STWR - Share The World's Resources

In order for us to understand the real source of American great hostility toward Cuba, we must, in the first place, get a clear concept of the historical events in Cuba over the past 50 years or so. Cuba was then under the tyranny of Fulgencio Batista who was supported by the USA. This man was so beastly that he would not only imprison suspected political opponents without trial, but that he would proceed to have them killed along with their spouses and children.

Tyranny of Fulgencio Batista

Batista had the full backing of the USA simply because he had allowed American big business, which controls the US government, to exploit Cuba in a way that this island nation emerged to become one of the poorest and most desolated nation on earth. As a matter of fact, all instructors of higher education and all medical doctors were imported from overseas. Besides, some 90% of the population was illiterate and most of them lived homeless and in abject poverty. In addition, mortality rate was very high especially among little children.

In the midst of such a widespread misery and suffering, a group of young Cubans became highly alerted and decided to do something about the situation. Almost all of them resided in the United States to escape Batista’s brutality. When they felt the time was ripe, they returned to Cuba and went to hide in the mountains from where they launched a series of attacks on the Batista’s regime. Heading this Cuban group against Batista was a young lawyer whose name was Fidel Castro who was helped by Orlando Fundora and others.

Of course, we do know the rest of the story. This group succeeded to overthrow Fulgencio Batista in due time and Castro assumed power. The United States initially adopted a “wait and see” attitude. The American government wanted to study Castro and to explore ways how to have him brought under their control peacefully or by any other means conceivable.

In one of his first speeches as head of state, Fidel Castro made it clear that Cuba belongs to the Cubans and not to American big business. When it was realized that Castro meant what he said, American industrialists, who got used to exploiting Cuba without any interference, rallied around their senators and congressmen to take drastic steps against Cuba. Also, most of the followers of tyrannical Batista left the island and went to take shelter in Miami for fear of Castro. These Cubans were received by the USA with open arms and they were given later permanent residency that was followed with American citizenship.

US Opposition and Castro’s Success

Later, these Cubans of Miami rallied also around American senators and congressmen to insist that the United States should take immediate steps to punish Cuba. Consequently, Castro was depicted as a dictator and a tyrant and the US government put an embargo against Cuba that has been in effect now for over 40 years. Besides, the USA cut off all relations with Cuba and proceeded to prohibit American citizens from visiting this island. Under the government of Fidel Castro, things in Cuba changed drastically for the better. Ironically, this brought a feeling of animosity in the US government instead of appreciation.

Castro moved quickly to help create a new Cuba where the people, rather than American big business, would primarily benefit from the nation’s resources. Of course, for the past forty years, the United States succeeded to isolate Cuba from the American people and most of the world. Because of this, the American people are not aware of the great contributions Castro made to Cuban people. In fact, such positive and constructive contributions that were made in Cuba by the Castro regime should be brought openly into perspective in a way that many governments should do the same, including the United States. When Castro took over Cuba, the illiteracy rate was over 90%.

Today, Cuba’s literacy has reversed where everyone is virtually literate. Besides, every Cuban enjoys a housing facility and teachers at all levels of education are virtually Cubans. In addition, all Cubans are provided with a free health care system and a free education. Cubans may enter any university to become lawyers, medical doctors, teachers, and businessmen without paying one single cent. Not only so, but Cuba today produces more medical doctors per capita than any other single nation on earth. Besides, the majority of the developing nations, which are characterized by abject poverty, hunger, and diseases of all kinds are staffed with Cuban physicians all of whom work gratis.

The few Americans that succeeded to visit Cuba were amazed at the positive and constructive things they saw in this island nation. These included such personalities as former presidential candidate George McGovern who revealed that Cuba made good inroads in the cure of cancer, President Jimmy Carter who advocated improvement of relations with Cuba, and Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll who made four good informative videotapes on Cuba for the Center of Defense information in Washington, DC.

Constructive Use of the Military

Cuba is perhaps the only nation in the world that uses its military for constructive purposes. The soldiers in Cuba are used to build bridges and repair old ones, to construct new roads and repair those in need, to plant trees along the highways of the nation, and to grow food for the poor and then they distribute it as needed. With all of these constructive policies, why should the United States continue to view the Castro regime as enemy for all practical purposes? Why should the US government continue to refer to Castro as brutal dictator when this American nation has supported to the hilt such brutal and notorious dictators as Pinochet of Chile, Mobutu of the former Zaire, and Suharto of Indonesia, among several others in virtually every global area?

There are certainly answers to these questions, which need to be brought out. The United States, as the seat of the world capitalism, puts top priority on the control of the world’s resources. Anyone that comes in the way is viewed as the enemy, regardless of the situation. Castro did come in the way when he said determinedly that Cuba belongs to the Cubans and not to American big business. This explains why Pope John Paul II said in Mexico during the decade of the eighties that world peace would eventually come but only after two of the greatest evils of the 20th century were gone. And he immediately pointed out communism and capitalism as these two great evils because, he said, both achieve their objectives through the exploitation of people.

The continued American hostile foreign policy against Cuba vindicates the statement of Pope John Paul II. The United States said repeatedly that it would end its embargo and hostility against Cuba after Castro is gone. Within the context that means after American big business would take, once more, control of the Cuban natural resources. The American government is afraid of letting the American people discover how the Cubans over the past forty years have obtained virtually everything that the American people would love to obtain.

The American people would love to have like the Cubans: free health care system that provides for free doctors’ visits, free prescription drugs and free hospitalization as well as free education at all levels all the way to college and university. In addition, Cubans enjoy free nursing homes for their old age and they happen to have the lowest infant mortality rate in the world, above that of the United States. Naturally, the USA does not want the American people to discover these achievements of the Cuban government for obvious reasons.

Listening to the American People

The USA wants to save face. It does not want to let Americans realize that after all Castro did achieve plenty of good not only for the Cuban people but for those living in developing nations as well. It would be nice if the USA were to hold a national referendum asking the American people the following question:

1. Do you want a free health care system that would provide you with free hospitalization, free medication and free prescribed drugs? Or do you want to pay high insurance rates to finance your high hospital bills, needed medication and prescribed drugs?

2. Do you want a free education for your children all the way to college and university where you do not have to pay one single dollar? Or do you want to spend every single dollar you have made in your lifetime on the education for your children with virtually no money left for you to enjoy?

3. Do you want to have for yourself and your beloved ones a free nursing home when you reach old age? Or do you want to mortgage your house and pay all the money you saved all of your lifetime on your nursing home, thus leaving nothing for your children after you pass away?

4. Do you want your tax money to be used on a military that is trained to wage wars everywhere leaving suffering and crucial pain as its legacy? Or do you want your tax money to be used on a military that is trained to be of public service and that would help eliminate suffering and crucial pain from all people?

What is sad in the US foreign policy against Cuba lies in the fact that the real source of American hostility toward Cuba is morally unjustified as pointed out by highly respected personalities as Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela, among others. In conclusion, the American people should start demanding that their sacrosanct right to travel freely wherever they want should not be restricted. The USA should keep in mind, as ascetical writers tell us, that we can win with one ounce of humility much more than we can with one ton of pride.

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