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Cuba Cricket Connection – Improving Cuba Barbados Relationship

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cricket-in-CubaNow that the powers have deemed that the legacy of lame duck President Barrack Obama must be anchored to the return of Cuba to the fold, it has opened the floodgates for pundits all to spew the ideological and political rhetoric like there is no tomorrow. Although the froth has not receded with the exit of US presidential hopeful and Cuban American Marco Rubio, it will with a little time. In words attributed to J Cole, “The bad news is nothing lasts forever, The good news is nothing lasts forever.” Ominous words as Puerto Rico declines and we see the rise of Batista Castro Cuba!

Instead of engaging in an exercise of nothingness about the response of Fidel Castro to Obama’s legacy building, the rhetoric of the anti Cuban movement based in Florida, the release or not of political prisoners in US and Cuban jails – countries like Barbados must focus on creating economic opportunities in a post Fidel Castro Barrack Obama period. All the experts agree that Cuba is a market investors cannot wait to sink millions if not billions. Observers agree that in the face of the longest and harshest trade embargo imposed on a country by the international community, Cuba has demonstrated it is a resilient, innovative, entrepreneurial and least conspicuous consumption society.  There is so much to learn from  Cuba.

During the embargo imposed in 1960 Barbados and many Eastern Caribbean countries extended a friendship to Cuba. The tragic event of  1976 that saw the explosion of Cubana Flight 455 about 8 kilometres from the airport after it attempted to make an emergency landing has served to create a bond between the people of Barbados and Cuba.  It is a historical footnote represented in a monument built in Paynes Bay, St. James never to be forgotten.

How many Barbadians are aware that Cuba is an International Cricket Council (ICC) Affiliate member? One can attribute interest in the sport of cricket by Cubans to the large West Indian immigrant population who visited in the 1920s to work in the sugar industry.

There is no rocket science required for the leadership of cricket in Barbados and at also at the level of government to pursue a skills exchange program to our mutual benefit. Cuba has been able to establish world class sports and health care programs and Barbados owns a rich cricket tradition and strong democratic system of government, comparatively so.  With the changes in Cuba, it opens a world of opportunities for Cubans  some of whom are descendants of Barbadians and other islands of the Caribbean and  live on the western part of Cuba. These persons have retained an avid interest in cricket and for many years have suffered from a lack of cricket expertise, training and equipment etc. There is the opportunity!

Why not start an initiative to encourage the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) to help the Cuban Cricket Commission (CCC) by funding equipment and exchanging expertise among other initiatives?  This is a country that has produced  Teófilo Stevenson, Javier Sotomayor, Alverto Juantorena and many others for chrissakes and where our leaders and prominent citizens visit to have serious healthcare procedures done as well as training.

Surely we should not wait for the MCC or another English Cricket body from the Mother Country to fill the breach. Heavens forbid!

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153 responses to “Cuba Cricket Connection – Improving Cuba Barbados Relationship”

  1. balance Avatar
    balance

    “All the experts agree that Cuba is a market investors cannot wait to sink millions if not billions. Observers agree that in the face of the longest and harshest trade embargo imposed on a country by the international community, Cuba has demonstrated it is a resilient, innovative, entrepreneurial and least conspicuous consumption society. There is so much to learn from Cuba.”

    Which experts may I ask?

    Mr Obama’s excursion into the books of history has been tainted by a trip to a country which stifles dissent in the strongest of ways and in my view is setting human rights back by rewarding a regime for bad behaviour against its own people. My fear is that any attempt by Mr Obama to criticise other states which practise the same inhuman behaviour will now lack credibility since political dissidents in Cuba are still subject to beatings, arrests and detentions. Obama’s trip will do more than further reward and legitimize a brutal dictatorship. According to Lawrence J. Haas, a former aide in the Clinton White House and senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, the much touted historic visit It will send an unfortunate signal to dictators and dissidents alike that the United States doesn’t care as much about human rights as its proclaims. That will reduce America’s ability to promote freedom and democracy around the world.

    It is true that the majority of Cubans like Guyanese are resilient and innovative because of the harsh and unnecessary conditions under which they were forced to survive as a result of their forays into dictatorial styles of governance. However, will take years before Cuba can again evolves into a system where entrepreneurship like innovation long stifled and unrewarded because of incompetent state bureaucratic intervention can evolve to the extent where those steeped in the art of business would just pour billions of dollars and patiently wait for returns on investment. Investment in Cuba would require a massive investment in training for a people steeped in a culture of un-decision making. For over 55 years ; nothing in Cuba administrative or otherwise could be undertaken without the orders of the politburo through the well placed operatives overseeing the functioning of regime run institutions stoked by the fear that they are ‘eyes and ears everywhere’.

    I agree with President elect Hilary Clinton that the embargo tirade is a hoax to place the blame on the inadequacies of the Cuban system of governance on the American policy. the United states supplies Cuba with medicines and has ranked as Cuba’s fifth largest trading partner out of 176 countries all of which have unfettered right to trade with Cuba.

  2. David Avatar
    David

    @balance

    Let Google be your friend.

    You have not even addressed the central point.

