What Cuba taught me

Amy Truax, Northwest Field Organizer at Witness for Peace

In 2006, the World Wildlife Fund designated Cuba as the "only sustainable country in the world," noting that if everyone on Earth lived as Cubans did, we would only need one planet to sustain us--as opposed to the over four planets we'd need if we continue consuming as people in the United States do. When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 90s, and 85% of Cuban foreign trade disappeared nearly overnight, Cuba had to completely re-invent their agricultural and food systems. Through necessity, they developed a predominantly organic, sustainable, local system of food production that didn't rely on expensive, or non-existent, petroleum imports. Over the last 20 years, they've learned a lot of lessons that many other countries could benefit from as we struggle to create more a more sustainable world. However, due to archaic Cold War policies like the Cuba travel ban, keeping Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, and the embargo, the US is largely missing out on this opportunity.

I recently returned from a 14 person, 10-day delegation to Cuba that was focused on sustainable agriculture. Getting there was a complicated process involving a lot of paperwork that seemed humorously out of proportion to the quick 45-minute flight from Miami to Havana. I traveled through a non-profit called Witness for Peace that has a People-to-People license allowing group travel to Cuba, which is one of the only ways US citizens can legally travel there. The Kennedy government instituted a travel ban in 1963, in the tense and confusing time after the Cuban revolution and the missile crisis. To this day, the tiny nation of Cuba is the only country in the world that the United States restricts its citizens from visiting. In poll after poll, a majority of Americans do not support such a policy. Yet due to outdated and reactionary politics, heavily dominated by a few Cuban-American hardliners from the ever-important swing state of Florida, the idea of even revisiting travel regulations seems impossible.

While in Havana, my group visited the US Interests Section, which is similar to an embassy (but not legally an embassy since we don't technically have diplomatic relations). We had a chance to spend an hour talking with a US official about US/Cuban relations. For many questions we asked, I was able to see his perspective and understand where he was coming from, even if I didn't agree with him. However, when we questioned him on the travel ban, logic seemed to fall apart and we got no satisfactory answers about the purpose of continuing to restrict the liberty of US citizens to travel freely.  Many people decry human rights abuses and political repression. This is certainly an issue that anyone who travels to Cuba should be aware of and concerned about. Yet surely you couldn't argue that violent dictatorships in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe do not also abuse human rights, so why can we hop on a plane to Riyadh? The old rallying cry against Communism also falls flat when we have such a vital relationship with China and are negotiating trade agreements with Vietnam--a country in which we fought a long and bloody war in an attempt to prevent Communism, but place no travel restrictions on. No one would ever dream of prohibiting travel to the heavily Socialist Scandinavian countries. Given that three million tourists visited Cuba in 2012 from every other country in the world, we can probably give up the pretense of trying to damage their economy.

Cuba isn't perfect. There are serious human rights concerns, there is no free press, and other issues to be aware of if you choose to visit. However, there are also lessons that we can learn, and that we could teach them, in a free and open exchange of people, technology, and knowledge. It is no longer the job of the United States government to tell US citizens where they can and cannot travel--we should be allowed to make these decisions of our own free will.

Lo que Cuba me enseñó

Amy Truax, organizadora de la region noroeste de Acción Permanente por la Paz

En 2006, el Fondo Mundial para la Naturaleza designó a Cuba como el "único país sostenible del planeta", señalando que si todo el mundo en la Tierra vivía como l@s cuban@s, sólo necesitaríamos un planeta para sostenernos - en comparación con los más de cuatro planetas que necesitaríamos si seguimos consumiendo como lo hacemos nosotros de los EE.UU. Cuando la Unión Soviética colapsó en los años 90, y el 85% del comercio exterior de Cuba desapareció casi de un día al otro, Cuba tuvo que reinventar por completo su sistema agrícola y alimentario. Por necesidad, desarrollaron un sistema local predominantemente orgánico y sostenible de la producción de alimentos que no se basan en importaciones costosas o inexistentes del petróleo. Durante los últimos 20 años, l@s cuban@s han aprendido muchas lecciones que podrían beneficiar a muchos otros países en la lucha para crear un mundo más sostenible. Sin embargo, debido a las políticas de la Guerra Fría arcaicas como la prohibición de viajes de l@s estadounidensesa Cuba, mantener a Cuba en la lista de estados que patrocinan el terrorismo, y el bloqueo, los EE.UU. pierde esta oportunidad.

