Statement by Victor Mooney

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, August 22, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- I arrived in Cuba last week for a humanitarian visit. To see the effects of the US embargo is emotional. You would have to be not human to close your eyes to see this political oppression. In my eyes, this is another tentacle of slavery.

During my first hours of walking in Centro Havana, I heard the Cuban music playing. This brought back vivid memories in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. During a visit to Castillo de San Severino in Matanzas, a repository for the transatlantic slave trade and UNESCO designated world heritage site, it also brought back memories of my first two failed rowing attempts from the House of Slaves on Goree Island, Senegal, another UNESCO world heritage site. On my final night in Cuba, I spoke to a teary-eyed woman in Cojimar and conveyed that the blood that runs through the African diaspora is embedded with the Cuban people.

Even with this experience, I have to abort my intention in rowing the final ninety miles of a five-thousand mile journey because I can't self-finance the mission. For now, I must take a page from Ernest Hemingway and complete the book on the Goree Challenge. As a son of Africa, I will never forget this visit. Thank-you to all that offered logistical support.

On the net: www.goreechallenge.com

Editors note: Victor Mooney's quest to row across the Atlantic Ocean, took ten years, four attempts and four different boats. He became the first African-American to row across any ocean. After this feat, he was given Equatorial Guinea nationality from H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the Head of State and sponsor of his fourth rowboat, the Spirit of Malabo.

Lisa Samuels
GC Media
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