Cuba
Christian Reflection of a visit

by Manfred Schreyer

Read Other Articles

“I believe in the Revolution’s achievements, and above all else I love my people a lot and seek their well being, as I am sure does the party and those who direct it. The problem is, that mixed up in all this, is the sin we have within us - limitations and sin. Sin in the sense communists understand it too, omissions and a lack of values. And that, neither we Christians nor good communists want. Can’t want. Carmen Comella (Sacred Heart nun)


Table of Contents

Introduction
Before one judges another, one has to understand
History
Statistics
A New Cuba?
Relationship between the US and Cuba
Religions
Introduction
Santeria
Catholic Influence
Methodist Church
Mother Teresa’s Sisters
Conditions of the country
Give us our daily bread.....
Get what you can.....
What is one’s labor worth to others?
Health care
Family Doctors
Hospitals
Medical Equipment
Holistic Medicine
Opinions vary
Final Note
 

Introduction:
I, and a group of people from all across the United States, visited the country of Cuba in May of 1997. The trip was organized by an organization “Neighbors of East & West. Our group was diverse in age, as well as in political-economic and spiritual understanding. However, we had two common motives for this trip: One was to better understand the people of a country, their system, their heritage and their culture. The second was to bring relief in the form of medication, which was donated to us by doctors and pharmacies in the U.S.
This document should give the reader a better understanding of the political relationship between the U. S. and Cuba. It should motivate the reader to ask: “What is my humanitarian obligation, especially as a Christian, to others in Cuba and outside of Cuba?”
As in any document, the opinions expressed here are subjective and written from a perspective of personal experiences. This document is also not intended to offend any denomination or denominational heritage, but should raise awareness if we as Christians truly follow the footsteps of Christ.
I will always remember the many friends I made in the 10 days. I still hear their laughs, their voices of understanding and concerns, and I feel with their tears. Tears, which often symbolized the hopelessness of current conditions, but also happiness and trust in us, the visitors who can provide new hope. A friend in Cuba told me: “Every man has to plant a tree.” May you, the reader, plant that tree with me!



Before one judges another, one has to understand

History
The history of Cuba is still being formed through centuries of oppression. On Sunday, the 28th of October of 1492, Christopher Columbus set foot on Cuba close to Baracoa or Gibara.
He wrote in his diary: “I have never seen a more beautiful place [the island].....has such marvelous beauty that it surpasses all others in charms and graces as the day doth the night light in lustre. I have been overwhelmed at this sight of so much beauty that I have not known how to relate it.”
Columbus thought that there was gold on the island. The Spanish visitors had two things in mind: To use the island’s Indians as slave labor, and to convert them to Christianity as requested by the King of Spain, King Ferdinand. The Indians tried to resist the unhuman and cruel treatment by the Spanish without success. The Spaniards told Kazike Hatuey, an Indian leader, that if he did not convert he would reach damnation and everlasting pain. After Kazike heard that, he asked: “If I convert will I see the Spanish People in heaven?” The Franciscan’s answer was “Yes.” Immediately Kazike replied that he would rather go to “hell,” so that he would not see the Spaniards anymore. Within 60 years, they killed all of the approximately 300,000 Indians. Some Indians killed there own children, others poisoned themselves with the juice of the Yucca roots, because life became unbearable.

In 1770 the English invaded Cuba and held it for eleven months. The English introduced a new labor force: Slaves from Africa. To prevent a resistance of the Slaves, they imported them from different parts of Africa. They brought them from Lucami, Carabali, Congo, Ganga, Bibi, Mozambique, etc. Most slaves only survived for ten years in their new environment. They took away and sold children of slaves (Criollitos) like sows at the market.
After Spain regained Cuba, they continued the tradition of slavery and they imported more Slaves. By now the new labor force brought wealth through sugar for the landowners. By 1820, Cuba was the largest sugar exporting country in the world.
In 1880, Slavery was abolished and the fight for an independent Cuba began. The Spanish killed José Marti, freedom fighter, poet and essayist. The United States declared war when the Spanish rejected the offer of Three Hundred Million Dollars for Cuba. Finally, the Spanish gave in and surrendered. Rather than giving Cuba her independence, the U.S. decided to overlook Cuba’s internal affairs and to build a navy base in Guantánamo Bay in 1903.
By 1920, U.S. companies owned two-thirds of Cuba’s farmlands.
In 1933, Fulgencio Batista gained power after a civil unrest of the Cuban population. Batista, with the help of the U.S., raped his own country economically. He continued the social injustice which there in Cuba ever since 1492. In 1959, Batista fled with $40,000,000, and Castro came into power.