Recientemente regresé de una  delegación de diez días a Cuba con 14 personas que se centró en la agricultura sostenible. Llegar allí fue un proceso complicado que implica una gran cantidad de papeleo que era fuera de proporción con el vuelo rápido de 45 minutos de Miami a La Habana. Viajamos a través de la ONG Acción Permanente por la Paz que tiene una licencia que se llama Persona a Persona y permite viajes de grupos a Cuba, que es una de las pocas maneras para que ciudadan@s estadounidenses viajen legalmente allí. El gobierno de Kennedy instituyó una prohibición de viajar en 1963, en el momento tenso y confuso después de la revolución cubana y la crisis de los misiles. Al día de hoy, el pequeño pais de Cuba es el único país en el mundo al que l@s ciudadan@s de los Estados Unidos no pueden visitar. En encuesta tras encuesta, la mayoría de l@s estadounidenses no comparte ésta política. Sin embargo, debido a las políticas anticuadas y reaccionarias, en gran medida dominadas por unos pocos cubano-americanos de la ultra derecha del estado tan importante en las elecciones parar el presidente, la Florida, la idea de siquiera revisar las reglamentaciones de viaje parece imposible.

Durante nuestra estadía en La Habana, mi grupo visitó la Sección de Intereses de EE.UU., que es similar a una embajada (aunque no legalmente una embajada, ya que técnicamente no hay relaciones diplomáticas entre los dos paises). Tuvimos la oportunidad de pasar una hora hablando con un funcionario de EE.UU. sobre las relaciones entre Cuba y los EE.UU. Para muchas preguntas que hicimos, tuve la oportunidad de escuchar su perspectiva y entender de dónde venía, aunque yo no estaba de acuerdo con él. Sin embargo, cuando le preguntamos sobre la prohibición de viajar, no había lógica clara y no nos dio respuestas satisfactorias sobre el propósito de continuar restringiendo la libertad de l@s ciudadan@s estadounidenses de viajar libremente. Muchas personas denuncian violaciones de los derechos humanos y la represión política. Este es un tema muy importante que cualquier persona que viaje a Cuba debe ser consciente y se le debe preocupar. Sin embargo, seguramente no podría argumentar que las dictaduras violentas en Arabia Saudita, Sudán y Zimbabwe no también abusan de los derechos humanos, ¿Entonces, por qué se puede que subir a un avión a Riad? El antiguo pretexto de la guerra contra el comunismo también se cae cuando ya que tenemos una relación tan importante con China y estamos negociando acuerdos comerciales con Vietnam - un país donde hubo una guerra larga y sangrienta, en un intento de evitar el comunismo, pero no hay restricciones para viajar alli. A nadie se le ocurriría prohibir viajar a los países escandinavos, donde hay gobiernos socialistas. Dado que tres millones de turistas visitaron Cuba en el año 2012 de todos los demás países del mundo, es probable que podemos renunciar a la pretensión de tratar de dañar su economía.

Cuba no es perfecta. Existen serias preocupaciones de derechos humanos, no hay libertad de prensa y otras cuestiones que hay que tener en cuenta si usted decide visitar. Sin embargo, también hay lecciones que podemos aprender, y que les podría enseñar, en un intercambio libre y abierto de personas, tecnología y conocimiento. Ya no le toca al gobierno de los EE.UU. legislar a donde l@s ciudadan@s estadounidenses pueden y no pueden viajar - se nos debería permitir tomar estas decisiones de nuestra propia voluntad.

Nicaragua: "There is so much the world can learn from you. There is so much I have learned from you."

This week students from the College of New Jersey's Bonner Center for Civic and Community Engagement are in Nicaragua with a Witness for Peace delegation. This is a direct account from those students.

Today I found a little bit of peace… in a place with a very uncertain future, filled with big hearts and hopeful spirits. Nicaragua. I came to visit you with no expectations, with no idea, but with the intention to become inspired and to let your history, your story, your beauty influence me… to allow you to bear motherhood over me for a few days… to feel your love, to feel your pain, even if it’s just for a little while. I came here with the idea that I could stop it all. Or at least do something to induce change. But after learning that you’ve become victim to unfair policies, unjust political figures, ignorance and corrupt authority, pesticides, homicide, false and unkept promises… that your children live in garbage dumpsters, that your children are being exploited by foreign companies, that your daughters carry on their backs the blame of all the misfortunes of their families, and your sons have lost themselves in their anger and disillusionment… I’ve become hopeless… soaked in guilt and despair. Yet somehow, magically, you have not. You still remain. You have been sucked dry of your milk by sons you did not bear, and still, you continue to produce nutrients for your children and a surplus. You have been covered by pollution and masked with the discards of the world, but you bloom, no matter the season, providing a corner of shade for any tired soul seeking relief from the sun above you. Your children have found a way to grow with their devastations, and not be consumed by them. They have learned how to move in a world that has no path for them. Chameleons of time and circumstance. You parade your scars of battle and revolution with grace and humility. You know the true definition of beauty. Blessed are you because you know what the true definition of honor is. You practice nobility, honesty, and you labor every single moment of the day in hopes to teach your children the joy in true and just work ethic. Most amazingly, you have forgiven all offenses made against you. You hold no grudge. You walk with love. There is so much the world can learn from you. There is so much I have learned from you. And today, as I was drowning in my guilt, exasperated by the sufferings I am witnessing, you sent one of your children to sing to my colleagues and I… and I heard your song of peace. You rescued me from my doubts, from my thoughts. You told me that you have not lost hope, nor have your children, and in turn, I cannot either.

-Maria

This post was originally published here.

Environmental Lessons from a Witness for Peace Delegation to Nicaragua

Last year a University of Portland student said that before joining a Witness for Peace delegation, "I was not politically aware, but going on this trip has opened my eyes. It has motivated me to be more aware and keep updated on what's going on in the world."

Now you can follow the experiences of 2011 University of Portland delegates to Nicaragua live.

It's Madie P. and Colton! We thought that this would be a good time to grab the computer while we had the chance and write a little something. Since we are the only ones with science majors (Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering), we want to reflect a little bit more on the environmental issues and impacts happening in Nicaragua. Last Saturday (May 14th) we had a speaker come to us at CEPAD. The speakers name was Julio Sanchez and he is an environmentalist that works with an organization called Humboldt Center. He came and talked to us about the environmental issues that are facing Nicaragua. So we are just going to lay out some facts first:

Nicaragua’s main source of revenue is from its natural resources. According to Julio, 75% of all Nicaragua’s income comes from the environment, but only 0.13% of the GDP goes toward preserving their land. Julio raised a point that if they did increase the amount of money for investment in the environment, it would reduce the amount of money for medical attention and would increase ecotourism. Nicaragua has 5% of the world’s biodiversity and if Nicaragua would invest more in preservation, this would boost the GDP dramatically. This extra money essentially could start a movement to create a stronger infrastructure.

From what we learned in the past couple days, countries are being encouraged to come and use these resources to increase jobs and create a flow of money to the economy. However, these companies are not being penalized for their overwhelming destruction to the environment. Luckily, this is recently changing. The Humboldt Center is making movements towards working with the government to making stronger policies, as well as increasing the actual enforcement of the policies.