    It is our obsession with rhetoric of a bygone era that will be the death of us.

  3. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    David, interesting point made re the cricket and I can only presume that its raised within the topical nature of Cuba being in the news…that is: your point would have been as relevant 10 years ago as it is relevant today… and that there was and has been nothing stopping the WICB (not only BCA specifically) from enjoining close ties to Cuba cricket over the years. Not a thing.

    Not only has Cuba produced all those top boxers and athletes (who of that era can ever forget Stevenson and Juantareno) but they have had some excellent top-class US baseball players also…. so although cricket skills do not translate to baseball as easily as might at first be thought …there is room to explore as you suggest.

    On the issue of Human Rights. I would also agree that its a tired argument that is founded on the individual’s politics.

    It was always amusing to go online and listen to the debates and hear the absolutely contradictory and counter-intuitive arguments from Rubio and Cruz…How could two sons of Cuban immigrants vying to be the leader of the ‘free-world’ denounce the need for better relations with Cuba and a change in a failed policy of never-to-rapprochement.

    Was it not clear to them that their ability to ascend to those lofty posts also suggested that a viable way to beat autocratic regimes is MORE openness!

    But be that as it may…difference of opinion that anti-Castro folks will never accept….

    However, Russia and China are permanent power players on the US Security council…two nations with abysmal human rights records…and we rail about the impoverished Cuba.

    Amusing as usual.

  4. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    of course UN Security council….

  5. balance Avatar
    balance

    “@balance

    Let Google be your friend.

    You have not even addressed the central point.

    It is our obsession with rhetoric of a bygone era that will be the death of us”

    Depends on where and what you google. For own reasons; there will be some for and against but fact alwayus prevail over fiction. By the way, i do not have to google to express my views on Cuba and the lack of human rights.

  6. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    There was a time, during the mid 2000s that Cuban coaches were in Barbados providing coaching services in various disciples. A number of them were accommodated at Duncan Carter’s Complex, located in Vauxhall, Christ Church. They formed friendships with Barbadians, with one or two of them marrying Barbadian women and are currently residing on the island.

    On another occasion the National Sports Council contracted eight Cuban coaches through a bilateral agreement in various disciplines to further develop talented athletes in Barbados.

    It is a known fact there are Cubans of Barbadian descent living in Cuba, with many residing in Havana, but also in towns named Hershey, Baragua, Holguín, Manatí, and in Santiago de Cuba. For example, Juan Enrique Bocalandro Burton is a Cuban whose father came from St. George. He compiled a documentary called “Lost Roots” in which he chronicled the story of Cubans of Barbadian descent.

    Since Barbados and Cuba have also developed a cordial relationship through sports, Barbadians taking advantage of their eye care programme and taking our history into consideration, there isn’t any reason why Barbados, through the National Sports Council, BCL, BCA or even the UWI could not undertake reciprocal approach relative to developing cricket in Cuba.

    Perhaps through this and similar initiatives, Barbados would be able to make comparable developments to what we were able to achieve with Panama.

  7. FearPlay Avatar
    FearPlay

    It the BCA really in a position to offer assistance to anyone? Should we not try to get our own act together before we try creating world-class cricketers in another place? Doctor, heal thyself.

  8. David Avatar
    David

    @Fearplay

    We have more than the Cuba Cricket Association. We have to share.

  9. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    @David

    “There is so much to learn from Cuba”.

    Healthcare – Yes

    Education – Probably

    Tourism – Who needs Cuba – BIM got Butch

  10. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Balance said:

    “Investment in Cuba would require a massive investment in training for a people steeped in a culture of un-decision making. ”

    The same can be said for Barbados after 50 years of political and “democratic” freedoms.

    Look at the corrupt mess that is Barbados right now, because of untrained, greedy leaders who do not know how to make the right decisions or any decisions at all, unless it benefits them.

    All Obama has to do in the next 6-7 months is find somewhere comfortable for himself and family, write his memoirs and watch the whole mess go to hell….he did his part trying to rebuild bridges that at least 9 former US presidents burnt between the US and countries of Cuba and Argentina.

    Fidel will die eventually, so will Raoul, the people will have to figure out that mess that has gone on for older than I am and started with the corrupt and greedy Batista.

    Corruption…blight on the earth.

  11. David Avatar
    David

    @DD

    We have seen what putting all the eggs in on basket can spell read Stanford.

  12. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Don’t get me wrong, the Caribbean owes Cuba a huge debt, despite Fidels’s many failings, name me a perfect world leader…had he not sent troops into Angola to fight the evil apartheid South African regime of Botha and that crowd of Dutch Boer racist beasts that Mandela was taking on….people in the Caribbean would be even more slave like. So if there is anyway the Caribbean can lend a hand to the Cuban people…why not.

  13. balance Avatar
    balance

    . For example, Juan Enrique Bocalandro Burton is a Cuban whose father came from St. George. He compiled a documentary called “Lost Roots” in which he chronicled the story of Cubans of Barbadian descent.

    Arta i have the documentary.

  14. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    Rather than take the role of “FEAR-play,” perhaps in this instance you could exhibit a bit of “FAIR-play.”