Statistics
Length of island: 777 miles
Widest point: 119 miles
Capital: Havana
Major ports: 16
Population: 11,000,000 - 10.6% are over 65 years old
Language: Spanish
Average salary: $15.00/per month

A New Cuba?
When Castro gained power, his ambition was to give back to the people what belonged to the people. He nationalized land holdings over 400 hectares. He cut rents and utility rates by nationalizing land, utilities and housing. The process directly affected the U.S., because Castro nationalized American petroleum companies, sugar plantations, etc. Many landowners, professionals, and wealthy Cubans left Cuba and settled in Florida, because of fear of communism. At this point, the Soviet Union helped Cuba with massive economic assistance.
A later invasion by 1,400 exiled Cubans, trained by the CIA, failed in 1961 at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. This event led both sides to declare the “other” the enemy.
Castro’s policy was to give people back their country: That everyone would have access to health care, everyone would have a job with equal pay, that there would be gender and race equality and that people could enjoy social justice.
Even in Castro’s foreign policy we can identify with his longing for equality and freedom for all. He assisted people’s insurgencies in Zaire, Angola, Mozambique, Bolivia and Ethiopia with advisors and troops, while the U.S. decided to support the dictators of the aforementioned countries.
The U.S. slowly withheld economic relations because of the Cuban relationship with the Soviet Union and Castro’s constant strive for independence by a neighbor who would flex muscles. In 1989, the year the Eastern Block collapsed, the Soviets also withdrew 11,000 personnel and left Cuba in an economic disaster.

Relationship between the U.S. and Cuba
Because of the pride of the Cuban government, Castro did not ask for help from the U.S. Meanwhile, many Cuban-Americans still pressure the U.S. government to sustain a more than 35 year old economic embargo against Cuba. And their opinion is similar as the one I found posted on the Internet on a public message board:


Subject: To those who support the lifting of the embargo
From: qbanolibre@aol.com (QBANOLIBRE)
Date: 7 Jul 1997 23:28:52 GMT
Message-ID: <19970707232800.TAA07344@ladder02.news.aol.com>

I assure you that the vast majority of the Cuban people are not only in favor of the embargo but also in favor of anything that punishes the brutal Castro regime.

Sometimes I wonder if those in favor of promulgating the removal of the embargo, which is the only weapon that Cubans have against the dictatorship, are truly speaking from ignorance or if they are just left wing Castro admirers.

My friend if you are part of the former group, I then respect you and only ask that you open your eyes. If your part of the latter, well, that explains the incomprehensible. The support of a bloody dictatorship. Let me explain then, since I'll assume that you are ignorant of Cuban reality.

Why are we in favor of the continuance of the embargo, you may ask. Because we know intimately how the Dictatorship works, we have lived within the monster. The Cuban government can purchase any article of daily use, any type of marketable good, any medicine from most countries around the world.

The USA, wisely, has chosen not to do business with a terrorist government. Just like it did against the racist government of South Africa, Haiti, Iraq etc. The Helms Burton Bill, for example, contemplates the delivery of humanitarian aid ie: food, medicine, medical supplies. In fact the USA exported more medicine to Cuba in 1996, through the use of this mechanism, than any other country.

The Cuban Exile community in Miami, the same ones that have family still in Cuba,like myself, overwhelmingly support the embargo, but yet they sent over 700 million dollars in aid last year to their families(according to a study by Florida International University 1996, published by The Miami Herald)

Let us not forget that we didn’t come out of mars. We arrived here from Cuba, we maintain contacts with relatives, we speak to them, they know how we feel and we know how they feel.

Try, as a foreigner to talk politics to a Cuban in any part of the island. They will certainly give you the government line or brush you away with a smile. My friend, you need to understand that in a communist society you do not show your true colors if you are to survive. Cuban Exiles last year through CARITAS(Catholic Charities) sent over 200,000 pounds of food and supplies to hurricane victims. The containers were marked with the phrase "LOVE CAN DO IT ALL". The Cuban government refused to accept the donations because it considered the phrase "subversive". Now is this regime sure of the support the people have for it or what? I don’t think so.

The reason the regime wants to eliminate the embargo now is simple. Firstly, it is now, that the Soviet 6 Billion Dollar annual subsidy has ended, that it creeps up and pinches the big boys in the dictatorship. Secondly, It needs to get credit from the International Monetary Fund, which the USA is a member and per US law has vetoed any attempts the regime has made to obtain credit from US banks.

It also wants American tourist to bring plenty of those greenbacks so it can save itself. ie: lift all travel restrictions. Any or at least most donations that are funneled through official Cuban government entities will be sold to tourists at the infamous DIPLOTIENDAS or exported and sold in an effort to create cash flow.

The reality is that the economy is in shambles. There is no serious investor that would risk capital in this skeleton of a government. The Cuban dictatorship has a malignancy, a cancer bred from hatred and destruction. They know it and we know it. They will soon be swallowed and absorbed by millions of Cubans, starving for freedom. WE WILL BE FREE!!!!!!!!

