A family's flight to freedom
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on December 28, 2014 1:50 AM
A Cuban expatriate whose parents moved the family to the U.S. when she was 6 years old says she agrees with President Barack Obama's stance on her homeland and any moves to eradicate communism there.
Fe Finch, who retired in August as foreign language instructor at Wayne Community College, admitted her stance might not be popular with everyone from that country.
"My reaction is that I agree with Obama," she said Thursday. "A whole lot of Cubans would be mad at me for saying that."
Earlier this month, the president announced the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, signaling the end of a half-century of "Cold War" enmity with Cuba.
Mrs. Finch, of Pikeville, said the 50-year embargo has done nothing but perpetuate problems like poverty. Once upon a time, she said, Cuba's dollar was worth the same as the American dollar.
"Castro has ruined the economy," she said. "Communism doesn't work. We saw that in Russia and China.
"But the embargo has not helped stop it. How do you stop it? The same way you stop it in the rest of the world -- by using the Internet, opening up the Internet to them. The Internet is freedom. Make the common everyday people aware of what's going on in the world, so the government can't lie to the people as easily."
While she might agree with the president's position, she said there are likely a lot of Cubans who still feel very strongly about keeping the embargo going.
"It hasn't worked and why keep on doing something that doesn't work?" she said, adding, "I wish (Obama) had gotten Cuba to do a few more concessions."
Mrs. Finch's knowledge of the Cuban regime goes beyond its being her birthplace. She learned much from her parents over the years, both about Fidel Castro and then his brother, Raul, who took over the presidency in 2008.
Her family actually had ties to the Castro regime before it converted the country to communism, she said.
"My father knew both (brothers) Fidel and Raul Castro," she said. "Fidel actually came to my aunt's house before he became the leader of Cuba.
"Before I was born, my aunt was president of the student body at the university. (Fidel) came to the house to discuss politics with my aunt. My father happened to be there."
Her father, Dr. Jose de Varona, was appointed general director of public health for Cuba, the equivalent of the surgeon general in America, she explained. He was in charge of all the hospitals, public health clinics and food, drug and beverage control for the nation. He remained in that position until Castro declared himself a Marxist-Leninist, resigning in protest when asked by the Castro regime to indoctrinate and to train the militia and his staff in communist theology.
"When Castro came into power -- he had promised a democratic government -- it became communist and (he) started changing things," Mrs. Finch said. "My father resigned his position. And my uncle, Manuel Fernandez, was minister of labor. They worked with Castro for the first year."
She said Fidel Castro came into power in 1959 and a few years after, launched something called "interventions," where the government took over all the businesses.
Her father fled the country in 1961 with his wife, Dr. Angela Ruiz Lopez de Varona, and their six children, seeking refuge and a new life in America. They later settled in Goldsboro, where he worked at both Cherry Hospital and O'Berry Center. He died in 2010. Her mother passed away last year.
Mrs. Finch was 6 years old when her family left Cuba, she said, and never returned.
"My parents, because they were involved in the government, when (my father) escaped, he was tried in absentia and sentenced to death so he couldn't return, and I haven't returned," she said.
She has some cousins and other relatives still living in Cuba, she said, and realizes that there are many reasons some have chosen to remain -- be it in support of the regime or for varied reasons, are either unable or unwilling to leave.