Uncategorized 137
Mónica Baró Sánchez FB post
I found that if I paint my eyelashes I touch my eyes less. Same with the lips. Makeup, in general, can be a great ally in avoiding the coronavirus. Since the medical advice of not touching your face I can’t put it into practice rigorously, at least the aesthetic advice of not rubbing my eyes with mascara on my eyelashes can save me.
Who would have thought it: that the most vain people were the ones who in the end had the best chance of surviving. I have also discovered that I can’t stand antibacterial gel on my hands. It reminds me of when I used to eat a cold snack in elementary school and squirt soda down my hands and then get sick.
So far, this has been a day of important discoveries. I still haven’t managed to isolate myself. I had to leave in the morning. I’m sorry. Things that can’t be helped. But I came home quickly. I unrolled my yoga or pilates mat, depending on my craziness at the moment, and started doing some stretching exercises, which are very relaxing.
Before that, I cooked some chickpeas that were spectacular. I love to cook. I won’t go running in the afternoons on Fifth Avenue and the Malecón, nor will I see the sunsets in front of the sea, nor feel the salty breeze on my tongue. I’m ready to make my life miserable. I think so.
At least my house has huge plants and I keep incense, ginger and coffee for about two months. They say that in Spain, in quarantine, whoever has a dog can walk it. I wonder if having an imaginary dog will count, or that one will suddenly start barking.
DATEL March 19, 2020.
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Malcolm and Fidel in Harlem
Malcolm and Fidel in Harlem
By Sylvia Weinstein (January 1993)
Photo by Walter Lippmann.
The Dec. 5, 1992, issue of the People’s Weekly World has a review by Tony Monteiro of the film “Malcolm X.” The review is unusual because it actually has some “nice” things to say about Malcolm X. Monteiro dropped the Stalinist newspaper’s former nonsense that Malcolm was a “racist-in-reverse.”
That’s what the Communist Party used to call him. That’s what the Stalinists called all Black nationalists, including members of the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam because he was opposed to racism and white U.S. imperialism. He left the Nation because he was moving toward socialist ideas and because he wanted to get involved in the massive movements of Blacks who were fighting for their civil rights. Malcolm X wanted to bring that fight to the North.
If anyone wants to know what the world Stalinist movement thought about Malcolm X when he was alive, and even six years after his assassination, all you have to do is read long-time Communist Party leader and prominent historian Herbert Apthecker’s book, “Afro-American History—The Modern Era.”
It was written in 1971 and covers all of the major modern Black leaders up to Martin Luther King and Huey P. Newton. Out of 324 pages, there is not one word, not one whisper of Malcolm X.
Fidel’s visit to Harlem
The most amazing part of the article is that it gives Malcolm X credit for having gotten a room in Harlem’s Hotel Theresa for Fidel Castro in 1961. Although this story is intended to be complimentary to Malcolm, it is not based on fact.
I was there at the time and played an active part in the efforts of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in New York City to establish deeper links between revolutionary Cuba and American Blacks.
In October 1961, Fidel Castro and the Cuban delegation had come to New York to address the United Nations. They first took up residence at a mid-Manhattan hotel that catered to delegations from poor countries.
But as soon as it became clear to the powers-that-be that the Cubans were not about to cave in to imperialist demands that they change their revolutionary ways, the news media began a campaign to slander the Cubans. The press issued a flood of stories about $100-dollar call girls visiting the Cuban hotel headquarters. They even featured stories that had the Cubans plucking chickens and cooking them in their hotel rooms.
Finally, Castro called for a halt. He threatened to go to sleep in Central Park rather than stay in such a hotel. He said that he had had plenty of experience sleeping in the mountains of the Sierra Maestra, and sleeping in the park would be more natural. Of course, this also made the headlines.
Fair Play for Cuba
We were then members of the Socialist Workers Party who had helped form the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. One of the committee’s national leaders was my friend Berta [Greene. Later Langston]. She proposed to the Cuban delegation to the United Nations that they move from the fancy white hotel they were being abused into a Black one in the heart of Harlem.
Berta told them that such a gesture of solidarity with African Americans would be greatly appreciated in Black America.
