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<<<<Today, although still committed to her husband's dreams, Burdsall openly criticizes Cuba.>>>> Ah, but impossible. Free speech exists only in western democracies. :-) Barry Stoller wrote: > > AP. 21 April 2002. Some Americans Embrace Their Lives in Cuba, Holding > to Socialist Ideals . > > HAVANA -- The wall of windows at Lorna Burdsall's seventh floor > apartment overlooks a bay ringed by trash. The vintage red elevator, > installed before Fidel Castro seized power, is decrepit. > > Still, the American widow of "Red Beard" - the socialist revolutionary > who went on to become Cuba's top intelligence chief - says her 47 years > in the Caribbean country have given her few complaints. > > "The heat is one of the few things that I haven't gotten used to in > Cuba," says Burdsall, 73, apologizing for not hearing the doorbell at > first because she had retreated to her air-conditioned bedroom. > > Burdsall, who moved to Cuba from New York in 1955, is one of more than a > dozen Americans who call this communist island home, still clinging to > the ideals of a socialist revolution as capitalism expands its hold > around the globe. > > "I would like to be a good communist, but I don't think they exist," the > white-haired fiery grandmother says. > > "Socialism, however, is a good step toward that perfect society; it's an > interim." > > Amitai Etzioni, a sociologist at George Washington University who > specializes in American culture, said: "Leftists are looking for a place > for their beliefs and Cuba is one of the last hopes, a remnant of > communism." > > In Burdsall's sparse apartment on the outskirts of Havana, there are no > outward signs of her revolutionary life except for faded pictures of > herself with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Argentine revolutionary Che > Guevara and her husband, Manuel Pineiro, known as "Barbarroja" for the > thick red beard he grew while a guerrilla in the Sierra Maestra. > > The Cuba that Burdsall now calls home is a world away from the place she > discovered after marrying Pineiro, whose older brothers owned a > distributing agency for Hatuey beer and Bacardi rum. He was studying > business administration at Columbia University when he met her. > > "He was dancing the most fabulous mambo," Burdsall recalls. > > After marrying him, Burdsall put her career as a dancer on hold to > follow her husband and his dream of starting a revolution in Cuba. > Shortly after their arrival, Pineiro was engrossed in the pro-Castro > underground working to overthrow the dictator Fulgencio Batista. > > "When we came, it was very dangerous," she says. "We moved around a lot. > The conditions were terrible. I remember ants in the soup and staying in > places where the rats would eat my high-heeled shoes." > > Burdsall became pregnant and before long, was keeping weapons and > ammunition in her baby's room. The guns - like her husband - eventually > ended up in the Sierra Maestra where Castro and his rebels were training > to overthrow Batista. > > Two years after their victory in 1959, Pineiro was named deputy minister > of the interior and went on to head Cuba's security and intelligence > operations. He later helped train leftist groups throughout Latin > America. > > "He was completely committed to the revolution," she says. > > Burdsall resumed her own career in dance, founding the Compania Danza > Contemporanea and becoming national director of dance and modern dance > under the culture ministry. > > She traveled frequently back and forth to the United States and > eventually divorced Pineiro after 20 years of marriage. He died three > years ago. > > Today, although still committed to her husband's dreams, Burdsall openly > criticizes Cuba. She says low wages and a dependency on U.S. dollars has > forced some doctors - who earn the equivalent of $20 a month - to work > as piano players to earn the coveted currency. > > But she believes the good outweighs the bad. > > "I think that if Manuel were alive today he would say that most of the > things they set out to accomplish in the revolution were achieved, > particularly in the areas of education, medicine and the arts, but it's > only logical that some would be disappointed with the way some things > turned out." > > Michael Fuller's journey to Cuba in 1994 was motivated by politics, not > love. He came as a member of the "solidarity brigades," an international > group dedicated to helping Cubans that he joined while living in Spain. > > "I thought about returning to Spain but all things pointed to me > staying. My very presence was an act of solidarity," says the > 37-year-old native of Syracuse, N.Y. > > He lives in Tarara, a town 14 miles east of Havana where more than > 15,000 children and adults affected by Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl nuclear > disaster have received medical treatment. > > Fuller, who now works as a writer and teacher, says he's committed to > Cuba's communist policies. > > "I eat great. I don't miss ownership and I have come to accept the > philosophy," he says. > > "I suppose I could use a car, but I don't miss the commercials on TV and > I've gained serenity here. I've also gained a family and faith in the > future." > > Fuller criticizes U.S. perceptions of Cuba. > > "Some still refer to Cuba as a regime but it's too fun to be a regime." > > "I don't rule out returning to the United States someday but for now > there really is no reason." > > Another Cuba convert is Philip Agee, who became famous for his 1975 > tell-all book about his years with the CIA. > > Now 66, the small, soft-spoken native of Tampa, Fla., had his American > passport revoked in 1979 after being ruled a threat to U.S. national > security. He entered Cuba on a German travel document and has opened a > travel agency to entice foreign tourists. > > "A long time ago I was in the business of telling lies for the CIA. > Today, I'm trying to dispel some of those lies," he says. > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > > Barry Stoller > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews > > > --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
