My Great Grandparents and Castro

[gunsaximbo]

My Great grandparents died in Cuba in 1968 - 1970. Before Castro took over they were well off. My GG owned an fruit import export business & a plantation of some sort (I'm not sure). They lived in Miramar, a suburb of Havana - Hemingway lived there as well.

After Castro took over, everything went to the state. They had nothing and were too old to start over, not that anyone could accumulate any wealth under a communist society. I remember the last communication we had was a letter from the Cuban Govt. telling us that my Great Grandfather had died. I also remember the US government wouldn't allow my family to go back there to get them. I've wanted to go there for as long as I can remember at first to meet my Great Grand parents, but then I wanted to go there to see where they lived. I think it is ridiculous that our Govt. has continued their refusal to trade with Cuba.

I hope someday I can go to Cuba and find where they are buried and to see if we can get some restitution. Are there any sharp attorney's out there who would know how to accomplish this?

Joe Serra

[evlbstrd]

1. The Cuban Embargo has long been evil.

The Cold War mentality that spawned and nurtured it hasn't been justified in a very long time. Hell, if we can deal with Russia, we can deal with Cuba.

[Benhurst]

3. You're wrong. Russia and Communist China have never posed

the threat to the United States that Cuba does.

:sarcasm:

[evlbstrd]

8. True.

We never were threatened with annihilation through immigration from them.

[gunsaximbo]

13. I never brought up their threat quotient

But I agree with you absolutely.

[laura888]

2. Capitalism got out of hand.

Too many unhappy, poor people.

No one man could have made the revolution happen.

We should keep that in mind in the U.S.

That said, I'm sorry about your family.

[killbotfactory]

4. I agree with Jimmy Carter

Our two nations have been trapped in a destructive state of belligerence for 42 years, and it is time for us to change our relationship and the way we think and talk about each other. Because the United States is the most powerful nation, we should take the first step.

First, my hope is that the Congress will soon act to permit unrestricted travel between the United States and Cuba, establish open trading relationships, and repeal the embargo. I should add that these restraints are not the source of Cuba's economic problems. Cuba can trade with more than 100 countries, and buy medicines, for example, more cheaply in Mexico than in the United States. But the embargo freezes the existing impasse, induces anger and resentment, restricts the freedoms of US citizens, and makes it difficult for us to exchange ideas and respect.

Second, I hope that Cuba and the United States can resolve the forty-year-old property disputes with some creativity. In many cases, we are debating ancient claims about decrepit sugar mills, an antique telephone company, and many other obsolete holdings. Most U.S. companies have already absorbed the losses, but some others want to be paid, and many Cubans who fled the revolution retain a sentimental attachment for their homes. We resolved similar problems when I normalized relations with China in 1979. I propose that our two countries establish a blue-ribbon commission to address the legitimate concerns of all sides in a positive and constructive manner.

Third, some of those who left this beautiful island have demonstrated vividly that the key to a flourishing economy is to use individual entrepreneurial skills. But many Cubans in South Florida remain angry over their departure and their divided families. We need to define a future so they can serve as a bridge of reconciliation between Cuba and the United States.

Are such normal relationships possible? I believe they are.

http://www.cartercenter.org/doc517.htm

[GAPeace]

9. Carter is a post-Presidency hero

Say anything you want about his Presidency, but being the NGO statesman afterward is really where his heroism lies. He's coming to my university in the winter; I'd love to thank him for standing up for causes the status quo politicians of the US refuse to.

[CanSocDem]

18. Cuba is doing all right....

...considering.


"Cuba:The Accidental Revolution (Part 1), examines Cuba's response to the food crisis created by the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in 1989. At one time Cuba's agrarian culture was as conventional as the rest of the world. It experienced its first “Green Revolution” when Russia was supplying Cuba with chemical and mechanical “inputs.” However, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 ended all of that, and almost overnight threw Cuba's whole economic system into crisis. Factories closed, food supplies plummeted. Within a year the country had lost over 80% of its foreign trade. With the loss of their export markets and the foreign exchange to pay for imports, Cuba was unable to feed its population and the country was thrown into a crisis. The average daily caloric intake of Cubans dropped by a third."

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/show_cuba.html

"Without fertilizer and pesticides, Cubans turned to organic methods. Without fuel and machinery parts, Cubans turned to oxen. Without fuel to transport food, Cubans started to grow food in the cities where it is consumed. Urban gardens were established in vacant lots, school playgrounds, patios and back yards. As a result Cuba created the largest program in sustainable agriculture ever undertaken. By 1999 Cuba's agricultural production had recovered and in some cases reached historic levels."



