Guantanamo in Us

Guantanamo in Us

Two important events took place this month in Guantanamo without much fanfare, the same city where some accused me of defamation when I described it as “Cinderella” -- they missed the intent of this appellative.

The first of these events refers to the presence of General Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez in his hometown, for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the first Cuban, first Latin American and first person with roots in Africa plunging into outer space.

In my article, “Guantanamo’s most important anniversary,” I suggested the need to honor and perpetuate this history making event with the creation of an aerospace museum, which would attract thousands of tourists, instill interest in this science among our youths and, in fact, create an important workplace in Guantanamo, for which I was accused of being naïve.

General Hospital Agostinho Neto commemorated its 32nd anniversary, in moments in which it is undergoing an insufficient palliative capital improvement, which is hoped will revert its severe physical deterioration, deficiencies in its medical services and a marked lack of equipment, material goods and instruments.

Obsolete or missing equipment, scientific stagnation, increased risks of malpractice and public complaints are some of the adverse factors afflicting over 325,000 inhabitants under its care.

These deficiencies have great and far reaching impacts, as they exert pressure on professors, educators, students and patients alike, forcing the introduction of short cuts, including the compression of student curriculum. Missing teaching materials, equipments, reagents and outdated technological and informatics resources and a lack of financial stimulus have stagnated and eroded efforts to achieve higher degree of professional excellence.




That is why a 640,000 pesos and 149,000 CUC budget, with a 5 year timeline to complete this rehabilitation project as reported by the local newspaper Venceremos on 6/27, is an unacceptable joke in poor taste, which affects both people living in and outside of Guantanamo.

Why not take advantage of this predicament to transform the Agosthinho Neto General Hospital into the largest, best equipped, scientific and research Medical Center outside of Havana with the highest academic level?

What better monument can perpetuate the historic flight into outer space and honor the memory of physicians, nurses, military, civilians, wounded, veterans and those fallen in combat in Angola?

What better way is there to honor the memory of a million slaves forcefully introduced into Cuba and thousands of members of the Independent Party of Color, willfully massacred in Guantanamo in 1912?

This monumental project, which is impossible to accomplish with the nation’s present financial woes, could become a reality if Cuba engaged with thousands of citizens from Guantanamo and the rest of nation living across the globe, who are respectful of government policies and love their families and their country.

The present moment calls for unity, comprehension and tolerance on behalf of a better tomorrow for all, rather than finger pointing or counterproductive incendiary remarks.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Georges in Guantanamo in 1998 led the Caribbean American Children Foundation, other solidarity groups, humanists and peace-loving people across Florida, to collect health, educational, handicap, sports and cultural goods which were placed on the first four engine cargo airplane to depart from Miami to Guantanamo since 1959. These solidarity efforts have continued with that region to this day.

The proposed Caribbean Medical Center incorporating the Agostinho Neto General Hospital and its Medical School could have a potential enrollment of 10,000 national and international medical students. This could entice an international, progressive, solidarity-oriented academic and professional staff to develop the highest research and scientific center capable of graduating with the maximum rigors and highest scientific standards, 1,000 physicians, 500 nurses and 500 technologists from around the world every year.

This facility, with its recognized top level scientific standard and perfect geographical location, could receive thousands of paying patients from the Caribbean, Central America and tens of thousands of US residents without health insurance, mental health patients without Spanish-speaking professionals and women subjected to draconian reproductive care restrictions in numerous parts of the US.

This scientific complex, disseminating healthcare and sciences throughout the Third World, could become a permanent homage to our Latin American-African heritage, turning into a reality the dreams of Bolivar-N’Krumah, San Martin-Nyerere, Marti-Mandela, Albizu Campos-Neto and L’Overture-Lumumba, while generating thousands of jobs and millions of dollars for Cuba and the dispossessed of the world.

The Center for Processing Urban Residue or CEPRU in Guantanamo, presented to 3,500 million people through “Heroes” on CNN TV in the year 2007, what men and women of Guantanamo are capable of doing. It is up to the Caribbean Medical Center to ratify, consolidate and expand these natural virtues of the indomitable zone of Cuba.

Guantánamo en nosotros

Guantánamo en nosotros

Dos hechos de gran significación tuvieron lugar sin bombo ni platillo en Guantánamo en el mes de Junio, la misma ciudad que algunos me han acusado de difamar, por haberla descrito como “la cenicienta”, al escapársele la intención intrínseca del apelativo.

El primero de estos se refiere a la presencia del General de Brigada Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez en su ciudad natal, con motivos de la celebración del 30 aniversario de la salida al espacio sideral del primer Cubano, primer Latinoamericano y primer hombre con raíces en África.

En el artículo “El aniversario más importante de Guantánamo” sugerí la necesidad de honrar y perpetuar este hito histórico, mediante la creación de un museo aeroespacial que atraería a miles de turistas, elevaría el interés científico por esta ciencia y de hecho, se convertiría en un importante centro de trabajo en Guantánamo, por lo que fui catalogado de iluso.

