Look at this perspective on "Cuban accomplishments:"
Castro's 'accomplishments' are written in ashes
Luis Aguilar León. Published Thursday, May 24, 2001 in the Miami Herald
The most potent drug in the world, hence the most enticing, can't be bought on the street or in a pharmacy. It is power.
Neither liquor, nor sex nor money can equal the strength, taste and pleasure of power -- es- pecially ab- solute power, which, as Lord Acton wrote, corrupts absolutely, offering the fruits of all vices and even some virtues.
Throughout history, many have been corrupted by power and very few have willingly renounced it. Consequently, it falls upon the world to restrain tyranny. Instead, all too many support it, such as those who laud the "accomplishments'' of Fidel Castro, despite his more than 40 years of despotism, recent signs of dementia and almost single-handed crushing of the Cuban spirit.
Such people ignore the testimony of thousands upon thousands of Cubans about their oppression and torment. They prefer to cite as "accomplishments'' the fine education enjoyed by Cuban children, which can be summarized by their obligatory motto, "We shall be like Che!,'' or the free health care, a real bargain, given the absence of even the most basic medical resources.
In all fairness, no one can deny the true positive accomplishment that Castro managed in his initial revolution: the rise of nationalism, fueled by his call for honesty in government, his promise to give land to the peasants and his vow to ensure freedom for all. But these proved early to be nothing more than planned steps toward absolute power.
Cuba has only one type of education for children: brainwashing. It lacks housing for its people. Its sugar crop consistently falls below the direst predictions. Its peasants are denied land ownership. And none may question the government.
History provides plenty of examples of just how fragile and relative are the "accomplishments'' of a despotic government. Consider one totalitarian leader, deemed mad by many, who ended unemployment, gave his people national pride, modernized communications and inspired the production of cheap cars, well within the financial reach of most. The same man also moved to protect the environment, adopting laws to reduce chimney smoke and clean the air. Should we not cheer such a leader and hail his accomplishments as a model?
Decidedly not. For his "accomplishments'' took place during the fleeting time in which he had the absolute power to enact his most minor ideas. This same leader also decided to purge his people of an "inferior race,'' sent its members to concentration camps and exterminated six million of them. He plunged the world into a global war that killed millions more and left his country in ashes and ruins.
Few men exposed this sort of leader more honestly than the great German novelist Eric Maria Remarque. Remarque made a film documentary on Adolf Hitler that premiered in Cuba in 1956. It begins with some glorious music by Brahms and Wagner playing over beautiful scenes of pre-Hitler Germany. Soon appear the fanatical Nazi rallies with thousands of young people saluting with outstretched arms while shouting, "Sieg heil!'' Then follow the early military victories won by the Third Reich. Suddenly, the music stops, as the camera tracks slowly through a city in ruins, over which appear the words Berlin 1945, along with a vague, barely visible shadow that forms the profile of Hitler. Finally, a solemn voice breaks the silence by repeating a single line: "If you seek his monument, look around.''
Some day, the Cubans will embark on the reconstruction of their homeland. They might be wise to leave for posterity one small part of it in shambles, and within this a statue of Castro marked by the very line: "If you seek his monument, look around.''
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald
