The Heat May Have Been Turned Down. But Still.... There Is Smoke Whenever There Is Fire.

Having just returned from a month long stay in Cuba, I've come to realise that if any country had the merit of being labeled 'news worthy', Cuba would be it. Unlike most destinations in the world, Cuba has no comparisons. It is just as much controversial as it is conflicted and despite all its trials and tribulations, the country maintains its colorful and rhythmic beat that pushes its people forward in the midst of a situation that few would envy.














One would find it rather difficult to talk about Cuba and the situation that is present within the country without mentioning the 'Trade Embargo' and the historically strained relationship that exists with the United States.

When first glancing over articles that have been written about the recent ties between Cuba and the United States, one wouldn't be blamed for having a slightly more optimistic outlook on the strengthening relationship. However having digged a little deeper, it seems rather premature to 'pop open the champagne' and rejoice at this 'new-found friendship'. Whilst it is undeniable that there has been vast improvements and substantially less tension between the two, seen during the 'Bush Era', there remains plenty to be done. The primary articles that I reviewed was one from the BBC, another from the 'New York Times' and a third from 'CNN'.

I felt compelled to investigate this matter as having spent a considerable amount of time there, I know that although one must respect Cuba for sustaining itself without the help of the outside world and its numerous attempts at reaching a level of 'self-sufficiency', the country would greatly benefit from the removal of the 'Embargo' as this would begin to stablise its economic situation and allow the country to start developing 'mutually beneficial' trade-relations with various countries around the world.

Obama Eases Cuba Travel Restrictions

The first article viewed was a publication by 'CNN'. The author takes a strong position of bias towards the current American administration. Throughout the entire article there is spurts of rhetoric against Cuba's political system and casts the view that the United States is the 'peace-maker' against the evil protagonist. This is illustrated with the inclusion of quotes from a Republican Senator who claimed that, "Raul Castro's dictatorship is one of the most brutal in the world. The U.S. economic embargo must remain in place until tyranny gives way to freedom and democracy." Another Republican senator allegedly was quoted as saying, "Over the past 50 years, the Castros and their secret police have been directly responsible for killing thousands of nonviolent, courageous pro-democracy activists and for jailing and torturing tens of thousands of others. And they continue to this day to perpetrate their brutal crimes". In the midst of these hard-lined quotes against the Cuban government, there was the inclusion of steps Obama had taken towards improving relations and went as far as suggesting, "Obama has a historic opportunity not to be the last president of the Cold War but the first president to turn the page in the US-Cuban relations".

Obama Opens Door To Cuba, But Only A Crack

In an article written by 'The New York Times', there seemed to be the acknowledgement that Obama was achieving progress in his ambitions at strengthening relations with Cuba, albeit 'only by a crack' and not as much as was first anticipated. The criticism towards Obama over the slower-than-expected nature of the progress visibly seen has to be put into perspective as the political conflict with Cuba is deep-rooted and it's important for any new president not to try 'step on any toes' so early into his campaign. The article mentions that "whilst he did not lift the trade embargo with Cuba, he is using his executive power to repeal Mr Bush's tight restrictions so that Cuban-Americans can now visit Cuba as frequently as they like and send as much money as they want, as long as the recipients are not Communist Party officials".

The article continues by emphasising how Mr. Obama is encouraging "telecommunications companies to pursue licensing agreements in Cuba, in an attempt to open up communications there by increasing access to cellphones and satellite television." This illustrates how the United States is beginning to change their mindset about Cuba. Instead of viewing them as the 'evil neighbour', they are beginning to work out how they could benefit from the 'opening up' of the country. Some may be critical of this approach and continue on their rants about the US playing the role of the 'imperialists' of the world and doing everything for their own political and financial gain but let's be honest here, which country doesn't look at how they can manipulate a given situation for their own personal gain?

Out of the three articles, I enjoyed the way 'The New York Times' article was written. It seemed to possess a diverse range of qualities. It had an optimistic tone, yet also put forth a cautionary message that whilst changes were being accomplished, it was important not to believe all 'the hype'.

'No Change' from Obama, Says Cuba

The 'BBC News' article was by far the most critical of the progress being made. The tone and direction of the article was established from the first line. "Earlier this week, Mr Obama renewed the embargo for another year". Short and sweet, direct to the point. The Cuban foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, was quoted as saying that "the Trade Embargo had cost Cuba $96 billion since 1962". Whilst Mr Rodriguez acknowledged that the easing of restrictions for Cuban-Americans to travel back home and the amount of money allowed to be sent back had been "positive" they had nothing to do with the embargo. The foreign minister then continued by declaring that whilst Cuba hoped for direct talks they would "not discuss its internal affairs with anyone, not with the US nor with any group of countries".

Having read the other articles, this put a dampener on any optimistic sentiments that lingered. If the US was only willing to consider talks with Cuba on the premise that they would work towards implementing a more democratic society and improve it's human rights record, and Cuba was only willing to consider talks without the mentioning of how they conduct 'their internal affairs', then what hope remains?




Websites Read:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8260104.stm

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/world/americas/14cuba.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/13/cuba.travel/