El Hospital General Agostinho Neto conmemoro los 32 años de su fundación, en momentos en que se acomete una reparación capital paliativa insuficiente, que intenta revertir el grave deterioro físico, la deficiente calidad de los servicios asistenciales y una severa falta de equipamiento material, instrumental y avituallamiento.

Equipos obsoletos o faltantes, el estancamiento científico, los crecientes riesgos de error profesional y la insatisfacción de la ciudadanía, son algunos de los males que inciden en más de 325,000 habitantes a su cuidado.

Estas deficiencias de gran impacto y largo alcance, ejercen una enorme presión en los profesionales, educadores, educandos y pacientes, lo que ha obligado a violentar etapas y condensar el currículo. La falta de material docente, equipos, reactivos y medios, la desactualización tecnologíca e informática y la grave falta de estímulo material, han estancado y erosiona el espíritu de superación y competencia científico/técnica del colectivo.

Es por ello, que el presupuesto de 640 mil pesos, 149 mil CUC y de manera inconcebible cinco años para su terminación, parece ser un chiste inaceptable de mal gusto, que afecta a Guantanameros dentro y fuera del país.

Porque no aprovechar esta coyuntura para transformar al Hospital General Agostino Neto en el Centro Medico más grande, mejor equipado, de mayor nivel científico-docente e investigación de medicina integral y tropical del interior del país?

Que mejor monumento para perpetuar el vuelo espacial, honrar la memoria de médicos, enfermeros, militares, civiles, mutilados, veteranos y caídos en Angola?

Que mejor manera de honrar memoria del millón de esclavos traídos a Cuba y a los miembros del Partido Independiente de Color, masacrados vilmente en Guantánamo en 1912?

Esta obra monumental aparentemente imposible de crear a la luz de la situación económica del país, pudiera convertirse en realidad inmediata, con el apoyo desinteresado de miles de Guantanameros y Cubanos solidarios, respetuosos de la política de su gobierno, amantes de su pueblo y familiares, que se encuentran dispersos por todo el mundo.

El momento presente es de unidad, comprensión, tolerancia y de aunar esfuerzos en pos de un mañana mejor para todos y no de señalamientos baldíos, contraproducentes o incendiarios.

La devastación causada por el huracán Georges en Guantánamo en el año 1998, condujo a la Fundación Caribeña-Americana de los niños de Palm Coast, Florida y otros grupos solidarios con Cuba, humanistas y a personas amantes de la paz, a enviar el primer avión cuatrimotor de carga después del año 1959 con ayuda material para los damnificados desde Miami a Guantánamo, cuya solidaridad y ayuda material ha continuado hasta nuestros días.

El Centro Medico del Caribe en que quedaría transformado el Hospital Agostinho Neto y su Escuela de Medicina para unos 10,000 alumnos nacionales e internacionales, pudiera contar con un equipo facultativo-docente internacional, solidario, progresista, que contribuyera a conferirle el más alto nivel científico-investigativo de la región, graduando con el máximo nivel y rigor científico a unos 500 médicos, 1000 enfermeras y 500 tecnólogos anuales, procedentes de todo el mundo.

Una vez convertido el Centro Medico del Caribe en el centro asistencial del más alto nivel científico de la región y su excelente ubicación geográfica, le permitiría recibir a miles de pacientes anuales no-gratuitos del Caribe, Centro América y a decenas de miles de personas carentes de seguro médico y de profesionales hispanos de salud mental o debido a las draconianas restricciones reproductivas impuesta a la mujer en numerosas regiones de los Estados Unidos.

Este complejo científico, diseminador de ciencia para el mundo en vías de desarrollo y monumento permanente a nuestra condición de Africano-Latinoamericano, llevaría a vías de hechos los sueños de Bolívar- N’Krumah, San Martin-Nyerere, Martí-Mandela, Albizu Campos-Neto y L’Overture-Lumumba a la vez que generaría decenas de miles de empleos calificados y millones en moneda convertible, para el desarrollo de Cuba y los desposeídos.

El Centro Procesador de Residuos Urbano (CEPRU) de Guantánamo, le demostró a 3,500 millones de personas a través de CNN en el año 2007, quienes son y de que madera están hechos los Guantanameros. En manos del Centro Medico del Caribe esta ratificar y perpetuar esa condición.

Santiago de Cuba Post-Sandy

"Santiago de Cuba Post-Sandy"

by Alberto N. Jones

HAVANA TIMES — For those who experienced the massive destruction left by hurricane Sandy in Santiago de Cuba, it is hard to believe how a few months later, all streets are free of debris; water, electricity, and telephone service have been fully restored, thousands of roofs have been replaced and hundreds of homes have been repaired or built.

Most other public services are back on track, businesses have re-opened, trees are being planted, new buses are coming to town, roads are being repaved and highways repaired.

