Charles, you make good points. I will respond to them in turn-
I'm not too sure that a short trip to a country who's tourist industry caters to outsiders and their money would show the evils that have the people of Cuba willing to risk life and limb on makeshift boats trying to reach American soil.
I can only imagine you were not in the rough areas of Cuba
First off, it's pretty hard to hide these evils for a very simple reason. Cuba is a small country, it's population is just shy of 12 million and each year, close to 2 million people visit Cuba as tourists. So, each year the equivalent of 16% of the entire population of the island comes for a look-see. Now, if there were say only a few thousand tourists per year and they kept everyone bottled up on a locked away beach, that would indeed be one thing.
However, they actively promote tourism across the island. We went to Havana and the Bay of Pigs, both of which involved traversing a good portion of the island, going through a good number of towns along the way. Also, tourists are encouraged to rent autos and toodle around. No one follows you or makes sure that you won't see anything nasty. You're free to explore.
As to the number of Cubans living in the U.S, Cuba's history has definitely not been pretty -and- there is a very significant incentive for Cubans to go to the U.S. Yes, I too have heard horror stories from the Soviet days, and after the collapse in 1990 many more folks left because of economics- with their main benefactor gone (Soviet Union) Cuba was pretty much on it's own for a few years meaning a lot of the basic amenities were pretty threadbare.
On the other side of the coin, any Cuban who enters the U.S has a host of incentives and is very easy to get permanent residency granted (The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 as well as a host of other Congressional acts make financial, healthcare and education assistance freely available to many newly arrived Cubans), so facing a life of uncertain privation thanks to economic isolation -or- getting a big leg up in another country, I can definitely understand why many folks would make this choice
The fact that you saw so many poor people makes me wonder just how much you understand poverty seeing as you are one who cries often about the poor in the US who by comparison are rich.
Well, in this case poverty has to be defined. Cuba in general is a poor country, meaning that the average joe doesn't have a six bedroom house, two cars and a big screen T.V. This is complicated by the fact that until recently many imports and goods Cubans could not get. On the flipside, as I mentioned, everyone is guaranteed food, shelter education and universal healthcare. 'Shelter' may not be the Taj Mahal, but it's a lot better than living on the streets.
Also, because it's a communist country, most folks are still employed by the government and paid in a wage that is enough to perhaps buy a pair of shoes once per month. So, while monetarily the average citizen does not have the means to go out and purchase a big screen TV or pickup truck, they also have food, shelter, education and transportation provided.
I think this was essentially Arty's point. this Cuba isn't the Cuba of the 1960's or even the Cuba of 2000. Partial capitalism is already a fait accompli and the point of the economic sanctions has long passed.
Thanks greywar, bingo!
I'll be the first to admit that Cuba's past is no bed of roses. When I was there less than a week ago however, I found a nation of mostly happy, hopeful folks who've been through some tough times and are pretty resilient because of it!
