Since the recent passing of Fidel Castro, there have been many anti-Castro sentiments published in this newspaper and others, asking that we do not forget the human rights violations and communist agenda of the man.
I would ask that those writing these letters do not forget the actions that drove Castro to steer his country in the direction he chose.
For a century prior to Castro, Che Guevara and others fighting for independence, Cuba was the playground for the well-heeled, the rich and famous, the political and criminal elite and international espionage.
The mostly American-owned hotels and casinos provided lavish luxury at the expense of the Cuban people and along with their counterparts from Great Britain, Europe and Canada, decided the political and financial landscape.
Not all of Cuba's freedom fighters wanted what Castro gave, they simply wanted Cuba for the Cubans. Surely the Soviets used U.S. exploitive history to their advantage in Castro's conversion.
I find the hypocrisy in how we view Cuba in comparison to say Brazil and Mexico inexcusable. Mexico is rife with drug wars between ultra wealthy, powerful and violent cartels. Murder, assassination, kidnapping and extortion are the order of the day and corruption within the police and in politics are crippling Mexico and the Central and South American nations. It is beyond disturbing that football's ultra-fascist firms and government sanctioned death-squads can operate with impunity in many of these countries. Now we have "The Idiot" promising a wall to stop hundreds of thousands of fleeing Mexicans from entering the U.S. Can they be considered refugees?
What is refreshing and encouraging is that now in Cuba, many Cubans are trying to emulate what happened all those years ago and promote themselves in their own "owned" restaurants and hotels, bringing forth the best that Cuban culture has to offer without the atmosphere being tainted by our own ideal of what a Caribbean vacation should be. And while ignorant Americans marvel at the concept of an open Cuba, we know that it has been open for years.
Next time you get your cheap, all-expenses paid trip to Mexico (think Cuba, 1957) with your four trips to the buffet, consider that while Castro was not the perfect solution for Cubans, he was a solution to ending the exploitation of his country at the hands of those who brought their worst to Cuba instead of coming to enjoy Cuba's best.
Mike Maslen
Prince George
