Changing face of Cuba
For over 50 years Cubans have endured enmity and trade embargo, and now all set for normalisation of ties with the US.
Havana, Cuba - The United States of America has finally revived diplomatic relations with neighbouring island nation of Cuba after more than five decades.
The communist nation was kept on a tight leash by the world's most powerful nation, since severing of diplomatic ties in 1961 nearly two years after Cuban revolution brought Fidel Castro to power.
Does the diplomatic thaw mean the end of old Havana?
Cuba, a nation of about 11 million people, endured nearly half a century of enmity, crippling trade embargo and American spy plots.
It was cut off from the international trade but Cubans apparently learnt to live with limited resources.
Despite all the odds, the country developed one of the finest health care systems in the world.
Art and culture, particularly music, also flourished under communist rule. Inspite of sanctions, Cuba has managed to attract international tourists on the back of its rich cultural heritage and pristine beaches.
Nearly two million tourists visited the island in the first six months of this year, bringing billions of dollars into the country.
Booming tourism has offered Cubans an extra income that they could not have dreamt of with low-paying government jobs. Waiters are one of the biggest earners compared to much-respected professions of medicine and teaching that offer as low as $40 a month.
Cuban flag flies in Washington as embassy reopens after 54 years
Relations between Cuba and the US took another step forward Monday as the Cuban embassy reopened in Washington and the US embassy began operations in Havana. The agreement restoring diplomatic relations came into effect at midnight last night.
Maintenance crews at the US Department of State put up the Cuban flag in the main lobby around 4am local time Monday. With the flags arranged alphabetically, Cuba assumed its rightful place between Croatia and Cyprus.
It was the first time the island nation’s banner has been displayed in the building; according to the State Department’s protocol office, the lobby was dedicated on January 5, 1961 – two days after the US broke diplomatic relations with Cuba.
Media assembled in front of the Cuban embassy on 16th Street in Washington, DC, for the grand opening ceremony taking place at 10:30am local time. The mansion had been operating as an interests section, under the auspices of the Swiss embassy, since 1977.
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, leading the Cuban delegation to the US.
Speaking at the reception following the flag-raising, Rodriguez credited the “firm and wise leadership of Fidel Castro” and said the flag hoisted today was the same one that was taken down in 1961. It was kept safe in Florida in anticipation of this day, he said.
"As we fly again the flag that embodies the struggle of our people for national independence against the greatest challenges and dangers, we pay tribute to those who fell in defense of our nation, with absolute confidence in those who will continue to serve it with honor," Rodriguez said.
The Cuban minister also relayed a message of goodwill from President Raul Castro, who endorsed the decision to rebuild diplomatic relations based on mutual respect.
“Only the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade, which has caused so much harm and suffering to our people, the return of the occupied territory Guantanamo and the respect for Cuba’s sovereignty, will lend some meaning to the event you are witnessing today,” Rodriguez said, adding that "the challenge is great because there have never been normal relations between our people."
Later in the day, Rodriguez met with Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department, the first such visit since 1958. The meeting ran long and delayed the scheduled press conference by almost an hour.
“Today we begin to repair what was damaged and to open what has been close for many years,” Kerry told reporters, calling the embassy reopening “a historic and long overdue step in the right direction.”
Though differences between the US and Cuban governments remain, the policy change reflects the reality“that the cold war ended long ago, and that interests of both countries are better served by engagement than by estrangement,” Kerry explained.
While praising the current step in rebuilding relations between the US and Cuba, Rodriguez noted that full normalization will come only when the US lifts the blockade, hands over the “illegally occupied” territory of Guantanamo Bay, and compensate Cuba for “human and economic damages” inflicted by the decades-long siege of the island nation.
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson and current chief of the US Interests Section in Havana Jeffrey DeLaurentis represented the US at the embassy ceremony.
The US flag will be raised at the embassy in Havana on August 14, when Secretary Kerry heads to Cuba for an official visit.
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