December 2008
Have you ever been to Cuba? Most Americans would probably answer no to this question. Nonetheless, some speak so negatively of Cuba as if they have visited or lived on the island recently. I wonder why these people show antipathy towards Cuba. I accept all comments about Cuba, positive or negative. However, if those comments are based on information obtained from the American media it is best not to say them out loud. If you really want to learn about Cuba you should come and visit the island. We are about 90 miles south of Florida; it’s not that far.
On December 20th I traveled to Seattle to visit my family. That evening I went through customs at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston, TX) and it was a nightmare. I declared that I was traveling from Cuba but my honesty was not rewarded. They immediately added me to their black list. But wait, I have a traveling license that “supposedly” allows me to travel to Cuba during the years that I am enrolled at the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, Cuba. Hence, I SHOULD AND MUST be treated equally just like any other passenger upon entering the United States of America. Unfortunately, that was not the case and US customs harassed me. What have I done wrong? Is it a crime to receive a free medical education in Cuba? Should I just blame it on the US embargo against Cuba?
Aside from detaining me for about two hours, customs agents confiscated my Christmas gifts because they were made in Cuba. They also wanted to confiscate my medical and non-medical books. After a few minutes of discussion with the agent he said that he would let me keep my medical textbooks only. Did he think that medical students only read medical books? That is absurd. He then said that he did not want to get fired for letting me keep books that came from Cuba. Why has the US embargo against Cuba gone so far without anyone doing anything about it? What purpose does the embargo serve now? The embargo is a deadly weapon that slowly perforates the bodies of every Cuban citizen. It’s very sad that our own government is inflicting pain on their neighbor Cuba. Who has suffered the consequences of the embargo over the years? Every Cuban citizen has and continues to suffer the consequences of the nonsensical and out of date US embargo against Cuba. These are human beings just like any American citizen and must be treated likewise.
At the end of the day I managed to keep all of my books. But, why was the customs agent unaware of the existence of our traveling license? He thought that I was lying to him about having a license. Also, his supervisor was extremely sarcastic and rude. When the supervisor approached me, she smiled and asked, “How is Cuba? Is Castro dead?” She followed by saying, “Oh, I remember seeing him dead on the news.” She then continued with more negative comments about Cuba. Her ignorance was obvious; she has never been to Cuba but shows a lot of resentment against its people and its government. Interacting with these people made me wonder who trains them to protect our borders. Is this where our tax money is going to?
I missed my flight from Houston to Seattle due to the delay at the immigration office. I ended up staying at the airport for about 24 hours until I was able to get on another flight to Seattle. It’s difficult to believe that I will have to go through the same hassle each time I travel to the United States. In the future, I wonder about the fruitfulness of being honest to the immigration officers. It seems that I will be hassled regardless.
Contact information:
Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina
Carretera Panamericana Km 3 ½
Santa Fé, Playa
Ciudad Habana, Cuba
C.P. 19108
Email: Ramon Alejandro Bernal alex238209@yahoo.com
Joanna Mae Souers jsouers@gmail.com
