Western
By STEPHEN KINZER Most
Pacific News Service are tou
FROM EUROPE, Canada and Japan, other n
non - communist businessmen ways a
are flocking here with a common objec- AFTI
tive: To make all the money they can Cuban
from communist Cuba before the nadian,
Americans move in. stop on
"As soon as the Americans get in tiallys
here, it's all over for us," explains a Not pe
representative of a Canadian air-con- tory, t1
ditioning firm. "The product we make until th
can be made cheaper in the U. S., and over B
they'd save even more on transporta- Once
tion." Cuban1
For the time being, these business- tration
men are safe. But they are concerned the bu
over the future of U. S. - Cuban rela- product
tions and smile gratefully whenever "The
someone suggests than an improvement much a
in relations is not in sight. ed a n
In spirited discussions, they debate birth c
how Jimmy Carter's election and the the hos
recent bombing of a Cuban jet by what t
anti-Castro exiles might affect the con- save ti
tinuation of the 16-year blockade that But
forbids U. S. firms from doing business eign tr
here. A lucrative market is at stake. suspect
POOLSIDE HEADQUARTERS often.
The businessmen are easy to find. Cuban
In the mornings, many of them visit A m
their hotel pools. In the afternoons, thinksI
they appear in hotel lobbies- with suits and oil
and ties, waiting to be taken to meet- the su
ings with Cuban officials, ducts
As the sun sinks, they can again be been a
found at poolside, wearing Levis and buyer
sports shirts, talking loudly and gulp- refiner
ing the mediocre local beer. Many THE
complain they can't find decent sou- a
venirs to bring " home to their wives the Cu
and children, taking
capitalis
visible are the Canadians. Many "I am a c
urists - more than from any official of a (
non-communist country. But al- manufactures t
among them are salesmen. capitalize on si
ER MAKING CONTACT with the now, I'm capit
trade mission in Montreal, Ca- embargo.
businessmen can fly here non- The U. S. Tr
in Cubana Airlines' flights par- no signs of w
staffed by Canadian personnel. embargo, whic
rmitted to fly over U. S. terri- ter Prime Mir
hese flights must proceed east claimed in 196
ey reach the Atlantic, then south ter" of the t
ermuda to the Caribbean. many U. S. fil
here, the Canadians meet with less, sensing t
buyers - often expressing frus- thing.
at the difficulty of getting past Kirby Jones,
yers to the actual users of their McGovern's pr
ts. presidential ca
guys I, deal with don't know ed himself as
about pharmaceuticals," lament- between thet
man here to sell condoms and A-erican firm
ontrol pills. "If I culd get into 1-re. He has
spitals and clinics, I could see C"ba and lists
hey really need and probably 'nries, large
hem a few bucks." rlints. When
whether it is suspicion of for- lf*°d, Jones
aders, or - as the businessmen readv,
t - plain inefficiency, salesmen IN RECENT
have difficulty penetrating the congressionalc
bureaucracy. .Dept. official r
an selling industrial oil filters of the, blockad
he can save the Cubans money lators that no
i if they let him visit some of dated for busi
gar refineries where his pro- negotiate with
are used. But so far, he has But validatic
ble to speak only with a Cuban required. Anyo
who apparently -rarely visits the today need on
ies himself. the Cubans ar
CANADIAN BUSINESSMEN flight to Hava
re not here out of admiration for maica.
uban system; they are merely If the U. S.
advantage of a market, yet the "sieve'
ts eyi
apitalist," explained an
Canadian company that
levators. "That means I
tuations. Right here and
alizing on the American
easury Dept. has shown
illingness to loosen the
h was imposed soon af-
nister Fidel Castro pro-
1 the "socialist charac-
Cuban Revolution. But
rms are becoming rest-
hey are missing a good
who was Sen. George
ess secretary during his
ampaign, has establish-
a kind of intermediary
Cuban government avd
s seeki-g to do business
made several visits to
numerous U. S, corn-
and small, among his
the embargo is finally
and his clients will be
TESTIMONY before a
committee, a U.S. State
eaffirmed the conditions
e and assured the legis-
passport had been vali-
nessmen to visit here to
the Cuban government.
on is no longer legally
ne seeking to visit Cuba
ly obtain a visa from
nd pick up the weekly
ana from Kingston, Ja-
bloclade of Cuba is not
" that one smiling West
Cuba
German businessman called it, it is
certainly not leakproof. It is an open
secret here that a number of American
firms have set up dummy subsidiaries
abroad solely for the purpose of trad-
ing with Cuba. Some enterprising Ca-
nadians have done quite well for them-
selves by buying goods in the U.S. and
"shipping them through Canada to Cuba.
, Many foreign - made goods sold here
have at least some American - made
narts. In a group of seven Western
husinessmen lounging by the Riviera
Hotel pool recently, only one handled
a Product without American-made com-
ponents.
THE CUBANS IiAVE made clear
what they would like from the U. S.:
heavy machinery, chemicals, farm
ei-inment, medicines and pharmaceu-
ticals, fertilizers, computers, paper and
replacement parts for everything from
mining machines to electric power
plants.