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.
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[KyuzoGator]

5. Same thing happened to my grandparents.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1794198&mesg_id=1794215

And get a load of the suggestion that they were spoiled and deserved it. DU can really suck ass sometimes.

[GAPeace]

11. Maybe they care for the underclass?

That provided for rich family's wealth?

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[gunsaximbo]

24. Sorry _ I don't speak Spanish

I want what is mine not what is theirs and what never was theirs.

[GAPeace]

7. A friend of mine's uncle was there

He was part of the Revolution unti he was hit in the head with a stone (always a good laugh at that part of the story); he left soon after.

He used to each lunch with Fidel!

[RagingInMiami]

10. I went to Cuba in May

Traveled with a group of Americans who were committing an act of civil disobedience. We traveled from Miami to the Bahamas and then to Havana. We came back the same way, admitting to US Customs that we had gone to Cuba. We had a lawyer who was not with us but was willing to defend us pro bono if it came down to that. Even though they threatened us with fines, we haven't heard anything and it's been more than two months.

I stayed in Vedado, the suburb in Havana where the University of Havana is located. I did go to Miramar because a friend of a friend lived there. That area is a bit more modern than the rest of Havana; 1970s architecture instead of 1950s architecture.

Do you know what cemetary your grandparents are buried in? Would it be the Necropolis Colon, the famous cemetary in Havana?

Were your grandparents Cuban or were they from somewhere else? Serra could also be an Italian surname.

[gunsaximbo]

14. My grand parents came

from Spain then Chicago for 30 years to Cuba right before WWII.

Our Last name is the Spanish Serra from Barcelona - We're actually related to Fr. Serra.

[uppityperson]

12. You can go to Cuba now, just not directly from USA

Cuba has a decent tourist group, it is easily possible to go there, just not through USA. It would be very interesting to go and see. Good luck.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

15. Fuck Castro And Fuck The Embargo.

[manic expression]

16. Try to get a visa

If you have a really solid reason, the US government might give you a visa to the country. If that doesn't work (which is very possible), you can go to Cuba via another country, Toronto being the most popular way. However, if you go through another country, make sure you request that they stamp your tourist visa and not your passport.

Good luck, I hope it works out for you.

By the way, I won't comment on your story of your grandparents because there's a better time and place for it.

[RagingInMiami]

17. Even if you ask them to stamp your passport

Which is what I did last May, they won't stamp it. Every American gets a stamped tourist visa.

[manic expression]

19. Thanks for the info

I'm just curious, what are your opinions of what you saw and heard and witnessed on the island?

[RagingInMiami]

20. I posted a long thread with a lengthy slideshow about my trip a while back

Here it is on my journal.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/RagingInMiami/20

[manic expression]

21. One question

If every Cuban knows someone jailed for speaking against Castro, how are there only about 80 "political prisoners" (who were subversives)? How did Oswaldo Paya manage to largely stay a free man? How is that possible?

Anyway, it's good to see a view of the situation, but I do think your impressions are misled. Just my opinion on your own. Thanks for the info again.

[RagingInMiami]

22. I knew you wouldn't agree

But everything I wrote was accurate. I reported what I saw and what I was told. I tried to present the good, the bad and the ugly of Cuba.

Funny enough, the pro-Castro people believe I was "misled" or had such strong biases against Castro that there was no way I could view Cuba objectively. And the extreme anti-Castro Cubans accuse me of being a Castro sympathizer, la communista de la cuadra as one neighbor called me on my return from Cuba. The communist of the block.

The truth is, I am neither. I am a journalist by trade, even though I was not down there on assignment. I know how to present facts objectively.

And I know the truth about Cuba is neither what you say or what my neighbor says. It is somewhere in between.

[manic expression]

23. You probably did

but I still doubt that, mostly due to simple mathematics.

I appreciate what you wrote, I simply disagree on many of your impressions.

The thing is that I understand that there are economic troubles in Cuba, I understand that there is some discrepancy in income, I understand doctors often drive taxis. However, I also understand exactly WHY there are economic troubles (the embargoes, namely), I understand that this discrepancy is something that can be fixed and is ultimately relatively small, I understand that doctors can supplement their income by doing this and that it is quite amazing that doctors can take time off while maintaining such standards in healthcare. I understand that, and I find it unfortunate that people who think it is "somewhere in between" do not.

Oh, and I also know that some of Cuba's policies were very homophobic for quite awhile, but I understand that while this was not good, it has been getting better, and that Latin American culture in general is quite homophobic. I do think there is something to be said for understanding the situation at hand.