Hurricane season has not only left a path of destruction, but it's opened some old wounds regarding the relationship between Cuba and the United States.
U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa, said the damage inflicted by hurricanes Charley and Ivan in Cuba is just the latest indication that President Bush's new policy on family travel to Cuba needs to be repealed. He submitted an amendment to an appropriations bill Tuesday that would do just that.
"When you looked around the community after the hurricanes, you had families reaching out to families, neighbors reaching out to neighbors. It's a wonderful thing," Davis said Tuesday afternoon. "We have many, many people in our community who want to reach out to their families in Cuba.
"I'm hoping to get enough Democrats and Republicans to support the amendment, but it's not going to be easy. The White House is heavily lobbying."
Under the current policy implemented June 30, Cuban-Americans are allowed to visit their families in Cuba once every three years, and they must apply for a specific license to make the trip. Previously, people could go once a year. The administration also has limited visits to immediate family members, not aunts, uncles or cousins in Cuba.
According to Davis, the need to lend financial and moral support to the latest hurricane victims - Charley caused an estimated $1-billion damage in Cuba - underscores the problems with the restrictions.
For many Cuban-Americans it's more complicated than that.
Local lawyer Ralph Fernandez supports the restrictions as a means of keeping Fidel Castro's government from profiting.
"Ivan is a Category 5 hurricane but Hurricane Fidel is a Category 6 hurricane and this one doesn't move northwest," Fernandez said. "It's been stationary, wreaking havoc on a nation for 45 years.
"I don't disagree with the extension of humanitarian aid to people in Cuba going through a a unique plight. But we cannot lose perspective of what's going on. Castro already has said he won't accept aid from any country involved in an embargo against Cuba. He is being his usual self."
Fernandez was quick to point out that a lot of aid delivered to Cuba never reaches the people who need it most. Canned goods and other products, he says, are often confiscated by government officials and end up on the shelves of American dollar stores and in the hands of tourists.
Other supporters of the restrictions believe opportunists were traveling under the guise of visiting family members and simply using the trips to enrich themselves, and, in turn, enrich Castro.
Roger Lima couldn't disagree more. The owner of Liborio's Restaurant on Causeway Boulevard has a mother and brother still living in Cuba. He would love to visit and help his mom deal with storm damage but, because he went last year, he can't go again for another two years.
"I talked to (my mother) on the telephone in Havana," said Lima, who has lived here for six years. "She was crying and scared because there was nobody to help her.
"Who is feeling this situation are people in the country, not the government. Castro is eating everyday, but the people in the streets don't have milk to give to a child."
To me, two things are clear about the issue.
One, it's an incredibly emotional debate with strong opinions on both sides. I find myself torn after each conversation.
I've never been to Cuba, but the idealist in me would like to think there is a way to help the truly needy while circumventing the opportunists and blocking Castro's greed.
Two, Davis should be commended for acting with conviction. He's undoubtedly familiar with both sides, yet he is choosing to fight the restrictions because he's convinced it's unfair to stop people from seeing their own flesh and blood.
The stand won't win any votes from some, but the determination wins my respect.
