Cuba: WOW, what a Country!

From November 2016 to January 2017 Rocío and I experienced an unbelievable trip to Cuba. This post summarises the holiday and includes links to many stories and highlights.

Cuba The Land of Miracles

The aptly named book Cuba: The Land of Miracles by Stephen Smith; although from an earlier time, Cuba’s essence remained as described in the book

From reading about Cuba beforehand I had some idea what it would be like. I knew there would be limited supplies available and that the country had two currencies and a bad reputation for food. In the weeks before leaving I repeatedly advised Rocío that Cuba was different, so much so, I almost felt like a broken record. However, it was important that we were prepared as well as we could be. After all, we planned to be there for almost two months! Continue reading

Antonio Núñez Jiménez and the Fundación de la Naturaleza y el Hombre Museum and Library

Fundación de la Naturaleza y el Hombre

The front of the Fundación de la Naturaleza y el Hombre museum and library

The front of the Fundación de la Naturaleza y el Hombre museum and library

Two blocks from the constructivist Russian Embassy in Havana’s Miramar district, an unimposing building houses the Fundación de la Naturaleza y el Hombre (Foundation for Nature and Humanity) museum and library. Continue reading

Artist Ares’ CUBA POSTCASTRO Cartoon

Two days after Fidel Castro died, Granma, Cuba’s biggest newspaper fronted with a full-page cartoon by “ares” featuring many Fidel Castros and headed Cuba es Fidel (Cuba is Fidel).

Ares CUBA POSTCASTRO Cuba es Fidel Granma newspaper cover

Ares’ CUBA POSTCASTRO cartoon used for the “Cuba es Fidel” Granma newspaper cover two days after Castro’s death

Continue reading

Book review: First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung

Having a cold has postponed my triathlon preparation (more on that later) but enabled me to read some of the books hanging around my house.

I read the first ~90 pages of Loung Ung’s First They Killed My Father on my 2014 trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. I was not gripped enough by the book’s beginning to finish it there and then even though I was in the region the book was set in.

The day I picked up the book a second time was the day I finished its remaining ~150 pages. This time I found the story extremely gripping.

First They Killed My Father (A Daughter Of Cambodia Remembers) is Loung Ung’s memoir from growing up in Phnom Penh in the early 1970s, to surviving the Khmer Rouge, to her escape to a new life as a refugee.

Written in the present tense, most of the book is set during the Khmer Rouge years when a very young Loung and her family, along with millions of other Cambodians, suffered horrifically. I found the number of horrendous experiences suffered by Loung’s family incredible.

I was very impressed by the detail recalled in the book. When key moments were unknown (for example, what happened to Loung’s father after leaving the camp) Loung hypothesises what may have occurred. I found this helped with the book’s flow and structure. Even though many of the true and hypothesised stories were unimaginably brutal, they aligned with the stories and evidence observed in my two visits to Cambodia.

I was amazed at how Loung, her siblings and other family members were able to reunite multiple times without modern communication methods. I expect the ‘informal telegraph’ was far stronger in those days.

I am also amazed at the courage displayed by Loung to open up and write this fantastic book. I highly recommend First They Killed My Father.

If every Australian read this book I am sure the country would have a more humane attitude towards refugees.