    Cuba has assisted Barbados in some areas, so what’s wrong if Barbados uses cricket as a reciprocal approach?

  15. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    @ balance

    Interesting documentary.

  16. David Avatar
    David

    @Fearplay

    There is also the goodwill to develop, Cuba is rising.

  17. colonel Buggy Avatar
    colonel Buggy

    Is Lord Hilary also planning on sending a reparation invoice to Cuba, now that she will soon be entering an advantageous position , for the more than 70 cruise ships she operated between the Caribbean and the west African coast?

  18. FearPlay Avatar
    FearPlay

    Looks as if I’ve been misunderstood regarding BCA offering assistance to Cuba. There was a time when West Indies cricket and Barbadian cricketeers were riding a wave of popularity of immense proportions. Had there been enough foresight at that time, we could have started a World Academy of Cricket with wealthy countries begging for their players to be considered for admission into the seat of higher cricket learning. Now that our brand is so diminished in value due to poor administration and poorer player attitudes, it may be a case of offering help when we are unable to help ourselves. It would be akin to a Caribbean government asking the current Barbados government for help them managing their finances or help in setting up a Freedom of Information Act or……

  19. Alvin Cummins Avatar
    Alvin Cummins

    @David,
    Whenever I write to BU some people think that that the reason I write I write is because I wish to satisfy an egoistic craving. Far from the truth. I write because I feel I have something; not necessarily to be condescending, but because I have the experience. As a result I feel constrained to make a response to this particular posting for a number of reasons. 1. It is time that we as a country stop allowing our leaders, now, to continue to be included in the charade of animosity to Cuba, as evidenced by the contributions of balance and Colonel Buggy.
    Cuba is not now, and has never been an enemy of Barbados. Bajans have a long established relationship with Cuba. Many of our relatives are still citizens of Cuba; long established since their migration there; either following their sojourn in the building of the Panama Canal, or having migrated there in the 1920s and 1930s.
    I visited Cuba in 2012 to attend that year’s Book Fair. I met many descendants of Bajans who had migrated there. I spoke to many of them who longed to renew contact with the homeland and possibly their long lost relatives. The following year, or maybe it was later that same year, the Government sponsored a Diaspora conference. Many Cuban -born with relations who were migrants from Barbados- came to this conference seeking their relatives; there were two young ladies, who performed at the conference; one played the violin, and the other the flute. Their were descendants of the Kings from Bank Hall. There were two sisters; part of a larger family, who were related to the Osbournes from St. Peter. I helped them make contact with those relatives, still living in St. Peter, and they visited with them.One sister, who remained in Cuba gave me a brief paper she had written, tracing the ancestry of Bajan descendants who were still living in the province of Camaguey,;In Baragua; still living as they did so many years ago. Still maintaining Bajan traditions; dancing the Maypole, singing calypso, playing cricket; having competitions, celebrating Emancipation, and maintaining the foods and drinks that they were born into.These are two brief extracts from that paper. I make no apologies for its length, especially since there is much more of interest, but it is imperative that certain built in prejudices and biases against Cuba, be corrected and or removed entirely.:

    Title:She is Caribbean: Cuban and Barbadian.

    Summary: Looking for other sources of bigger remuneration,different groups of immigrants arrived to the great big island, Cuba, from: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitt­s/Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and TheGrenadines, Trinidad And Tobago bringing their culture of deep‐rooted traditions between their descendants remaining to our days.