As long as the U. S. is unwilling to
supnly these goods, literally hundreds
of foreign firms are more than happy
to do so. But these firms understand
that this is likely just a temporary
windfall.
"It's only a matter of time for us,"
smiled a Canadian gear manufacturgr -
nhilosonhically. "But we're here to
sell while the selling's good."
Stephen Kinzer is a Boston - based
freelatce journalist who has traveled
widely in Latin America. He has, writ-
ten for the New York Times, Boston
Globe, Boston Phoenix and other pub.
lications.
THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
'Bid you ever see uch a perfect target?'
MOO"
ghe 3JR41&aai~
Fighty-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Wednesday, December 8, 19706
News Phone: 764-0552
i
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Ji*mmy, Carter on -the tracki
THE CARTERS' DECISION to send
their daughter Amy to Thad-
deus Stevens, a predominantly black
Washington, D.C. public school, has
already been praised and run into
the ground by commentators Shana
Alexander and Jack Kilpatrick re-
-spectively, to naihe but two.
Alexander said she felt the move
was mostly symbolic but that it was
still good because symbols are about
all we have to look to in goVernment
today. Kilpatrick said the move was
more or less a ploy to make the Car-
ters look like common folk. He said
that by the nature of Jimmy Carter's
position, he is far from common and
should act more mature in that re-'
gard.
We feel that it has become almost
a ploy by segments of the mass media
to pomp up suspected implications of
the Carters' option. Of course send-
ing Amy to a public. school is sen-
sational. A White House child hasn't
gone public for many years. But no
matter how simplistic the move, it
is good because it breaks down a bar-
rier. It makes a stir, but a positive
Photography Staff
Pauline Lubens ............. Chief Photographer
Brad Benjamin ............. Staff Photographer
Alan Bilinsky ................ Staff Photographer
Scott Eceker ................. Staff Photographer
Andy Freeberg ... .......... .Staff Photographer
Christina Schneider ........ Staff Photographer
one. And as we think it's a good
sign that Jimmy Carter is putting
Amy into public school, so do we
think that his desire not to get over-
dressed for his inauguration and be
sworn in as "Jimmy" instead of
"James Earl" is equally good.
Maybe these are small gestures, but
they're very important. They are a
new start and a sign that Jimmy Car-
ter recognizes that he is not a deity,
but an elected servant of the people
of this country. We are not saying
that Carter' doesn't deserve respect
because he'd like to be more casual
and more real in his role of the
Presidency. For that, perhaps he
should be respected all the more.,
We hope Carter's casual style
keeps on evolving - right up to the
point that his administration begins
turning out sound, logical, truly pro-
gressive work that doesn't cow-tow
to all the overblown status quo fig-
ures who compose most of our slow-
moving, but at least moving, govern-
ment.
Let's not disect-Amy's going to
Stevens. Let's support it and what
it stands for.
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Rob Meachum, Jeff Ristine,
Bill Turque, Mike Norton, Stu Mc-
Connell, AnneMarie Schiavi, Dove
Hyde
Editorial Page: Rob Meachum
Arts'Page: Lois Josimovich
Photo Technician: Chris Schneider
t Go
By PAUL B. WIENER
A S THE HOLIDAYS approach,
many of us will be going
home to be with our families.
But for some of us this poten-
tially joyful time - it is both-
exhiliarating and tranquilizing
- will be hardwork, if not pain-
ful, for we have still to learn
how to get along with our par-
ents. Anxiously arriving, we
don't know whether to expect
them to help us be ourselves,
or dare us to be. And they are
feeling the same. Our deepest
feelings and needs for them are
buried under a heavy load and
we have to learn, or more pathti-
cally in some cases, re-learn,
how to visit them, how to come
away feeling satisfied and en-
riched, if not secure.
What's the problem? Do we
feel accused by them, these par-
ents of ours, distrusted, ideal-
ized, belittled? Do they ignore
us? Are they only pretending
to be interested in us? Do they
doubt us? Do they seem to have
little in common with us, little
to offer, little to learn? Are they
too old for us? Have they given
up on us? And if all these ap-
ply, is there really any hope
that things will everaget bet-
ter? Still, we take the plunge,
we want to see them, we want
to go home for the holidays,
to float in the womb of familiar,
seasonal cliches. There's no
place like home: for many of
us, it's the only one we belong
to -- don't we feel our spouses
and children really belong to
us? Home: even when it knocks
us off our feet, we know where
we stand. It's the place we came
from. Who is so brave that if he
doesn't truly belong to his ori-
gins. doesn't wish that, for a few
days of the year at least, he
did, doesn't believe that he de-
serves to belong and that they
deserve him, or her?
ome,e
THE COMMON CEREMONY
of eating meals together can be
such a pretext, providing you
all chew th8 food, not each oth-
er. The traditional practice of
giving gifts is one, if it doesn't
become a - competitive game.
