugar?

[FearlessFreep]

"Poor little rich girl" Barbara Hutton was an expert Coke-taster. She said the best Coke came from Louisiana (where they must have made it from sugar cane), while the worst came from Utah.

[MajorKong]

Image if Castro didn't have the US embargo to blame his failures on all these years.

[jpopphan]

Imagine if the Cuban people didn't have to suffer under a useless American embargo.

Imagine if Americans were able to travel freely to Cuba, spending tourist dollars, looking for business and trade opportunities, etc.

Imagine if Americans reached out to our neighbor instead of propping up Castro by making him "Enemy #1", thereby legitimizing his "struggle" with the imperialist power to its north.

Imagine a world in which the American government actually cared about the people its foreign policy affects.

[FearlessFreep]

The biggest irony is that US trade would probably undermine the Cuban revolution more than the blockade has.

[Betrayedcitizen]

This government had Russian missles pointed at us and Fidel wanted to shoot them.They were Atomic missles and this madman and his brother now continue with Hugo who is now bringing in Russian bombers and ships into Venezuela.

...and we are to be sentimental and supportive ....when you need it?.

[Marichu]

Valid points all around Mr. Garcia. We have trade and diplomatic relations with countries we've fought wars with and countries with divergent political ideologies, so why not Cuba? The restrictions placed on Cuban Americans helping their relatives in Cuba is inhumane. Many a Cuban family is subsidized by the money sent over by a family member living here. Since these restrictions have been in place, all that has been accomplished is making the lives of ordinary Cubans more miserable.
Talks need to be initiated between the US and Cuba, allowing for some kind of constructive discourse. The US should take the first step by easing travel restrictions to Cuba and admitting to the fallible policies imposed against a nation.

[jpopphan]

Cuba is a small nation, without much military power. They present NO THREAT to the United States.

The People's Republic of China is a large nation, with a large and powerful military. They also hold a lot of America's debt.

Yet, with whom do we do business? With whom do we have normalized relations? With whom do we trade and allow citizens of both nations to travel freely?

[Marichu]

jpopphan, my point exactly!

[WhiteyAyersWright]

This is a ridiculous post given that Cuba has never cashed any of the checks that the US gov't has written to lease Gitmo -- $4,085/yr.

[jotunloki]

That's because the current government did not issue the lease - Gitmo dates from the Spanish-American war. Learn a little history.

[robiform]

Great post, Mr. Garcia! Unfortunately, I don't live in the congressional district that I hope you will be representing in January, otherwise you would definitely have my vote in November. However, I do live in the district represented currently by Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and I WILL be voting for his opponent!

[RoloTomassi]

" The greatest impediment to the wellbeing of the Cuban people is the Cuban government itself."

Nope, sorry, don't buy it; the things wrong with US policy towards Cuba go back much farther than BushCo--try Kennedy.

When a small nation like Cuba offered so much to Tsumani victims, and we did so little, it just goes to illustrate how little humanitarian efforts mean to the US government. Cuba doesn't expect anything from us, and we should demand that this embargo idiocy end--but it won't end, and in turn Cubans won't be disappointed.

[OBAMAthePRESIDENT]

Over 1000 HATIANS ARE DEAD AND 1,000,000 Ddisplaced, is the US Government going to help them?

I see, we only help people we can get something from..

Where is the outcry?

[PLUMPLUM]

Why worry? The Russians and Venezuelans are helping out Cuba 90 miles off our coast while we are putting on lipstick. They are busy setting up oil pipelines and Caribbean telephone networks and we are still driving and putting on lisptick. Has anybody been to Russia over this Georgian crisis or are we at a standoff? Did we visit only Georgia our friend? I guess it's business as usual.

[moodygirl]

You've got that right. The Cubans are great people who deserve all the humanitarian help we can give (as do others affected by the recent hurricane devastation). Yes they will get some help from Central and South American countries, but also Canada and Europe because people can see how they have been victimized by the continuing US embargo. Americans should step up because many people in the world have sent help to 9/11 and Katrina disasters.

[opinion123]

Things will get better after Nov 4, 2008.