    Introduction
    Central Baraguá (Ecuador) belongs in the present-day to Ciego de Avila’s province. It is located in the Southern coast of the central region. It was erected with North American capital between the years of 1915–1922. This building belonged to the Baraguá Sugar Co., whose president was Edwin F alkins, from Boston.He had been linked to the sugar business in Cuba since 1895 next to the prominent businessman of the North American Trust, sugar refiner, Henry O. Havemeyer. (1). The land is flat. It is an agriculture zone. .Its main products is sugar cane, citrus fruits, banana trees and cattle.
    The immigrants began arriving from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago creating the first settlements. The goal of these immigrants has always been jobs with a proper remuneration. They carried within them the love of their homeland and the desire to return to it. They created Communities around the building keeping up their social–cultural habits. The development rested on the link within the community of those inhabitants with the consistent incorporation of their habits and traditions in their everyday life. They achieved the foundation of a Caribbean community.
    They created an internal educational structure for their children.For this they constructed classrooms to give classes to their descendants. The classes were all taught in English, and all the conversations were also in English.
    Development
    The first significant numbers of immigrants took place in the year of 1850 when hundreds of workers flocked toward the construction of the Panama Canal, searching for better job opportunities.
    At the end of World War 2 a new wave of immigrations began arriving in the Eastern Zone of Cuba. They worked in the sugar-cane plantations and in the tobacco fields.
    The Caribbean population found work in other nation of Latin American countries, developing other sorts of works for examples: The construction of railroads, mining, sugar cane plantations and banana.
    While they were working in different spheres and making use of their abilities, they preserved and promoted their cultural identity. They constantly suffered homesickness and the desire to return to their homeland.
    Their settled name reflected of their origin such as Bajan Town (neighborhood of Barbadians) and Jamaican Town (neighborhood of Jamaicans).Nowadays they are called simply The Neighborhood. This neighborhood situated behind the factory, was often penetrated by the bad odors emanating from the process of sugar manufacturing.Pavilions were constructed for bachelor and accessories were built for the families, with wood of the wooden box from the machines and tools arriving for the Central.
    Benjamín Osbourne and Gladys Lavine Clarke arrived to Cuba from Barbados In the year of 1917. Their first scale was in Nuevitas that was belonging to the province of Camaguey and they established permanently in the Central Baraguá. They had 8 children that grownup with the education and the same traditions brought from their native island.
    About these 8 children I would refer to one, Irene Ethlyn Osbourne, in whose life we can see many of the cultures brought to this great big island, Cuba.
    She was born on August 3, 1924, a date unforgettable, because her birth happened when the services in the Christian Mission Church were taking place.The church was next to her home.
    She was baptized when a baby.
    She went to Churches and never missedSunday school always dressed in her best attire. She received the biblical teachings. In that neighborhood children grew up loving and helping each other.They were educated in the love to their fellow being, in a purely Caribbean environment.
    She formed part of the Episcopal Church choir with other voices, also she played the piano.
    She was the captain of the women´s cricket game.
    The fact of holding their culinary habits made possible that in our days we can keep on appreciating the delights of the following plants: Sorrel, bread fruit, brain tree.
    Typical pleasant dishes of: Fish; salt-fish; cornmeal; etc.
    She taught her children and everyone that surrounded her traditions and habits that were inculcated to her from childhood.
    It was celebrated in Havana Cuba as an important cultural event Carifesta,She with her children were part of the feminine voices, integrating the group.
    She formed part from the beginning to Baraguá Dance Group. This group is named now as “Grupo la Cinta de Baraguá”.It is characterized through its songs and Caribbean rhythms.
    The inheritance of our ancestors and the struggle for the continuity of their traditions can be felt when each first of August gushes brought out the pores of the descendants celebrating the Day of the Emancipation. During years and spontaneously this date is always remembered, they go dancing and singing calypso on the streets. This procession ended on the platform of the neighborhood of the central Baraguá and there you could see my mother with that spirit and contagious motion because of the moment. A lot of spectators asked themselves, “who is that old woman able to transmit so much happiness”.‽
    With the Revolutionary victory this Caribbean lady, “Cuban and Barbadian”,begins a new stage in her life without leaving behind the inheritance of her parents.
    She was part of those brave women who during the October crisis climbed the peak of the “Sierra Maestra” (East zone), along with other voluntary military woman operatives. She also helped in the care and creation of the first Infant Circles (Child Care Centers), member of the CDR, FMC,without leaving the education received from her parents.
    Part of her house served as a church for the brothers from the Salvación Army during the complete reconstruction of the demolished church by commissioners from Canada.

    The Lady’s name is Clara Gay Osborne. I have not written her in a long time, but I shall remedy it very soon.

    There is much more I will be willing to share with BU, since she has submitted a list of persons who had originally migrated from Barbados. By the way see how long ago the women were playing cricket?

    Barbados’s connection with Cuba, and Cuba’s connection with the African continent; where many of them spilled their blood protecting the Africans from Angola, and the Congo, against the South Africans, mean too much to allow this opportunity for closer cooperation with the people of Cuba, to be allowed to slip past. The people of Cuba are our relatives, the navel strings of many of their grand parents and great grand parents are buried in the fields of Barbados.
    We are family. The adverse propaganda must stop.

  20. Alvin Cummins Avatar
    Alvin Cummins

    @ Due Diligence,
    There is a lot educationally we can learn from Cuba. In addition we as Caribbean people, and Bajans in particular, owe a debt of gratitude to that country which; despite the hardships those people have had to endure, because of the trade embargo, still opened their hearts and gave-and are still giving- scholarships in many fields, especially medicineAnd only seeking understanding in return.

  21. colonel Buggy Avatar
    colonel Buggy

    Read my lips
    HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 28 2016 – Fidel Castro – speaking out for the first time since President Obama’s historic visit to Cuba – blasted the US leader for trying to meddle in his country’s affairs.

    In a letter titled “Brother Obama” and published Monday in El Granma, the official state newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party, the island nation’s former president scoffed, “We don’t need the empire to give us any presents.”

  22. Alvin Cummins Avatar
    Alvin Cummins

    @David, Due Diligence, Colonel Buggy Balance,

    After the defeat of the South African Defence Forces (SADF) at Cuito Cuanavale, and the freeing of Nelson Mandela, Mandela; now President of South Africa noted that Cuito Cuanavale was ” a turning point for the liberation of our continent and my people”, and Ronnie Kasrils, formerly chief of intelligence of the African National Congress (ANC) military wing at the time said of the Cubans:”Those patriots and Internationalists were motivated by a single goal-an end to racial rule and genuine African independence. After 13 yeaRS OF DEFENDING ANGOLAN SOVEREIGNTY, THE CUBANS TOOK NOTHING HOME EXCEPT THE BONES OF THEIR FALLEN AND OUR GRATITUDE.”

