Group rallies against Cuba policy

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Thu, Jul. 13, 2006

HIALEAH
Group rallies against Cuba policy
The Association of Christian Women in Defense of the Cuban Family held its fourth demonstration against the Bush administration's tightening of travel restrictions to Cuba in Hialeah on Saturday.

BY GLADYS AMADOR
[e-mail]

Shouting out ''Queremos viajar, vamos a viajar!'' a group of more than 50 protesters joined together in a demonstration in front of Hialeah's City Hall on Saturday morning.

Among those blaring out their battle cries through a bullhorn -- ''We want to travel! We're going to travel!'' was Rosa Reyes, 68, a resident of North Miami.

''They block travel to Cuba in order to try and resolve the problems on the island yet it does nothing but create a cruel policy hurting the Cuban people,'' Reyes said. ``I wanted to take my granddaughter to meet my father, who is very old, and I can't.''

The Association of Christian Women in Defense of the Cuban Family is a group of Cuban women, their husbands and other sympathizers who are against the tightened restrictions placed by the Bush administration on travel and remittances to the island.

Seeking to tighten the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 -- a federal law strengthening the United States embargo against Cuba -- the Bush administration placed new travel restrictions in 2004. The new travel restrictions forbid Cubans to travel more than once every three years, to visit immediate family members. American-born citizens are not allowed to go to Cuba for tourism, but can travel of special American-issued visas.
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/miami-dade/cities_neighborhoods/northwest/15011159.htm

[Mika]

1. More Bushco hypocrisy

Bushco's new Cuba "transition" policy report pours millions of our tax dollars into an attempt to end the so called information blockade in Cuba, but at the same time its their policy of blockade that creates a blockade of information - in the US, not Cuba.

Bushco's American travel ban policy is intended to keep Americans in the dark about the real Cuba NOW.

God forbid that AMericans could go to and see Cuba and actually meet real Cubans in Cuba. Wouldn't be prudent.

[Judi Lynn]

2. It's doubtful most Americans were aware that Cubans living in the States

used to be able to come and go regularly to Cuba before _Bushh bullied his way into the White House.

They might want to ponder why Cubans felt safe coming and going to Cuba for visits, and how that connects with what they've been told through U.S. propaganda about their status as "refugees," and "asylum seekers" and "defectors!"