DIOS, PATRIA Y DEMOCRACIA
(God, Country, Democracy)
 

The interest of some of these immigrants, children and grandchildren of immigrants was and is simply to regain back property which was seized during the revolution led by Castro in 1959. This opinion is widely held by Cubans, who remained in Cuba.
The embargo in the UN finds support only from countries like Uzbekistan and Israel. (Although Israel actively trades with Cuba.) The U.S. embargo causes extreme shortages of food, medicine and other supplies.
Dr. Benjamin Spock said in 1993: “I believe very few Americans realize what our country is trying to do down there - starve people into submission and deprive children and old people of medicine.”
Americans, by American law, are prohibited from visiting Cuba. The law allows for two years of incarceration and $20,000 fine if caught.

There is not too much information available by the U.S. media about Cuba, however, recently a U.S. government official gave the following statement:

HAVANA, May 21 (Reuter) - A U.S. State Department official on Wednesday defended Washington's economic isolation of Cuba and said a change in this policy would depend on Havana making moves towards political reforms.

Michael Ranneberger, coordinator for Cuban affairs, said in a televised conference that “U.S. policy is not going to change unilaterally. We will change when there are changes in Cuba.”

“The message to Cuba is that if there is a process of change, there will be a response (from the United States),” he added.

Ranneberger said if there were international differences with Washington's policy, they were over tactics, not the aim of seeking change on the Communist-ruled island.

He added that for the first time over the past year, the United States has started to see other countries step up pressure for President Fidel Castro's government to reform.

The Worldnet conference, organized by the U.S. government's Information Agency, focused on U.S. relations with Cuba and was broadcast to foreign journalists in Havana and panels of journalists and academics in Bogota and Guatemala City.

Ranneberger was asked several times whether U.S. policy and its 35-year economic embargo had been effective. “We don't think we have all the solutions, no policy has succeeded,” he said.

In reply to a query, he said it was unlikely that Castro would change, but added it would be a mistake to give up on Cuba because of this.

“He's not a mythical figure. There's a government in Cuba, there are other institutions and there are senior leaders and we hope that as time passes these leaders will realize that it is essential to start a process of changes, in order to have normal relations with the world,” Ranneberger said.

Washington has sought common ground abroad on Cuba following widespread international criticism of the Helms-Burton law passed in March 1996.

The law included provisions to punish third country firms investing in property expropriated from U.S. citizens or firms after Castro's 1959 revolution.

Ranneberger said Washington was aware of worries abroad about Helms-Burton, adding: “We have achieved some progress (towards greater understanding with allies) and these efforts will continue.”

18:00 05-21-97


Religions


Introduction
Though the churches in Cuba proclaimed equality before the revolution, they did not give equality to the people of Cuba. Race separation, wealth and power were deeply influenced by the leading denominations.
Although religious denominations supported the poor concerning health issues, food, etc., the service provided was only a gesture with no impact upon the conditions created by the ruling forces.
When Fidel gained power, the government identified the needs of the people and tried to provide these services on an equal level to all of society. The system provided free health care, equal pay, etc. With these services and a ”we don’t need the church” indoctrination of the government, church in Cuba was not an element of the vast majority of Cubans. Cubans were told what the denominations had done in the name of God. Therefore, Cubans were under the impression that there was no need for a church as an institution.
Although the church as an institution was silently declared as an evil force, the revolution could not eliminate spirituality among believers. Especially when the system of Castro could not satisfy the desires of its citizens for freedom, ownership, etc.
Many pastors of all denominations left their churches, after they understood that Castro‘s system was here to stay. The churches still had its members, but without spiritual leaders. Women often took it upon themselves to step into a leadership position and to keep the churches in Cuba alive.
Today, more and more people visit churches because of the economic conditions with which people have to struggle. It is in churches where people try to find new hope for their life. Other reasons include the fact that Castro has displayed a new openness.
One of the believers I talked to asked: “What will happen after the crisis we are in right now? God now gives hope to all who come. Nevertheless, once the crisis is over, will the people still love our God?”


Santeria
During my visit to Cuba I met with “Roberto Salas,” the once personal photographer of Fidel Castro, who is also an expert on the religion of Santeria. Santeria has its roots in Cuba among the African-Cuban population. When the Spanish Christianized the African slaves, slaves recognized in many Saints of the Western churches their own Gods and Saints. One example is St. Barbara. When African slaves heard the story of this Saint, they associated her with their African God “Changó” because of the similarities. The objects each of them held in their hands, the cloth both Saints wore, how their father was punished, etc.

