 Hi everybody my name is Sandy Baird and I am the vice president of a group called the Cuban American Friendship Society which has been in existence since about 19 maybe even in the 80s when I first went to Cuba and I am asking people to sort of consider or at least pay attention to a very serious foreign policy issue that's happening right today as we speak in the island of Cuba and it's and it has to do with the relations with the United States but let me go back a bit and talk a little bit about what has caused this crisis in Cuba and I would I would say that this crisis basically started well in the beginning of all of our republics since the beginning the United States has always wanted relations with Cuba because first of all Cuba and Havana were the cities in the city in which slaves often arrived in the new world so the slaves would arrive in the new world after being kidnapped from Africa and then they were often transported to the United States and that of course slavery was the basis of the Cuban economy it was the basis of the United States economy and essentially slavery formed the basis of the economy in all of the Americas but Havana was really a hub of that so the United States always had interest in having close ties with Havana during the prior to the civil war for instance the Confederacy or the southern states actually wanted Cuba to become a state because it would have added to their political power of the Confederacy which eventually left the Union and tried to establish a separate country called the Confederate States of the United States which again the the secession movement was founded on slavery and the protection of slavery and of course Cuba would have added to their political power so Cuba always has been interested in the United States however let me step back a bit and talk about the events which occurred in 1823 also which was prior to the civil war and prior to the immense of pay prior to the civil war I would say it was 1823 in 1823 the revolutions throughout the Americas had produced the elimination of the Spanish empire largely and the elimination of the French Empire and it looked like the Anglo Empire was going to be the empire that took a hegemonic power throughout the Americas and that empire the Anglo Empire of course was in the United States not other not Spanish America and not French America or Portuguese America but it looked like Anglo-America was going to be the hegemonic power of all the Americas however there was always the danger that other European powers would also come in to recolonize the American states for instance England in particular which we the United States had defeated in 1776 or France or Spain particularly in 1823 then as a result of a president by the name of James Monroe he announced in what was called the Monroe doctrine that forevermore the United States of America which had become the United States in 1787 with the Constitution that the United States would guard all of the Americas against further colonization by the British or the French or the Russians or anybody so the United States established the fact that the United States was going to be the military power throughout the hemisphere so to protect against any further colonization by the European powers which made the United States the key most powerful part of the new of all of the Americas and that was in 1823 there were a couple of Spanish colonies left and a couple of British and the French were in the Caribbean but the United States then went on in 1898 in the Spanish-American War to complete that control of much of the Americas by eliminating the last two Spanish colonies in the Americas and that was Puerto Rico and Cuba and that at that point the Spanish were basically out of the Americas and the United States pretty much had hegemonic powers over all of the Americas with a couple of stray islands like Jamaica I don't mean to say it was stray it's very powerful islands but those were British however the Spanish Empire was defeated in the Spanish-American War and the United States then took really complete control of those former Spanish colonies which were Cuba, Puerto Rico and then went on to the Pacific but that's a whole other story and conquered the Spanish Empire in the Philippines I believe in Guam and in Hawaii which of course was in Spanish it was Hawaiian but we got Hawaii at the same time all right so that was in 1898 the United States however did not when it booted out the Spanish it did not allow Cuba full independence in 1898 and then in 1904 the United States said okay Cuba you can manage much of your internal affairs but the United States is going to determine your foreign policy and this is the weird this is a horrible thing I think that the United States that was one bad thing but the second thing it did is really crucial to understand what's going on in Cuba today in 1904 the United States established a naval base in Cuba and that naval base was called what? Guantanamo okay so although Cuba essentially got its independence from Spain in 1898 it was crippled by the United States further by something called the Platte Amendment which said tough Cuba you can be independent from Spain but we the United States are going to govern your foreign policy from DC and we are going to establish a base a naval base on your territory and that was Guantanamo now I mentioned that to say guess what what is Guantanamo now it's a prison right you all know about Guantanamo right Eric you everybody okay I can't we can't hear you Eric for some reason Eric is muted I guess okay I just heard something awful about Guantanamo anyway the other day so I'll get back to that but anyway still the United States when Castro came into power he tried to evict the United States from Guantanamo he said your lease is up get out but the United States always had said make us and they have not moved and that now is a big prison in which so-called terrorists have languished ever since 9-11 I think there are still 39 supposed terrorists whatever you want to call them I would call them prisoners of war never brought to trial and they're still incarcerated in Guantanamo for 39 years and the Cubans have no control over that and are unable to get the United States out of that island okay so fast forward then that situation from 1904 when Guantanamo was established until 1959 Cuba remained a semi colony then of the United States most of the Cuban economy was dominated by US corporations which exploited Cuba obviously and by organized crime organized crime had a presence on the island really particularly during the 30s and the 40s