Blockades, Embargos, and the Face of the Politicized Other

Abstract

All human experience is situated in specific sociocultural and political contexts that profoundly shape that which we know and that which we cannot know. In this article, I use my personal experience of traveling to Cuba as a U.S. citizen, in violation of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, to reflect on the consequences of severing dialogue. I argue that dialogue expands my understanding of my situatedness by exposing the gap between the person I was shaped be by virtue of my throwness, and the person I aspire to be based upon my own value system. I conclude that in the process of making an ethical claim on a person who seeks understanding, dialogue also expands one’s possibilities for meaningful existence.

Translations of Abstract

Toute expérience humaine se situe au sein d’un contexte politique et socioculturel spécifique qui, par ses inclusions et exclusions, structure profondément ce que nous savons et ne pouvons pas savoir, que soit connue ou pas la nature constitutive de ce contexte. Dans cet article, je mets à profit mon expérience personnelle d’un voyage à Cuba en tant que citoyenne des États-Unis (une infraction à l’embargo), pour explorer les effets de la rupture de dialogue. Je montre que le dialogue, tel que décrit par Gadamer, élargit ma compréhension de mon statut d’«êtres située» alors même qu’il expose le décalage entre la personne que je suis, l’«être-jeté», et la personne que j’aspire à être en vertu de mon système de valeur. Je conclus que, en plus de poser une exigence éthique à la personne qui cherche à comprendre, le dialogue accroît ses possibilités d’existence significative.

Cualquier experiencia humana está situada en contextos socioculturales y políticos específicos que configuran de manera profunda lo que sabemos y lo que no podemos saber, incluso si la naturaleza constitutiva de estos contextos es negada o ignorada. En este artículo, utilizo mi experiencia personal de viajar a Cuba como ciudadana de Estados Unidos, violando el embargo de Estados Unidos a Cuba, para reflexionar en las consecuencias de lo diálogos bloqueados. Muestro como el diálogo, tal como fue descrito por Gadamer, expande mi comprensión de mi posicionamiento, incluso cuando éste evidencia la distancia entre la persona que se formó a partir de mi manera de estar en el mundo, y la persona que aspiro a ser en base a mi sistema de valores. Concluyo que en el proceso de hacer una demanda ética a una persona que busca comprensión, el diálogo también expande mis posibilidades para una existencia significativa.

Tutte le esperienze umane sono situate in contesti socioculturali e politici specifici che danno forma in modo profondo .a ciò che sappiamo e a ciò che non possiamo sapere, anche se la natura costitutiva di quel contesto viene negata o è ignorata. In questo lavoro faccio uso dell’esperienza personale di un viaggio a Cuba come cittadino statunitense, in violazione dell’embargo nei confronti di Cuba, per riflettere sulle conseguenze di una cesura del dialogo. Dimostro che il dialogo amplifica la comprensione del mio essere nel mondo persino quando evidenzia lo distanza tra la persona che sono stato formato ad essere in ragione del mio trovarmi in un certo contesto e la persona cui aspiro ad essere secondo il mio sistema di valori. Ne deduco che nel corso di un processo in cui si definisce una richiesta etica relativamente a qualcuno che cerca comprensione, il dialogo amplifica al contempo le mie possibilità di esistere in modo significativo.

Jede menschliche Erfahrung ist in einen speziellen sozio-kulturellen und politischen Kontext eingebettet, der das, was wir wissen und das, was wir nicht wissen können, weitreichend beeinflusst, auch wenn das konstitutive Wesen dieses Kontextes geleugnet oder ignoriert wird. In diesem Beitrag nutze ich meine eigene Erfahrung meiner Reisen als US-Bürgerin nach Kuba, bei denen ich das US-Embargo gegen Kuba umgangen habe, um über die Konsequenzen der Unterbrechung des Dialoges nachzudenken. Ich beschreibe, dass der Dialog, wie er von Gadamer definiert wurde, mein Verständnis meiner eigenen Situiertheit erweitert, wenn es die Lücke zwischen der Person aufzeige, als die ich durch die Gnade meiner Geworfenheit geprägt wurde und der Person, die ich auf der Basis meines eigenen Wertesystems zu sein anstrebe. Ich schließe damit, dass in dem Prozess, der einen ethischen Anspruch an eine Person erhebt, der Verständigung sucht, der Dialog meine Möglichkeiten einer sinnerfüllten Existenz erweitert.

