By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | While visiting Cuba last week, we didn’t get much contact with everyday Cuban people. My wife and I were on a visit with primarily American newspaper people.
Other than Cubans at our hotel and restaurants, meeting and talking with Cubans was not part of our trip to this island nation of 11 million people. It somewhat reminded me of a visit several years ago to China, where we had no contact with individual Chinese. Wonder if both were deliberate?
There were two big take-aways from visiting Cuba on the five day trip.
First, Cuban people we saw on the streets going about their daily lives are busy and well-dressed. They have excellent education (all must attend school until 17, and the literacy rate is 99 percent.) They are not paid well according to our standards, and must often stand in line to buy items. But overall, they seem content. We also need to add that most Cubans have never known life except under this Communist country, now for 59 years.
Second, perhaps 75 percent of buildings in downtown Havana are crumbling from neglect. Many stand vacant, often with roofs caved in. There is no individual ownership of buildings allowed by their government, though people may own apartments within buildings. Yet the facades of these structures, many built in the 1920-50s, are architecturally beautiful. Perhaps 15-20 percent of the buildings are artfully restored, many colorfully. How some buildings get saved, while others adjacent crumble….we never learned. While the buildings are shabby, the streets are clean!
A few short thoughts:
- Yes, 1950-60 American autos are still in use, often in bright colors. But the vast majority of vehicles today are late-model imports, from Korea, France, Japan, and many other countries.
- Cuba concentrates on educating its people, and taking care of their health. Its modern medicine is excellent, while providing doctors for many Central and South American countries.
- Cuban agriculture is cutting-edge, concentrating on crops organically on small plots within the cities. It’s super successful. Fertilizer is in short supply. Yet Cuba still does not grow enough food for its people, hence needing imports for a growing line of staples. Its mechanization of farming is non-existent.
- It’s getting easier to visit Cuba. Tourism is small now, but could pave the way for a better trade balance. Opening up the country could be a godsend. Yet Cuba must provide better access with upgraded facilities. Its main airport near Havana looks and dates from the 1930s.
For Cuba to really make progress and improve living conditions for its people, the Communist bureaucrats must figure out a way to institute some form of ownership of buildings. It seems too large a task for government to undertake restoring perhaps 50-75 percent of all the deteriorating buildings within Cuba. Perhaps some day personal wealth may be able to change this. Buildings are a tremendous problem, which the government does not appear to be able or interested in solving.
Yet even its leaders say Cuba must change in many ways. But unless the pace of change greatly improves, the plight of the government, its structures and its people, may be seriously threatened.
We were pleased to have visited in Cuba. We see tremendous opportunity, even if only small changes are made. Its contented people, we hope, can rise to the occasion.
Maybe if we had been on a health mission, or on an educational or agricultural tour, we would have had a better understanding of the nation. Actually talking with its people would have helped. That would have improved our trip. If you go to Cuba, try to arrange more contact with its people.
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