and a wonderful book about that is called Havana Nocturne Fun a really fun book about the organized crime on the island of Cuba until basically in the communist revolution in 1959 so Cuba while it was sort of independent sort of its own country managing some of its internal affairs essentially it was a country that was a colony of the United States financially politically controlled by the United States and also with a big fat naval base on the island also a US naval base I always pointed out to my students can you imagine if the United States had a foreign base like if a bunch of Iraqis were here in a base I mean it would never happen in the United States it was a sign that the United States really was guarding Cuba it was keeping Cuba under its thumb in 1959 though as many of us know let me back up a little bit 1945 and a world war two okay the United States in my opinion but also because I've read a whole great deal in 1945 the United States supposedly went back to peace the United States came out of world war two the victors of world war two clearly the only country that emerged on top of the world in 1945 was the United States Britain had been smashed France was smashed Russia in particular had lost 22 million people this economy was gone all of its infrastructure was smashed however they the Russians had defeated the Nazis in Europe but in 1945 the United States with the clear victor of the world and emerged from world war two the as I once mentioned before the most powerful country on earth in 1945 but instead of sort of kind of reverting to any kind of a of a peacetime economy the United States then entered a period of time that we now call the cold war correct and that cold war directed its energy the United States directed its new military industrial complex toward the Soviet Union immediately in the division of Europe everywhere the United States declared essentially a war on communism and a war against the Soviet Union and also China to some extent but he was the war against the Soviet Union right immediately and we had been allies I for those people who really hate Putin and all that anti-russian nonsense I always try to remind people hey look it we were allies in world war one and in world war two with the Russians the Russians defeated Hitler pretty much alone the United States provided materials and aid to the Russians and the Soviets but essentially the Soviets were paid the heaviest price and they rolled back Hitler's Germany pretty much by themselves and with their bodies okay but immediately this cold war began and it began basically in Iran is where it really began but I'm going to concentrate on Cuba so 1954 the United States participated in the overthrow of the Iranian regime who had elected the Iranian people had elected a guy named Moza Beck kind of a socialist the United States through the CIA overthrew that person and incomes the Shah of Iran 1954 in Guatemala same deal the election of a man called Arbenz again a man who wasn't a communist himself but he was a communist sympathizer to a certain degree and it allowed the communist party to become legal in Guatemala and the United States participated through secret organizations the Central Intelligence Agency primarily to overthrow Arbenz and establish a military ruler who was friendly to the United States the big thing though was 1959 with Cuba did somebody want to say something I thought no okay so what happens in 59 the Cuban people essentially at that time there was a man in power by the name of Batista he was a pretty much of a dictator and was very friendly to the United States but was exploiting Cuba is there somebody there talking anyway doesn't matter I guess okay so in 1959 came what we now know of as the Cuban revolution and out of the mountains came Fidel Castro brother Raul women and Che Guevara and they basically took over Havana on New Year's Day in 1959 and Cuba became first of all an independent country truly at that point because Castro said he wasn't going to deal anymore with the flat amendment and that Cuba was going to go its own sovereign way and it was going to control its resources for the benefit of the Cuban people and not for the benefit of the corporation they're the owners of the corporation American US corporations and that happened Fidel Castro comes in brand new government and Cuba is becomes first independent couple years later or very soon though Fidel Castro declares not only is Cuba going to be independent but Cuba is going to be a Marxist Leninist state a socialist state and that of course really annoyed everybody annoyed Washington enormously especially those people who owned the economy basically of Cuba they were very annoyed they were also Cubans themselves were very upset many Cubans were also very upset and many of them left the island at that point they they well frankly the rich left the island and also there was a big racial divide the rich left the island and the whites left the island because of course communism for all of its faults which maybe people feel or maybe they don't communism and socialism always promises racial equality and integration Cuba is a peep is an island that is largely people of color many colors and some very black African Cubans also so but the white people within Cuba were the ones who control the economy who were wealthy who had property and who essentially booked it from the island thinking their property was going to be taken their wealth was going to be taken by these commies communists and so they left the island and guess where they went Florida correct I think you guys all know this don't you I mean they went and settled in places like Miami and Tampa and they formed Cuban communities in our in the US and they were welcomed there they were absolutely welcomed by the government of the United States who sought to always destroy and undermine the Cuban revolution from the beginning they that's what the United States policy was now you can remember something else that the Central Intelligence Agency was founded in 1947 and the National Security Act which put the United States on a permanent wartime mentality and level that was when Dwight Eisenhower even said beware of the military industrial complex which comes in in this country right after World War II right after right in 1947 so the Cuban revolution occurs in 1959 and Castro announces he becomes a Marxist Leninist to the United States of course as someone commented once the United States saw red at that point reds 90 miles away I wish we had a map Cuba is 90 miles away I don't know if many Americans realize that it's like an