Doing something together that
you both enjoy can be an ex-
cellent pretext. For years my
father and I have listened to
classical music together in the
living room, both of us speech-
less, eyes averted, smugly
pleased and critical of each oth-
er's record selection, choosing
to listen to something new or
intense or complex enough to
override the need to speak to
each other from the heart.
And there are hundreds of oth-
er such pretexts for sharing
what you may feel, and fear,
can't be shared or accepted --
yourself, your love for these dif-
ficult people. Many people go
shopping together, take a drive,
watch TV, visit family friends,
bake cookies or lasagna, go out
to a show or a basketball game.
You can go bowling, ice fishing,
snowmobiling, you can shovel
snow, go to church. do laundry,
coo over your little niece or
nephew, look at dad's new golf
clubs or watch, mom's new coat
or loom. You can fix something
around the house, ask or give
advice, gossip about relatives,
or exchange news and views-
those that can be exchanged
without sounding threatening
and risking approval or power.
And you can simply go to sleep
and-wake up all under the same
roof, just like the Waltons.
What is important, while visit-
ing parents who excite strongly
ambivalent, tense, conflicted
feelings, is to concentrate on
what is possible between us and
them, on what will permit some
exchange of warmth and togeth-
erness. During the year we may
often feel exiled from these feel-
ings when old, habitual angers,
memories, grudges, misunder-
standings or regrets bounce-off
the walls into our awareness,
turning us toward the sullen,
childish independence of the
rebel without a cause. But dur-
ing the holidays, if our hearts
are so heavily guarded, we must
check this baggage and keep
our arms, our selves, free to
make contact.
WITH ALL THIS I'm assum-
ing that for those of us, wheth-
er 19 or 39, who are uncomfort-
able around our folks, no true
reconciliation may ever be pos-
sible - or desirable. Yet we
must be conscious not only of
what we do have, but of what
we will never have with our par-
ents. We are who we are. The
total, mutual openness, forgive-
ne ss, acceptance, interest, car-
ing and praise we may expect
as the result of verbal or emo-
tional confrontations and count-
less, earnest attempts to explain
ourselves, to challenge, to im-
press, to confess to them - in
short, to talk our way into be-
longing is only the, dream of a
child unwilling td accept his or
her separateness, his unique-
ness, and the responsibility for
the power and effect his or her
personality - which, after all,
we didn't really create but must
learn to handle like anything
else - has on his parents. Not
that such talk is wronk. It is
necessary until it is exhausted
and either dies or is transfigur-
ed. But it's not the object of the
kind of visit, or relationship, I'm
describing. I'm speaking rdther
of the decision to relate to our
parents in another way, a way
that in a sense guarantees us
that we still have recognizable
parents, regardless of our differ-
ences and distances. It is a de-
cision to accept the limits not
only of our origins but of the
very concept of origins as well.
And sometimes the reconcilia-
tion may not be necessary. It's
there smoldering somewhere.
Our very feelings of discomfort,
anger, nervousness, strangeness
njoy
holiday
! 0
pint
are, in fact, evidence that we
still care and that something's
already happening that we don't
know how to relate to. And may-
be it's time to practice new,
more effective ways of caring,
of translating these difficult
feelings, if we want to achieve
our goal of feeling close to our
parents. Yes, we still want
something from them, just like
the kids we feel like' around
them. We want love, only now
we see we must take it when
it's there, in whatever forms it
assumes, and we must give it
wlhen there's an opening.
If many of our parents will
love us only on condition, they
too, knowing the impossibility
of our being anyone but who
we are, will love 'us as much
as they can, as much as we
let them, even if this feeling
calls for deliberate, if creative,
pretense and a structured set-
ting.
These conditions of sharing
and belonging to a family-of
faith and good will-are not on-
ly the only conditions that will
permit the fellowship of even
troubled, anxious families. They
are the very ;nirit of the holi-
days, the purpose of the cele-
bration, as winter, closes over
some of our greenest hopes and
turns ins warmly toward each
other.
I
Rift Divides India-Bangladesh
I
11.A
By The Associated Press
Two South Asian allies, India
and Bangladesh, have become
embroiled in a dispute over the
course of the historic Ganges.
River.
The waters of the Ganges flow
from India through Bangladesh
and into the Bay of Bengal. The
controversy arose when India
built a $200 million barrier at
the town of Farakka, 11 miles
upstream from the border to
divert some of the water into the
nearby Padma River to flush
the silt out of the port of
Calcutta, 150 miles to the south.
This diversion roused the ire
of Bangladesh which declared
that it had played havoc with
agriculture, industry ahd
navigation on its side of the
border. It charged that the
Farakka barrier completed
more than a year ago was "an
act of aggression on the
economic sovereignty of
Bangladesh."
"India cannot unilaterally
withdraw waters from the
common rivers without due
regard to the consequences
downstream," said Bangladesh
in a document submitted
recently to the U.N. General
Assembly.
Negotiations over the
disputed barrier broke down in
September with Bangladesh
accusing India of being in-
III
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II :AN lI - xNI*1 \. 1 9 50 10 2w
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