Examples:
Santeria Deities Catholic Saints


Yemayá Goddess of the sea and Maternity The Virgin of Regla to Catholics
Obatalá God of peace and purity who is attached to Olofi, the supreme Godhead, who created the world and peopled it with orishhas Las Mercedes to the Catholics
Ochún Goddess of love and fresh water, symbolizing femininity and sensuality The copper Virgin (Cuba’s patron saint) to Catholics
Changó God of fire, thunder and drums, symbolizing virility. St. Barbara to Catholics
Oggún God of war, iron and metals. St. Peter to Catholics
Oyá Goddess of cemetery, lightning and wind, symbolizing justice and revenge La Candeleria to Catholics


The Catholic church recognized the acceptance of these Catholic Saints by the slaves as an acceptance of the Catholic faith. Little did the church know that a subculture of Catholicism would develop.
When the Spanish slave holders began giving their slaves one day off during the week so they would be more productive for them the rest of the time, the slaves held ceremonies in their homes to glorify their Gods. Some descendants of these slaves still practice these ceremonies and the religion. (among mostly African-Cubans in Cuba)
This religion is not a denial of faith brought to them by the Spanish, but a manifestation of their God, who also lives in the Catholic Church. Obviously, the Catholic church realized this subculture much too late and had to accept the faith conditions of the worshipers.
In 1980, Santeria also had become a very formidable social and political force. Marxism had lost its appeal with the Cuban people. The fears of Castro’s regime were that prophecies of “Babalaos” may plant thoughts of civil war in people’s minds. In 1989, 1990, and 1991, the prophecies, as made every year by Santeria priests for the country, had been pessimistic to the Babalaos.
The fears also came from developments which occurred in the past; such as a visit of “Alaiyeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olobuse II” - the Oni of life, or the pope of the Yoruba religion.
In late 1990, the Central Committee of Cuba had launched an all out campaign to co-op the island’s three major African-Cuban religions, the most important being Santeria. Next in popularity was “Palo Monte” and “Abakuás.” The committee had been instructed to increase its economic and political support for the priests of these religions to win them back over as an alliance. Once supported by Santeria, Fidel restricted all their religious ceremonies by the end of the sixties.
Earlier, when Castro had addressed the nation on January 8, 1959, suddenly two doves flew over the audience and started circling the crowd. The crowd followed the birds with fascination. Then, all of a sudden one of the doves descended, sat on Fidel’s shoulder, and remained there for a few seconds. The Gods couldn’t have sent a clearer signal, the Santero said: “Doves are symbols of Obatalá, the son of God.” The dove on Fidel’s shoulder was a message from the Gods that he was their chosen one to guide Cuba for the years to come.
Until today, some claim that despite the efforts of Castro, most priests of Santeria are uncommitted toward the political regime.


Often Santeria is displayed as a religion of its own. Many describe it as a disguise rather than a combination with the Western faith. In speaking with worshipers of Santeria, I could not come to a conclusion.
I found out that similar instances of worshiping (Santeria) “original” Gods with indoctrinated religion also found its way independently to Nigeria and Brazil. Is it possible that God speaks to all of us in many ways? Is God as “Changó” as much as He is in St. Barbara? Could it be that our God reaches out to all of us in the context of culture and time? For the African slaves, Spanish culture was as strange as their mighty canons, but their and our God revealed Himself in the midst of everything.

I recently came across a release from Reuter about the Santeria in the U.S.:

WASHINGTON, May 23-1997 (Reuter) - Just blocks from the White House on a busy restaurant street, a black Madonna beckons from a shop window offering to help your love life, vanquish your enemies, find you a job.
She is Yemaya, a goddess of Santeria, a Cuban form of voodoo that is gaining followers in the United States despite controversy over its ritual of sacrificing animals.
In her shop, the unlucky can purchase jinx-removing soaps or spell-breaking ointments to change their fortunes.
Jilted lovers can try to rekindle old flames with powders made from horse hairs and offerings of sun-dried possum. Or, they may seek revenge by sticking pins in a $5 voodoo doll.
Divination by reading cards or shells is also available for those wondering what the future holds in store.
“Depending on the seriousness of the case, you may need a sacrifice,” says the shop's former manager, Angel Hueca. “If you've lost your job, you would want to sacrifice a chicken.”
“I have seen people take goats to their apartments. It depends on how badly you need help,” added Hueca, who is now planning to become a Santero priest.
Santeria, or “the worship of the saints,” is the religion of the Yoruba people who were brought to Cuba as slaves from West Africa. Since their Spanish masters banned their religion, the slaves outwardly pretended to worship Catholic Saints to disguise their African deities called Orishas.
Cuban immigrants brought the religion to the United States where it has spread in urban centers with large Latin American populations of Caribbean origin such as New York and Miami.

MORE AMERICANS JOINING

An increasing number of Americans, particularly black Americans, have turned to Santeria seeking a new religion.
“There is a dissatisfaction with institutionalized religions,” says J. Lorand Matory, a professor of anthropology and Afro-American studies at Harvard University.
“Greater attention is being given to ethnicity, and that has led African Americans to join African-inspired religions.”
Santeria devotees worship the Orishas through offerings of animals, plants and food, with chants and dancing to African drum rhythms. In return, the deities are said to grant them health, prosperity, children and wisdom.
The spread of the religion can be seen from the numerous “botanicas” or stores specializing in Santeria supplies that have cropped up in Latino neighborhoods.
“When I was a child, Santeria had to be practiced in secret. We used to meet in people's basements,” said Hueca. “But now Santeria is coming out.”
While Santeria is beginning to emerge from centuries in hiding, its following is hard to gauge as believers still keep their faith to themselves to avoid controversy.
There are an estimated 70,000 followers in South Florida, mostly in Dade County, and up to 800,000 in the United States.
The sacrificial slaying of chickens, doves and goats makes this one of the most controversial religions practiced today.
In 1987, the Hialeah city council in Miami banned animal sacrifices, a move aimed at the Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye led by Santero priest Ernesto Pichardo.