outpost of America of the United States also it's very similar to the United States one of the reasons that I love going there is because they like the same kind of stuff America USA and it's like they like baseball they like nightclubs they like music they like to dance they're fun loving people and they reminded me of being basically in the United States a lot they're very it's not a dreary communist country it's a fun loving joyful country very close to us and the presidents immediately sought to undermine the communist revolution in Cuba including well what does John F. Kennedy do you all know what he did right I love John F. Kennedy but he was a bastard to Cuba he took in his well he's elected in 19 and inaugurated in 1960 he was told by Dwight Eisenhower prior to his taking of office that there was going to be an invasion of Cuba in 1961 April 61 and Kennedy was very leery of it because he kind of thought boy I don't want this to fail on my watch especially when I'm a new president but he was kind of ordered to go and do this invasion of Cuba with private mercenary armies in April of 61 and he did it and that was the invasion at the Bay of Pigs with private armies from other Latin Central American republics like Honduras Miami sent some and so these armies invaded the Bay of Pigs thinking like all Americans always think I I believe that we were going to be greeted with open arms because everybody of course hates Castro instead when you when the armies arrived at the Bay of Pigs they were greeted with absolute hostility and chased out of Cuba and there were many deaths and the Americans were sent packing either arrested in imprisoned in Cuba or sent packing back to the United States and that largely I believe is responsible for why Kennedy got assassinated that's another whole story okay so the first invasion of Cuba down by the United States 1961 and the intent was to get rid of the socialist regime in Havana and return Cuba to its colonial state with under the control of the United States and under the control and exploitation of its corporations the second big factor though in Cuba that you can't kind of minimize is the mafia the mafia was also very prevalent in Cuba and you could see kind of influence when you go to Cuba and Havana because all along the sea front were casinos and the mafia controlled those casinos and made piles of money they left Cuba too when the communists took over there's a story though there's a beautiful wonderful hotel in Cuba and Havana called the Havana Libre used to be called the Havana Hilton it's now called the Havana Libre and there's elevators and the story is that while Raul Castro and here and Fidel were going up to their offices lucky Luciana was coming down the other side to leave the story is that Raul said something like hey you boys can stay if you want to be if you if you'll be good of course that was the mafia but they left and again where did they settle they settled in Miami and in Florida also so you have a huge hostile force always among the Cuban American community in Florida hostile wanting to go back to Cuba wanting to get their property back and wanting those communists out so you have in this country a huge a very large population in one of our most important electoral states hostile to Cuba wanting to overthrow the communists and mostly armed by the CIA and encouraged by the CIA to get busy and get there to Cuba to overthrow the communist regime that lasted from 1959 that attitude lasted until present right and that has not been there was a minor breach in that with Obama right the United States didn't even have relations with Cuba if broke relations in 1962 and it imposed against Cuba a rigid and destructive embargo against Cuba the Cubans called a blockade or a blockale which prevents Cuba from even dealing with third countries the United States says you got you Cuba you don't you don't have the right to trade with France you have no right to trade with Canada or with Britain you only you can't deal really with anyone the blockade prevented Cuba from dealing with any other country briefly that has sometimes gone back and forth sometimes but it is not lifted people thought that the embargo would be lifted under Obama it was not but Obama did do something crucial he said we have we will now from now on have diplomatic relations with Cuba we will recognize Cuba as a sovereign country my theory was about Obama was Obama recognized the fact that very few Americans USA is what I call them recognize and that is that Cuba is a black country how many Americans really think about that most Cubans seen in this country are not black they're white they're the ones that left and their ancestors very few black Cubans left Cuba for two reasons to come here because they didn't have any money to leave and because they're in favor in general of the revolution I don't know if that's still true but one of my closest friends who died this year Lordus was a black woman and she was the head of the foreign relations department at the University of Havana and she would rub her skin and say I wouldn't be where I was in this society without Peter El Castro I think there's a big political divide a racial divide in Cuba like there is here and that in general that it was the white rich who left and who really want to go back the other thing that they those people in Miami would argue is that um they lost their property they did they left their homes they left their farms if they had them and they came to the United States they didn't lose it right away but in the end the Cuban government did take away their property but they don't recognize that as legal they think they can still go back and claim their houses and property and if we're not careful that very well might happen okay so what did Cuba what did this socialist country do you all know what it did it established a very strong authoritarian government I'm not certain any of I'm not certain what my position would be if I lived in Cuba I probably would be like I am about Bernie Sanders I would criticize Bernie I would be arguing with Bernie or Fidel Castro if I could but I would in general support many of the programs of the Cuban government the Cuban government has established over the since 1959 free healthcare it has established free education and decent education it has established housing kind of sometimes really run down and crummy housing but you don't see many people on the streets you see essentially censored society a lot of censorship but I'm not certain it's any more than really exists here at this point in particular you see piles of art