SCOTLAND: Rosie Kane reports from Havana

Scottish Socialist Party parliamentarian Rosie Kane, recently returned from Cuba, reported in the June 12 Sunday Mail on her visit to a bar in the Cuban capital: "Over a rum and ice, I got chatting with the locals. They wanted to know about Scotland, the parliament and Rabbie Burns. We started talking about 'freedom' and the debate gathered a crowd of about 20 people — it was amazing. And everyone had something to say. Some loved Fidel, others did not — and were not afraid to say so. One man loved Cuba and Socialism but was critical of Castro. I asked if he was free to speak up like this and he assured me the days of silence were long gone. I chirped up: 'Raise your hand if you have been imprisoned for publicly objecting to your government's policy?' The only hand that went up was my own."

From Green Left Weekly, June 22, 2005.

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From GLW issue 630