Bob's Blog: 2005.03

It's Time to End the Embargo

It's been a while since I checked in and I apologize for the long delay between posts. I want to let all of you know that I plan to write more frequently from now on.

The first few months of the new-year are always hectic and this year was no exception. Disarm has been incredibly busy throughout the winter working on current programs and developing some new ideas which we hope to introduce over the next six months.

Last month I traveled to Cuba on one of our surgical delegations with a team from International Volunteers in Urology. We operated at Pediatric Hospital Cerro in Havana, where this medical project has been based for the past four years. During the week we were in Cuba the team successfully corrected urologic deformities in 11 young children.

Despite the usual difficulties of traveling to Cuba, exacerbated by lugging a huge amount of medical equipment, the delegation was a great success. I can't begin to tell you how rewarding this particular program is for the Cuban doctors, the patients and for each of us, and I hope we can continue to help more pediatric urology patients in the future.

Right now though, I'd like to talk about a pressing issue that has been on my mind for some time -- Cuba and the President's new restrictions on travel and trade.

Initially, we believed that the Bush administration's new restrictions on trade, travel and remittances would not seriously harm ordinary Cubans. That belief was wrong. On this last trip, I witnessed first-hand the impact these new regulations are having on the citizens of both Cuba and the United States. Family visits to Cuba from the U.S. are now limited to once every three years, even in the case of a sick or dying relative -- a ruling which I cannot begin to fathom. Even the definition of family has been curtailed to include only immediate family members, excluding cousins, uncles, aunts, etc... Moreover, new limits on remittances prevent Cubans from obtaining the hard currency they need to buy essential goods, such as soap, clothing and food.

On a personal level, one that impacts our work directly, American doctors are no longer allowed to teach their Cuban counterparts during surgical exchanges. The impact of these intensified restrictions is apparent, and they are simply cruel and inhumane.

I have always been amazed at Cubans' optimism and innovation. And over the years I have seen how well they have learned to adapt to the difficult circumstances of their day to day lives. But now, with these additional obstacles, the President has found a way to intensify the degree to which the embargo harms the health and livelihood of innocent men, women and children - the very same people they purport to be helping. The hypocrisy is truly staggering.

At this moment it is particularly important for us to stand up for what we believe and help to end the cruelty of the 45 year old embargo of Cuba.

While the White House is making trade with Cuba more difficult, a bipartisan group of Senators recently introduced a bill to ease the sale of agricultural goods to Cuba (read about the bill here). In addition, last year legislation to ease trade and travel was passed by Congress, and in the next few months we hope to see a "veto-proof" travel bill come out of the House and Senate.

But trade and travel are only two facets of a greater issue. Right now it is imperative that we build a large, broad-based coalition -- not focused simply on easing trade and travel -- but one dedicated to a complete end to an immoral and failed foreign policy that has brought nothing but harm and misery to millions of innocent people.

We currently have a petition on our homepage calling for an absolute and unequivocal end to this insanity. I hope you'll take a minute to sign-on and denounce this failed policy today. We'll make sure your elected officials hear your outrage.

More to come...