music dancing culture it certainly has not destroyed the spirit of the Cuban people not I mean you all have been there so you all should comment on that I don't think it has it is still extremely poor however however people look healthy and in general they seem to be relatively not satisfied with their lives because they're not but they seem to be able to have joy in their lives art and pleasure and sports okay so what's the current crisis as I see it all right so that has lasted with various upheavals since then there have been other attacks on Cuba there was a huge confrontation at one point called the Cuban Missile Crisis when the United States discovered through spying you know that that the Russians were going to and had introduced missiles on the island of Cuba and Cuba appeared to be drifting toward an alliance with the Soviet Union and so that was a crisis where John F. Kennedy and almost came to nuclear war about that when when it was just I remember that like it was yesterday there was 13 days when it was really felt like if like the the Soviet missiles were were boats were coming this way and the United States was saying you go that you go one step farther we're going to blow you out of the water and we're going to have nuclear war over this and somehow I think a deal was struck probably Kennedy had a little bit of his better angels or something but John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev worked it out and how they worked it out was that Kennedy said you get your missiles out of Cuba and we'll take our missiles out of Turkey and that was the deal that was struck and so avoided nuclear war however at that point then the United States crushed Cuba with the embargo the blockade and with endless endless attempts to kill people to blow up things in Havana and to make life as miserable as possible for the Cuban people what is the theory behind all this economic hardship that the United States has imposed on Cuba the theory is to grind the Cubans down so much that they will overthrow their government hasn't happened but that's what I think is still going on so now fast forward why I think this is a real crisis at this point and I'm asking really for your thoughts about this Cuba was on the back burner after Obama sort of has settled into this kind of a stalemate but Obama at least allowed a lot of tourists went to the island a lot of economic activity was reoccurring between the United States in other words Cuba was beginning to really become more and more prosperous and then Trump came in and that was all gone but it looked like things were perking up and then Trump came into power and he re-established Cuba became back on the state terrorist list Cuba they established more sanctions they established more of the blockade they screwed people down so that they were still hungry and in the middle of that not in the middle but a little bit prior the Castro Fidel Castro dies and so the castros are gone Raul Castro took over for a while but he too is gone he established for himself to his credit he established term limits for himself so the Castro family is now out they probably still control a lot of the communist party but they are out of the state president of Cuba I think Diaz canal is rather colorless bureaucratic type I don't believe that he has the intense loyalty that the castros had for a lot of reasons right because he's colorless and because he doesn't even that the whole fervor of the Cuban revolution is now widely diminished in Cuba couple that so Trump comes into power more sanctions more embargo more hardship for the Cuban people and now couple that with COVID right and the world's economy is in is an absolute abyss the whole world economy not just the United States although it's true here too but the whole world economy is a collapse I don't think USA and even understand that how it's not just COVID here it's COVID everywhere and that the world economy is shattered and especially in a small island like Cuba so what does then happen the Cuban people right now there's no food very little food no oil no nothing no no repairs to their houses nothing and no they have vaccines but they don't have syringes they have no access to world markets they have no access to vaccines really either they produce their own vaccines which is good but anyway but they can't distribute them widely they're in a lockdown and no tourists can go there none zero there's no tourist economy at this point and that's the situation so of course with reason the Cuban people are protesting against their own government but what do you think then and that's fair enough I always think that people have the right and duty to protest when their government is not taking care of them I support those protests however there's been recent reports of who's behind those protests and I all said I sent out a bunch of articles today to us to point out that as always in the case of Iran in the case of Nicaragua in the case of Haiti in the case of many poor in the particularly in the case of Venezuela the CIA and the United States and places like USAID and the national endowment for democracy are fueling those protests with money and with internet access and are trying to destabilize the country further is it for the good of the Cuban people I don't think so I think it's for the good of the corporations of the United States and of the United States and that's where we are I wouldn't be so upset about this whole thing if I didn't regard the Cuban government right if it was the Castro government I think out they're going to win in the end because they are so popular but that's not the case here that is just not I don't think that canal Diaz or Diaz canal has the same kind of loyalty or the same kind of fervor so there have been all these protests in Cuba fueled by this by funds internet access social media access from US coupled with the fact of a weak government coupled with the fact that Miami and the Miami Cubans are still there hunkering to go back hunkering to get rid of the communist government in Cuba do you know what the Miami mayor said the other day this is horrifying to me the Miami mayor said he was trying to convince Biden to bomb Havana those are his relatives you see those are family divisions those are people probably relatives of his that live in Havana and they he's saying bomb Havana I don't know I think that our foreign policy is still so miserably connected with this fear of socialism a fear of communism that I believe that it is a very unstable time for Cuba and that's why I want to talk about this a little bit tonight even this