Lost in translation

(or,
What a difference a word makes)

By
Emilio Paz                                                                         Read Spanish Version

The
Associated Press created widespread misunderstanding on Wednesday
when it reported on Fidel Castro’s reflection on Obama’s
misinterpretation of Raúl Castro’s recent public comments.

By
mistranslating a word in Fidel’s article, Will Weissert, the AP’s
chief Havana correspondent, triggered a wave of breast-beating and
rending of clothes from Miami to Union City, and allegations that
Raúl and Fidel are not on the same wavelength.

The
problem arose in the paragraph that said, in the original Spanish:

"Nadie debe
asombrarse de que [Raúl] hablara de indultar a los sancionados en
marzo de 2003 y enviarlos todos a Estados Unidos, si ese país
estuviera dispuesto a liberar a los Cinco Héroes antiterroristas
cubanos."

The
opening words could be translated as "No
one should marvel at
the fact that [Raúl] spoke about pardoning the men sentenced in
March 2003 and sending them all to the United States, if that country
were willing to release the five Cuban antiterrorist heroes."

Or "No one should be
surprised…"
or "No one should wonder…"
or any variation of the idea that Raúl’s agreement to some sort of
negotiation is unremarkable — particularly considering that, in
Fidel’s words, many of the self-described dissidents currently
imprisoned, "like the mercenaries at Girón, […] are at the
service of a foreign power that threatens and blockades our
motherland." Girón is how Cubans refer to the Bay of Pigs
invasion in April 1961.

However, Weissert
mistranslated the word "asombrarse"
and
quoted Fidel as saying: "No one should assume
that
[Raúl] spoke about pardoning, etc."

The reader was thus told
that Raúl had no intention of pardoning the "dissidents."
Nothing could be farther from the truth. What Fidel was saying was
that Obama should not expect a unilateral release of prisoners by
Cuba without agreeing to release the five Cubans who infiltrated the
terrorist groups in Miami and are now in prison in the United States.

In effect, Fidel was
voicing solidarity with Raúl’s position, not clashing with it.[*]

On the subject of
remittance fees, Fidel disagreed with the U.S. president — but not
with Raúl — when he wrote that Obama’s assertion "that Cuba
charges ‘an awful lot’ and ‘takes a lot off the top’ is an attempt by
[Obama’s] advisers to sow discord and divide the Cubans. All
countries charge specific amounts for transferring foreign currency.

"If it’s dollars,
all the more reason for us to do so, because that’s the currency of
the state that blockades us. Not all Cubans have relatives abroad who
send remittances. To redistribute a relatively small portion for the
benefit of those who most need food, medicine and other goods is
absolutely fair."

So, the allegations of a
rift between the Castro brothers made in many U.S. newspapers and
publications can most charitably be described as wishful thinking.

[*] P.S. Hours after
publishing its article with the "No one should assume"
translation, The Associated Press sent out a correction with the
official Cuban translation, which began "No one should feel
astonished."
By then, it was too late; the hysteria had started.