Berta contacted the Hotel Theresa and made arrangements to reserve a whole floor for the Cuban delegation. The Cubans accepted the arrangement immediately. The CIA and State Department went crazy! Suddenly Castro was being flooded with offers from many other hotels. There were even offers of free space—but Fidel said “no thanks.” He and the whole delegation then moved into the Theresa.
The Theresa was an historic hotel in the heart of Harlem. It was the first time that any United Nations delegation had ever stayed in Harlem. Fidel Castro—along with Juan Alameida, the head of the Cuban Armed Forces—would walk along the streets of Harlem, shaking hands, drinking orange juice at a hot-dog chain called “Nedicks,” and talking to the people in the streets of Harlem.
The press was silent about this news event. But they did print a photo of the Soviet Union’s limousine, which was about a block long, driving up to the Theresa. It was probably the Soviet delegates’ first time on 125th Street!
At the reception
It was the Fair Play for Cuba Committee that gave the reception for the Cubans at the Theresa on Oct. 2, 1961, not Malcolm X. My friend Berta arranged that, too.
That night, thousands of people lined the streets around the Hotel Theresa hoping to get a look at Fidel. We were on the 7th floor, and every time anyone went near the window, thousands of people on the ground would cheer.
We refused to allow any cops or reporters onto the floor. We had guards at every elevator and exit. At about nine o’clock I was told to go wait outside the Hotel for the caterer’s delivery truck. They were bringing refreshments and food. I was also told not to speak to any of the press.
As I went outside, the photo bulbs began to flash, and reporters started asking me what was going on upstairs. I just kept saying, “No comprendo.”
The next day, there it was in the headlines: “One hundred-dollar call girl at Castro reception says she ‘no comprende.’” I was astounded to be called a one-hundred-dollar call girl. I did not deserve it.
So the story in the People’s Weekly World that it was Malcolm X who arranged for the Cubans to go to the Hotel Theresa and who gave a reception for Fidel Castro and Che Guevara was untrue. I have no idea where it came from. In fact, neither Malcolm X nor Che Guevara attended the reception.
However, it was true that Malcolm X took the initiative to return the Cubans’ solidarity gesture. It was widely reported in the news media that Malcolm went to the Hotel Theresa and met with Fidel Castro. I do not know what went on, but Malcolm X was then a leader of the Nation of Islam, and it is highly unlikely that he was swayed towards socialism at that time.
However, the fact that Malcolm X did visit Fidel Castro at the Theresa had an enormous effect on the Black community of Harlem.
At any rate, Malcolm X does not need the Communist Party to make up fairy tales about him. They would do well to read Malcolm X speeches, review his real life—and acknowledge where they were wrong about Black nationalism and Malcolm X.
—January 1993
FIGHTBACK! A Collection of Socialist Essays
By Sylvia Weinstein
Socialist Viewpoint Publishing Association
ISBN: 0-9763570-0-3
360 pp.
To order your copy of FIGHTBACK!
Send a check for $25.00 plus $5.95 for shipping and handling to:
Socialist Viewpoint
60 29th Street #429
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 824-8730
Please be sure to include your name, address, city, state and zip code.
PHOTOGRAPH of Sylvia Weinstein taken 1990s, in San Francisco, California
Public-Private Strategic Alliance in Cuba
Governance from a Public-Private Strategic Alliance in Cuba
March 6, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews
Text: CEAP collaboration
Considering the will of the private sector as a high strategic value for a city and reconciling concrete actions to transform not only the physical spaces but also the culture of life is magnanimous in these times. This was endorsed in the first workshop: governance from a public-private strategic alliance in Cuba. It was a meeting between the government and a large group of entrepreneurs from the capital.
The workshop, on this occasion, was convened by the Center for Public Administration Studies (CEAP), belonging to the Alma Mater of Cuban Higher Education. It’s part of a joint effort with the Public Administration Network of the aforementioned Center for the Study of Public Administration, and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Network of the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy, in a conjunction of efforts and interests.
The meeting was held in response to the need and demand to create a space for exchange in the interest of presenting, debating and exchanging needs, potentialities, experiences and proposals, among others, aimed at promoting local development projects, as well as fostering links between the State and non-State sectors and foreign investment.
