The U.S.-flagged vessel Amistad nears the port of Havana. The Connecticut schooner Amistad, a replica of the infamous Cuban slave ship, has arrived in Cuba for a 10-day visit. The ship is to drop anchor in Havana on March 25 to observe the Amistad's 10th anniversary and commemorate the day in 1807 when the British Parliament outlawed the slave trade. Photo: AP
HAVANA TIMES, (click title to entry - thank you)
March 23 – The Freedom Schooner Amistad arrived Monday in the port of Matanzas, some 100 kilometers east of the Cuban capital, on its last leg of a tour of the Caribbean to commemorate the abolition of slavery, reported the local press.
The vessel is a replica of a similar one that left in 1839 from the port of Matanzas with a shipment of slaves, who rebelled and finally obtained their freedom by decision of the US Supreme Court, reported IPS.
On March 25, 2010, the Amistad will commence a 10-day, two-city tour of Cuba. Even the 10-year-old vessel has a duel meaning for its use and a U.S. vessel in Cuban waters intends to show a thawing of rigid relations. Gregory Belanger knows the powerful image of a vessel displaying home and host flags docking in Cuba. Belanger is the CEO and president of Amistad America Inc., the nonprofit organization that owns and operates the ship.
"We're completely aware of all of the issues currently surrounding the U.S. and Cuba," he said. "But we approach this from the point of view that we have this unique history that both societies are connected by. It gives us an opportunity to transcend contemporary issues."...
The Amistad's presence was an opportunity to demonstrate the passions of the people of Cuba.
For Cubans, transition ahead (click here)
By Ted Mann
Publication: The Day
...And while the political subtext of U.S.-Cuban relations was constantly on the mind of American and Cubans alike during the course of the Amistad visit, the treatment of internal political dissidents here was treated with a notable silence.