beautiful summer night I'm just saying I think he was in trouble and I would like to at least there's nothing I can really do about it except to try to raise consciousness about it because people of the United States do not understand the whole relationship with Cuba remember am I wrong about that anyway so that's my pitch anybody have any comments or thoughts no Robin I thought you would in well yeah I mean I have lots of thoughts along the line maybe what should happen is Angola should send some troops to Cuba to protect Cuba because Cuba was the one country that came to the aid of the socialist government in Angola in in that terrible war they had from I think 75 to 88 and South Africa was it was under apartheid and was sending white troops in to get rid of the socialist government and Cuba managed with with Russian aid and I think Russian money to send lots of troops there and and and and finally defeat the South African troops and 20 tallies and maybe someone else can say the name of that famous battle of a you called it a country of black people no it's a mixed country yes right and this is and this was a sort of the only occasion where a where a mixed country came to support a an African revolutionary movement and and it was successful at that I was in Cuba for four months in 2008 and that was one of the stories that I was most interested in and and seeking to find veterans from from the war in Angola and interview them and so on and I found that was quite difficult actually to say to find a veterans organization that I could go and interview it's it's it's hard to do investigative reporting in Cuba I've found but anyway that that was a wonderful thing and that's why I'm saying Angola should send some help to to Haiti right now I mean yeah but Mexico is coming to oh so what are they doing didn't you read about that over a door thinks it's horrible what the kind of strictures that the American government is putting on Cuba and he's sending he's sending assistance and of course the the US peace movement is sending has raised money and is sending lots of syringes I'm not quite sure how they're getting them there but yeah right right who's international lead for peace and freedom has had a big effort to get syringes to Cuba I mean they can make the vaccine their own vaccine but they don't have just the the manufacturing to create the syringes apparently and there and because of the blockade they can't buy them anywhere either they can't trade with other countries because the United States will find those other countries if they deal with Cuba now is there actually a blockade they call it that from from Venezuela I mean but Venezuela's not that far away is there an inability of Venezuela to send boats to Cuba now I I don't know I I the Venezuelans have helped many of these countries right they've also helped Haiti correct yeah and I United States just controls the credit for instance if Venezuela sells oil to Cuba Cuba can't use any banks or they can't do anything on credit it all has to because of the United States controls banks world banks and currency can Venezuela do it they were helping Cuba and Haiti but somehow didn't that all stop because the United States has also got sanctions against Venezuela oh this was interesting too so I don't know Robin I mean you could try to break the blockade countries might try to break it break the blockade what but mostly they don't because they will be fine if they do I don't know about Venezuela I think Venezuela is under intense pressure too from the United States this is interesting to me so there there was that article that kind of drew similarities between Haiti Cuba and Nicaragua all being undermined by the United States and all the undermining a lot of it including the active even violence there was a semi-invasion wasn't there of Venezuela there's an opposition leader that was appointed president of Venezuela by Donald Trump right remember that everybody remember that his name was Guaido and and Trump took it upon himself to say Guaido is now president of Venezuela and Guaido informs the opposition to Maduro right so they're all kind of involved in a security firm in Miami which carries out some of the covert actions against Venezuela against Cuba against Haiti and against Nicaragua Nicaragua is going undergoing similar destabilization protests that are funded by the U.S. now did the Ortegas deserve protests yes they do but protests which are funded by the United States fueled by the United States are really really also trying to overthrow any socialist any hint of socialism anywhere in the hemisphere now there's a new leftist government in Peru correct didn't you tell me that today Robin all right somebody did yeah and so that's going to happen in Peru it happens in Bolivia right Nicaragua same deal the United States will not tolerate anywhere really but particularly in Latin America it will not tolerate socialist governments not that I know look what it did in Chile in 1973 it overthrew an assassinated Allende same deal right remember we're all old enough to remember aren't we so that's what I'm saying that yes protests are needed are necessary because the Cuban government you know is it is often impossible it censors it puts people in in quarantine camps like it did to the AIDS victims what were that the 80s when they when the AIDS they're put basically quarantine camps like might happen here some of us and the Cuban government is not perfect by any means it just in my view what we should always be doing as citizens of this country is acting with friendship toward the people of other countries the United States government has never acted friendly toward the peoples of Latin America it's always about control and exploitation and hegemony of the United States and Washington DC throughout the hemisphere including we have the only name of being America right it's not true many Americas I was in Cuba once when I was somebody said to me where are you from and I said America and he said we're all American Sandys and that's true but we're the only ones who use that even term isn't it because yeah yeah I would like to draw a parallel with you know the situation in Africa depending on which which part I agree with uh Robin you know all these countries that have been helped by uh Cuba when they were fighting the uh I mean the western world basically in Africa the western world trying to undermine their revolutions over there Cuba has been in in Congo has been in Angola but uh we ought to understand that it's usually action reaction most of the authoritarian regime regimes around the clock