What makes us the most upset is that even though in U.S. we have our environmental movements towards making a smaller carbon footprint, we are still creating pollution and deforestation in other countries. It’s basically canceling out all of our efforts that we make back at home. These companies need to be held responsible for their destruction to the environment in and outside the United States. Nicaragua has some truly unique wildlife and BEAUTIFUL landscapes. It deserves to be preserved so that our grandchildren will have the opportunity to see this biodiversity and beauty.

Overall, Julio’s talk definitely tied all of the issues we have been learning about together. In the midst of focusing and seeing all of the social and economical issues, Julio brought up a powerful point that nature is the basic foundation of these issues. Nature is the one that gives values to social, economic, and cultural to each and every country. It gives people an identity and life to communities. This alone should be a strong motivation to preserve something that gives us all life.

Woooh. Alright. A little longer than expected but hopefully you made it through. We just got back from the campo today (countryside for all those nonspanish speakers) and are pretty pooped. Dinner was delicious from the restaurant across the street and ended it with an ice cream run. On our way to “The Igloo”, we discovered some break dancing. Of course, our Witness for Peace leader, Riahl, joined and surprised all of the locals. Now some chitchat and cards are being played, but the night is wrapping up.

-Madie P. and Colton

This post was originally published here.

A Lifetime Journey in Seven Days

As I joined the group of fifteen Long Islanders headed to Oaxaca, Mexico I knew very little of what to expect. The goal of studying and understanding the root causes of migration was an enormous task in and of itself. Doing it within seven days seemed impossible. What I understood however, was the urgency of doing so.

Long Island, regarded as one of the most segregated suburbs in the U.S., has consistently made national headlines in the last decade for heinous acts committed against “undocumented immigrants.” The anti-immigrant sentiment has been fueled by legislators who would rather play on people’s fears than offer viable solutions. It has been magnified by stagnant wages earned by overworked and underpaid blue collar workers who often blame the “illegal” for their current economic conditions. It is amplified by the anger felt towards “day laborers, who stand on corners and don’t pay taxes, yet use up our resources.” This illogical reasoning is intended to somehow justify the misplaced anger, hatred, and bigotry.

The surrounding anti-immigrant sentiment only added to the challenge our racially, professionally, and economically diverse group faced: trying to understand and bring back to Long Island the reasons immigrants come here. Within seven days, we did just that!

Our journey began with a crash course in Mexican history that forged a bond between our struggles and the dire struggle of the Mexican people to survive. We learned about the unequal trade agreement that has prompted forced migration to the U.S. while further impoverishing the citizens of Mexico and the United States. We walked and lived amongst the people of agricultural communities that once thrived, now pushed to the brink of extinction by economic policies. We heard firsthand accounts from individuals who were currently on their journey north, risking their lives not for what has been coined as “the American Dream” (nice car, big house, fancy clothes, and other luxuries), but rather the most meager necessities (the ability to feed and clothe their families, have shelter, etc.). This was the pinnacle of my experience.

One immigrant was asked by one of our group members why he was willing to leave behind his land, family, culture, and language while possibly risking his life. “I would rather die trying to cross that border, than live and see my family starve.” Instantly his words were etched in my mind and heart. His words forced me not only to put myself in his shoes, but to walk in them as well. Suddenly it was clear. I too would risk my life in an effort to feed my family. I too would be willing to sacrifice my freedom, my culture, and my language to clothe them. If given the option, I too would risk my life rather than live and see my family starve. Wouldn’t you?

Our nation has played a critical role in instituting policies that have not only promoted migration, but blatantly forced migration. Our government condones and supports financial institutions that benefit from the misery of poverty felt by millions in Mexico and other nations. We have consistently placed the interest of big business ahead of the common interest.

Yet, the most valuable lesson of all was how to create change. Having returned to Long Island, many of us have begun to host presentations, educating the rest of our communities about our experiences. Some have begun blogging and writing editorials that are finding their way into local papers. Others have set up meeting with Congressional representatives to begin discussing ways to change policy.

Thanks to Witness for Peace, our delegation has become engaged in Acción Permanente Por La Paz…y Justicia!

“If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin." -Charles Darwin