A Cuban Story
All I have ever heard about Cuba are stories. Since I was little my grandparents would tell me stories about their native land Cuba, but these were not nice stories. Some of these stories I could not even believe them. They seem like things that could only happen in movies. Things like spies, people trying to escape the island, government oppression, poverty and people disappearing without a trace. I used to think these things only happened during the time my grandparents lived there, but I was wrong.
Recently, my cousin from Cuba came to Puerto Rico to visit me and my family. It was the first time he had ever visit our beautiful island. Since he arrived, all we talked about was about Cuba. For us it was something knew because it had been
a long time since we heard news about the living conditions there. We asked my cousin how was life in Cuba nowadays and he answered, “Is beautiful for visiting, not for living”. He explained to us that tourist in Cuba are treated very different from its regular citizens. It is forbidden for Cubans to talk to tourist without special permissions. Also, my cousin is a doctor in training and he said to us that Cuban hospitals have a two-parallel health care system, one is for tourist and special people which receive high quality treatment and even special rooms and the other is for Cubans which lacks medical supplies, rooms are crowded and it could take months to get test results. The photo on the left is a hospital room for tourist and special people and on the right photo is a hospital room for Cuban citizens. Both rooms are from the same hospital. I was saddened by the fact that visitors receive more rights than its own citizens.
My cousin continued talking how it is very difficult for Cubans to get primary supplies. He said to us that when he entered a food supermarket here in Puerto Rico he started crying. I found this very odd and I asked him why he had cried and he said to me “Because I had never seen so many foods in one place”. In Cuba, due to its political position, everything is control by the government and due to the low wages Cubans earn it makes it even more difficult for them to afford basic goods. According to my cousin a doctor in Cuba can earn a minimum of $50 dollars a month. That salary is not even enough for one person to maintain itself. Another thing the government controls is the media. Cubans do not have freedom of speech therefore they cannot state opinions that disapprove with the ideals of the government. In other words, you cannot talk bad about the government or the next day you will not see the light of day.
Most people do not hear about these things because it is not cover by the local news. Sadly, the reality is that Cuba today is not a free society. People still do not have freedom of speech, people live in poverty except those in political positions, and if you go against the government you will be persecuted. Nearly 40 years have passed since my grandparents left Cuba and is still the same oppressed country my grandparents talked to me about in their stories. It has been stuck with the same ruling family all these years. It is true what the travel agencies say about Cuba, it is truly a “travel to the past”.
For me, although I am Puerto Rican, I feel connected to Cuba. It is my mother’s and grandparents’ native land. Therefore, despite all the things I have mentioned I would still wish to visit Cuba one day and see where my mother and grandparents used to live. Cuba is still part of my heritage and I mourn for the day that things change there. Until so it will continue being in my memory as the stories of the land that time forgot.
Recently, my cousin from Cuba came to Puerto Rico to visit me and my family. It was the first time he had ever visit our beautiful island. Since he arrived, all we talked about was about Cuba. For us it was something knew because it had been
a long time since we heard news about the living conditions there. We asked my cousin how was life in Cuba nowadays and he answered, “Is beautiful for visiting, not for living”. He explained to us that tourist in Cuba are treated very different from its regular citizens. It is forbidden for Cubans to talk to tourist without special permissions. Also, my cousin is a doctor in training and he said to us that Cuban hospitals have a two-parallel health care system, one is for tourist and special people which receive high quality treatment and even special rooms and the other is for Cubans which lacks medical supplies, rooms are crowded and it could take months to get test results. The photo on the left is a hospital room for tourist and special people and on the right photo is a hospital room for Cuban citizens. Both rooms are from the same hospital. I was saddened by the fact that visitors receive more rights than its own citizens.
My cousin continued talking how it is very difficult for Cubans to get primary supplies. He said to us that when he entered a food supermarket here in Puerto Rico he started crying. I found this very odd and I asked him why he had cried and he said to me “Because I had never seen so many foods in one place”. In Cuba, due to its political position, everything is control by the government and due to the low wages Cubans earn it makes it even more difficult for them to afford basic goods. According to my cousin a doctor in Cuba can earn a minimum of $50 dollars a month. That salary is not even enough for one person to maintain itself. Another thing the government controls is the media. Cubans do not have freedom of speech therefore they cannot state opinions that disapprove with the ideals of the government. In other words, you cannot talk bad about the government or the next day you will not see the light of day.
Most people do not hear about these things because it is not cover by the local news. Sadly, the reality is that Cuba today is not a free society. People still do not have freedom of speech, people live in poverty except those in political positions, and if you go against the government you will be persecuted. Nearly 40 years have passed since my grandparents left Cuba and is still the same oppressed country my grandparents talked to me about in their stories. It has been stuck with the same ruling family all these years. It is true what the travel agencies say about Cuba, it is truly a “travel to the past”.
For me, although I am Puerto Rican, I feel connected to Cuba. It is my mother’s and grandparents’ native land. Therefore, despite all the things I have mentioned I would still wish to visit Cuba one day and see where my mother and grandparents used to live. Cuba is still part of my heritage and I mourn for the day that things change there. Until so it will continue being in my memory as the stories of the land that time forgot.