Less visible and masked by the positive recovery from Sandy, is a critical rise in unemployment, a sharp increase in the cost of living, a notable decline in food supply especially produce and a proliferation of petty theft, rising tempers and  increased violence.

Numerous poverty-related outbreaks of deadly waterborne diseases have led to heighten epidemiologic measures, hospitalizations and anxiety among the population.

But, like the massive recovery following Sandy’s destruction, Cuba has powerful, untapped resources within its reach, which are capable of reverting these social ills and promote the development the area demands.

Santiago de Cuba has the most privileged geographical location in the region, with most neighboring countries 1 – 2.5 hours flying time away.

Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin to a certain extent, hold the strongest historical, cultural, ethnic, religious, filial, culinary and linguistic ties with the Caribbean, as opposed to Latinized western Cuba.

It is in eastern Cuba where we find hundreds of thousands of professionals in every walk of human endeavor, boasting anglo-franco names.

It was in these Caribbean islands where Mariana Grajales, the mother of the Cuban nation found refuge, died and was buried for decades.  It was here, where Cubans shed their blood in defense of Grenada and some are buried underwater off Barbados.

It is in the Caribbean, where Cuba has always had an unconditional moral, literary and political support, which led Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Guyana to restore diplomatic relations in 1972, notwithstanding dire threats of retribution by the US State Department.

How can we explain, that after 50 years of a steadfast, loyal, unquestionable political support of Cuba, Santiago de Cuba has only formal diplomatic relations with the region, minimum airline connections, no sea links, no policy to restore and strengthen family links, negligible commerce, no tourism and limited health, education, cultural and sports exchanges.

Can this be the way of fostering, developing and perpetuating a proven record of love, friendship and solidarity?

What motivates high ranking officials in the Cuban government to willingly fly 10-15 hours to distant countries in search of collaboration, tourism, business, solidarity, while completely ignoring friends literally in walking distance?

In addition to what was said above, Cuba has an unpayable debt of gratitude with hundreds of thousands migrant Caribbean workers, who during the XX century, provided near-slave labor under infra-human conditions, their sweat, tears, blood and lives on hundreds of sugarcane plantations across Oriente, Camaguey, Las Villas and Matanzas, which turned Cuba into the largest sugar producer in the world.

Friends ought to be treated differently.  The relaxation of travel regulations in Cuba, should enable thousands of Cuban professionals with family ties in each of these islands, to be able to earn a decent salary by providing underserved or non existent services in their parents’ country.

Likewise, an orderly migrant policy should allow thousands of Caribbean farmers to come to Cuba, lease untilled, fallow lands and produce much needed food to secure the country needs and export. Sports, cultural, education and social exchanges must be strengthened.

Frustration, despair and hope co-exist today in Santiago de Cuba and in many Caribbean islands.  Integration, collaboration and development with our closest neighbors, is all that is need to be done by our people and their leaders.

*original urlink for essay as it appears in Havana Times.

Guantanamo: Cuba’s Cinderella (part II)

"Guantanamo: Cuba’s Cinderella" (part II)

Alberto N. Jones  

HAVANA TIMES — This summer I stayed in Guantanamo longer than usual as my trip coincided with the National Rebelliousness Day celebration of July 26 being held there, plus there was the annual carnival festivities in that city.

 

Intense construction/restoration activity in the province (typical of the province hosting the commemoration) included the completion of an important stretch of the national highway, linking Guantanamo to the town of Belleza, a project halted over 20 years ago.

 

There was also the re-paving of the city’s main arteries, the termination and/or reconstruction of several public works projects, the completion of a beautiful boulevard that has now become the center of recreational activities in the city, and the painting of hundreds of houses and buildings. All of this gave the city a freshness that it had been lacking for decades and provided temporary relief for all of its citizens.

 

The July 26th celebration in any city in Cuba is a source of local pride and joy, which was widely expressed throughout Guantanamo and culminated in the conclusion of four days of festivities.

 

Beyond the surface

However, for those of us who love Guantanamo, for those who struggle day after day to make this region occupy the place it deserves in the country, for those who suffer in the face of the prevailing state of deterioration, the start-up of some kind of subsistence business of their own or their immigrating to another country has nothing to do with the 50 years of hard struggles and sacrifices we have made as a community.

  

What one finds now is a lack of development and sad prospects for thousands of youths without jobs or futures and whose only goal is to “inventar” (hustle), which pushes them that much closer towards the world of crime.

 

The socio-economic situation of southeast Cuba is serious, urgent, heartbreaking and debilitating. It encompasses communities, towns and cities in a stifling atmosphere of utter frustration and powerlessness, all of which ends up ripping apart the essential fiber and values of society.

 

Thousands of college graduates and technicians are jobless, wandering aimlessly and hopelessly, forgetting in minutes what they learned over years. Enrollment in the middle and upper levels has been significantly reduced and all services have degraded, adversely affecting the level of happiness and satisfaction of the whole community.

