Finding Cuba
Ross Sheil Online Co-ordinator rsheil@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, December 14, 2008
HAVANA, Cuba - Although a 90-minute flight away, Cuba appears unfamiliar
in language and culture. But even locally, Cuba has undergone some
transformation, gradually moving away from the shared socialist values
of the previous decades.
Arriving in Havana, you do not expect to see similar expensive SUVs that
pass outside Kingston's main airport, but instead the picture-postcard
'Yank Tanks', well-maintained old American vehicles imported prior to
the United States embargo. Cubans are optimistic that Barack Obama as US
president will take steps to lift the embargo (which allows for US food
exports) following his inauguration next month, a time which coincides
with the 50th anniversary of the revolution that brought Fidel Castro
and communism to power.
Reaching the city many of the buildings are crumbling through want of
resources, not unlike downtown Kingston, giving way to well-maintained
monuments of the revolution. it remains also like Kingston, a cultural
capital of the Caribbean.
Sunday Finance spent three nights in Havana this week, invited to a
seminar on science journalism organised by the Cuban government and
UNESCO. The first session that this newspaper arrived at was a
Government official holding forth, at length, against capitalism and
what sounded like a very Cuban solution to the era of financial crisis:
'mainstreaming social participation'.
Part of the Cuban willingness to spread the values of its revolution
abroad, Jamaica has received assistance in fields including health,
education and 'that' donation of four million energy-saving light bulbs.
Cuban officials seemed equally welcoming while the seminar schedule
afforded the opportunity to walk around the city centre during the day
and at a night - an activity that would be thought naive nearby the
Observer offices in Kingston 5. And while all Cuban media is
state-controlled there was no suggestion or inquiry made as to what this
newspaper might publish.
Meanwhile, change is slow, says Cubans who earn an average monthly wage
of about US$20 ($1,600) but with free education and health care. They
also rely upon family members in the US, the black market and
interaction with foreigners via the tourism industry, which includes
resorts operated by Jamaican hoteliers Sandals and Super Clubs.
Cuba has two separate currencies: 'National pesos' valued at US$0.04, in
which salaries are paid and 'Convertible pesos' (CUC) which are pegged
higher than the US dollar at 1:1.08 and used in the tourism industry and
to purchase luxury goods.
A stark disparity was revealed upon visiting a craft market where a
shirt being sold for 18 CUC by a vendor, approximately what our Cuban
companion earned monthly. Meanwhile public enthusiasm for one recent
change, the decision to allow cellphones is somewhat dampened by their
price tag - about half the yearly wage.
Speaking with this reporter Cubans said that the eventual passing of the
still ubiquitous Fidel Castro should prove a more significant turning
point than his handing over the Presidency to brother Raul following
stomach surgery in 2006. They believe that the reclusive Raul is more
pragmatic but will continue to usher in gradual change similar to China
rather than the sudden collapse of its major aid partner the Soviet
Union in the 1990s.
Hard memories remain of that time, known as the 'Special Period', which
was accompanied by shrinking resources, increased flight to the US and
demand for its dollar.
Beginning in 1961 Cubans are still rationed with essential goods.
Almost by contrast, staying in modest shared accommodation at a
government residence, the hospitality was impressive with an open bar at
night and a spread of national dishes.
One night this reporter, two colleagues from Haiti and Guyana and an
American student were sitting outside when the conversation turned to
Obama and Cuba.
As we sat there, representatives of the region, none who had previously
ever visited the other nation, one thing seemed for sure: it doesn't
hurt to learn more about your neighbours.
http://jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20081213T000000-0500_143726_OBS_FINDING_CUBA_.asp
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