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From
Dec. 27 to Jan. 3, I was in Cuba for the 50th-anniversary
celebration of the revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed Batista
dictatorship and opened the way for socialist transformation of that
society. There was a celebration in Santiago de Cuba on Dec. 31, where President
Raul Castro spoke to a huge crowd. This was a fitting commemoration of
the anniversary because, in many ways, Santiago is the birthplace of the
revolution that toppled Washington's puppet and his brutal
military machine.
The
nationwide celebrations were relatively low key due to necessary
reconstruction work in the wake of the three major hurricanes that hit
the island last year. Losses from the hurricanes were estimated at $9.7
billion, including damage to 530,758 homes.
Many
posters and signs announcing the 50th anniversary were visible across Cuba. Also prominent were exhibits
demanding freedom for the Cuban Five. They are five Cuban men who were
jailed in the U.S. for exposing terrorism aimed
at their homeland; they infiltrated right-wing groups in Miami in an effort to track
anti-Cuba organizers who were plotting explosions and assassinations.
Highlights
of our tour included visits to an organic farm and the Centre for Sexual
Education. Cuba leads the world in
facilitating sex-change operations for those in need. They also are in
the process of revising the family code to accommodate same-sex couples. Cuba stopped quarantining people
with AIDS many years ago. Today HIV-positive people move freely in Cuba, and receive the best medical
care to defeat the illness. Understanding and respect for gays, lesbians,
bisexuals, and transgendered people is encouraged.
The
revolution today is solid. Even children understand what the revolution
means: the social wage, which includes health care, education, and
housing, is guaranteed for all. On average, for example, Cuban children
and youth go to school (which is free) for 16 years; 72.7 percent of the
population between 18 and 24 is enrolled in higher education. Literacy is
99.8 percent.
There
may not be as many goods in the Havana store windows as in Miami, but Cubans are in debt to no
one, and life is good in many really important matters. As one famous
billboard proclaims: Not one Cuban child [or adult] sleeps on the street.
Long live the Cuban Revolution!
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