    Fifty thousand Cubans volunteered to fight in Angola. (Fidel Castro, directed army movements from in Cuba.)

    Cuban MIG 23 pilots swept the South African air force from the Angolan skies.

    Over 2070 Cubans died in that struggle.

    WHY SHOULD WE BE AFRAID OF BEING FRIENDS OF THE CUBANS? We can learn a lot of being Independent, – among other things- from them.

  23. Alvin Cummins Avatar
    Alvin Cummins

    @ Colonel Buggy;
    I agree with Fidel Castro.Where was the U.S when they were fighting in Namibia and Angola. They owe no debt of gratitude to the U.S. You think Donald Trump; or the Republican Party really like any of us? It was the U.S ; under Ronald Reagan who gave the SADF stinger missiles and air dropped supplies to the besieged SADF, that were however viciously defeated.
    Your slip is showing. Go learn your history of
    Cuba; what its people have gone through, pre and post Batista, and the role of the US. in that history.Have you ever wondered what happened to the nuclear weapons that South Africa possessed before the defeat at Cuito Cuanavale? They were dismantled, because the West Could not “trust” a Black led South Africa to have Nuclear Arms. That was part of the deal to save the SADF from annihilation, and free Mandela, to prevent a blood bath in that country.

  24. balance Avatar
    balance

    “Fidel will die eventually, so will Raoul, the people will have to figure out that mess that has gone on for older than I am and started with the corrupt and greedy Batista”

    Cuba’s problems like the rest of Latin American countries are according to historical data endemic and did not start with Batista. Corruption in Cuba was carried to a higher and more professional level by Batista who was Cuba’s first non-white leader. The Castro brothers and the ruling animal farm type elite carried corruption to a further higher level by institutionalising it through the implementation of crumbs from the master ideals which trumped the nastiest forms of capitalism. At least under the capitalist doctrine one still had the freedom to say what they like, move how they like and criticise the leaders. Yes the Cuban people are resilient and innovative because after 60 years of revolutionary diatribe they are conditioned to say with a wry smile like Mrs Burton ” Ah well” in response to a sensitive question.

  25. David Avatar
    David

    Any feedback about how Barbados can leverage what we have to gain opportunity read cricket etc!

  26. balance Avatar
    balance

    “Well Well & Consequences March 29, 2016 at 12:09 PM #

    Don’t get me wrong, the Caribbean owes Cuba a huge debt, despite Fidels’s many failings, name me a perfect world leader…had he not sent troops into Angola to fight the evil apartheid South African regime of Botha and that crowd of Dutch Boer racist beasts that Mandela was taking on….people in the Caribbean would be even more slave like. So if there is anyway the Caribbean can lend a hand to the Cuban people…why not.”

    Do not get me wrong either. My comments should not be construed to suggest that we should not engage with the people of Cuba. There is much to be learned from them. As we were in the forties and fifties they are well cultured in the art of cutting and contriving something we might very well have to resort to if the massive debt imposed upon us keeps climbing with no end in sight . There is much they can learn from us too so we have nothing to fear from them with regards to business. They have a long way to go because nothing can be done without orders handed down through a chain of command.

    Your point which suggests nobility in the action of the Cuban regime to send troops to fight against racism as you say in Africa is well taken but let me also point out that much racism abounds in Cuba up to this day.

    Also do not forget that when Cuba was ruled by the imperialist Unite Soviet Socialist Republic and were riding high economically and fomenting revolution ideals all through Latin America to give their masters a foothold they had no time for the minions in the Caribbean. The evidence will show that Cuba’s overtures to the lesser Caribbean nations only came when the Soviet Union left and their economy was on the verge of collapse. Their policy of trying to push their socialist agenda in Latin America also changed from the use of the gun to the humanitarian model of exporting doctors and nurses and eye care. Barbados does not owe Cuba anything. They owe us for helping to bring them out of the cold war mire into which they had foolishly implicated themselves almost bringing nuclear disaster right on our doorsteps.

  27. balance Avatar
    balance

    Artax March 29, 2016 at 12:25 PM #

    @ balance

    Interesting documentary.

    Very much so better too to see some of what is documented first hand..

  28. balance Avatar
    balance

    ” You think Donald Trump; or the Republican Party really like any of us? It was the U.S ; under Ronald Reagan who gave the SADF stinger missiles and air dropped supplies to the besieged SADF, that were however viciously defeated.
    Your slip is showing. ”

    You think the democratic party or President elect Hilary Clinton really like any of us? Who cares anyhow? you need to examine your mind. Mr Barrow probably meant you when he made the mirror image speech. Was it not Mrs Clinton husband who chided the Democratic establishment for throwing their support behind Mr Obama when they recognized the writing was on the wall for Mrs Clinton by remarking that Mr Obama would once be serving their tea. So much for the first white black president.

    By the way however you cut it.it was under Mr Reagan that Grenada was liberated as well and the people are free to speak and vote as they like.
    Ah gone.