 

The impacts of disincentives and insufficient wages have been compounded by the layoffs of one or more family members in many homes, placing these social units on the brink of economic collapse. The need to provide “gifts” for access to all kinds of services has increased exceedingly, dehumanizing society and turning the majority — those without access — into machines focused on survival, ones that don’t care about the situations of others.

 

The embezzlement of funds, outright theft, the adulteration of products, “fines” by inspectors, the abusive costs of products sold in hard currency CUCs and the lack of a wholesale market are just some of the more obvious evils that reflect a lack of coordination between different government run companies. This has led to stagnation and even retrogression in relation to some of the plans set out in the “Guidelines” of the party.

 

Thousands of people responded to the call of the government to recover vacant agricultural land that had been devoured by overrunning marabou bushes. These people took to the fields to produce food for the population and reduce costly imports.

 

Despite the rigid bureaucracy and the resistance to change of the Ministry of Agriculture and their lack of tools and agricultural implements, huge areas of land have been cleared, planted and cultivated using archaic methods, such as yoked oxen and wooden plows.

  

The lack of fertilizers, pesticides and seeds, as well as the prohibitive cost of fuel that prevent the use of irrigation systems, the high cost of agricultural transportation and a significant decline in the purchasing power of the public threatens to derail this project of vital importance.

 

Notwithstanding all of this, if the problems outlined above seem serious, these pale when visiting any of the old Guantanamo province sugar refineries like those named Costa Rica, Honduras, Romelie, Tames, Paraguay, etc.

 

The mills in those places were demolished allegedly for being unproductive, but no approaches were found to replace those jobs with alternative employment. This resulted in those communities becoming human cemeteries full of impoverished, demoralized and alcoholic ex-sugar workers, unable to meet the obligations of their households.

 

As collateral damage, this tragedy has brought with it the losses of dozens of trades, crafts, love for the land and a sense of belonging, something which young people have no knowledge of and don’t seem interested in recapturing.

 

The extreme severity of the problem means that sentimentality, indecisiveness or half measures cannot be tolerated. Only an urgently needed radical surgery will be able to prevent the sea of death, rivers of blood and massive physical destruction that the concerted strategy of permanent foreign threat and deprivation has fostered.

 

 

 

This has created a siege mentality, one of citizen persecution and counterproductive reactions by the Cuban government, which has thereby laid the foundation for a social disaster such as those in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

All of this convincingly demonstrates that while the US soldiers stationed at the Guantanamo Naval Base enjoy the whole range of amenities that exist in that inhospitable location, for decades the city of Guantanamo has been deprived of the use of its beaches, rivers, valleys and mountains that have been declared a military zone.

Cuba remains one of the most desirable places in the world for its beauty, unique geographical location, climate, low crime, free quality education and health care, its ethnic composition, ecological diversity and its unique people.

 

Therefore nothing can explain, rationalize or justify the persistence of an acute economic and social crisis that is threatening to devour this now lethargic (even catatonic) country that has resulted from self-inflicted, necrotic, hyper-centralized decisions.

 

[original urlink]

 

"Guantanamo: Cuba’s Cinderella" (part I)

 

Guantánamo, la cenicienta de Cuba (parte II)

“Guantánamo, la cenicienta de Cuba” (parte II)

por Alberto N Jones 

HAVANA TIMES — Este verano estuve más tiempo en Guantánamo que de costumbre, pues coincidió mi presencia con la celebración nacional por el 26 de Julio y los carnavales de esta villa.

 

Una intensa actividad constructora/restauradora en la provincia incluyó,  la terminación de un importante tramo de la autopista nacional que une a Guantánamo con el poblado de Belleza, paralizada hace más de 20 años.

 

La re-pavimentación de las principales arterias de la ciudad, la terminación y/o reconstrucción de múltiples obras sociales, la terminación de un bello boulevard convertido ahora en el centro de actividad recreativo de la ciudad y cientos de casas y edificios pintados, le confieren a la ciudad un frescor que había faltado en décadas y una alegría temporal para toda la ciudadanía.

 

La celebración de los actos por el 26 de Julio en cualquier ciudad de Cuba, es motivo de júbilo y orgullo local, lo cual se manifestó ampliamente a lo largo y ancho de Guantánamo, que culminó con la celebración de cuatro días de festejos populares.

Mas allá que el maquillaje 

Sin embargo, para los que aman a nuestro Guantánamo, para los que luchan día a día para que esta región ocupe el lugar que le corresponde dentro del país, para los que sufren ante el deterioro imperante, la falta de desarrollo y perspectiva para miles de jóvenes sin empleo o futuro y cuya única meta es “inventar”, lo que los acerca al mundo de la delincuencia, a crear alguna actividad de subsistencia por cuenta propia o emigrar, no se corresponde con los 50 años vividos de duras luchas y sacrificios.