COMPLAINTS ABOUT STENCH

Local residents had complained about the stench of dead chickens and carcasses of goats turning up on street corners and in the sewers of Hialeah.
The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in a landmark 1993 decision that the Hialeah ordinances violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing the free exercise of religion.
Despite this legal victory, the Afro-Cuban religion has run into stiff opposition from animal rights groups seeking to stop ritual slaughter.
Opponents have turned to public health regulations, such as the need for an abattoir permit or restrictions on the disposal of animal remains. Santeria temples are often raided and searched by police.
“We are not criminals. We are not doing anything wrong or illegal. We are working to help and save people,” says Steve Quintana, a Cuban-born Santero priest.
“We tell them the 'santo' can help them recover their health, find a job, get ahead,” said Quintana at his House of Obatala temple in Ashmont, a working class district of Boston.

22:07 05-22-97


Catholic Influence

To me, Catholicism in Cuba represents the failure to acknowledge the desires for the human race by our God. By that I mean the commandment: “To love our neighbor.” The Catholic church, through the ages, has been on the side of the oppressors to gain power, wealth and influence over people. This political power base, though lost in Europe and other developed countries, was upheld especially in South America with no changes until Vatican II. The intended liberation of the Cuban people by Fidel Castro left the Catholic Church in a vacuum in Cuba. The church even openly criticized the regime of Fidel after the revolution in morning masses all across the country with a circular letter dated August 7, 1960.
The leaders of the Catholic church assumed an interpretation of the Cuban people, although in fact they had been out of touch with their faithful for years. Their proclamations were in harmony with those who had lost power, such as Batista and the ruling elite.
In my conversations with several Cubans, I discovered that many lost their faith in the Catholic church. They recall (an incident whereby supposedly) that the U.S. sent people among Catholics shortly after the revolution who were supposed to start a counter revolution. It went as far as Castro’s troops finding bomb material in a Catholic church. In a later conversation with a leading member of the Catholic Church (Cathedral of Havana) in Havana, I heard a different story: “How do you explain that we gave Fidel free journey to Mexico after the dictatorial troops in Santiago captured him in Cuba? We (the Catholic Church) saved his life.”

Many Catholic priests left the country along with other elite groups of Cuba shortly after the revolution. Many settled in Florida and left the remaining Cuban people to their destiny. All groups thought that the revolution by the oppressed was going to be over soon and everything was going to be as before. The Catholic Church, as the prevalent denomination, and other denominations left those who had faith in struggle with God.
Cuba and other South American countries developed an understanding of the Gospel. Many understood the Gospel as liberation, and Jesus Christ as being the liberator. Today two devout Catholic Brazilian priests, “Leonardo Boff” and ”Frei Betto,” bring a new understanding of Christ to these countries and to modern theologies.

Fidel Castro, raised in a Catholic school system, (in my opinion) has tremendous knowledge of theology and how liberation theologies should be applied to oppressed countries.

In an interview with “Frei Betto,” Fidel says: ”Theology is the reflection of faith within a given reality. Luke wrote his evangelical account with pagans in mind whereas Matthew wrote for the Jews.”
Theology is the fruit of the reflection that the Christian community-immersed in a reality-makes of its faith.
Thus, Spirituality isn’t the way you feel the presence of God. Nor is it the way you believe. Jesus said: “Not ever one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” Thus, spirituality is a way of living life according to the spirit.
Fidel goes on to say: “I often ask myself if there is any similarity between the God I believe in and the one in whom Reagan believes.”
***
[During my stay in Cuba, I visited the small, poor village of Pinar Del Rio. Easily recognized as American, a young man in his twenties sat by me on a wall where I was watching the people in the busy morning market. He, Yosuany, was anxious to make conversation: “Hi, do you mind if I practice my English with you?” He asked what I was doing in Cuba and I explained to him that I and a group of people were delivering needed medication to several health care institutions. After a few minutes, our conversation reached the topic of faith and God. He asked: “How is it possible that God allows our country to struggle for so long and other countries to prosper? Why is God forgiving those who oppress us? Is it really the same God? Why do other countries get wealthier and wealthier and we are getting poorer and poorer? I pray every day that God may help all those who have, that their eyes may be opened, and I pray that we as the poor may gain from others what is withheld. Sometimes I doubt God, but I pray every day.”]
***
Castro continued in saying: “We forget that in the OT the prophets were worried by idolatry, the gods created in accord with human interest. There is still much idolatry. In the name of God, the Spaniards invaded Latin America and massacred millions of Indians. In the name of God, multitudes of slaves were brought from Africa to work the land. In the name of God, bourgeois rule was established in this part of the world. Could it be that the name spoken by conquistadores, slave owners, and capitalist oppressors is that of the God of the poor, of whom Jesus spoke?”
God’s main attribute is love. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love (I John 4:7-8). “