uh some are organically authoritarian but most of them have evolved into more and more authoritarian regimes a reaction to the pressure that the western world has been putting on them Cuba I don't know what is left to a regime like Cuba when everything around you is just hostility right it brings the local dictators or regimes to become paranoid we've seen that all across Africa Robert Mugabe used to be a good boy and I'm using that expression because you know that was what was used as a you know that was part of the lexicon in the you know domination of Africa and and elsewhere where there's been people enslaved or under tyranny Mugabe was a very good boy to the British to the western world until he couldn't face the growing uh uh uh uh uh frustration of his people when uh Tony Blair and I think Clinton I don't remember yes Clinton yep yeah couldn't couldn't let him you know manage the agricultural reform that he was planning a giving some land to the Africans over there so Mugabe has been I was at the voice of America Mugabe was you know even granted the owners who have a special radio program in his own native language his own mother tongue you know sponsored by the voice of America to fuel rebellion in his country in every cause where I come from when uh they have the current president who is an illegal president because he went to seek a third illegal term uh he was uh the I remember the European Union you know blocking and making a deciding an embargo on medical supplies so I think would push the population to rebel against a kind of guy who was not so much in favor of the western you know agenda so uh yes Cuba is a dictatorship you know but you know we are also looking to why are they put in these like the corners so as a result everybody around is an enemy of the regime that happened also in uh in uh Guinea Conakry when Sekouture decided not to follow uh General De Gaulle with his phony and dependencies to the local government I mean all the country under uh colonial grief for France Sekouture like the French took everything from the country you know they didn't leave even a single I mean I don't know a single pen so Sekouture had to turn to Russia Russia they didn't know Africa Russia send them you know uh snow snow uh no machines good no machines instead of our machines and then Sekouture every day had like an attempt of you know to uh to his life same thing in in why France and the US through Africa are doing in in Mali just escape a stabbing in a mosque and that guy everybody in Africa is he's like sure that you know he was sent by compel by France same with assassination that you know back to uh to the political realm in in Africa so I don't know how uh you know as progress is you can deal with uh Cuba but we have to understand that it's action reaction that brings these people to oh but you're bringing up a really interesting point Eric and that is that the entire third world by that I mean we have the first world which is essentially the capitalist world the industrial capitalist world you did used to have a second world which was the Soviet and the communist world and then you had the third world which is the world of Africa South America Middle East a lot of the Middle East and a lot of Asia and the capitalist world has always exploited the third world correct and then you had this breakthrough of revolutions particularly after world war two with many of the African nations becoming independent and throwing out the British the French um the Portuguese and all and all the imperial powers got basically tossed out of Africa largely and independent African nations were developed however they in turn became exploited and remilitarized by the European capitalist nations correct or at least there were attempts to that similar with the United States in all of Latin America that you have all these rich nations that have for years exploited and had wars essentially to conquer the nations of Africa Latin America South America and a lot of Asia um and Cuba alone has been able to resist being taken over if you think about it correct is that correct or not Cuba is the only socialist nation left except North Korea is that it I mean I wouldn't call China a socialist nation anymore but if you think about resistance the Cubans since 1959 have have resisted being taken over again by the United States largely hasn't it and that the United I don't think the United States can tolerate that they can't tolerate this little island which has said we're going our own way Washington and they have attempted to re to to for a regime the word in present language is regime change the United States has always wanted regime change in Cuba regardless of what the Cuban people want and by the way there are piles of counter protesters in Cuba now too so there are people who want to I suppose have the government change but then there are piles of people also who do support the Cuban government what I'm really worried about is that the Cubans in Miami the the real I don't want to call them right wing because it doesn't explain anything those are the Cubans the rich Cubans and their families who left in 1959 and don't want to go back I'm worried that they're going to try to go to Havana without Havana's permission and if they do that if they get into Havana waters Havana's gonna not gonna allow that and therefore it could be a really violent confrontation were you gonna say something Robin well there has been in the last few weeks some some real movements here in the United States there's a guy that walked from Miami to the White House Carlos Lazo documented on Democracy Now who I think you know alerted a bunch of people just demanding that at least families should be able to send money to their families and I think that was his main position and and that's that to my mind is clearly something that all people should support that it's right you have an embargo like that so I'm sure there are petitions out there that we could all sign if we looked for them if signing petitions is here the way to be an activist nowadays it doesn't work though what do you think Deb I'm shaking your head Deb Deb Bhutan unmute yourself yeah I don't really have much to say I'm hand sanding a table while I listen to this but yeah I mean I guess the only thing I I think right now it seems hard to imagine and but then again I know this is naive of me right with everything going on in the world right now that this country would do something you know worse to her Cuba and I don't know if we're hopefully in the position of getting rid of the embargo for God's sakes you know that's what