I think it's very sad, when Barack Obama lands in Saudi Arabia, and he lands in Cuba, and there aren't high officials to even greet him.
The U.S. doesn't recognize the laws of Cuba. They can kidnap anybody and bring them back to the States to face the so-called justice system. There's no telling what the U.S. government will do to me. I'm in constant danger; I guess I've gotten used to it.
In the era of slavery, you could be a so-called Afro-Cuban one day and a so-called Black American the next day, or vice versa. I mean there was all this back and forth, and there was a lot of opposition in Black America to slavery in Cuba in particular, because slavery in Cuba lasted until the 1880s.
There was a time when emigration from Cuba was a definitive separation. There were no visits. In the '80s, '90s, it was incredibly difficult. I'm not the only one interested in this as a filmmaker - other Cuban filmmakers have dealt with it, too, because it's such a part of our reality.
I think the art world will continue to be a place where people have a certain freedom and creativity to think about what's happening in Cuba.
[Cuba's goverment] is an anti-American government.
They're willing to accept changes on the part of the U.S. that contribute to more money entering Cuba so they can benefit. But in terms of political changes on the island, an opening, etc., that won't happen, that won't change, and I've always said that, from the beginning. I've even said that it doesn't matter how many tourists who to Cuba, how many times the President visits Cuba; there won't be any changes in the Cuban government's posture. And that is the same as always.
Of course their [Cuba's] economy is terrible, but they have Health Care and education.
How can I justify the Cuban Adjustment Act when there are people coming from Cuba saying that they come - that they have - that they should be treated differently from other migrants? But they're going back to that country.
I believe that the bigger problem is that we're seeing people who arrive from Cuba and a year and a day later are travelling to Cuba 40 times a year, they're staying, and that's hard to justify. The problem is not that I want to deny anything to anyone; it is the need to justify those laws.
I've always said that I'm open to changes in the relations between Cuba and the U.S., but that Cuba must make changes also.
I pray for what I have always prayed for: the restoration of our constitution and absolute freedom for the people of Cuba. That dream is very much alive, that fight is very much alive.
US policy toward Cuba [at the time] had two tracks. Track 1 was to assassinate Fidel Castro. Track 2 was to subvert the regime through people-to-people contact.
I think it's just been a core part of the Cuban revolution to have a very high level of internationalism. I mean, these cases you've mentioned are cases in point, but the most extreme case was the liberation of Africa. Take the case of Angola for example, and there are real connections between Cuba and Angola-much of the Cuban population comes from Angola.
[Barack Obama] is aware of the criticism back home [from Cuba] that this embargo still exists.
It's true that in Cuba there are double standards, there's opportunism, and there is a lack of freedom in some ways.
I stand as I always have with the Cuban people who love, cherish and celebrate liberty. Hard-working, helpful people who open their hearts and homes to all, whether in Cuba or in exile.
It is necessary for me to express the deep sorrow that I feel for all the Cuban people both inside and outside of Cuba that have suffered the atrocities and repression caused by Fidel Castro and his totalitarian regime.
Cuban artists had, for a while, a privileged position within Cuba that is probably going to become slightly less restricted to them. I think they'll continue to join the international art world, so those people who are extremely successful will become even more so and those who are struggling will continue to struggle.
A whole series of changes that are in the code, are in the laws of the United States. If Cuba changes its position toward its own people, well then the policy of the United States changes also. That is what I would go after. I believe that many of the changes that this President has made, President Obama, are in violation of that law.
I'm simply asking that people who arrive from Cuba receive the same treatment as any other immigrant who comes from another country. The only difference, obviously, is that the Cuban Adjustment Act will remain in effect, that a Cuban who arrives today from Cuba may remain in the U.S.
First, undoubtedly, there are some people who are coming from Cuba who immediately, or from any other country, benefit. But, what is the difference between that and someone who is coming from Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, etc.? That is, we are simply going to say that someone who comes from another country to the United States - the first five years they're here - they don't qualify for federal benefits. They may benefit from local benefits, state benefits. Those decisions belong to other jurisdictions.
I'm not saying Cubans don't deserve asylum, but if it is a national security issue, there are people who are coming from Cuba on hijacked airplanes. Why isn't that a national security issue?
Why do you think there's so many thousands of Cuban doctors in Florida? Because they all had to leave Cuba. Because doctors were rich, and so the [Fidel] Castro government began confiscating all their property. Not much different from this plan to tax you at a higher rate if you and your family, you and your spouse make over $250,000. You're rich! So they must confiscate more your money.
I am very happy here [on Cuba], but I feel I have work to do in the United States. It's where I can identify with the total world struggle for socialism. But I think as a North American, as a Black North American, I have certain understandings - certain contributions - to make that are unique to the North Amerian experience.
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