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Warm greetings in the Lord! I just got this report from one of our professors returning from Cuba. Uwe Hutter is a very serious German Prof. and is not given to sensationalism, thus the report is much stronger than it reads. I think it is good for all of us to be aware and to continue to press on in the work in these crucial times for Cuba.
The country is in a very delicate crossroads where the people are seizing up the situation with r
evolt, or revolution, as a possibility. I translated the report and included the original in Spanish for you.
"Dear Manny, I just got back from Cuba and I wanted to give you a small report of the situation there. I am not sure if you have been in Cuba since it was hit by the hurricanes in August and September. Since that time the living situation in the country has taken a turn for the worst, if that is possible.
Food for the population is not guaranteed and the people are going truly hungry. There is fear that things can revert to the difficulti es of the 90's [prior to the openness we have enjoyed since then]. In some of the eastern cities there are uprisings, there have been attacks on some of the local authorities. The government decision to deny gatherings of groups of people is understandable because they are afraid that any of these meetings can become an uprising against the government.
BY THE WAY, the restriction of meetings is applied to ALL, meetings, including meetings of the communist party! [That is real fear]. In Bayamo [our eastern headquarters] it was not possible to conduct our teaching seminars, because they specifically and directly warned Samuel, the leading pastor [not to do it]. The measure is in place at least until the end of the year.
I took advantage of the time there to visit WLM workers who were affected by the hurricanes. The images are shocking. There are houses that are completely destroyed. There are churches that are destroyed or gravely damaged. There are WLM workers living in shelters made with palm branches. Near the town of Manzanillo I visited the shelter of Pedro, one gust of wind will blow it down. It is horrible! In Havana we had our seminar without any problems. It is easier to be more anonymous and both Raymundo and Felix were eager to go on as usual. We did the teaching with no problems. In Pinar del Rio [2 hours west of Havana] I saw the same situation as in the east. This was the region which was most devastated by hurricane Ike. The pictures I sent you are from Pinar del Rio. Some people were sure that the police would not allow us to go into the disaster areas, but there were no problems with entry to see the devastation. The real problem was with the roads which were nearly impassable in some places.
Summary: Cuba is entering a crucial phase. If the government is unable to20improve the conditions of the people in six months, I am afraid that there can be very violent events with incalculable consequences
. Suggestion: We should work with high priority in Cuba. We don't know how long we may be allowed to preach the Gospel with total freedom as we have been. We need to be mindful of the grave situation in the country and do all that is possible for us to encourage our evangelists. I don't know how we are doing financially, but I think it would be good for Jose [Martin] to travel in November/December.
Teaching is still being done in Havana and the brethren are very encouraged with the visits they receive. This is a brief statement of my personal experience on this trip, but I have never, in the eight years I have been traveling there, seen such a grave situation. For me it continues to be a great privilege, which I highly value, to be able to contribute my grain of sand so that all of Cuba may hear the Gospel.
A strong [fraternal hug],
Jose [ Uwe Hutter]"
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