Sheboygan, WI (WHBL) - Sheboygan District 4 Alderwoman Mary Lynne Donahue is intrigued by recent developments that could someday pave the way towards normalized relations between the United States and Cuba.
Last Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry was on hand in Havana, Cuba as US Marines raised an American flag to signify the reopening of a US Embassy in Cuba. Secretary Kerry used the opportunity to call for democracy and stronger diplomatic ties between both nations.
It is a call that is welcomed by Donahue who toured Havana three years ago with a humanitarian organization. “I was lucky enough to connect with the Grand Circle Foundation which was one of the organizations that had a travel permit from the Department of State to take tourist groups to Cuba, and this was in February 2012. The Grand Circle Foundation is the charitable arm of overseas adventure travel, and these people are very well experienced in putting tours together. So, we had a really interesting and diverse time.”
Donahue says there were no delusions about the purpose and scope of the trip. It would not just be a day at the beach. The group was on a mission to learn about the Cuban culture and find ways to interact with locals, in the hopes of bridging cultural gaps.
“So, we arrived in Havana and we toured the old city, and we went to a day care center for special needs children. We went to a senior center which was very interesting and we had a great time there. There was a wide spectrum of the way people live in Havana. What I did notice - and what you could not help but to notice is that the country is very poor. Part of Havana has been revitalized so it’s like a big tourist area, with beautiful buildings and there is music everywhere. There is so much fun,” Donahue says.
Cuban President Raul Castro succeeded his brother Fidel Castro in February 2008, four years before Donahue’s tour group arrived in Havana. But, although political analysts portrayed Raul as a softer, gentler ruler, Donahue recalls that the locals equally revered the Castro brothers.
“I will say that people at that time, they were very careful. Our tour guides were very careful not to criticize the regime. As much as we were talking to different people and seeing different things, it was really clear that we were visiting a country that was under the rule of fairly brutal dictatorship. The edges have been smoothed- off now, but I still think there is paranoia about what you say about the Castro brothers, and what you say about the government. That being said, it was under Raul’s regime that there is some thawing of the relationship between the United States and Cuba - which you would not have seen under Fidel, as we were told."
Like most other Americans Donahue was shocked when President Barak Obama announced earlier this year plans to restore diplomatic ties to Cuba, for the first time in 50 years. She believes these are baby steps that will ultimately lead to a fully normalized relationship between the two nations.
“I think it is fabulous and I think that it is long overdue. One of the meetings that we had while we were in Havana was with two businessmen - two brothers who were probably in their 50s. They did a PowerPoint presentation for us and basically all they wanted to do was trade with the US. They didn’t want to be enemies. They wanted the embargo lifted (which has still not happened). They just saw a relationship with the United States that was so important to them. I think it is an evolving process. I think eventually we’re going to see a total normalization of relationships."