Keywords:

• Cuba
• culture
• dialogue
• ethics
• prejudice
• subjectivity

Notes

¹ American citizens commonly misunderstood the travel embargo. The Cuban government never prohibited U.S. citizens from visiting Cuba. Rather, the U.S. government prohibited its citizens from visiting Cuba despite the fact that they may visit any other country in the world, including countries like North Korea, that it does not recommend visiting.

² For many years, Cuban citizens were prohibited from interacting with any foreign visitor. Tourists stayed in separate facilities and only loyal communist party members were permitted to work in the tourism industry. This restriction was gradually lifted for complex reasons that are beyond the scope of this discussion. Although the restrictions have relaxed, Cubans who are licensed to host foreign visitors in their homes, “casa particulares,” are required to keep records of who is staying in their home and to provide these reports to local officials on a daily basis. In some cases, we were told, the casa owners are asked what their visitors are doing and discussing. This was, and probably still is, the case with American tourists. Although in recent years, American tourists were permitted to legally travel to Cuba with as a cultural exchange group, they were required to stay in hotels and travel together as a group. Thus, their access to the Cuban people was much more restricted than was ours.

³ The Cuban government refers to the U.S. embargo as “el bloqueo,” “the blockade,” in reaction to pressure that the U.S. government exerts on other nations to adhere to U.S. policy. In 1992, the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution from Cuba that referred to the U.S. law as a blockade and condemned its extraterritoriality. Every year since then, the U.N. has called upon the United States to end the embargo against Cuba. The most recent vote, on October 28, 2014, had most of the world’s nations—including most of Washington’s closest allies—again urging the United States to end the embargo.

⁴ Currently Cuba boasts one of the highest literacy rates in the world—nearly 100%.

⁵ Thus, from a Cuban perspective, the naval blockade changed form, but was never truly lifted.

⁶ In 1992 the Cuban Democracy Act was passed which prohibited foreign subsidiaries of U.S.-based companies from trading with Cuba. This law explicitly targeted food and medical supplies. In The Helms-Burton law which was passed in 1996, allowed U.S. citizens to sue foreign investors who used American property that had been seized by Castro’s government.

⁷ Technically, it is not illegal to visit Cuba; however, the U.S. government expressly prohibits its citizens from spending money in Cuba. It is possible (and easier) to travel to Cuba as a member of a licensed educational tour group, but these groups are not permitted to stay in “casa particulares,” rooms that Cuban families are licensed to rent in their homes.

⁸ Most families rely on the food distribution system, Libreta de Abastecimiento, which was instituted on March 12, 1962. Products included in the libreta vary according to age and gender. For example, children under seven years of age are provided one liter of milk per day, as are the elderly, the ill, and pregnant women. Products distributed through the libreta system are sold at subsidized prices. Cubans are required to present the libreta each time they buy the rations. Products not included in the libreta may be purchased for an exorbitant price. A bar of soap, for example, costs US$1 or approximately 1/20th of the average person’s monthly salary.

⁹ Since early in Castro’s regime, artists have benefitted from Castro’s emphasis on education and all forms of culture. During the “special period,” Castro recognized the potential for art to be a significant export, and granted artists the right to sell their work. The international community, including the United States, responded enthusiastically.

¹⁰ Many of Hugo’s pieces contain the symbol of a fish, a subtle statement about the Cuban economy. Despite the fact that Cuba is an island, most people cannot afford fish. His artwork also depicts the experience of transgendered individuals, who are ostracized within Cuban culture.

¹¹ It is likely that the Cuban government decided that Advair is too expensive and, thus, stopped paying the foreign contracts hoping that the suppliers would decide to provide the medication free of charge.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Margy Sperry

Margy Sperry, Psy.D., M.F.T., is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, a Council Member of the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, and an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology.