Alex OrtizLASC 234November 22nd, 2015

Community Assessment Response Paper

On Saturday, November 7th, I attended an event titled Cuba Speaks For Itself, hosted by the Institute for Policy Studies at the University of DC. The event featured guest speaker Kenia Serrano Puig, President of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) as well as a parliamentarian in Cubas National Assembly. The event was attended by several hundred individuals and esteemed guests from the national and global Cuban community, including the First Secretary of the Cuban Embassy. Elementary school students from the Maryland Day International School kicked off the event by reciting several songs in both Spanish and English, culminating with a performance of the Cuban hit Guantanamera, foreshadowing the hotly contested issue that Ms. Serrano would discuss later in the evening. Ms. Serrano would then take the stage for an hour and a half, discussing a wide range of topics such as the current U.S. blockade of Mexico, the history of the illegal occupation of Guantanamo, and the future privatization of Cubas economy.The main purpose of this event was to understand U.S.-Cuban relations from a Cuban perspective, as media in the United States often misconstrues and hides certain details from its citizens. For example, many of the members in attendance, including myself were surprised to hear that the U.S. is still imposing a blockade around the island of Cuba, restricting certain goods, not limited to vital medicines and other developing technologies. It is a fact that this blockade is limiting the growth of Cubas economy, and yet the principles of which the blockade was founded on are unjust and illegal. The blockade was imposed using the legal basis from a 1917 law called the Trading With the Enemy Act, which gives any U.S. President the power to control all trade relations with any country whom he/she deems dangerous. Cuba is the only country in the world that is currently restricted under this act, and a recent U.N. General Assembly vote on the validity of the blockade was voted in Cubas favor, 192-2, with only Israel backing up the United States stance. Serrano argued that Cuba cannot move forward without the lifting of this immoral blockade, and was met with much agreement from the audience. Furthermore, Serranos discussion shed light on additional issues that both I, and much of the public were not aware of, such as the illegal occupation of Guantanamo. Although the US has shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay, the US government still possesses that land, illegally so. Serrano mentioned that in the eyes of Cubans, the illegal occupation of Guantanamo is a representation of the US governments belief that Cubans still cannot govern themselves, a common motif throughout the history of the two countries. It is imperative that Cubans do not receive the wrong message from the United States, and feel as if we are disregarding their basic principles of self-governance. I believe that the majority of Americans would like to see balanced relations between the two countries, and call for the de-occupation of Guantanamo, if they only knew about it! Events such as these forums increase transparency to the unjust issues that Cuba and its peoples are facing, which will be essential if the U.S. government is ever to take any action on these issues. Internal change can only come from its peoples, and unless the citizens of the United States suddenly become more aware to the actions of its government, Cubans may indefinitely be at the mercy of the United States.