  29. de pedantic dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic dribbler

    @David, has blogger @Fearplay not provided a reasoned response with “It would be akin to a Caribbean government asking the current Barbados government for help them managing their finances …” to your query about Bdos – Cuba relations when you asked: Any feedback about how Barbados can leverage what we have to gain opportunity read cricket etc!

    Difficult to comprehend exactly what Bdos can provide with respect to cricket specifically…that Cuba’s closer neighbor Jamaica cannot.

    In fact one fully expects that Butch Stewart will expand his hotel network in Cuba now that the US issues are finally removed. Surely one demographic, the US college students, will gladly trade some of the Mexican and Miami spots for Spring break release now that Cuba is no longer stigmatized.

    One can also expect the Kyffin Simpsons of Bdos (those with regional interests/agreements) to look longingly to expand their reach into Cuba beyond what they may not have already done.

    But simply stated if any Barbados entity has waited until NOW to establish its link to Cuba then frankly they are ridiculously late…why wait until the US competitive juggernaut gets in…why would they not have been in there years ago when US companies were barred!

    And particularity so with cricket…there are opportunities for skilled baseball players in US, and as the sanctions become more relaxed why would a young Cuban athlete who has the potential to be a fast-bowler, for example, not be swayed to try out as a pitcher in baseball…

    Anyone from Barbados (the region) who wanted or planned to be in Cuba surely must already be there… because why would we in the Caribbean have waited now after the Obama overtures – which were on the cards since 2008- to explore links that may now be marginalized by a US operation.

  30. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @DPD
    In fact one fully expects that Butch Stewart will expand his hotel network in Cuba now that the US issues are finally removed. Surely one demographic, the US college students, will gladly trade some of the Mexican and Miami spots for Spring break release now that Cuba is no longer stigmatized.
    ++++++++++
    “Finally removed”? You are jumping the gun the embargo is still in effect Obama has started to dismantle some of the barriers e.g. easing travel restrictions but until Congress votes to eliminate the economic embargo there is still “aways” to go.

  31. David Avatar
    David

    @Dee Word

    What is so difficult to understand that the relationship Barbados has with Cuba might predispose to them preferring to deal with Barbados? Barbados has the richest cricket history in the region and has been the most successful. There must be other measurements you can use.

    On 30 March 2016 at 11:12, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

  32. Alvin Cummins Avatar
    Alvin Cummins

    @BU,
    The embargo does not only apply to companies in USA, but also to companies outside the U.S who are in any way connected to those companies.

  33. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    I think that everyone should look beyond the aging leadership and focus on what the future is likely to be, Fidel’s time has passed but he is clinging to “La Revolucion” while Charon is waiting at the water’s edge.

    Maybe its my age but optics are very important and I noticed that Cuba’s large Afro population never seemed to be at the forefront of anything except when members of that community are showcased at International Sporting events. If one only watched TV the images of Cuba would be formed by the Anglo leadership in Havana against the backdrop of the Anglo exile community in Miami.

    During Obama’s recent visit I saw one visible black person in the greeting party a Salvador Valdez Mesa who was titled “Vice President of the Council of Ministry” or “Vice President of the Cuban State Council”. I also read that the guests at the various events were mainly “white” and even the audience at the speech Obama gave was largely “white”. The accompanying article suggests that Cuba is still trapped in a 1950’s time warp where the economic advantages go according to skin pigmentation so if one landed in Cuba and was greeted “Bienvenido a los Estados Unidos” it should hardly elicit a surprise or as we would say in Bim “Wha aint ketch yuh aint pass yuh”.

    ‘La revolucion’ didn’t produce a more utopian Cuba, for some the only change was political.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/opinion/sunday/for-blacks-in-cuba-the-revolution-hasnt-begun.html?_r=0

  34. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    @Sargeant absolutely correct ‘finally removed’ does not relate to all practices yet! But please read my remrks in connection to ‘stigmatized’ and ”College Students Spring break’. By your own remarks re ‘easing travel restrictions’ you would agree that in that area tings wide open. JetBlue in particularly has been out of the blocks like de ‘Flash Gordon’ character fah sure.

    Some Americans were just waiting for the ‘official stigma’ to be removed because many of them traveled to Cuba via convoluted ways over the years. I recall one story of a American dad and his coterie of friends arguing with a Rubio type Cuban-American of a planned trip … and then after the trip singing the praise of the natural wonder, back in time suspension blah blah (and the females) of Cuba. The colleague of Cuban descent was livid with anger.

    Now more of those ‘Dads’ will go with their friends and family because there is no travel stress… and of course they are going to be a lot more pissed Cuban-Americans.

    Also as you know Cuba was listed as a country sponsor of terrorism and thus many major companies US and otherwise were circumscribed from investing there…that sanction is no more. ..it was the first and obviously most important step in the US process. Once that was done it was virtual plain sailing DESPITE the political noise!

    Thus congress can dilly-dally as much as they want but US corps will not allow profits to be taken by others when Cuba is right on their door step….So, when the FCC lifted its blockade back in Jan which US corp waited on Congress!

    …. Just as when the travel ban was lifted and in rushed JetBlue… the big telcoms, money transfer comps etc have rushed also to gild their money belts there !

    The US people have spoken loudly on this Cuba matter…and for all the talk from Ted Cruz he would be very, very hard pressed to reverse these steps if he got into 1600 Penn Ave.

    ——– @David, I understand the Cuba-Barbados relationship. I certainly recall the many students who have benefited from their scholarships. What I don’t understand is what we will especially offer or benefit to/from them NOW that we have not explored in the past.

    I accept your remarks…but why now is MY question? What would we have been waiting for….for the US to show us the way????

    ——- @Alvin, anyone who follows the Cuba matter understands that. But they must also understand that several companies from other parts of the world were already doing business in Cuba.

  35. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    @Sargeant at 9:11 AM… there is absolutely nothing wrong with your optics. In this case age helps rather than hinders the acuity!

    What you noted is replicated throughout Latin America with practically NO exceptions. The excellent PBS series by Dr Gates…with its good, clear foundational data is a good reference which was highlighted here on BU some months back actually.

    The most telling and glaring example re your comment is of course Brazil. But even in places like Belize which is predominately English speaking its quite evident.

    Go into Costa Rica for example and see where their Afro citizens call home and explore the conditions therein as compared to the circumstances of the average non-Afro Costa Rican.

    Explore a similar construct in Panama…and on, and on!

    A recent video highlighted (Dr Anderson, Powernomics) here on BU quite eloquently places this debate into perspective.

  36. balance Avatar
    balance

    “La revolucion’ didn’t produce a more utopian Cuba, for some the only change was political”

    Quite insightful Sarge and true.
    viva la revolucion

  37. David Avatar
    David

    How amazing so many of you retreat to the old tired rhetoric of Castro, communism and the lot. In the same way our leaders crisscross the globe to sign agreements with the Bulgarian government or an airlift agreement with Germany, throw in China for good measure, why can’t we do same with Cuba, a country where we have a history. Whether we like it or not, and this is directed at the foggies, Cuba is where the action is and will be in the foreseeable future.

  38. Alvin Cummins Avatar
    Alvin Cummins

    @Sargeant,
    Define Utopian? What about egalitarian? @ BALANCE, HOWEVER YOU TURN IT IS POLITICAL.

  39. Exclaimer Avatar
    Exclaimer

    @ de pedantic dribbler March 30, 2016 at 7:12 AM,

    “Anyone from Barbados (the region) who wanted or planned to be in Cuba surely must already be there… because why would we in the Caribbean have waited now after the Obama overtures – which were on the cards since 2008- to explore links that may now be marginalized by a US operation.”

    How perceptive of you. Take two examples the marijuana industry and the oil industry. The former is a growth industry with the potential to catapult the economy of Barbados into orbit. Yet, our government – for whatever reason – appears reluctant to exploit this green gold.
    Contrast this industry with the dinosaur -led oil industry. China and our neighbour Costa Rica are making a huge push developing green energy, whilst our enlightened government is going down the path of oil exploration.

    Besides, even if Barbados had made the decision earlier to have developed closer economic ties with Cuba; do you seriously believe that we would have had anything of merit to have offered our larger and more cultured neighbour? What assistance could we seriously offer our neighbour in cricket when our world cricketing status remains in the gutter?

    I have said before that our government and our people think way above their station! Hubris resides in our national character.

  40. David Avatar
    David

    @Exclaimer

    The cricket knowledge / expertise we still have Cuba can still benefit. You are too negative.

  41. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    As I understand it the last slave ship sailed from Angola in 1880,with a cargo of enslaved Angolans bound for CUBA.Some decendants of these same people returned to Angola in the 1970’s VIA BARBADOS,to rout and defeat the wicked white oriented South Africans,white America and white Europe.Its a measure of the Cuban psyche that they were not seeing white nor black but an economic system called Capitalism which they were intent on defeating and replacing with lMarxism,which was the ‘mot de guerre’ in the ’70s and ’80s.There were many disciples in the Caricom Region,not least among whom might be numbered intellectuals Gonsalves,Rodney,Best,Abdullah,Thomas,Duncan,Clarke,Coard,Bishop,Hector et al.
    Caricom has always maintained fellowship with Cubans all through the post ’59 period.Barbados still send students there to be trained in medicine and dentistry.Up to the ’90s Caribbean Airlines flew to Havana from Trinidad.In another 10 to 15 years Cuba will once again be the playground of the rich and famous of the US.

  42. David Avatar
    David

    @Gabriel

    Many of the dentists trained in Cuba are given a rough time to practice in Barbados. They are forced to other markets like Jamaica, Trinidad and beyond.

  43. Yattinkiteasy Avatar
    Yattinkiteasy

    Let’s face it , Cuba will not change and it’s people will not enjoy freedom of speech , movement etc until the Castro’s are gone …. Dead . It won’t be long , and the US knows this .. It’s like vultures hanging in the skies waiting on the dead bodies. Cricket is nice , but really a very minor distraction. Baseball is an obsession with Cubans, and they do very well at it. . Let’s try to get our West Indian team back to its glory days before we try to get the Cubans to embrace Cricket. Just my 2 cents.

  44. David Avatar
    David

    Some of you your heads seem hard. the overture at cricket is about a means to end.