Its development was attended by the Coordinator of Economy in the Government of Havana, Jorge Luis Villa, as well as the economic coordinators of all the municipalities of the province and some Municipal Directors of Labour. The University of Havana was represented by the Director of the Center for the Study of Public Administration and the Cuban Economy, Dr. Noris Tamayo Pineda and Dr. Betsy Anaya Cruz, respectively, as well as the Presidents of the Public Administration and Entrepreneurship Networks, belonging to each of the aforementioned, in addition to academics linked to each of the aforementioned research centers.
Among the more than 70 participants, and during 6 hours, assertive communication and immediate commitments prevailed. It is to carry out in the next months the First Exhibition Fair with an international scope. There the creators of goods and services by their own efforts will not only make known their products, but also offer all kinds of possibilities and opportunities for the community’s integral development; it was established the need to transform at local scale and through the interactions, in such a way that it reaches to energize the different sectors (state and non-state) as an intention prioritized in the Project of social economic development of the country.
Culture of Violence in the USA
Culture of Violence in the USA:
More Guns Than People
A shooting, which occurred on February 26th in the city of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has so far left seven dead
——————————————————————————————————————
Author: Raúl Antonio Capote | internacionales@granma.cu.February 28, 2020 01:02:35
@granma.cu.Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Police cordoned off the area of the incident in Milwaukee, where a shooting left seven people dead.
Photo: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Once again, firearms are the protagonists of a painful act of blood, pain and death in the United States. A shooting, which took place on February 26 in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has so far left seven people dead. According to local police, among the dead is the attacker, who was apparently a former employee of the Molson Coors brewery, where the incident occurred.
The city’s mayor, Tom Barret, called the incident a terrifying episode. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul also arrived at the scene.
“This is heartbreaking. My heart goes out to the Molson Coors employees, their families and the entire Milwaukee community. The Criminal Investigation Division of the Department of Justice is on the scene and will continue to assist local authorities with whatever they need,” tweeted Josh Kaul.
Police have cordoned off the area of the incident. Nearby businesses and enterprises in the area were closed as a result of the shooting, the fourth of the year in the United States, which has so far claimed 12 lives.
The last such event in Milwaukee was in August 2012, when a white supremacist terrorist killed six people.
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic nominee for the U.S. presidency, recently devoted most of his speech at a Democratic gala in Las Vegas to harsh criticism of the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers, promising to hold them accountable if elected President.
After lamenting the “carnage in the streets,” according to El Nuevo Día, and the anguish of families who lost loved ones to gun violence, Biden said he will not rest until they can sue gun manufacturers and ban assault weapons.
Joe Biden misquoted statistics on the number of Americans killed by gun violence since 2007. The mistake occurred while discussing gun control during the Democratic debate in Charleston, S.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 25, when he spoke of more than 150 million Americans killed by guns that year, according to Hispantv, a figure no doubt exaggerated in the midst of the debate for the Democratic nomination. But it reflects the plight of the American people in the hands of unscrupulous gunrunners and politicians who make a career out of suffering and death.
The Legacy of 2019
Official figures show that in 2019 there were 44 shootings that left 224 victims. However, a report by the Gun Violence Archive (GVA) handles much higher statistics that not only refer to deaths caused by single shooters, but to all deaths from firearms.GVA notes that at least 38,730 people were shot dead. Of these, 14,970 were victims of homicides, murders, intentional shootings or use defensive, a number very similar to that recorded in 2018, which was 14,789.
The nonprofit group, which documents firearms incidents across the country, counted 23,760 suicides involving some type of weapon.
The organization defines “mass shootings” as events in which at least four people are injured and “killings” as incidents in which at least four people are killed. It confirmed that in 2019 there were 409 mass shootings and 30 killings in that country.
He points out that there are also fatalities in family disputes, crimes of passion, gang fights, assaults and robberies, and from firearm accidents.
The areas where most of these incidents occur are Louisiana, Mississippi, North Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, followed by North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York, according to the gva report.
In the United States, there are approximately 200 million to 350 million firearms in the hands of citizens; however, these figures are highly inaccurate, due to the lack of a national census and federal documentation of control of such weapons.
