Castro’s other side

But thousands of miles across the sea, there was jubilation. In stark contrast to the tears and sombre tributes back on the island, Cuban- Americans in Florida gathered in the streets spontaneously to celebrate the death of former Cuban president Fidel Castro, under whose rule many thousands fled their island nation home. The stark difference in their reaction is a reminder that there are two sides to the Castro legacy.

Parties took place in the cities of Hialeah and Miami, home to the majority of Cuban exiles in the US, with celebrations particularly focused in the famous, vibrant Cuban neighbourhood of Little Havana.

These gatherings were jolly and some people were so exuberant that many felt the celebrants had crossed the line of good taste. Were they barbaric for so jovially welcoming Castro’s death? We believe all people must be treated with dignity and respect and that the line was, in some instances, crossed. However, if the Cuban-Americans in Florida can be accused of bad taste in their manner of celebration, then Castro can be condemned for far worse.

Donald Trump is not often a person with whom we agree, but it is difficult to contradict his assessment.

“The world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades,” Trump said in a statement issued hours after Castro’s death.

“Fidel Castro’s legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.” Castro was courageously resolute in his beliefs and defied powerful enemies. The crippling US embargo was an attempt by that country to strong-arm after diplomacy and force failed. But what was the value of this when balanced by Castro’s human rights record? What was there of worth in Castro’s regime when voting could not take place? After coming to power in 1959, Castro’s regime built a very effective machinery of repression, according to Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International says death sentences between 1959 and 1987 numbered 237, of which all but 21 were actually carried out. Yet, historians have provided wildly varying estimates.

The figures range between 550 and 17,000. There have been forced labour camps, abuse of prisoners, the political abuse of psychiatry, censorship, restrictions on assembly.

In 1973, gay novelist Reinaldo Arenas was sent to prison after being charged and convicted of “ideological deviation” and for publishing abroad without official consent. He escaped from prison but was recaptured and sent to the notorious El Morro Castle alongside murderers and rapists. After eventually leaving Cuba, Arenas memorably described the horrors he endured under the Cuban government in his autobiography Before Night Falls (1993).

Thousands of homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, objectors, and dissidents were forced into military service in the 1960s and were subject to political “re-education”.

Many were brutalised. Men with long hair were locked up and their hair was cut. Castro himself later said in 2010 that the treatment of homosexuals was “a great injustice.” Who was his revolution for? While Cuba has a reputation for excellent heathcare, patients do not have rights to sue or to reject treatment; there is suspicion of political interference of the system. Epidemiological surveillance has become juxtaposed with political surveillance.

Things may have later improved.

However, the US-imposed trade embargo severely damaged the island’s development. Havana decayed.

Basic commodities such as aspirin was not readily available.

And the Cuban people could not decide for themselves what their future would be. It was all due to the policies of one man who never faced the polls.

Yesterday, we conducted yet another election. For the Cuban people, that has been a luxury which, since Castro, they have not had.