The Catholic church changed its traditional views with Vatican Council II and a new Latin American theology in which it challenged its traditional ecclesiology.
The relationship between Castro and the Catholic church hit a new low, when Castro received a letter from the seven Bishops of Cuba, demanding democratic reforms and a reconciliation process with Cuban exiles. Castro lashed out at the church in saying its hierarchy never identified with the revolution and has remained somewhat hidden, waiting to act against the revolution.
It was now, however, that many old communists, shaken by the fall of Marxism would be returning to the church. In 1990, the Archdiocese of Havana had performed 33,000 baptisms, up from 7,000 a year in the late seventies.

The upcoming visit of the pope brings mixed emotions to most of the Cuban people who cannot forget what the Catholic church had done to their country. Fidel Castro, however, is the one who reaches out to the Catholic Church, not as a symbol of openness, but to declare openness to conversation.

A recent press release by Reuter reads:

- The United States welcomes Pope John Paul's scheduled visit to Cuba in January 1998 and hopes it will encourage change on the island, a senior State Department official said on Wednesday.

“The United States has said publicly and privately that we applaud the visit of the pope to Cuba,” Michael Ranneberger, coordinator for Cuban affairs, said in a televised conference.

“His Holiness is known around the world as a spokesman for freedom, for human rights and social justice, as such his visit can only be positive from this point of view,” he said in a Worldnet conference transmitted to Havana from Washington.
“We hope of course that the results of this visit encourage a process of more freedom in the country.”

Ranneberger added the papal visit in itself would not lead to a change in Washington's policy towards Cuba, which includes a 35-year-old economic embargo.

U.S. policy would shift only if Cuba undertook “fundamental changes towards democracy and in respect for human rights,” Ranneberger said. If such changes took place as a result of the pope's visit, then this would be a very encouraging development, he added.

The pope is to travel to Cuba Jan. 21-25 on a visit agreed upon in November 1996 at an historic meeting he had with Cuban President Fidel Castro at the Vatican. That meeting marked an improvement in relations between the island's Communist authorities and the Roman Catholic church.

The Worldnet conference given by Ranneberger on Wednesday was organized by the U.S. government's information agency and broadcast to foreign journalists in Havana.
17:49 05-21-97 (Reuter)


Methodist Church
One evening an elder of the Methodist church, “Miguel Soto,” invited our group in Havana to her apartment.
She was living about one block from the church and as I passed the church I saw that there was a meeting held by members in an adjacent building to the church. I was warmly welcomed and got into a conversation with a young man who was a Seminary student. He was delighted to speak with me as an American. He told me how much he loved God and how happy he was to serve God. He constantly spoke of the Grace which God gave to all of us. Then his conversation changed to a subject with which he was unhappy. He sadly admitted that he wished he could visit the U.S. and he wished that he could meet with believers. Nevertheless, he was not allowed. I was under the impression that Cuba would not allow a visit to the U.S. The young man said: “No, I do not think I would have a problem leaving Cuba. Our ruling forces in the church do not allow us to leave!” I spoke with him about his Seminary experience and than went on to my scheduled meeting.
I arrived at the apartment of the Elder, who welcomed me along with her daughter. Everything was very clean and scarcely furnished. She welcomed me and she gave me an understanding of what happened to her church. “After the revolution many people left the church and the country, although they did not know what communism was,” she said to me. I was rather surprised at her somewhat confident voice of Communism. “When members and leaders leave, you feel alone. Yet the remaining people, mostly women decided to keep this church alive. We developed lay leaders. After sometime we decided to call back our pastor who had retired in Cuba. He was a Spaniard, Senior Miguel Soto, who graciously agreed to be the pastor and spiritual leader of our church again. Our church identified a new sense of direction. The government took the obligation of the church to help the poor and bring equality to our people. Our obligation now was to nurture the spirituality among believers and unbelievers.
Today seven hundred people attend our service. Our first worship is at nine in the morning and the second is at noon. Our third is in English and is held at five in the afternoon. In 1964, our pastor Miquel Soto retired and we found a new Pastor.”

During our conversation I found out that her daughter was not a member of the church, but occasionally attended. Both mother and daughter believed in the revolution of Castro and what he had done for his people. They also acknowledged the detrimental influence of the Catholic Church, and at times I could sense bitterness in their voice. Bitterness especially when we talked about the upcoming visit of the Pope.
“He realizes now that there are true believers and he is jealous that Cubans visit Baptist, Methodist and Lutheran churches. All he wants to do is establish a new power base.”
The Spanish speaking service I attended at Iglesia Metodista “Miguel Soto Ascensi” was very powerful. It was a very moving service, though I could only understand parts of the service due to my lack of knowledge of the Spanish language. The service was filled with people. Not a single space was available for anyone else to enter the church. Due to our clothing, many congregation members recognized me as American. Many of them welcomed me by hugging me and with tears in their eyes. “God is so good to us,” was a repetitious sentence I heard very often.
Many kneeled to pray during the service. The music was filled with the spirit of the Cuban people in total harmony with the spirit of God. Their bodies aligned with a rhythm we cannot imitate, their hands reached out to our Savior and their voices sang in a melodious outcry: ”Señior.”
During the message a bird entered the sanctuary through one of the large open stained glass windows. It circled the sanctuary, its wings moving fast as if to say: “I am with you.” Tears entered my eyes. The moment of Pentecost touched my emotions.