The ease of acquiring almost any type of firearm and the state laws that allow its carrying and use, plus the culture of violence, rooted in the foundations of the nation, are the main causes of the high number of fatalities.
Source: Reuters, AP, EFE, Gun Violence Archive (GVA).
A “guajira” with good aim
A “guajira” with good aim
The 25-year-old from Santiago is the captain of the Cuban women’s archery team and is also the best archer in Cuba today
Published: Saturday 29 February 2020 | 10:18:31 pm.
By Lianet Escobar Hernández lianet@juventudrebelde.cu
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
With a personal best of 635 points, the Santiago native is aiming for a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics: Author: Abel Rojas Barallobre Published: 29/02/2020 | 09:49 pm
The cry of “guajira” is heard almost constantly in the training area of the women’s national archery team. Everyone knows that when Professor Vladimir Quintas comes to the appellation, he is calling Elizabeth Rodriguez Camilo.
The 25-year-old from Santiago is the captain of the Cuban women’s archery team and does not even wrinkle her face at the adjective that replaces her name, since she knows how fond the word is when it is pronounced by the person who was her first coach when she joined the national team, approximately eight years ago.
Rodríguez Camilo is currently the best goalkeeper in Cuba. This is guaranteed by her status as national champion, a title she has won four times in a row, and also by her results in international tournaments, including two fifth places in the Pan-American Games of Lima 2019, one in the team modality and in the mixed recurve goal.
“For me, as an athlete, it is important to have won the elite tournament of my sport so many times. That’s why I prepare myself all year long, always making my best effort to win. I don’t see the domestic competition as the highest step I have to reach, I think that at the level I’m at I have to aspire to more”, commented the young woman exclusively for JR.
For Elizabeth, that step up is certainly no different than the Olympic Games. The fact that she has never been under the five hoops is a motivation for the youngster who almost achieved her dream four years ago, and now she has the chance to make it happen again.
“For the Rio 2016 Olympics I was just a few inches away from the qualifying event, because my opponent shot very well, in the end, we went to a playoff arrow and he beat me by proximity, so I have a little thorn in my side that I hope to get out of the qualifying fight that will be in the Mexican city of Monterrey, from the 22nd to the 30th of this month.
I hope and can get the Olympic place, although I assure you I would be very happy if another one of us gets it, because that will be great for the Cuban archery. However, contrary to what happens in other sports where the country wins the ticket to the competition and not the athlete, we internally decided that whoever gets the ticket is the one who will be in Tokyo. I think that’s the fairest thing and it’s an additional stimulus that we have,” argued Rodríguez Camilo.
The untamed young woman is one of the few athletes who has the opportunity to share her training and competitions with figures with vast experience in the discipline such as the woman from Matanzas, Maidenia Sarduy, whom she accompanied in what was her first foray outside the country when she was only 18 years old.
I’m lucky enough to be on the same team as Maidenia,” he said. “Her advice, like Larissa Pagan’s, was fundamental. She helped me face my first international experience at a Central American qualifying event for Veracruz 2014, held in Medellin, Colombia, where the World Archery Championship was also held.
“There I was 33rd in individual archery and fifth place in the team. That was a competition that even scared me a little bit because of the high level I had, so it was essential to have the support of those figures,” emphasized Elizabeth.
Perhaps the most difficult thing for the Cuban Artemis is to be away from home, especially from her mother Kenya, who says it is her life and like the rest of the family supports her in all her decisions, including that of leaving the sport if her personal goals are not fulfilled.
“My particular aspiration is to finish this Olympic cycle and complete another one. Although this discipline is very long-lived, where you can be in it for years, I do want to make my family and living so far away does not make things easier for me. If I could put down roots in Havana, something that would allow me to form my family and have my mother with me, then I would gladly continue with bow and arrows under my arm, otherwise, I would say goodbye to it,” she emphasized.
Tom and Jerry Turn 80
Tom and Jerry Turn 80
February 15, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
he hilarious Tom and Jerry, the cat and mouse, are silent characters.
This is the 80th anniversary of the release of one of the most famous cartoons of all time: Tom and Jerry.
