I am not surprised The Police have agreed to play a concert in Havana. It's what celebrities do, stage and/or attend events that will generate publicity, and thus greater earnings, for themselves. And a Police concert, right on Robo-lution Square will bring the reunited group plenty — that is, if their hosts allow the foreign press in to cover the show.
While the news is disappointing, I also am not surprised by the hypocrisy the show will reveal about The Police's frontman, Sting, who up now as doubled as a high profile human rights activist. That, too, is what too many celebrities — from Harry Belafonte to Gloria and Emilio Estefan — do, too. They forget about what they said and did before, and those who might be hurt by their hypocrisy, and worry only about their financial or other bottom line.
Apparently, Sting, in his old age, has lost his sting.
In the mid- to late-1980s, Sting and other major artists — Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen and the like — raised awareness about the need to protect human rights, and about one of its greatest advocates, Amnesty International, with a series of concerts. The Conspiracy of Hope tour in 1986 and the Human Rights Now! concerts in 1988 were successes in that they innoculated millions of people with an appreciation for the need to stand up for oppressed peoples around the world.
Sting's apparently sincere passion for human rights was reflected in his art, most memorably in the song, "They Dance Alone," about Chilean women protesting the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Sting was not shy about his support for Amnesty International:
"I don’t belong to a church or political party or a group of any kind," he says. "I feel that Amnesty International is the most civilized organization in history. Its currency is the written word. Its weapon is the letter; that’s why I am a member. I believe in its non-violence; I believe in its effectiveness. Its dignity and its sense of commitment. Its focus on individuals and the concentration and tenacity with which they defend those imprisoned for their ideas has earned it the cautious respect of repressive governments throughout the world."
Sting, however, appears to have let his membership in Amnesty lapse. Or at least he's falling behind in his reading of what Amnesty has had to say about Cuba. In its 2006 annual report, Amnesty reported:
Human rights activists, political dissidents and trade unionists were harassed and intimidated. Such attacks were frequently perpetrated by quasi-official groups, the rapid-response brigades, allegedly acting in collusion with members of the security forces.Freedom of expression and association continued to be under attack. All legal media outlets were under government control and independent media remained banned. Independent journalists faced intimidation, harassment and imprisonment for publishing articles outside Cuba. Human rights defenders also faced intimidation and politically motivated and arbitrary arrests.
Or maybe Sting and his bandmates, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, don't give a damn about what Amnesty International or anyone else has to say about the reality of life, and dictatorship, in Cuba today. Maybe they blame the United States and the "embargo" for the ills in Cuba today, even if the nation's economic dealings with the rest of the world have not stopped the dictatorship from locking up those who oppose it, and starving just about everyone else.
In the 1980s, Sting opposed dictatorships, and encouraged, and convinced others to do the same, with about every breath he took.
Now, he is going to the King of Pain's party.
Leaving one less powerful voice to sing for what is right.
Redemption for Sting can come easily if does just one thing when he is in Havana in December.
For an encore, Sting should come out on stage with only a guitar and sing, with a slight alteration in the lyrics, "They Dance Alone." (Read them below the fold.)
The publicity, for himself and moreso for those who need his support, and the embarassment it would cause his hosts, would be good for everyone.
Why are there women here dancing on their own?
Why is there this sadness in their eyes?
Why are the soldiers here
Their faces fixed like stone?
I can't see what it is that they dispise
They're dancing with the missing
They're dancing with the dead
They dance with the invisible ones
Their anguish is unsaid
They're dancing with their fathers
They're dancing with their sons
They're dancing with their husbands
They dance alone They dance alone
It's the only form of protest they're allowed
I've seen their silent faces scream so loud
If they were to speak these words they'd go missing too
Another woman on a torture table what else can they do
They're dancing with the missing
They're dancing with the dead
They dance with the invisible ones
Their anguish is unsaid
They're dancing with their fathers
They're dancing with their sons
They're dancing with their husbands
They dance alone They dance alone
One day we'll dance on their graves
One day we'll sing our freedom
One day we'll laugh in our joy
And we'll dance
One day we'll dance on their graves
One day we'll sing our freedom
One day we'll laugh in our joy
And we'll dance
Ellas danzan con los desaparecidos
Ellas danzan con los muertos
Ellas danzan con amores invisibles
Ellas danzan con silenciosa angustia
Danzan con sus pardres
Danzan con sus hijos
Danzan con sus esposos
Ellas danzan solas
Danzan solas
Hey Mr. Castro
You've sown a bitter crop
It's foreign money that supports you
One day the money's going to stop
No wages for your torturers
No budget for your guns
Can you think of your own mother
Dancin' with her invisible son
They're dancing with the missing
They're dancing with the dead
They dance with the invisible ones
They're anguish is unsaid
They're dancing with their fathers
They're dancing with their sons
They're dancing with their husbands
They dance alone
They dance alone
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