Mother Teresa’s Sisters
It was a fairly long drive from my hotel to Puento Almendares. I passed Cuban military installations and I passed through neighborhoods which were not very inviting to tourists. I had money with me from different congregations and I decided to give it to a church Mother Teresa’s Sisters occupied. Mother Teresa came to Cuba in 1986 and asked for permission to serve those who are terminally ill or bedridden and at home. Mother Teresa saw an opportunity to bring Jesus into the houses of those who had lost all hope. Castro granted permission, and today 28 sisters are in Cuba, occupying four houses.
I met with Sister Mairish who was born in Honduras, and joined the Sisters several years ago. She did not say much when I gave her the money, although she was very thankful. She only spoke when I asked a question. She explained her duties: We wash bedridden patients, we pray and we help those who fall through the system and whom the system is unable to help.






Conditions of the country

Give us our daily bread.....
Due to the fact that the economy never recovered from the dependency of the former Soviet Union, Cuba is in economic chaos. Cuba has very limited natural resources and therefore is not a desired trading partner of many countries. Newly formed countries of the former Soviet Union asked to be paid in dollars and transportation of goods have to be paid by the Cubans. The number one new economic boost is tourism, mainly from Germany and Spain.
Food is scarce and very limited to all Cubans and provided by the government in the form of rations to the people. Each citizen has to go to a town ration distribution place, no matter of their profession, status, etc. within society. This process of distribution means long waiting lines for all Cubans.


Rations per family member:
Beans 4 oz per week
Rice 5 lbs. per week
Fish 2 lbs. per week
Meat none n/a
Sugar 4 lbs. per month
Milk none n/a

Once the Cubans receive the rations, many trade or sell the rations in for other items which are available on the black market.

Get what you can.....
To survive under these conditions a huge black market has developed. For Dollars, and / or in return for a desired service or merchandise, almost anything can be obtained in Cuba. A sub-economic system is evolving, created by the people to enhance their daily living and to better personal conditions.
There is no clothing available on the open market. Therefore, clothing is only available from tourists who leave their clothing with people or from relatives who ship the clothing with “Dell.”

What is one’s labor worth to others?
Shortly after Castro took office, the regime decided that each citizen would receive the same income for their labor, which is equivalent to approximately $15.00, roughly 200 Pesetas per month. In my observation, this leads to an “if I have to work I will, if I do not have to work I won’t” attitude toward work, contrary to our American system’s attitude of “Help yourself; if you’re poor it’s your own fault.”
When I met with one of the surgeons of a major hospital in Cuba, he was rather frustrated about this system: “I am one of the best surgeons in the country, I care for my patients more than any other doctor! Others at our hospital sometimes come in late for surgery, etc., but I take my profession very seriously. What do I get in return? I have to spend two days out of the month fixing my car, so that I can commute from my residence to the hospital. My wife has to wait sometimes 6 hours in line for food rationing. I have to trade some of the food for clothing, etc.”

Health care
The Catholic Church often provided health care prior to 1959. After the revolution a new Health care system was instituted to make free Health care available to all Cubans.

Family Doctors
Today each community has a family doctor which is available to 120-150 families in the neighborhood. He or she lives among those he or she serves. Each family has the opportunity to visit their doctor in the morning. The doctors use the afternoon to have team meetings and house visits.
Cuba has free birth control and abortion available to its citizens. When one reads this it sound good, until one visits the small office of the doctor. The interior furnishing of the offices appears like a 1930 rerun. Paint is falling off the wall. No medication is in sight. The offices are not air conditioned and often I saw the doctors smoking. Medical equipment is hard to find.

Hospitals
The only thing pleasant in visiting the General Hospital of Havana, which has 740 beds and whose occupancy rate is 85-90 percent, were the people and the front lobby. The atmosphere where patients are treated is sterile, cold, and the building which was built just 20 years ago, is deteriorating fast. Eighty doctors are in charge of this institution, where windows are broken, and cracks in the walls mark deterioration far beyond the material substance of the hospital.
The hospital has no AIDS patients. AIDS patients are referred to a sanatorium. I question this practice, because I wondered if this is simply a political isolation and denial of the disease.