How did this story come about? The plot is simple: fed up with the mouse that wanders around his house, a cat sets up a plan to throw him out with a trap loaded with cheese.
But the mouse, who is very lively, manages to get his favorite food out without any problem and then continues to walk around the corridors – and rooms, and so on – very happily. The cat insists on catching him, but always fails.
The friendly animal duo was created, as they say, in a moment of desperation.
The animation department of the Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studio (MGM), where the creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera worked, had tried unsuccessfully to imitate other studios that had created successful characters like Mickey Mouse and the Porky Pig.
The animators, both under 30, began to think of their own ideas.
Barbera said he liked the simple concept of a caricature of a cat and mouse, with conflict and persecution, even though it had been done before.
Puss Gets the Boot (translated into Spanish as “El gato se gana el zapatazo”) was the first animated short film they released in February 1940.
The debut was very good and earned the studio an Oscar nomination for best animated short.
And the success deepened when a letter arrived from an influential figure in the entertainment industry from Texas asking when he was going to see another one of those “wonderful cat and mouse cartoons.”
Jasper and Jinx, as they were originally called, then became Tom and Jerry.
According to Barbera, there was never any discussion about the characters not talking.
Having grown up with silent films starring Charlie Chaplin, the creators knew that the cat and mouse could be fun without any dialogue.
The music, composed by Scott Bradley, highlighted the action of the plot, and Tom’s “human” cry was played by Hanna himself.
For most of the next two decades, Hanna and Barbera supervised the production of more than 100 of these short films.
In the world, these Tom and Jerry films are considered the best, because of their excellent hand-drawn animation.
In the mid-1950s, when producer Fred Quimby retired, Hanna and Barbera took over the MGM cartoon department. It was a time of budget cuts.
Tom and Jerry is still very popular around the world. It can be found on children’s television everywhere from Japan to Pakistan, and a new game about them for cell phones has over 100 million users in China.
(With information from La República)
CCP Heads Battle Against Coronavirus
Chinese Communist Party leading the battle against the coronavirus
According to Radio China International, the meeting, chaired by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CCP, Xi Jinping, was aimed at studying the next steps in the fight against the disease, with the conviction of winning that battle
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Author: International Editor | internacionales@granma.cu
February 4, 2020 23:02:42
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
The 2019-nCoV outbreak has claimed more lives in China than the severe acute respiratory syndrome that affected the country in 2002-2003. Photo: Reuters
The 2019-nCOV outbreak has claimed more lives in China than the severe acute respiratory syndrome that affected the country in 2002-2003. Photo: Reuters
The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a meeting on Monday to hear the report of the Central Steering Group on the coronavirus and related departments on prevention and control of the epidemic.
According to Radio China International, the meeting, chaired by the Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the CCPR, Xi Jinping, was aimed at studying the next steps for the confrontation of the disease, with the conviction of winning that battle.
With the death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak rising to 426, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for global solidarity, with special emphasis on collective surveillance.
According to Prensa Latina, so far there are 20,471 confirmed cases in the Asian giant, including 425 deaths; while 176 cases were recorded in 24 other countries and one death in the Philippines.
Drug in the test phase
Russian Deputy Health Minister Sergei Kraevói said Chinese specialists are testing a Russian-made drug known as Triazavirin to see if it can fight the coronavirus.
The news, published by Sputnik, assures that the Triazavirin is an antiviral drug from this Eurasian country of direct action of the azoloazine family. According to its creators, it is effective against 15 types of flu.
Cuba remains on alert although no cases of coronavirus have been reported so far.
Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) informed the people that, as part of the protective measures established at the national level to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the nation, some people who in the last 14 days were in China and other countries with the presence of the virus have been isolated.
According to Dr. Francisco Duran, national director of MINSAP Epidemiology, these people presented symptoms similar to those of the coronavirus, and therefore were admitted to the Pedro Khouri Institute (IPK)and “other hospitals” on the island. However, it has not been confirmed that any of them suffer from the disease, he told Cuban television.
