First, the news…
HAVANA, March 20 (Reuters) – Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan is visiting communist Cuba to learn about disaster relief, a visit prompted by the failure of the U.S. government to cope with Hurricane Katrina, he said on Monday.
The controversial Nation of Islam leader, who is visiting Cuba for a week, criticized Washington for refusing a Cuban offer to send doctors after Katrina devastated New Orleans last August, flooding neighborhoods mainly populated by blacks and the impoverished.
“After Hurricane Katrina and the failure of federal and state government, we felt it was our duty to come to Cuba to learn disaster management from the Cuban people who have had many hurricanes and have not lost lives,” he said. (more…)
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While he is down there, maybe he can find out why thousands of Cubans flee that country every year in order to come to America.
I have addressed the real deal in Cuba many times on this site. Here is a list of related postings:
Can someone alert the NAACP and CBC that these folks need a boat?
So much for the wonderful cuban healthcare system
US press avoids yet another story on Cuban Defectors
Dr. Oscar ElÃÂas Biscet González
The indoctrination of the American Negro–Cuban style
More racist than the old south African regime (therealcuba.com)
Here is some more reality for Castro lovers
The miseducation of American Negroes on Cuba
There are more postings, but I lack the time this morning to list them all. In these articles you will find factal accounts, pictures, statistics, and other information that I could find from those who know Cuba best–Cubans.
The article excerpted above also mentions how Farrakhan praised Cuba for its wonderful healthcare system.
Question: if the healthcare is so great, then why are people swimming away from it…literally?
Two more links that show the real plight of the poor in Cuba:
Sphere: Related Content
March 21st, 2006 at 10:32 am
Calypso Louie also said that the US Army blew the levees.
While he’s there, maybe he can find out where the Cubans get the parts for all their ‘56 Chevys.
March 21st, 2006 at 12:09 pm
What always amazes me about the Cuba situation is that people seem to forget that the US (and most of the world) supported Cuba. The New York Times had been singing Castro’s praises since the first interview with him as a rebel in February 1957. Most of the international press had joined the cheerleading. Retired president Harry Truman called Castro a “good young man trying to do what’s best for Cuba. We should extend him a hand.” The U.S. actually accorded diplomatic recognition to Castro’s government more quickly than it had recognized Batista’s in 1952. In fact, the promptness of this U.S. recognition set a record for recognition of a Latin American government. Usually the process took weeks; for Castro, it took mere days. But oops guess that wasn’t a good idea either.
March 21st, 2006 at 12:16 pm
supported Cuba.
That still is no excuse to overlook how Castro and his regime still treats his people (mostly black folks)today.
So should “black leaders” continue where the rest of the world left off?
March 22nd, 2006 at 6:31 pm
No but what we should do is clean your own house before we start knocking on the door of someone elses. Oprah did a special the other day on America’s poor. And the picture wasn’t pretty. A man selling his blood to have money to take his kids to school. A woman and her family living in a moble home with no indoor plumbing. Living off the food they get at the food pantry and nothing else.
March 22nd, 2006 at 7:04 pm
I saw that episode that you are refering to on Oprah. You are right to say that we should clean our own house because if you remember, most of the individuals that were interviewed mentioned the fact that in most cases, there own family members refuse to help them. Of course there is always two sides to every story, but the self-help aspect still exists. I was also glad to hear Anderson Cooper mentioning what most of the social workers told him when he asked “how do people get out of this cycle?” According to them, they said it was all about drive and determination. The depression aspect is very real, but it does not affect all that are poor. As I have mentioned several times on this site, my own family was faced with similiar situations about 2 years ago. While it was easy to stay in a state of “receiving”, I had to make the determination that we were going to get off of welfare ASAP. This meant swallowing my pride and taking whatever job I/we could find. I keep my welfare card to serve as a reminder of where God brought us from.
March 23rd, 2006 at 9:51 am
“there own family members refuse to help them”
If they are in the same type of situation how can they help?
However, the cycle of poverty is just that, a cycle. At some point, when you know better you do better. I have done work with an organization that brings community resources in one place and has people come in and check them out. Most poor people in America don’t realize what assistance is out their to aid them (other than welfare) For instance, most people think that if you are sick that you have to go to the county hospital but that is not always true. Many communities have state of the art health centers with night time and week end hours. Most people don’t know that they can get energy assistance to help pay light and gas bills. So determination only goes are far as the resources that you are aware of. Talk to some homeless people many have education many had nice homes. One bad strike and that is it
March 28th, 2006 at 7:28 am
Louie Louie Louie Louieeee
Or: Farrakhan! Farrakhan! Dumbass castro cultist Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was in Cuba last week, most assuredly checking on fidel castro’s black political prioners and dissidents like Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet and Dr. Guillermo Fariñas Her…