needs to happen but it's also I'm aware that you know this is all rooted in racism and corporate profit you know the whole history of the country you know I think there it would be impossible for the United States to do anything militarily towards Cuba because I mean and I hope they're aware of the fact that if they did that Latin America would rise up in and storm all of the embassies in Latin America because Cuba has done so much for so many countries for example during the El Salvador war they welcomed fighters who were injured and gave them gave them health care and and nurtured them back to health and that's just one of the things that they did to helping out the countries in in Latin America when I was there there were these conferences and people came forward and in in with the most genuine expression of thanks to Cuba yeah help that they have given to their country it's always very moving for me to be there because because I mean I might I'm not I don't think I'm a romantic either because I I mean I would have a lot of criticism of the government but I've always been moved by the kind of the dignity and solidarity the Cuban people have always shown throughout the world to everybody to anybody including to America to to us here in North America and and one time I can remember this the United States means things in the world both bad and good one time on the 4th of July Lourdes who was my colleague at the University of Havana wrote to me and she said congratulations on your revolution this was the 4th of July she said congratulations on your revolution the North American revolution means so much to the people of the world including including Cuba the United States would never have that kind of grace for the Cuban revolution I mean it was just it was so they one time I was there and there was a soccer game going on and it was the USA versus some country I think in Africa and everybody was rooting for the USA I said how come you're rooting for the USA and they said because that's it that's part of the Americas I mean their feelings of solidarity with the people of the world has always impressed me including the fact that their main export are doctors their main export they they send doctors all over the world when there's tragedies and when there's hurricanes they wanted to come here during Katrina and who was the president Bush said no we don't need you no in fact Fidel Castro once said that he would come and observe the elections in Miami that Bush v. Gore elections or see if we had any human rights abuses anyway well and let me just make one final suggestion that you know although the Cuban people don't have much opportunity to to petition and to support different parties in their country because of some of that they have an incredible involvement and commitment to the arts and to dance yes and and the shows at the big museums in Havana are wonderful they're totally different from the types of art shows you see here because they they bring sort of outsider art from Brazil and Argentina and so on and you just see an efflorescence of creativity that I never saw here I've never seen I agree I agree I agree I might mention that the Cuban American Friendship Society I formed that group in 19 in the 90s I was visited at that I've been in Cuba the first time was 1981 when the Soviets were still there and I absolutely was transformed by Cuba always I was absolutely transformed by it I can't even put my finger on it but how that affected my spirit and my everything about my life changed just by going to Cuba but so I went in 81 in the 90s I was visited I think because of somebody that was visiting you Robin a guy named Alejandro Eduardo he had no money he came to the States with no money he was hanging out with the Quakers and he didn't somehow he lashed himself out with me and I don't know why exactly he probably felt well well he's an easy touch I don't know what how but I happened to meet him and he and I formed together with corporate papers the Cuban American Friendship Society which is based on friendship to the Cuban people nothing about the government I have my feelings about the government but not but the politics of the Cuban American Friendship Society is friendship among the people's period that's it and so since then I've been going to Cuba and taking trips to Cuba with other people who simply want to visit the island and really have a good time it's a lot of fun besides being mind-blowing in a lot of ways to go to Cuba it's fun and so since then we do trips back and forth I've taken lawyers and teachers I noticed that Stevie is on the line Stevie well on a Cuban American Friendship trip to Cuba also I think I don't know if Stevie can hear this or not but anyway and we are trying to do a trip there in February given the current crises in Cuba right now given COVID which the cases I guess are rising there again and given I don't know if we'll ever be able to go there again and given the fact that President Biden has not changed as far as these one bit I don't know if we'll be able to ever go again but I really would like to go even if it was a humanitarian trip even if we could go and bring stuff there and we are planning to do that in February if anybody's interested please they need us they need they really do they need our friendship in fact all of the Caribbean islands need our friendship and the African countries too they need the friendship of the United States not the hostility of the of our government our our ridiculous inhumane government and that's all I can say the poor people of the world deserve better from the United States so if anybody's interested in that you can contact me and we are going to do our best to carry out this trip in February in fact we have people already signed up to go and it really just depends on whether we'll be able to get there right now there are no I don't think there are any flights in and out of Cuba does anybody know no idea are they're totally isolated totally of course every place is can't travel anywhere can't even as far as I know can't even go across the border into Montreal right it's vaccine sandy I don't comment on that Deb I told you that I know no comments please okay all right those are private medical decisions made by the by equal citizens yeah faxed okay yep are there any other thoughts or questions well um what no I'm sorry it's it's it's Jane my name Jane Henley um want to ask um I thought um is is is Cuba supported by by any other big government like I thought no not not not even the Soviet Union I thought there's not a Soviet Union anymore it's Russia and yes