Online Discussion of Sexual Fantasies
Online Discussion of Sexual Fantasies
Have you ever wondered if your sexual fantasies and practices are common or can be considered dysfunctional? Participate in this discussion with the section Sexo Sentido, which on the occasion of its twenty years has prepared many initiatives. Come and see.
By Mileyda Menéndez Dávila
A CubaNews translation.
Edited by Walter Lippmann.
Have you ever wondered if your sexual fantasies and practices are common or can be considered dysfunctional? How can you satisfy them without harming your health or committing crimes? Next Thursday, January 30th you can ask several specialists from Cenesex about this subject, who will visit JR’s digital newsroom for an online interview. You can also forward your questions to digital@juventudrebelde
Argentine Abortion Rights Expanded
Alberto Fernández enforces guarantees for legal abortion in Argentina
On Friday the government of President Alberto Fernandez launched measures to guarantee non-punishable abortion in Argentina
Author: Digital Editor | internet@granma.c
December 14, 2019 10:12:32
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Alberto Fernández, President of Argentina. Photo: AFP
On Friday the government of President Alberto Fernandez launched measures to ensure in Argentina non-punishable abortion, such as setting a deadline of 10 days to perform it, without changing the law prohibiting the free termination of pregnancy.
“The anti-rights always use any kind of arguments and even justice for not complying with the law. This is just a procedural guide or protocol. It’s public health, it doesn’t make sense to turn it into a religious or political debate,” Health Minister Ginés González García told La Red radio station.
Abortions are legal in Argentina only when the woman’s life is in danger or when the pregnancy was the result of rape.
“We are respectful [of doctors] who raise conscientious objections, but this cannot be an alibi for [health] institutions not to comply with the law,” the minister said at a press conference.
A period of 10 days is established for the performance of the abortion from the moment the Legal Termination of Pregnancy (ILE) is requested.
A bill authorizing legal, safe and free abortion was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in 2018 but failed in the Senate.
Since then, anti-abortioni sectors have intensified pressure and obstacles to comply with the non-punishable abortion law that has been in force since 1921, and there are even provinces that refuse to comply with the law.
Fernández announced that he will promote a new debate on abortion in Congress, where the pro-government bloc is the first minority in the Lower House and the president has a majority in the Senate.
The minister explailned that the protocol helps “health workers be backed by the law because in controversies [with anti-abortionists] they are frightened or intimidated.”
“The protocol says what the health teams should do, medical evaluations, what is the bibliography to consult and the medication used,” said González, who is in favor of legalizing abortion. He said the protocol complies with World Health Organization recommendations.
A controversy had erupted in November when the outgoing government of President Mauricio Macri vetoed a protocol similar to the one implemented this Friday, despite the fact that it had been signed by the former Minister of Health, Adolfo Rubinstein, who had to resign.
Non-governmental organizations claim that in Argentina there are between 370,000 and 520,000 clandestine abortions a year. (CUBADEBATE)
Behind the Fantasy
After 17D: Cuba-United States
Behind the Fantasy of the “Land of Freedom”
By DUNIA TORRES GONZÁLEZ
December 9, 2019.
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
A little over a year ago, a childhood friend came to my house talking about opportunities, about his dream of knowing the world. A few days later, I learned about his visa application to travel to Santiago de Chile and, later, about his arrival in the South American country, leaving behind his wife and his newborn child. His intention was to use Chile as a bridge to the United States, but he needed money.
Immediately he began to load boxes in a market and was filled with hope when he received his first payment. However, difficulties soon arose: the rent was very high and due to paperwork he could not find a steady job. The shoe was so tight that he tried to reduce expenses. He moved to the countryside as a pine cutter. It wasn’t an easy job, but it ensured free lodging and food. To get on his way, any effort was small.
Days passed and the money was not much, not enough for the crossing. Without thinking about what it meant to cross South America with an empty pocket, together with some of his companions, with whom he shared a camp, they had defined the date of departure, and his decision was not long in coming. The news came in snippets and the family despaired: the crossing of the jungle, persecution of the coastal police who made them leave the boat and swim to the shore, kidnapping in Nicaragua, ransom request to the wife who had to pay money she did not have, the arrival in Mexico and the effort to reach the border.
