[September 12, 2017] The media has reported extensively on the damage caused by Hurricane Irma, the strongest hurricane so far recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. As the Category 5 hurricane slammed into the north side of Cuba, little is being reported from that country. What we do hear from news outlets is that the island run by a Socialist dictator was well organized; experiencing minimal damage and few deaths.
The Cuban government is known for a high-level of readiness in responding to storms; specifically hurricanes. It should be obvious to anyone that the island is particularly susceptible to storm damage given its topography and location in the Greater Antilles, Caribbean and sometimes the area has been referred to as “hurricane alley.” Their history with hurricane destruction is a well documented being part of their folklore and culture.
The reality from what Cuban citizens on the ground are telling us is different from official government reports and media reporting. In fact much of the media has been gushing about how well the Cuban people weathered the hurricane and were so “well prepared” that the government sent medical personal to other nearby Caribbean islands to assist.
This all sounds too good to be true and that is why gathering information from residents is so important to verify official government reports. Buildings in Cuba are primarily substandard to those constructed in most parts of the world. Most are very old buildings or single-story structures, and newer structures were often built under corrupt government contracting entities. In addition, emergency and rescue services are highly centralized and thus less flexible and less effective.
Of course, few structures are actually built to withstand the flooding and winds of a Category 5 hurricane. But false reporting of the destruction by Western media is damaging to their credibility as the truth continues to leak out. Media bias (now commonly known as Fake News) has been a regular feature here at theLeaderMaker.com and it seems to us that taking a dictator’s word is a common failure of U.S. media and other English-speaking countries (see links here, here, and here).
Before the media again reports falsely on Cuba or any other socialist dictatorship, it is best to get the ground-truth from those located there. It would be better served to the credibility of news’ organizations and their leadership if more accurate reporting was done instead of fulfilling their ideological wishes.
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Thank you for your direct and I suspect bang on comments regarding the regime’s claims of weathering the storm so well that they can send aid to other Caribbean nations. Hogwash I suspect.
A friend of mine was in Cuba for several months, away from the “bright lights ” of Havana and he
confirmed what you said, in general, about the lackadaisical approach to the truth consistent
with the unwillingness to let the truth out, of the government, under either Castro brother.
Almost makes me wonder wha Che.. long lost hero of the revolution would say were he around to see this.
While Batista was a foul bastard, I do wonder whether the people would have been better by now were
he to have remained in power a few more years, though he was no picnic. Sadly, the people of Cuba continue to suffer….Che would not have stood up for this, or maybe he would, he seemed to have a better sense of
revolutionary integrity, at least compared to the Castro brothers. (Fidel owned about a hundred homes and was worth a billion dollars…some “revolutionary!”
Sad and the people of Cuba deserve better. Trump’s anti Cuba policies will not help, however.
Esteben: Yes, typical of a dictator to color the world the way he wants it to be.
Doug