A historic moment between the US and Cuba took place this weekend at the VII Summit of the Americas when President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro met in person and shook hands. The Summit of the Americas occurs every three years, and offers the opportunity for countries to jointly define a hemispheric agenda at the highest level to address urgent challenges and propel positive change. This year's theme is “Prosperity with Equity: The Challenge of Cooperation in the Americas", within which will be discussed several sub-themes, among them education, health, energy, environment, migration, security, citizen participation and democratic governance. This is the first year that Cuba has been invited to the talks. Last month when President Obama lifted some of the sanctions against Cuba, he stated that enforcing a policy of isolation had not been successful for the past 50 years, so it was time to try something different. The President is hoping that Americans themselves, as they visit and interact with Cuba, will be the best representatives of reform that the US can offer. In many ways, this is the philosophy of Christianity. God calls us to go out into all the world and make disciples, but we are not to do so by force or coercion. Instead, the power of the Spirit of the Living God within us will be a light that draws others to him. The fruit of the Spirit should be evident in our lives and the peace that surpasses all understanding should sustain us as we face the challenges of life. The hope we have amidst despair will draw in the lost, and we should always be prepared to give the reason for the hope we have; not by our power or strength, but by God's grace. Change is happening in Cuba, and hopefully Christians will be among the first to stand and call for peaceful cooperation despite our differences. Also, as sanctions are lifted, Christians in America should be finding ways to support the church in Cuba. As we go forward this month, let us remember to lift the Christians in Cuba up in prayer and pray that a spirit of revival would come to them as they slowly connect to the outside world.
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Cuba
Basic Info: Cuba is the largest island in the
Caribbean, only 90 miles from Florida, and Spanish is the official
language. Lack of many essentials
(including food) still affect the country, but there is a high standard in
literacy (99.8%), education, and health.
Under the Communist regime, education and health care are free. Tourism is becoming more and more
economically important. The government
has only recently allowed people to have email on their phones, but still no
internet. There are about 300 public
internet centers across the country. However, it's expensive. One hour costs
$4.50, which for a state worker is one week's salary. Smart phones are expensive and are mostly
brought into the country by relatives in America. Since the phones don't connect to the
internet, they are full of offline apps like Wikipedia, games, etc.
Economy: Despite receiving economic
assistance from Venezuela, China, and Bolivia, Cuba is among the poorest
countries in the Caribbean. Only Haiti and the Dominican Republic are
poorer. Widespread poverty has led to a
thriving black market where crime, drugs, and prostitution (including sex
tourism) are prolific. The black market
also sells everything from toothpaste and fresh milk to TV shows. However, just a few years ago, some economic
changes were made. Little by little the
government is issuing permits to legalize things that people have been doing/selling
for years. Around 400,000 Cubans are self-employed, but
not all of them declare their incomes or pay taxes. Many people recognize that a top down system
is not sustainable over time. Many state
employed workers have private jobs on the side.
People still use ration books, and prices in the public market are fixed
by the government and cannot be inflated.
Most of the population lives below the poverty line, and power cuts are
frequent. Local farmers are now allowed
to sell their products on the private markets.
The prices are higher, but the quality is better and there are more
choices. New entrepreneurs are opening
businesses and showing signs of capitalism.
However, many things that we consider to be basic commodities are still
outside the reach of the average Cuban.
Government: Cuba gained its independence from
Spain in 1898. Communism came to power
in 1959 when Castro overthrew a corrupt regime.
Cuba remains one of the last countries to have Communism. Fidel Castro
passed along power to his brother, Raul Castro, in 2008. While the country has seen economic reform,
there has been no civil or political change.
Political opposition is still illegal. More than 500,000 people have
been imprisoned for ideological reasons and over 1 million have become
ideological or economic refugees, many in Florida.
US and
Cuba Relations: Since 1960, the US
has had a trade embargo and sanctions against Cuba. This was done in part because of the strained
relationship between Fidel Castro and the US’s support of Batista during the
revolution, Cuba’s close ties with the USSR, and the worry that Communism would
spread to other countries in the Western Hemisphere. Recently, President Obama
has started talks with Cuba and has lifted some sanctions, but the two
countries have been secretly having talks in places like Canada and the Vatican
for the last year. Pope Francis has been
directly involved in normalizing relations between the US and Cuba. Since coming to office, President Obama has
expressed interest in normalizing relations with Cuba. President Obama’s announcement of lifting some
sanctions came after the release of American prisoner Alan Gross. The US also released 3 Cuban intelligence
officers and Cuba released an additional 53 prisoners of conscience. Plans to re-establish diplomatic relations
include opening an embassy in each country.
There is still an embargo on general tourists, but more Americans can
now travel there, such as: Educational groups, Cultural groups, Journalists,
Medical and Religious organizations, and family visits. The President is also lifting restrictions
making it easier for people to send remittances. Additionally, Americans will now be able to
use American credit and debit cards in Cuba, and open accounts. The President has authorized increased telecommunications
connections between the US and Cuba.
Finally, in April, the US will welcome Cuba at the Summit of the
Americas.
Religion: In the earliest years, the
government strictly controlled all church activities and repressed religious
freedom. Since 1990, some restrictions have
improved. Cuba is now a secular state,
and discrimination against Christians is illegal. However, growing churches are seen as a
threat to the stability of the regime.
The regime has officially sanctioned the Cuban Council of Churches,
whose expression of faith is more closely aligned with the revolutionary
ideals. Catholicism was the main religion before the revolution. While the
majority of people claim to be Catholic, many churches are full of syncretism.
Less than 10% attend mass. Evangelical
churches lost many of its congregation when people immigrated to the US, but it’s
been steadily growing. Hostility has
caused believers to rely on God, and it shows in their prayer life,
individually and corporately. Despite
having limited access to resources (if the church is not aligned with the
government) the church has found innovative and bold ways to minister to its
people. Christians see no conflict
between their faith and being Cuban. Between 1995 and 2010, Protestants have
more than doubled, and many new believers are young people. The government continues to harass and
discriminate against believers. The
regime fears the Church will undermine their authority, like many churches in
Eastern Europe and China have done with Communism in their countries. The government has made it almost impossible
to build new church buildings, but house churches have thrived. Historically, informers have infiltrated
congregations and reported on their activities.
This has caused churches to have more stringent criteria for baptism and
membership. The result has been a
congregation that is more mature and committed, but at the same time
distrustful and suspicious. Many leaders of the church fled after the
revolution, and those who stayed have suffered much. Cuba has a dozen evangelical seminaries/Bible
schools and 2 that are Catholic, but enrollment is limited due to government
interference and a lack of materials.
The government actively supports spiritism as “cultural”. There may be more than 3 million followers of
Santeria and other cults similar to voodoo.
Some critical needs are more Bibles and worship leaders. The state appointed Council of Churches must
approve all Bible translations, which makes getting a good translation harder. Many Christians have a hard time getting a
Bible. Music is an integral part of
Cuban culture and identity. There is a
great need to train Christian musicians and worship leaders.
Info from Operation
World “Cuba” and videos from the blog page.
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President Obama Delivers a Statement on Cuba (Dec 17, 2014)
Cuba goes online - BBC News (April 2014)
A new Cuban revolution? (Sept 2013)
10 US-Cuba Relations Facts