Medical Equipment
Doctors in Cuba face tremendous challenges, as I found out in my conversations with many doctors. One of the largest hospitals hadn’t had any endoscopes for years. It has not had any medical equipment to perform an ultrasound or mammogram for two years. Finally, a surgeon at a large cancer hospital told me that they only have one radiotherapy unit available. “With only one unit,” the surgeon said, “treating those who were just diagnosed with cancer is impossible, because many others are in treatment. Therefore, the cancer progresses to another stage before the cancer patient can have treatment.” The waiting list for chemotherapy is very long, and, for many, too late.
Unfortunately, the mortality rate during surgery in comparison with any Western country is very high by admission of many leading surgeons. Again the root for this circumstance is the inadequate availability of monitoring devices and surgical equipment during operations, etc.

Holistic Medicine
Although in the U.S. we are just reaching an understanding of holistic medicine, the medical field in Cuba is far from understanding how important spiritual assistance is during the trauma of a human being diagnosed with cancer or any other potential fatal disease. In none of Cuban hospitals are chaplains to be found. Spiritual assistance may only be given by family members.
A surgeon in Havana mentioned that too often doctors in Cuba see patients as a commodity. Often patients are not told the truth about their disease, and more often they do not tell patients that they are about in the last stage of their life. One surgeon, an atheist admitted to me: “Sometimes I wish we would know how to pray. I know deep in my heart that there is something out there which is much greater than we are, but how does one go about trying to understand? I was brought up in a communist system which neglects your God and your theology. However, with Communism we have lost touch with that which [the greater than us] is there. A psychiatrist may find symptoms and induce behavioral treatments, but we also need treatment for the things we long for: ‘Inner peace, the answer of where we will be after this life, and the purpose of life.’”

Opinions vary
After visiting several health care institutions, observing conditions, and talking with doctors, it was amazing to me that a professional who visited Cuba with our group came to the following conclusion:
The health care system in Cuba is better than in the U.S. A household of two adults and two children with an income of $40,000 is not able to afford health care insurance. After the comment was made, an intense discussion among several in our group broke out. Some of them aligning very much with the previous statement made. For clarification, I offer the following fact:
For a $2,500 deductible health care insurance in the U.S., including two adults around 40 years of age and two children around ten years of age, the premium per year would be approximately $2,000, therefore representing 0.5% of their gross income. This policy would give access to, medication and treatment, usually with no waiting lines

Final Note
I believe that Castro had his place in the history of Cuba. He freed his citizens from an oppression which had been with Cuba since her existence. From all the conversations I had with people who opposed Castro and people who still align with Castro, all of them agree: Castro’s intentional reason for the revolution was good for the people. He freed them from those who took advantage of the country’s resources and people. He freed them from not being independent as a nation. Castro planted his tree.

His collaboration with the Soviet Union was the desperate reach for the opposing pole of the United States. Castro could have never envisioned how that dependency would change the course of his vision. When the Soviets left, the vision of independence remained and with it came more suffering for the people. Tourism is a new opening of a hoped for giant industry. However, for me it does not work to display a separate world in the world of Cuba. They do not allow Cubans in Tourist establishments. Secret government informants watch tourists constantly and staged tours are prepared for those who want to believe that the display may be the reality of Cuba.

No, Cuban people do not have the desire to be a country like the United States or Spain or Germany. Cubans want to establish themselves. They want to live out THEIR dream, which was withheld from them for centuries. They do not want to be bullied around by any other nation, by their own leader, or by a system. They want to be people of themselves.
We as the people of the United States, for me the greatest nation in the world, have no right to withhold from Cuba. Let us as individuals make that decision and let us be individually responsible for our moral and ethical actions toward others. Helms and Burton, who contributed to the embargo bill against Cuba which has now been upheld for more than thirty years, cannot speak for you and for me. You and I have no enemies in Cuba. Enemies are created by not sharing that which we have in abundance with others who do not enough.

Often I am asked: “Well, we [the United States of America] can’t be singly responsible for the misery in Cuba?” My answer is: “Certainly not, but we, having the most of all countries, should give the most. We, as a country, have asked other countries to support the embargo and join us.” Never must we make the statement that others could have helped. Neither must we ask for any other reason to help than the love toward our neighbor. Christ has obligated us not to find causes beyond love. If there are no natural resources or if the country has no desire to follow our American political and economical system, we are often willing to care less. We have not helped Bosnia, and we do not help countries in Africa, we do not help countries in South America. Instead, we isolate countries, so we think! In reality we condemn our brothers and sisters.

I plead with you as the reader: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”



Selected Bibliography And Other Resources:

■ Bretto. Frei Fidel and Religion. Pathfinder Press, Pacific and Asia, 1986
■ Geldorf, Lynn, Cuban Voices Of Change. St. Martin’s Press, New York. 1991
■ Reuter News Agency
■ Oppenheimer, Andres. Castro’s Final Hour. Simon & Schuster. 1993
■ Raúl Gómez Treto. The Church and Socialism in Cuba. Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York. 1986
■ Spock Dr. American Medical Journal, February, 1993
■ America Online. Keyword:”Cuba”
 

Read Other Articles