Let Cubans Visit Their Loved Ones
High hopes for a family reunion were dashed shortly after Christmas when Cubans learned that President Raul Castro will not be lifting travel restrictions after all. Fidel Castro's more enlightened brother--who took leadership of the island state when Fidel died--has already implemented some progressive changes in Cuba. Citizens can now own cell phones and DVD players--but Miami families that have been waiting decades to see their loved ones will continue to wait.
Cuba's current policy on travel allows islanders, who earn an average twenty US dollars a month, to purchase a travel permit for five hundred US dollars, making the elusive "white card" travel permit virtually unobtainable.
Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez notes that prohibiting 11 million Cubans from visiting their families is more or less the same as holding them hostage.
Tell Castro that the time is right to allow Cubans to travel freely to visit relatives in Miami. Tell him that allowing Cubans to travel will create much more confidence in his regime and in Cuba's political and economic system.
We the undersigned applaud your intention to make Cuba a more modern state and especially your stated intention to undertake a more open relationship with the United States. Your country has accomplished many things. Cuba can certainly be proud of its universal health care, a high literacy rate, sustainable small-scale farming, a good infrastructure for bicycling, and enviable longevity statistics. But to prohibit free travel to and from Cuba send the rest of the world the message that Cuba is more a prison than a successful experiment in socialism. It's time to trust your citizens to take the good news about Cuba to the rest of the world. Let your people travel and become ambassadors for Cuba.
Se flere underskriftsindsamlinger: 