The widespread hurricane devastation in Cuba has sparked demand for a
temporary lifting of the restrictions on family aid and visits.
Posted on Wed, Sep. 10, 2008
BY CASEY WOODS AND LESLEY CLARK
cwoods@MiamiHerald.com
Cuban immigrant Cristina Pujadas has spent the past few days crying,
watching hurricanes devastate her homeland and worrying about the family
she left behind.
Pujadas watches, as well, as the U.S. and Cuban governments duel over
formalities that she views as meaningless: The Cuban government refuses
aid from the United States, while the U.S. government stands by
restrictions on the flow of money from immigrants to their families on
the island.
''I am tired of living like this, with this situation that has gone on
for decades because of a lack of love for the people who are most
affected,'' said Pujadas, 57, who came to the United States in 1982.
``While these governments are shooting back and forth at each other, the
people are suffering.''
The devastation wrought on Cuba by hurricanes Ike and Gustav, with
widespread destruction of vital food crops, has renewed perennial calls
to loosen the decades-old U.S. embargo. The Catholic Church, a coalition
of Cuban-American aid organizations and a contingent of politicians --
including Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Arizona
Republican Rep. Jeff Flake -- have called on President Bush to
temporarily lift restrictions on how much money Cubans here can send to
families.
Many recently arrived Cubans with family ties on the island also say
humanitarian needs should supersede the politics that divide the two
countries.
''Everything hurts, to watch this, because Cuba is my blood and mi
patria,'' Pujadas said.
She worries about her half-sister, holed up in a flooded Havana
apartment, surviving on crackers.
''When there's a catastrophe like a hurricane in Cuba, people tend to
focus more on Cuba and they realize our policy doesn't make sense,''
Flake said.
Mauricio Claver-Carone, a top pro-embargo lobbyist and a director of the
U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee, said the calls for
easing restrictions to help hurricane victims come from the same camp
that has long advocated relaxing the embargo. He predicted the push
would fail.
The percolating pressure -- and accusations of callousness in the face
of widespread suffering -- drew an emphatic response from the U.S.
government. The State Department put out a list of steps Washington has
taken to help the Cuban people, including offering $100,000 in emergency
assistance to nongovernmental organizations and temporarily increasing
the cash amount licensed organizations can provide for humanitarian
assistance.
The United States also offered to send a humanitarian assessment team to
Cuba, the first step to opening the door to millions more in aid. But
the Cuban government declined, saying their evaluation teams were
capable of chronicling the damage.
''We stand with the Cuban people at this difficult hour,'' U.S. Commerce
Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said in a statement. ``We're hopeful that the
government of Cuba will put the welfare of their people above politics.''
Supporters of the embargo fired back at politicians fighting the
restrictions and at the family members pushing to send more money.
Cuban immigrants worried about their relatives should consider the
greater good, said radio and TV personality Ninoska Pérez Castellón,
director of the conservative Cuban Liberty Council.
''There are 11 million people under the same conditions,'' she said.
``What we should be looking for are ways to benefit the 11 million
people and solve the crisis and not think of what we can do for our own
relatives.''
The fresh debate sparked by the hurricanes has intensified the issue of
the embargo in local congressional races.
Campaign representatives for former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez, a
Democrat, and his opponent, Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Lincoln
Diaz-Balart, accused each other of politicizing the humanitarian crisis.
Martinez advocates a temporary lifting of the family aid restrictions
because ``when something like this strikes, everything needs to be put
aside and people need to come first.''
Diaz-Balart campaign spokesman Carlos Curbelo pointed out that an e-mail
Martinez sent out calling attention to the devastation included a link
at the bottom that said ''click here to contribute'' to Martinez's campaign.
Martinez called the link an ''accident'' that he immediately apologized
for and that was immediately corrected.
''See how small these people think?'' said Martinez, who added his
opponent has allowed ideology to trump the needs of his Cuban-American
constituents.
Diaz-Balart emphasized that he and other supporters of the embargo
believe mechanisms are already in place to help Cubans through
organizations licensed by the U.S. government to provide aid.
''It certainly is our hope that international community puts the maximum
amount of pressure on the regime to allow unlimited aid,'' he said.
Local organizations such as Democracy Movement, Jewish Solidarity and
Daughters of Charity gathered donations and supplies for Cuba.
While appreciative, many Cuban immigrants worried that aid would not
directly help their loved ones.
''They should lift those restrictions because there is nothing more
secure than sending money to your relatives,'' said Miguel Jiménez, 46,
who has family in hard-hit Camagüey. ``You want that tranquility of
knowing they're going to have what they most need.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/679725.html
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