 

En su lugar, estas celebraciones resultaron ser un espejismo, un sueño de verano o un chiste de mal gusto, para decenas de miles de personas que sufren y no saben cómo resolver sus necesidades más perentorias.

  

La situación socio-económica de Oriente sur es grave, urgente, desgarradora y debilitante, al englobar a comunidades, pueblos y ciudades en una atmosfera asfixiante de total frustración e impotencia, que termina quebrantando las fibras y valores de toda la sociedad.

 

Miles de graduados universitarios y técnicos medios sin empleos, deambulan sin rumbo y sin esperanzas, olvidando, por minutos, lo aprendido.  Las matrículas en los niveles medio y superior han sido reducidas sensiblemente y todos los servicios se han degradado, afectando adversamente el importante índice de felicidad y satisfacción personal de toda la comunidad.

 

Los desincentivantes e insuficientes salarios, se han visto agravado por la pérdida de empleo de uno o más miembros del núcleo familiar, colocándolos al borde del colapso económico. Las omnipresentes prebendas para acceder a todo tipo de servicios se han intensificado en extremo, deshumanizando a las personas y convirtiéndolas en máquinas de supervivencia, que poco les importa la situación del prójimo.

 

 

 

El desvío de recursos, el robo, la adulteración de los productos, el picotazo de los inspectores, el abusivo costo de los productos que se expenden en CUC y la falta de ventas al por mayor, son solo algunos de los males más evidentes que hablan de una falta de coordinación entre las diferentes empresas, que han llevado al estancamiento e involución de algunos de los planes recogidos en los Lineamientos del Partido.

 

Miles de personas respondieron al llamado del gobierno para rescatar terrenos agrícolas baldíos, devorados por el marabú, para ponerlos a producir alimentos para la población y reducir las costosas importaciones.

 

A pesar del férreo burocratismo e inmovilismo del ministerio de agricultura y la falta de aperos e implementos agrícolas, enormes áreas de terreno han sido desbrozadas, sembradas y cultivadas, utilizando métodos arcaicos como la yunta de buey y el arado de palo.

 

La falta de fertilizantes, pesticidas o semillas, el prohibitivo costo del combustible que impide la utilización de sistemas de riego, el alto costo del transporte agrícola y una sensible disminución en el poder adquisitivo de la población, puede dar al traste con este proyecto de vital importancia.

 

Si los problemas enunciados más arriba parecieran graves, estos palidecen al visitar algunos de los antiguos bateyes azucareros guantanameros  de Costa Rica, Honduras, Romelié, Tames, Paraguay etc.- cuyos ingenios fueron demolidos, supuestamente, por ser trapiches improductivos, que no fueron sustituidos con otra alternativa laboral, convirtiendo dichos poblados en cementerios humanos, repletos de ex-trabajadores azucareros empobrecidos, desmoralizados, alcohólicos e incapaces de enfrentar las obligaciones de su núcleo familiar.

 

 Como daño colateral, esta tragedia ha traído consigo la pérdida de decenas de oficios, trabajos manuales, artesanales, amor por la tierra y un sentido de pertenencia que los jóvenes desconocen y no parecen interesados en recobrar.

 

La extrema gravedad del problema no tolera blandenguería, indecisiones o paños tibios. Solo una intervención quirúrgica radical de urgencia, es capaz de impedir a tiempo el mar de muertos, los ríos de sangre y la masiva destrucción física que una concertada estrategia foránea de permanente amenazas y privaciones, ha promovido una mentalidad de asedio, persecución y reacciones contraproducentes dentro del gobierno, que han ido sentando las bases para un descalabro social como los de Siria, Libia, Yemen, Irak o Afganistán.

 

Demuestra fehacientemente lo anterior, que mientras los militares norteamericanos estacionados en la Base Naval de Guantánamo disfrutan de todas las amenidades existentes en aquel enclave inhóspito, el pueblo de Guantánamo ha sido privado durante décadas del uso de sus playas, ríos, valles y montañas, por haber sido declaradas Zona Militar.

Por cuanto Cuba sigue siendo uno de los lugares más apetecibles del mundo por su belleza, privilegiada ubicación geográfica, clima, tranquilidad ciudadana, educación, salubridad, composición étnica, diversidad ecológica y un pueblo sui generis, nada puede explicar, racionalizar o justificar, la persistencia de una acuciante crisis económica y social, que intenta devorar a un país aletargado, catatónico, causado por decisiones híper centralizadas auto-infligidas.

 

[articulo original]

 

"Guantánamo, la cenicienta de Cuba" (parte I)

Guantanamo: Cuba's Cinderella City (part I)

“Guantanamo: Cuba’s Cinderella City” (part I)

by Alberto N Jones

 

HAVANA TIMES — We learned through the Cuban media that the upcoming July 26 celebrations of “National Rebellion Day” (commemorating the guerilla attacks in 1953 that sparked the Cuban Revolution) would take place here in Guantanamo: Cuba’s “Cinderella City.”

