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Cubans, Seeing Two Americas, React to Terrorist Attacks
with Grief, Admonition
Nick Miroff
World Press Review Correspondent
Havana
Sept. 26, 2001
Isabel Socías, a wiry, 48-year-old high
school teacher with piercing dark eyes, has a firm commitment
to Cuba's revolutionary ideals. But regardless of any animosity
she may feel toward the United States as a result of her political
beliefs, she is visibly troubled by what she has witnessed on
television in the last few weeks. As she reflects on the terrorist
attacks in Washington and New York that have left nearly 7,000
dead, tears well up in her eyes and her voice quavers with emotion.
"All the disagreements between the U.S. and Cuban governments
have absolutely nothing to do with the sadness that Cubans feel
for the American people," she says, pursing her lips. "It's
been terrible for me, for all of us... to see those images,
those great skyscrapers that are a symbol of New York, of progress
itself... it was just awful. At some point I just couldn't stand
to watch any longer."
Cuban government-owned television channels interrupted their
broadcasts the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 to run continuous coverage
of the terrorist attacks in the United States. The entire country
scrambled for the nearest TV set to watch with horror as CNN
footage showed two airplanes exploding as they ripped through
the World Trade Center, followed by terrifying scenes of victims
leaping to their deaths from the upper stories of the burning
towers and the towers' subsequent collapse. Like the majority
of Americans, many Cubans were instantly engulfed in the swirl
of searing images of destruction and the suspense of breaking
information broadcast over the television.
"Horrendous," says Mauricio Valdez, 32, an employee
in an auto-body shop. "I mean...one of the worst crimes
in the history of the world. And with the military power that
the United States has now, there will be so much destruction."
When asked if he knows that Cuba is one of seven countries on
a U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism, the tall, brawny
Valdez literally shudders. Few people in Havana have heard of
such a list, or have any idea why Cuba would be on it.
Within a few hours of the attacks, the Cuban government had
issued an official declaration emphatically condemning the terrorist
acts, adding that "in this bitter hour, Cuba stands in
solidarity with the American people and expresses its full disposition
to cooperate, by means of its modest resources, in the form
of medical assistance or whatever medical or humanitarian aid
is needed in the care and rehabilitation of the victims of this
morning's attacks." Cuba also pledged use of its airspace
and airfields to any planes that may have been stranded by airport
closures in the United States.
That night, President Fidel Castro elaborated on the Cuban government's
earlier statement. In addition to denouncing the attacks and
urging U.S. officials to act "with reason and equanimity,"
Castro told the audience that "Cuba has never felt hatred
toward the American people," reminding them that "the
American people brought an end to the war in Vietnam and overwhelmingly
supported Elián [Gonzalez]'s return to Cuba." He
also called for the formation of international coalition against
terrorism, underscoring Cuba's familiarity with terrorism "after
withstanding more than forty years of terrorist attacks,"
a pointed reference to, among other things, the 1976 bombing
of a Cuban passenger flight and a series of attacks on tourist
hotels in 1997. Cuba claims these and other attacks were plotted
on American soil while U.S. law-enforcement officials chose
to look the other way. But the critical notes Castro sounded
did not obscure what was essentially a sympathetic response
to a human tragedy. His speech had originally been scheduled
to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the death of Chilean
President Salvadore Allende in a U.S.-sponsored coup.
Meanwhile, Cuba's government-owned news media have continued
to denounce the terrorist attacks, while resuming their familiar
criticisms of the U.S. government and the Bush administration,
particularly as Washington's public statements become more bellicose.
Each night the regular commentators on Cuban television's daily
"informative round-table discussions" have chided
Washington's response to the catastrophe and sought to implicate
the United States in its own victimization—citing, for
example, CIA training operations in Afghanistan for Islamic
militant groups during the 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghan War.
The opinions of the TV pundits are reflected on the street.
When asked their opinion about the possibility of U.S. military
action in retaliation for the terrorist attacks, most Cubans
strongly disapprove. "Reprisals against a Third-World country
with no military or economic development will just bring more
death, more disgrace, and give terrorists another excuse to
continue what they're doing," said Mario Oliva, a 22 year-old
physical education student.
For many Cubans, the 42-year-old political conflict between
Cuba and the United States has led to a somewhat dualistic understanding
of their mighty northern neighbor. On the one hand, there is
the U.S. government, vilified in the Cuban media as a lackey
to special-interest groups, miserly to its own people, and the
author of punitive legislative acts intent upon choking the
post-Soviet Cuban economy. On the other hand, there are "the
American people:" good-natured and principled, though helplessly
manipulated by their own mass media. Of course, this perspective
has been nourished for decades by Cuba's present political leadership,
which has always welcomed sympathetic American visitors with
one hand while stiff-arming Washington with the other.
Cubans' reaction to the catastrophic terrorist attacks in New
York and Washington can be understood primarily along these
lines. Just as the attacks have elicited a national outpouring
of solidarity and compassion for the "American people,"
they have also led to a deluge of criticism of the U.S. government
and the Bush administration.
Isabel Socías lowers her eyes as she considers what the
next few weeks may bring. "The United States needs peace,"
she says, "they need peace to overcome their own problems, just
as much as we need it and Arab countries need it. I've seen
images of Afghanistan—the poverty, the misery, the desolation—they
too need peace, so desperately. I have faith that, in time,
the American people will overcome their anger and choose the
right path—to act with even greater courage by choosing
patience and reason over violence and revenge."
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