Advertisement
Published: January 22nd 2008
We have left Cuba now and are in a very different, yet geographically close, part of the world: Mexico (more on that later).
Although we have departed and although I sat at the La Habana airport with little anxiety about leaving or desire to stay, now that we have departed, my mind is still filled with the ideas and realities about Cuba. I realised that to travel a country like Cuba, you nearly have to remove yourself from the experiences so that you do not get fed up and bitter with the situations and the often ridiculousness of what you have to go through to get from A to B. If you can distance yourself and see the whole experience more as a social study or a learning trip, then you can think and digest things simply for what they are. Of course, when you are there in flesh and blood and you are confronted with a situation, e.g. the hirecar man tells you when you return the car that there is a US$100 penalty because you didn't do an oil change at 5,000km, it's often very very hard to do!
Leaving the country and all those situations makes it a lot easier to neutrally reflect on my experiences. In fact, I'm not sure that I could have done so whilst there; maybe the Internet being the most expensive, useless and scarce in the world (I'm sure of it!) was that way for a reason? Anyway, a few big questions remain on my mind. The most prominent: what will happen to Cuba after Fidel is no longer there?
Many intellectuals say that Fidel is already gone - it is true in a sense as he has put his longstanding Communist brother Raul in charge - yet he is still alive even if not kicking much. I read quite a bit about Cuba and her political and social situation before I came, but now I realise that half of it was Cuban propaganda and the other half was academic talk filled with deadlines, big words and little in-country authority. From the time I did spend amongst the Cuban people - in casas, on the streets, in shops and cafes, in our hirecar - I got the unfaltering vibe that they remain loyal to Fidel and his revolution. They may complain and whinge and dream about a different life, but I think if some Cuban exiles decided to jump the short distance from Florida to Habana with weapons and a new government like in the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, the people would still stick with Fidel. Perhaps fear of Fidel's might and power plays a very real role, but there is more. The Cubans remain loyal to this
idea they have of independence. Fidel and his men - including the all-star revolutionary fighter, Che Guevara (often celebrated but perhaps not always as good-hearted as we imagine) - freed to country from the ugly and brutal US-backed dictator Batista. That was some 50 years ago. Personally, I felt the Cubans were more trapped than free on their socialist island. But I think most of them still believe that they are free and liberated from any attachments to the rest of the world. They are in love with being a free people thanks to Fidel, even if they are trapped on their on soil and in their own politics.
Ah, a little carried-away there... Back to the question: what will happen to Cuba after Fidel? Firstly, not many Cubans seem to have much respect for Raul Castro. Once Fidel passes on, I cannot imagine that Raul will enjoy the same national support as he has now. Without his brother still watching over, and without that loyalty and the institution that is nearly Cuban of
owing Fidel their support because he freed them, Raul may not stand much of a chance to resist change.
What that change may be I think is obvious in some respects and entirely uncertain in others. The division between rich and poor, as well as the already-present division between high and low society, will soar, of that I have no doubt. The Cubans, at least those in the cities who have had a taste of the "better" life, want to make money, want to wear expensive clothes, want to drink and party, want to live the lives of luxury which their families in Florida live. They are hungry for capitalism and see it through very rosy-coloured glasses.
Further, I think the future may hold some dark times for the residents on the island. You can tell in his mannerisms and character when you speak to a Cuban man that he is carrying a great deal of pride and arrogance and might. Look at a Cuban woman, and you will see the desire for peroxide and diamonds, as well as the same stubborn pride and arrogance that the men carry around (obviously both with exceptions). Unlock the gate of a hungry, caged lion, and watch him tear through the countryside. Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. Add some guns and Italian designer shoes, and I believe you have the future of a Castro-liberated Cuba in your hands... What will become of them down the track, who knows. Whether they can stick together and pull together as a people? One can only wait and see.
x
Advertisement
Tot: 0.17s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 9; qc: 42; dbt: 0.1047s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
barry smith
non-member comment
I tend to agree.....excellent. xox