 

This filled us with local pride and joy for our being recognized as a community that, while suffering and neglected, is also unshakeable.

 

Shortly after, I recalled that this honor had been conferred upon this city twice before in the past, though a little later — shortly after the celebrations — everything returned to the same old thing: apathy, a lack of creativity and no accountability for what’s poorly done.

 

Unfortunately, all of this has come to characterize Guantanamo Province in particular and southeastern Cuba in general.

 

The history of Guantanamo is cruel, sinister and associated with tragedy and misfortune. Before the revolution this was the most neglected and backward area of the country, one where education, health care, communications, sports, industry and culture were noted for their low levels.

 

During every election campaign people politicians, opportunists and political operatives would appear promising schools, water and sewage systems, hospitals and jobs – though these individuals would only deceive everyone once the election was over.

 

It was not until the election of President Ramon Grau San Martin into office (1944-48) that large public works projects were implemented that provided 80-85 percent of the current drinking water and sewage services and paved streets of Guantanamo City.

 

Prior to his election, all municipalities and the city of Santiago de Cuba were connected to Guantanamo City by dirt roads, which became impassable during the rainy season.

 

A Curse Disguised As Stability

 

As spoils of the Cuban-Spanish-American War of 1898, in 1903 the United States occupied 45 square miles of land surrounding Guantanamo Bay, one of the best natural, deep water bays in the world. This was later turned into the Guantanamo Naval Base — “Gitmo” — which remains in existence up through today.

 

The presence of this military base on Cuban soil was a curse disguised as economic stability for the area. This was because it provided some 2,500 full and part-time jobs during peace time and many more during times of international conflict, thus turning the facility into the backbone of the local economy.

 

Every week, hundreds of US soldiers and officers who would take their regular passes from the base fostering the largest red-light districts in Cuba. This was in Guantanamo City and Caimanera (the town just north of the base), with hundreds of women from across the country, famous pimps, sexual perversion, drug addiction and trafficking, violence, venereal diseases, blackmail, gambling and bribery coexisting. In some instances these activities were even admired by the leading citizens of our community.

 

Guantanamo’s underdevelopment and absolute dependency on the legal and illicit economic resources coming from the base conferred absolute impunity on the US military, making all crimes — no matter what their severity — outside the legal reach of Cuban authorities.

 

For that reason, the 1953 assault on the Moncada Barracks resonated powerfully among youth, who had been humiliated and frustrated by the society imposed on them. This is what led them to join the movement en masse, shed their blood, give their lives and turn Guantanamo into one of the most important anti-Batista bastions during the insurrection.

 

Immediately after the triumph of the revolution, the sailors stationed at Guantanamo Bay were prohibited from taking their leaves off base, the red-light district was shut down, and prostitutes were sent to schools.

 

The hiring of new Cuban civil servants for work on the naval base was barred and the naval base rapidly became transformed into a dangerous beachhead and center for conspiracy on the island.

 

Thousands of common criminals and counterrevolutionaries found refuge in this enclave and hundreds went on to receive military training in Central America and Miami – some of whom returned to the naval base and were then infiltrated back onto Cuban soil to commit all sorts of criminal activities.

 

Tens of millions of useless Cuban pesos were overtly laundered for dollars on its premises, and the formerly English-only local naval base radio station, WGBY, became bi-lingual, allowing it to openly incite Cubans to leave their country.

 

A number of Cuban workers were detained, tortured and murdered on the naval base.  Other Cuban border guards suffered gunshot wounds and three were murdered by shots coming from the base, which led the Cuban government to shut off the source of its water supply.

 

The commanding officer of the naval base then summarily dismissed 700 Cuban employees, which was supposed to have caused the collapse of Guantanamo’s economy with its 100,000 inhabitants.

Serious Collateral Damage 

This partial summary is an attempt to describe the level of hostility, danger and threat that surrounds Guantanamo. All of this turned the area into the second largest minefield in the world and into a place where its perennial fuse could set off an unprecedented military firestorm on our continent.

 

This forces the Cuban government to allocate large amounts of financial resources in defensive fortifications, which in turn leads to the stagnation of the social, agriculture, industrial, cultural and scientific development of that area. The collateral damage has been serious and irreversible in some cases.

 

Over half a century, Guantanamo has ceased to be the most diverse community in Cuba, with a unique mixture of customs and cultures derived from the presence of immigrants from Spain, all of the Caribbean islands, Italians, Germans, Americans, British, Swiss, Lebanese, French, Poles, Pakistanis, Chinese, Hindus, Syrians, Mexicans, Canadians, etc.

 

Yet today its residents are described pejoratively as homeless “Palestinians” in their own country (when in western Cuba) and they have one of the highest rates of migration abroad.

