Castro's friends are deserting him

yahoo.com news ^ | May 1, 2003 | CARLOS ALBERTO MONTANER

[PoisedWoman]

I'm not sure if you can fully comprehend the horrors of Communism unless you've actually visited a Communist country, and quite honestly this is one reason I went.

Exactly. However, you'll always get flamed here for going to Cuba for any reason.

I went in '99 with a few friends...we bought a package from a travel agent in FL with connections, had good hotel rooms in gracious old hotel + breakfast at good prices. I did not feel ripped off at all. Other than room and brekkie, we were on our own, free to take taxis, walk all over the place, talk to anyone we met, take Cuban (not tourist) busses to every part of the country. While the Castro-istas left us alone, they did keep an eye on us. I climbed into a taxi in Havana and the driver immediately radioed in saying that he had "the Americana" in his cab. LOL!

Every Cuban we met absolutely loved Americans. You cannot believe the hugs I got just from people I met on the street. I went off on my own to have my own experience. I even struck up conversations with a few of those armed guards that stand on every corner. They were surprised to be approached, but were wreathed with smiles when we talked.

We hired a couple of guys for a day, the drove us around in ollllllld Chevie. One spoke excellent English. They had mucho fear about getting caught with us, did not want to drive into certain areas of town where party leaders lived, and gave us a very good picture of Cuban life. It's horrible!

I saw one of those fellows again and again, he introduced me to his family and friends, took me up on rooftops where we could talk and told me he hated Castro and so did everyone else. "If we only had guns, he'd have been dead decades ago." My friend was 26 and felt he still "had a chance" at a life.. Another fellow, 42, said it was too late for him. All Cubans seemed to use that terminology...I may still have a chance, or it's too late, depending on when Castro might die. So sad.

No one we met in Cuba toed the party line. But you could recognize those who did....they wore wonderful outfits, were well-fed, and had those invincible cocaine eyes....There were not many of them, but whenever we ran into them, our Cuban friends would hush us..."not so loud."

My young friend showed me his homing pigeons...he'd named them Freedom, Liberty, Peace....I'll never forget his love for those birds who could achieve what he perhaps never will....

I wish more Americans would visit Cuba the way you and I did. The people need every little taste of freedom they can get, even by proxy. And Americans need to know how rotten communism is. They'll never learn that on those official tours. Or from watching CNN.

The three friends I went with were very far leftie liberals, and they were stunned at the horrible conditions in Cuba. A lot of rethinking took place on that trip.

I hated Cuba. And I loved Cuba and the Cubans. I'd move there in a NY minute if Castro and the commies were finally tossed into ocean.

[daviddennis]

I think the bizarre "Tourist Apartheid" system was born after you went. This is an attempt to prevent tourists and Cubans from mixing. It's very clear that the Cuban government wants you to toe their line and not yours, but they need the foreign exchange so much that you are pretty much free to do as you please. The only catch is that your Cuban girlfriend (very easy to find if you're a guy) might get in trouble for staying close to you. You won't get in trouble; she will. "Re-education camp" for three years.

I have to say that I am profoundly ambivalent about the political aspect of my trip. I agree with you that I think everyone should visit Cuba to see what it's really like, but at the same time I hate giving Castro the bucks he needs to survive. Shortly after I got back from Cuba, I learned that Castro was a big supporter of Hugo Chavez, and they had formed some kind of low-rent Axis of Evil. That and the brutal treatment of dissidents has made me vow not to come back until things improve in a meaningful way. But like you, I'd love to move there under better circumstances. Imagine being able to restore those one of those lovely old houses on the Malecon! They'd be worth an easy $1m each if they were in Malibu ... land value only.

Would you be curious to read my detailed account of the trip? I really should put it up - I have some really nice parts of it written, and I got some great photos I really should have up.

D