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October 7, 2002
From: Daniel Trenner, Dance Traveler/ Bridge to the Tango
To: All Cuban Exchange January 2003 Registrants
Dear Friends,
It is with great sadness that I write to you of my intention to cancel the Cuban Program for January 2003. Let me explain.
We depend on the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Treasury Department for our Special License for travel to Cuba. We were granted our first license in the year 2000. It expired on July 14th of this year. I began my inquiry as to how to renew my license in December of 2001. I was told by the staff at OFAC to make sure that I applied for renewal three months before the expiration date, not any sooner than that. Since applying for that renewal in April, right on time, I have been subject to a Kafkaesque experience of the federal bureaucracy. I have been told that there should be no problems, but as of this writing, I have been told to call back in two weeks more than twenty times. I have been shifted from agent to agent in search of someone who could tell me what to do to speed up the process. At the present time my proposal has been shifted to the "chief council's desk", a seemingly fortuitous advance, that actually has resulted in my no longer being able to talk to anyone of importance anymore.
One of our alumni has a relative who is a member of the United States Congress. His take on our problem is that OFAC is an arm of Federal Law Enforcement that is on the front lines of our present war on terrorism. It is the office responsible for identifying and closing terrorist bank accounts. Its resources have been reprioritized to focus on this problem. While Cuba is not directly related to this, our administration's desire to include Cuba in its list of enemies makes scrutiny of any Cuba proposal important enough that it will wait until it gets such scrutiny. That there are not the resources to provide such scrutiny creates the "catch 22" whereby our application disappears. Further he felt that any pressure from a congressperson would probably lead to more, not less, delay.
Our very capable travel contact in Canada even suggested another licensed organization in the US under whose auspices we would be able to travel. And I have done everything necessary to be able to utilize this possibility. It seems that it would probably work. However, I must say that the present, post September 11, state of international affairs and in particular the United States Administration's posture of making preventive war on Iraq, combined with this same administration's view of the government of Cuba as an enemy, has made me pause. I am after all the owner of this project, and the license was issued in my name. I am just not comfortable making any travel arrangements for you other than under my own OFAC issued license, based upon the language of my proposed program of intercultural exchange. Without this protection I do not want to take you past the US's economic blockade of Cuba, or wrangle with the OFAC branch of Federal law enforcement. The laws associated with this blockade of Cuba involve serious criminal penalties for breach.
The shame of this, and the main reason for which I have waited so long before making any changes, is that we still may very well be approved by OFAC. But they will not say when, other than that I should call them back again in another two weeks. This situation I cannot tolerate any longer. Although I expect, ironically (Murphy's Law), that my license may very well be approved by the time you get this letter. (If it is you may very well be hearing from me that the trip is on again! But I advise against holding your breath.)
I want everyone to know how sorry I am. We have more than 30 people registered for this trip. The group would have grown more I am sure. It is a good group size and would have been a great fit for our team concept. Our Cuban staff has been working hard during the course of this year to become even better prepared for their work. I know that they will be devastated by this decision.
But I cannot in good conscience go forward when I perceive as a possible risk for everyone involved. It is a situation in which I would be ill prepared to help you if there were any problems.
When we again have our license I will schedule another trip. This cultural exchange which we have developed with our Cuban friends is a valuable resource for dancers, and a real "bridge" of understanding between two cultures that desperately need more connection. So save your money please. We will let you know.
And please consider travelling with us to Buenos Aires on April 3-14, 2003. This is our sister program to the Havana program, developed over 11 years, and having served over 500 travelers. It is another dance and cultural bridge worth building. Read about the details or call us for more information.
I look forward to meeting you all again on another journey, hopefully in Cuba, when all of these troubling politics are a thing of the past.
Sincerely yours,
Daniel Trenner
President
Dance Traveler, INC.
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