Guantanamo, the region of Cuba that produced the most physicians per capita in the country in the first five graduating classes after the triumph of the revolution, has lost its radiance and incentive. 

Guantanamo, the region with the highest level of rainfall and water reserves, the largest producer of coffee, cocoa and salt in the country, has lost most of its productive capacity, while a large section of the country is dry and thirsty.

 

Guantanamo, with its once famous Samy’s Ice Cream, Tudela’s Candy, India Chocolate, Coconut Pie, 13/13 Laundry Soap, the Ideal Bus Company, the America Movie Theater, the Monte Carlo Cabaret, the Modelo Bakery and “Frio/Caliente” (a popular beach area along the Bano River), has not been able to preserve these for our children, while they become dehydrated in this the warmest part of the country.

 

Guantanamo, the birthplace of the first human of African ancestry to travel into outer space; the home of the Ecological Processing Center for Solid Urban Waste (CEPRU in Spanish), where a descendent of Mariana Grajales placed Cuba on the world map before 3.5 billion viewers watching CNN confer upon her the environmental title of “Heroes for Defending the Planet”; the city’s excellent Olympic athletes, and the impregnable defensive barrier erected by the Border Brigade as the first and most important trench for protecting the nation, all explain and justify why these people deserve a better future.

 

The “Colonia Española” and the “Block Catalan” for whites, the “Club Moncada” and the “Nueva Era” for blacks, the “Siglo XX” for mulatos (mixed race), its dozens of lodges, churches, the British West Indian Welfare Center, the Haitian Community Center, the Tumba Francesa, Guantanamo’s Chinese societies, its children’s choirs, school bands, its shower of stars in the endless search for talent and in sports competitions, each of them in their own particular way have fostered and bestowed on  Guantanamo a certain vitality and moral strength.

 

All of this has enabled most of its youth to confront, resist and triumph over the temptations emanating from the largest corrupting center in the nation.

To restore those arms — ones that protect the present generation of Guantanamo residents and those people of southeastern Cuba — must be an inescapable and non-postponable commitment for all of us.

 

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Guantánamo, la cenicienta de Cuba (parte I)

“Guantánamo, la cenicienta de Cuba” (parte I)

por Alberto N. Jones

 

HAVANA TIMES — En días pasados supimos a través de la prensa que las celebraciones del próximo 26 de Julio serán en nuestro Guantánamo, la cenicienta de Cuba, lo cual nos llenó de alegría, orgullo local y reconocimiento por un pueblo sufrido, olvidado e inconmovible.

 

De inmediato recordé, que en el pasado este honor se le había conferido y poco después de los festejos, todo regresaba a la inercia, falta de creatividad e impunidad con lo mal hecho, que desgraciadamente ha venido a caracterizar a nuestro Guantánamo en particular y a Oriente sur en general.

 

La historia de Guantánamo es cruel, siniestra y está asociada con tragedias e infortunios.  Antes del triunfo de la Revolución ésta era la región más abandonada y atrasada del país, en la cual los sistemas de educación, salud, deporte, comunicación, industrias y cultura, brillaban por su ausencia.

 

En cada periodo electoral aparecían  politiqueros, oportunistas y sargentos políticos prometiendo escuelas, acueducto, alcantarillado, hospitales y empleos, solo para  defraudarnos poco después de haber sido elegidos.

 

No fue hasta el gobierno del Presidente Ramón Grau San Martín en 1944-48, que tuvo lugar un masivo plan constructivo que llevó a Guantánamo el 80-85% del actual sistema de abasto de agua, alcantarillado y pavimentación de sus calles. Todos los municipios y la capital Santiago de Cuba estaban conectados con Guantánamo mediante terraplenes, que eran intransitables en periodos de lluvia.

 

Como botín de la guerra-Hispano-Cubana-Americana de 1898, los Estados Unidos ocuparon en 1903, 118 Km2 de terreno circundante de la bahía de Guantánamo, una de las mejores del mundo, que fue transformado en la Base Naval conocida por GITMO hasta el día de hoy.

 

La presencia de este enclave militar fue una desgracia para la región disfrazada de estabilidad económica, al crear unos 2500 empleos temporales y a tiempo completos en tiempos de paz, y mucho más durante periodos de conflagración internacional, convirtiéndola en la espina dorsal de la economía local.

 

La salida semanal de cientos de militares de “franco” desde la base, creó en Guantánamo y Caimanera el mayor prostíbulo de Cuba, con cientos de mujeres de todo el país, proxenetas famosos, masiva perversión sexual, drogadicción, violencia, enfermedades venéreas, chantajes, traficantes, boliteros y sobornos, coexistían, y en algunos casos, eran admirados por las clases vivas, religiosas, fraternales y legales de la ciudad.

 

El subdesarrollo de Guantánamo y su absoluta dependencia de los recursos económicos legales e ilegales provenientes de la base, les otorgaba a los militares norteamericanos absoluta impunidad, por lo que todos los crímenes, sin importar su gravedad, estaban fuera de la competencia de las autoridades cubanas.