  45. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @David
    How amazing so many of you retreat to the old tired rhetoric of Castro, communism and the lot
    +++++++++++
    Who is obsessing about Castro and Communism? If anyone is resorting to tired rhetoric it is Castro himself with that letter he penned to Granma and as for communism, in 1961 Castro declared “I am a Marxist-Leninist and shall be one until the end of my life” but even the Soviets have abandoned Communism. Castro is like an old soldier but instead of fading away he hangs around.

    @Alvin C

    Did you take the time to read the accompanying article? It was penned by a black Cuban; Did you see who is poised to reap the benefits of an improving economy? The Afro Cubans know that there are not on an equal footing in society so the promise of the Revolution is an empty dream for them.

  46. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @DPD
    I saw this article about Brazil yesterday which reinforces the comment you made

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/brazil-communities-escaped-slaves-1.3509802

  47. David Avatar
    David

    Who cares what Fidel writes Sergeant? He is an old man who is in the departure lounge. Again the challenge it makes sense discussing is how can Barbados hitch its wagon to the Cuba gravy train.

  48. balance Avatar
    balance

    “David March 31, 2016 at 1:36 AM #

    Who cares what Fidel writes Sergeant? He is an old man who is in the departure lounge. Again the challenge it makes sense discussing is how can Barbados hitch its wagon to the Cuba gravy train.”

    The above and your other cryptic comments vis a vis the cuba/cricket discussion indicates you are out of your depth in this regard. because you are the blogmaster does not mean like Ac you have to comment on things of which you do not know.

  49. David Avatar
    David

    @balance

    Sometimes you are a real JA. The thrust of this submission by BU is how can Barbados benefit from the opportunity of forging a relationship with Cuba as sanctions are lifted and you are on and on about old Cuba. Grow up for crissakes. This is not a pissing contest to determine who knows Cuban history.

    JA

  50. balance Avatar
    balance

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    HAVANA, MARCH 31, 2016

    OFFICIAL VOICE OF THE COMMUNIST
    PARTY OF CUBA CENTRAL COMMITTEE

    UPDATED

    09:53:44

    Our right to be Marxist-Leninists

    In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution expresses his profound admiration for the heroic soviet people who provided an enormous service to humanity

    Author: Fidel Castro Ruz | internet@granma.cu

    may 8, 2015 12:05:40

    The 70th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War will be commemorated the day after tomorrow, May 9. Given the time difference, while I write these lines, the soldiers and officials of the Army of the Russian Federation, full of pride, will be parading through Moscow’s Red Square with their characteristic quick, military steps.

    Lenin was a brilliant revolutionary strategist who did not hesitate in assuming the ideas of Marx and implementing them in an immense and only partly industrialized country, whose proletariat party became the most radical and courageous on the planet in the wake of the greatest slaughter that capitalism had caused in the world, where for the first time tanks, automatic weapons, aviation and poison gases made an appearance in wars, and even a legendary cannon capable of launching a heavy projectile more than 100 kilometers made its presence felt in the bloody conflict.

    From that carnage emerged the League of Nations, an institution that should have preserved peace but which did not even manage to stop the rapid advance of colonialism in Africa, a great part of Asia, Oceana, the Caribbean, Canada and a contemptuous neo-colonialism in Latin America. Barely 20 years later, another atrocious world war broke out in Europe, the preamble to which was the Spanish Civil War, beginning in 1936.

    After the crushing defeat of the Nazis, world nations placed their hopes in the United Nations, which strives to generate cooperation in order to put an end to aggressions and wars, such that countries can preserve the peace, development and peaceful cooperation of the big and small, rich or poor States of the world. Millions of scientists could, among other tasks, increase the chances of the survival of the human species, with billions of people already threatened by food and water shortages within a short period of time. We are already 7.3 billion people on the planet. In 1800 there were only 978 million; this figure rose to 6.07 billion in 2000; and according to conservative estimates by the year 2050 there will be 10 billion.

    Of course, scarcely is the arrival to Western Europe of boats full of migrants mentioned, traveling in any object that floats; a river of African migrants, from the continent colonized by the Europeans over hundreds of years. 23 years ago, in a United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development I stated: “An important biological species is in danger of disappearing given the rapid and progressive destruction of its natural life-sustaining conditions¬: man.” I did not know at that time, how close we were to this.

    In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, I wish to put on record our profound admiration for the heroic Soviet people, who provided humankind an enormous service. Today we are seeing the solid alliance between the people of the Russian Federation and the State with the fastest growing economy in the world: The People’s Republic of China; both countries, with their close cooperation, modern science and powerful armies and brave soldiers constitute a powerful shield of world peace and security, so that the life of our species may be preserved.

    Physical and mental health, and the spirit of solidarity are norms which must prevail, or the future of humankind, as we know it, will be lost forever. The 27 million Soviets who died in the Great Patriotic War, also did so for humanity and the right to think and be socialists, to be Marxist-Leninists, communists, and leave the dark ages behind.

    Photo: Fidel Castro Ruz

    Fidel Castro Ruz

    May 7, 2015 10:14 p.m.

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