According to experts in these matters, they had chosen the perfect date to emigrate to the United States, because afterwards, the situation would get worse.
***
Later, the Trump administration pushed for new and crueler measures against immigrants. In his outburst, he even suggested shooting at people’s legs, building an electrified border wall and a pit infested with caimans and snakes in order to stop them crossing the border with Mexico. Many Cubans were detained by the National Guard while attempting to cross the border illegally in Ciudad Juarez. The new U.S. government regulation prohibited those who had passed through a third country without seeking refuge from seeking asylum at the southern border.
“Don’t come, we will return you to your countries,” Trump said from the U.N. General Assembly. However, he still maintains the Cuban Adjustment Act, which, at the close of 2017 and counting the last 20 years, has benefited hundreds of thousands of Cuban immigrants, allowing them to legalize their stay in the U.S. with a visa when they spend a year and a day, even though they have exceeded the legal permanence of their documents.
The measures taken by the Washington government are increasing by the day, and not only in the case of Cuba, but in the entire region of Latin America and the Caribbean. With its hegemonic eagerness, the U.S. makes the international situation unsustainable, slows down the development of nations, plunders their natural resources and promotes puppet leaders, in whom there is no sign of defense of the less favored classes.
Faced with this instability, especially economic instability, countless people are deceived by the “promised land”, as well as the loss of human lives, trafficking in persons, sexual and/or labor abuse, or organ trafficking.
Thus, it turns out that the perpetrator becomes a victim of the wave of immigrants that it had promoted, and believes that it has the right to judge other nations with respect to the protection of human rights. One might wonder how it is possible to throw stones at a neighbor’s roof when yours is made of glass.
“An average of 544,000 people apply for residency annually,” according to U.S. federal government data. However, on August 12, 2019, the government’s decision to penalize migrants receiving social assistance by denying permanent residence or citizenship to foreigners who receive subsidies was made public. Four million migrants will find the process of receiving U.S. citizenship difficult because it constitutes a “public charge”. Under this new rule, legal immigrants living in the United States are included if they receive “one or more designated public benefits” for more than a year in a 36-month period. This measure affects programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP).
The case of Cubans, it seems, continues to be special. U.S. media reports state that the Cuban Adjustment Act continues to provide the necessary protection through “a provision from 1967-68 [according to which] being a public charge does not prohibit a Cuban from obtaining residency.
***
Finally, after waiting on a long list, he stepped on American soil. He already had his speech ready, which, if necessary, would include even a few tears. He would say that he had always opposed the “regime”, that he was persecuted and a victim of repression, that he couldn’t stand it anymore. When he didn’t really study because he wasn’t there for “that,” nor did he work because of the stress caused by dealing with the bosses. He lived as a spoiled child, despite being 30 years old, waiting for a fortune to fall from the sky. The worst thing is that this story is not exceptional; many Cubans emigrate to the United States and, without problems, exchange the integrity of their country and lend themselves to manipulation campaigns against Cuba on human rights.
Apparently the performance was convincing, although he later had to endure a month in prison. They did an interview and deemed him “credible”. After great efforts by his family, some acquaintances, also emigrants, gathered the amount they requested for bail, $5,000.00 USD. Others took charge of writing the letter in which they were responsible for him. With this act, supposedly, the doors of prosperity were opened to him.
He began his working life as a roofer, because it was the best thing he could achieve with his illegal immigrant status. Of course, it wasn’t a serious contract and he wouldn’t have medical insurance, it was all off the books. There were days when they didn’t work because of the rain. He was committed to paying back the money he borrowed and was urged to get ahead. His first days in the United States were not good at all: he had no head for English, all the stress of the traumatic trip began to come out, he began to get sick and on top of that he had a work-related accident. One day, as he was climbing the roof of a house, the stairs collapsed, he fell and lost consciousness.
“Nothing that can’t be remedied,” he said, “but this is not what I imagined. I don’t have any papers yet. You have to work hard and the money you earn in one week goes like water out the other. It’s true that stores are full of things, but I can’t buy them. Now I’m going to start the paperwork to get a credit card.
After the conversation that day, I lost track of him. I couldn’t ask him if it was worth it, but I don’t think he can understand me…