 

 

 

Es por ello, que el asalto al Cuartel Moncada en 1953, encontró una clarinada entre la juventud frustrada y avergonzada de la sociedad que se les había impuesto, llevándolos a sumarse masivamente a esta gesta, por lo que derramaron su sangre, ofrendaron sus vidas y convirtieron a  Guantánamo en uno de los pilares anti batistiano más importantes del país durante el proceso insurreccional.

 

Inmediatamente después del triunfo de la Revolución, se prohibió la salida de la soldadesca de franco de la base, se clausuró el prostíbulo y las prostitutas pasaron a escuelas. Se impidió el ingreso de nuevos empleados cubanos en la base naval y esta se transformó de inmediato en una cabeza de playa y un peligroso centro de conspiración dentro de Cuba.

 

Miles de delincuentes comunes y contrarrevolucionarios encontraron asilo en dicho enclave, recibieron entrenamiento militar en Centro América o Miami, regresando a la base y logrando, algunos, infiltrarse en Cuba para sus acciones delictivas. Decenas de millones de pesos desvalorizados en manos de desafectos fueron cambiados abiertamente por dólares dentro de la base y su emisora local WBGY se hizo bilingüe, incitando abiertamente la emigración de cubanos.

 

Varios trabajadores cubanos fueron detenidos, torturados y asesinados dentro de la base.  Varios soldados cubanos Guarda fronteras fueron heridos de bala, y tres asesinados por disparos provenientes de su interior, por lo que en 1964, el gobierno cubano determinó cerrar la toma del abasto de agua a dicho enclave, lo cual determinó que el jefe militar de la base despidiera en masa a unos 700 empleados, lo que supondría el colapso económico de Guantánamo y sus 100,000 habitantes.

 

Este resumen parcial pretende describir el grado de hostilidad, peligros y amenazas imperante en Guantánamo, que  convirtió a esa zona en el segundo campo minado más grande del mundo y en una llama perenne que podía desencadenar una conflagración bélica sin precedentes en nuestro continente, forzando a nuestro gobierno a dedicar incalculables recursos económicos para su fortificación defensiva y el consiguiente estancamiento del desarrollo social, agrícola, industrial, cultural y científico de la región.

 

El daño colateral vivido es grave e irreversible en algunos casos. Guantánamo ha pasado en medio siglo a ser, la comunidad más diversa de Cuba, con un sincretismo de hábitos y cultura sui géneris, derivada de la presencia de inmigrantes españoles, caribeños de cada una de sus islas, italianos, alemanes, ingleses, norteamericanos, suizos, libaneses, franceses, polacos, pakistaníes, chinos, hindúes, sirios, mejicanos, canadienses etc., a palestinos en su propia tierra y con uno de los mayores índices migratorios hacia el exterior.

 

Guantánamo, la región de Cuba que produjo más médicos por habitantes en el país en las primeras cinco graduaciones después del triunfo de la Revolución, ha perdido hoy su brillo e incentivo.

 

Guantánamo, la región con el mayor caudal y reserva de agua del país, la mayor productora de Café, Cacao y Sal, ha perdido su capacidad productiva, mientras gran parte del país está seca y sedienta.

 

Guantánamo, la del famoso helado Samy’s, los Caramelos Tudela, el Chocolate la India, el Pie de Coco, el jabón 13/13, los ómnibus La Ideal, el cine América, el Cabaret Monte Carlo, la panadería Modelo o el Frio/Caliente, el popular balneario en el rio Bano, no hemos sido capaces de preservarlos para nuestros hijos, mientras se deshidratan en la región más cálida del país.

 

 

 

Guantánamo, el lugar de nacimiento del primer hombre en el espacio con vínculos filiales en África,  el CEPRU, donde una heredera de Mariana Grajales puso a Cuba en el mapa-mundi ante 3.5 mil millones de espectadores, sus excelsos deportistas olímpicos y la inexpugnable barrera defensiva de la Brigada Fronteriza en la primera y más importante trinchera del país, justifican con creces, que este pedazo de tierra y su gente, sean dignos de mejor suerte.

 

La Colonia Española y el Block Catalán para blancos, el Club Moncada y la Nueva Era para negros, el Siglo XX para mulatos, decenas de logias, iglesias, el Center, la Tumba Francesa, las Sociedades Chinas, los coros juveniles, las bandas y paradas escolares, Lluvia de Estrellas en su búsqueda constante de talento y las competencias deportivas, forjaron y le confirieron a Guantánamo una vitalidad y fortaleza moral, que permitió al grueso de su juventud, resistir y vencer las tentaciones emanadas del mayor centro de corrupción del país.

Restituir esas armas, esa coraza a la generación actual de Guantánamo y de Oriente sur, ha de ser un compromiso ineludible e impostergable de todos.

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