While it may seem hard for the holidaymaker to make sense of Cuba, spare a thought for the Cuban. As one hotel gardener put it: “I was born a year after the Revolution. I have been living with this system for nearly 50 years and I still don’t understand it.”
The first thing to remember when you land in Cuba is that you have just entered one of the world’s last bastions of centrally controlled socialism. Its government has delivered free and universal housing, health and education to the people of this island, but has deprived them of many civil and human rights. Freedom of speech is restricted, the only newspapers are government-run and Cubans are not even allowed to have the Internet in their home. Open criticism of the government is not tolerated, and freedom of movement is heavily restricted.
On top of this, millions of Cubans have fled to the US since the Revolution, and many people are resigned to never seeing their loved ones again. The US government makes it hard for Cubans in America to send money home, and only allows one visit per year, part of a cold war against Cuba that began when Castro nationalised industries that were owned by big US companies.
The measures against Cuba have intensified through the years, with the US demanding that its trading partners fall into line and isolate the country economically. In response, Cuba came to rely on the Soviet Union, but following the collapse of Communism in Europe, ordinary Cubans were left high and dry. Families, particularly in the countryside, were left with nothing to eat for days on end.
In 1990, the Government declared an austerity programme known as the Periodo Especial (Special Period). For five years, rations were cut to the bone and the World Health Orginisation estimates that during that time every Cuban lost between 5 and 20 pounds due to food shortages. Even today, the memories are painful: every Cuban has a story to tell – of babies who could not be fed, of scams to sell cardboard as food, or of young girls who turned to prostitution to feed their families.
Tip: Don’t bring up questions about Castro or politics in public places. Many Cubans are happy to talk if there is no chance of being overheard, but even then try to be tactful and listen, rather than offer your opinion on such a complex matter.
The strength of the people is tested daily by la lucha (the daily struggle). As Cubans say, “Everything here is difficult”, but they also assert: “Todo se resuelve”, everything will sort itself out. The Cubans are nothing if not determined, and necessity being the mother of invention, the country is gradually bouncing back, and is even beginning to show signs of thriving. Cuba is proud that after hundreds of years of foreign intervention (Spanish, English, American, Soviet) it is now standing on its own two feet.
This article appeared in Thomas Cook's HotSpots Guide to Cuba
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