Russia tries Russia and China do try to help Cuba I don't know if they really help so much as they they want a presence in Cuba could be a huge market for a richer country Cuba is a fabulous place to visit it's fun it's got incredible culture it could be a center for tourism it was that um I'm always amazed when I go to Cuba because if you go into the biggest hope one of the most fascinating hotels in the world in my opinion the Hotel Nacional which was built by um Maya Lansky one of the mafiosi that was in Cuba in the 30s there's a statue for instance of Nat King Cole there's a you know there's no statues to Fidel Castro but there's a statue to Nat King Cole you ever see it because that's the kind of people they are they like music they like dancing as Robin said they like art I don't even know if they give that much of a damn about politics really do they I don't know I mean they they have this incredibly irrepressible spirit and um so yes the Russians do did all through the period of time before the collapse of the Soviet Union remember the the Soviet Union existed from 1917 only till 1991 and then it collapsed when and it was the main support of Cuba till 1991 and then Cuba faced incredible shortages no economy no oil total bust and they went through a period of time called the special period from 91 till maybe 97 when it recovered but it had to really really recover it went during that time to completely organic agriculture it went back to using animals in agriculture because they couldn't get oil for tractors they looked at a very difficult time but they did recover but this is really this covid stuff and the uh and the increased sanctions from Trump and the increasing pressure from the blockade of the United States I think if you couple that with the death of the castros I think it's a very very dangerous time for Cuba right now and I want I would love it if people just paid attention to it because they're 90 miles away and there are neighbors that's and that's really the way I feel politics should be based on neighborliness and friendship anyway anybody else Robin I would like to give gratitude to to Sandy because of her devotion to Cuba over the decades she formed the unit at Burlington college that brought students there that's how I went there for four months in 2008 and it continued for a number of years and I think more than anyone else in Vermont she has held Cuba in her heart and thank you for that Sandy thank you but I think Cuba is in the heart of many people I don't think you can go to Cuba without having it in your heart honestly it's difficult it's difficult to forget Cuba anyway so and none of us have right Stevie are you there no but Stevie was as a new kind of new friend of mine who went there quite recently with the Cuban-American person to say and remember we're going to try our best to go in February okay any other final thoughts thank you Beth for all your work this is the last Vicki session of the year actually but in the fall we have many events that are going to be planned including one about baseball the Negro we're going to do some historical events particularly around black culture we're going to do a program on the history of jazz a history of the what so-called Negro leagues when baseball is segregated we're going to have the visit from San Francisco of the prosecutor Chesa Boudin whose parents fought along the black liberation army were considered terrorists they went to jail Chesa became the prosecutor elected prosecutor of San Francisco I think or LA do you know San Francisco San Francisco was it okay and we are going to try to talk about censorship and some of the amendments we're going to continue our partnership with the People's Law School to try to concentrate on the frayed U.S. Constitution and maybe we'll even have a program on the Cuban Constitution hey Mary Mary was in Cuba too there's Mary Twitchell hi Mary hi Mary I didn't even have a program from Diane Gayer who's also on tonight so I hope no I how are you doing Mary I'm okay I'm fine good okay yeah I wanted to offer something for the February trip great the last no the last time I went was through vicki the previous time I went had to do with natural resources right there's a tourist area that crosses over a natural resource boundary where all of these red crabs transit the road and get crushed by all the vehicles that go back and forth and there's a need to build a bridge and the reason why I'm saying bridge is because it becomes metaphoric of bridging cultures so the road needs a bridge we can all contribute to make that happen and build it and there's a lot of locals that want to get engaged and then all of these crabs can cross the road without getting smashed it's all only during February March when they're in heat or whatever the transit zone is so crabs go into heat Diane it's a word like that I mean they yes basically they all move to the ocean to the seat actually to the Bay of Pigs because that's where they procreate in the bay and then these thousands I mean they're thousands sandy and they then move back inland for the rest of the year well it's like the turtles here and what Robin the turtles here up in Mississippi they are always that's it or you know that about crabs and the amphibians in Monkton also where they built a little tunnel in this case it's it's a major thing that hasn't yet happened the Germans tried to do a tunnel it's not big enough so we could do a bridge project that's a community project let's do it Diane you guys want to come back to Cuba absolutely I'm in the room Mary never knew you never told me did you have a good time in Cuba oh absolutely good I heard you were the hit actually of the trip I don't think so well I heard otherwise anyone else have any thoughts tonight okay so maybe we will have we will I'm going to continue to do some of these programs in the fall and maybe we should in pretty soon have an update about Cuba and I will let everybody know about we do we have plans right now to go in February and we have even some people who have made a deposit on that trip I'm just hoping that we can really do it so we'll be in touch right any any final thoughts no thank you also Beth for all your work you've done for Vicki over this two years correct yeah and Beth is doing a great job but two years well and um and Jacob by the way Eric Jacob and I are going to take over this these sessions and you're welcome to participate okay right all right great okay all right okay thank you for being here tonight we'll see you maybe soon I hope on the streets okay on the streets on the streets of Burlington or