wfn.org | Commentary: A new understanding of Cuba

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Feb. 17, 2004  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL-I-HIS{061}

NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photograph of the Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston and
a photo slide show are available at http://umns.umc.org.  Horswill-Johnston
was a member of a National Council of Churches delegation visit to Cuba in
January.

A UMNS Commentary
By the Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston*

I was born a Cold War baby.

My understanding of Cuba is informed principally by a series of memories: the
Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis, JFK conspiracy allegations, a
decades-long U.S. trade embargo, refugees on rafts, Cuban dissidents living
in Miami and a seemingly uneducated, cigar-smoking, ruthless dictator who
wears a military uniform.  
Although I knew my childhood memories were likely distorted and twisted, I
didn't know how much until I traveled to that Caribbean nation this winter as
part of a delegation from the National Council of Churches in the U.S.A.
Nearly four years ago, the council helped bring Elian Gonzales, the boy lost
at sea, back to Cuba to reunite him with his father.  On this trip, we
planned to meet with the Cuban Council of Churches and witness the
consecration of the first Greek Orthodox Church in Cuba for more than 44
years, led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.  

When I arrived, I was immediately struck by how the U.S. trade embargo
affects Cuba.  Much of the nation is stuck in a time before the Castro-led
revolution of 1959.  Pre-embargo 1950s Buicks and turquoise-colored
Chevrolets, many of which are still in excellent condition, are a common
sight.	New buildings are a rare sight.  

It was the next night at a convention center when a Cuban told me something I
didn't know about Fidel Castro.  The proud older gentleman said, "Our
president has a Ph.D., you know."  Actually, I didn't.	

Several hundred were in attendance that night to hear the ecumenical
patriarch speak as part of a series of events leading up to the consecration.
 Dressed in the traditional long Greek Orthodox black cassock and tall black
cap, his theme was world environmental concerns.

But before he could speak, he was upstaged by a surprise.  The audience
suddenly stood, clapped, and in walked President Fidel Castro without
announcement.  He waved to those gathered and quickly sat down just three
rows in front of me.  I felt a pang of nervousness as I abandoned the
patriarch's speech, instead mesmerized by the fact I was in the same room
with my childhood communist metaphor.  After a few minutes, he seemed
smaller.  

In his green military uniform, Castro appeared to be in good health and
genuinely liked by the people.	His entrance was in stark contrast to how
I've experienced a U.S. president's arrival at a similar event, when everyone
was well-searched and rows of metal detectors stood outside. No security
checks were present here as people walked up and took photographs as they
wished.  

I discovered that, only months earlier, Fidel Castro had spoken to the nation
about his environmental concerns, which he shares with Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew. It didn't fit my image of him.  
During my visit with the delegation, I saw Castro three times, coming as
close as a handshake to him.  Once he looked at me briefly as he passed by,
his eyes scanning the crowd.  
More important, however, were meetings with regional church leaders. Although
the National Council of Churches' relationship with the Cuban Council of
Churches predates the Cuban revolution, many leaders expressed anxiety over
U.S.-Cuban relations.  
One Cuban told me his fear of Cuba's being on President Bush's "Axis of Evil"
list.  He said, "Honestly, I feel that your president may look to Cuba next
before the election."
I asked what he meant.	"Afghanistan-Iraq-Iran-North Korea-Cuba," he said,
referring to the recent U.S. history of pre-emptive war.
Efforts by the National Council of Churches to normalize U.S. relations with
Cuba are greatly appreciated by Cuban church leaders. They hope our
collective work will change the hearts of politicians in this election year.
Almost every discussion included the expressed wish of lifting the embargo,
expressed as an almost-constant breath prayer to God.	I've joined in the
prayer since my return.   
Cuba will remain an enigma to me. Up close, it does not live up it its
reputation as a communist society ruled by a ruthless dictator. It cannot be
experienced in a single trip or perhaps in even a dozen. That's not because
its people are poor, or that its president withholds certain civil liberties
from the citizens, or even because its socialist organization and economy are
traditionally feared by us capitalists.   
Cuba really is not at all an entity that thinks and acts as one.
Understanding this has helped me as a father, a husband and a pastor. The
visit reminded me that my children don't have to possess certain, particular
characteristics to be American. There is no unique set of American
characteristics, just as there is no unique set of Cuban characteristics.
# # #
The Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston is the executive director of Igniting
Ministry, the television and welcoming ministry of the United Methodist
Church, housed at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org