The Re-Conquering of Cuba

There isn’t a day that goes by, that I don’t thank my parents for getting me out of Cuba. As I watch my own children, I tremble at the thought of what their lives would have been like in a country like Cuba.

A land that gave so many of her sons and daughters, to the fight for independence is once again being re-conquered by the leeches of the world. The Spaniards, the Italians, even Cubans themselves are putting money in their pockets at the expense of Cuba’s misery.

Under aged girls are being sold into prostitution, for the enjoyment of foreign tourists and even Cuban Americans, who know they would never get

away with it, here in America.

A young woman leaves the Island with her Italian boyfriend, who has promised to marry her. He talks her into undergoing a routine eye surgery to correct a vision imperfection and in stead, has her corneas removed. She later returns home, alone and blind.

Young Reggeaton, Elvis Manuel frustrated with his situation in Cuba, left his country a few months ago on a raft. He had been promised a hefty contract in Miami. He said, “My music is everywhere,but I don’t have a cent to buy something to eat.”. He took the chance of his life to follow his dream and never made it to US soil, becoming another statistic. Bodies wash up on Florida shores everyday. For Cubans, the cold war has not ended. Over 90,000 Cubans had died in the attempt to escape extreme circumstances.

As the United States and most of the world moves on, Cubans can not move on, because our wounds are still open. Our dead have found no justice and their executioners are still in power. For us the wall has not fallen. The once Pearl of the Caribbean we called home, is now a land in ruins.

Gays Should Have Equal Rights Too!

For as far as America has come; in the fight for equal rights, it has not come far enough. I have never understood homophobia. In Cuba, my country of birth, being gay was a crime against the state, with a penal code number, attached to it. From 1960 to 1979, homosexuals, were victimized and imprisoned by the Castro Regime. One tragic example was the brilliant author, Reinaldo Arenas, who spent decades under constant repression years in prison, because of who he was.

This last week, Proposition 8 passed, to the dismay of so many gay couples that wanted to have the right to marry whomever they wanted. Who are we to decide who should marry whom. It wasn't to long ago, that Mexicans and African-Americans weren't allowed to marry whites.

Supporters of Prop 8, poured millions of dollars to spread their message. Churches of course were the main contributors. How extremely disturbing, but expected, that churches would give millions of dollars, not to the poor, not to refugee's around the world, but to a hate campaign.

Supporters of gay rights filed three lawsuits Wednesday asking the California Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8. They argue that the measure is an illegal revision of the constitution and it fundamentally alters the guarantee of equal protection.

I fail to see what gays having the right to marry, have to do with restoring traditional marriage. This effort, is nothing more then fear and the stigma of homosexuality