Albert Quiroga debriefs a traveler....
Albert Quiroga conducts the debriefing, and he shares with us....
My Cuban colleague just got back from visiting her family in Havana, so will share this with you, based on the mini-debriefing I subjected her to - believe me, she wanted to talk and it was obviously painful for her to leave her family behind, once again.
1) Repression everywhere - lots of military, police, "rapid reaction" types all about - I know we knew this already. People are stopped and questioned for whatever reason the authorities have - "who are you, were are you going, why are you here, where are your id cards etc etc."
Anybody thought to be a "dissident" or "troublemaker" is being harassed and/or taken into custody.
2) Food - scarcer than ever; people are not starving because at least fruit is plentiful, but very little of everything else. She was able to help by buying some things at the tourist dollar stores, at outrageous prices, of course. But that is why she went to Cuba - to "give a little relief to my family."
3) People believe fidel is seriously ill and will never again, even if he makes it, hold power as he did before. They are afraid raul will take over because he is seen as cold and murderous - yet is also perceived as a weakling. The fear is there will be internal infighting and the killings will then begin. There is no person or group thought strong enough to offer an effective focus of resistance to the regime within the island, although "there are many dissident groups in Havana and some fairly big ones in the provinces." The repression is so tight, however, it is very difficult if not impossible to get anything going against the regime. What the Cubans apparently need is a "spark" to get a movement started against the regime, and this is where they feel the Cuban diaspora could help, via some concrete action which would bring world attention to Cuba, as well as distracting the regime so that dissidents in Cuba could open up a "second front," so to speak. I mentioned the idea of a peace flotilla, and she thought it was a very good idea and an example of actions which would help undermine the regime, perhaps to the "tipping" point. "Only if all Cubans inside and outside Cuba unite will something be accomplished." That's the tough part, isn't it?
The propaganda inside the island constantly hammers that the "Yankees are coming and they will bomb schools, churches, and hospitals blablablabla." Total paranoia - interestingly, says my friend, people seem ready to risk a "Yankee invasion" because they see it as liberation. The apparatchik thinks otherwise, for obvious reasons. She told those who would listen not to fear "the Americans are not going to invade in any case." As she puts it, "we are going to have to start the process of freeing ourselves from this regime and not count on outside help." She is right.
4) The fear is that, because people have grown up under kaSStro "ethics and morals," or lack of them, that it will take 10-15 years to re-integrate Cuba into a state of normalcy, even if the regime falls or changes. Rudeness, vulgarity, and the "me first" and "what can you do for me and what can I get out of you" attitude is the order of the day. There is much hopelessness and depression because people feel closed in and believe they are wasting their life. "There are four engineers in my family, and none is working as an engineer," she told me.
5) Before I forget - "transportation is virtually shut down," said my friend. "People in Havana mostly walk." Well - that is another way of controlling people, isn't it? Make it hard for them to move about.
6) Tourist areas - "still as beautiful as ever, like being in another country." Of course, natives need not apply. "Took my family to Varadero beach, and they could go because they were with me. Decided on a little experiment to see how vigilant the authorities were - my nephew went off on his own as if he was a local...in no time the cops were on him, asking him for identification and all kinds of questions, then telling him to leave the beach because he was not an authorized tourist." She had to come and explain things and then the polizei told the nephew to join the group and stay with it.
7) Dollars are now like poison. Penalties are imposed on people if they have dollars on them. "Euros only, please." If you bring dollars into Cuba, you are penalized - in her case, the commiekrats assessed a penalty of $50 US for bringing in $200 US and then to top it off, the exchange rate "tax" or "penalty" was another $0.11 so each remaining dollar shrank to $0.89 - on the other hand, she had to purchase euros at the rate of 1 euro for every $1.28 US - the kaSStroites even then, when you exchange your euros for...whatever...only return the equivalent of $1.16 US to you - 12 cents lost on the transaction. Leeching bastards!
All in all, a pretty sad Cuba - tense, expectant, fearful, hopeless, depressed, exhausted. That is the picture I get. That stinking bearded rat cannot die soon enough.
My Cuban colleague just got back from visiting her family in Havana, so will share this with you, based on the mini-debriefing I subjected her to - believe me, she wanted to talk and it was obviously painful for her to leave her family behind, once again.
1) Repression everywhere - lots of military, police, "rapid reaction" types all about - I know we knew this already. People are stopped and questioned for whatever reason the authorities have - "who are you, were are you going, why are you here, where are your id cards etc etc."
Anybody thought to be a "dissident" or "troublemaker" is being harassed and/or taken into custody.
2) Food - scarcer than ever; people are not starving because at least fruit is plentiful, but very little of everything else. She was able to help by buying some things at the tourist dollar stores, at outrageous prices, of course. But that is why she went to Cuba - to "give a little relief to my family."
3) People believe fidel is seriously ill and will never again, even if he makes it, hold power as he did before. They are afraid raul will take over because he is seen as cold and murderous - yet is also perceived as a weakling. The fear is there will be internal infighting and the killings will then begin. There is no person or group thought strong enough to offer an effective focus of resistance to the regime within the island, although "there are many dissident groups in Havana and some fairly big ones in the provinces." The repression is so tight, however, it is very difficult if not impossible to get anything going against the regime. What the Cubans apparently need is a "spark" to get a movement started against the regime, and this is where they feel the Cuban diaspora could help, via some concrete action which would bring world attention to Cuba, as well as distracting the regime so that dissidents in Cuba could open up a "second front," so to speak. I mentioned the idea of a peace flotilla, and she thought it was a very good idea and an example of actions which would help undermine the regime, perhaps to the "tipping" point. "Only if all Cubans inside and outside Cuba unite will something be accomplished." That's the tough part, isn't it?
The propaganda inside the island constantly hammers that the "Yankees are coming and they will bomb schools, churches, and hospitals blablablabla." Total paranoia - interestingly, says my friend, people seem ready to risk a "Yankee invasion" because they see it as liberation. The apparatchik thinks otherwise, for obvious reasons. She told those who would listen not to fear "the Americans are not going to invade in any case." As she puts it, "we are going to have to start the process of freeing ourselves from this regime and not count on outside help." She is right.
4) The fear is that, because people have grown up under kaSStro "ethics and morals," or lack of them, that it will take 10-15 years to re-integrate Cuba into a state of normalcy, even if the regime falls or changes. Rudeness, vulgarity, and the "me first" and "what can you do for me and what can I get out of you" attitude is the order of the day. There is much hopelessness and depression because people feel closed in and believe they are wasting their life. "There are four engineers in my family, and none is working as an engineer," she told me.
5) Before I forget - "transportation is virtually shut down," said my friend. "People in Havana mostly walk." Well - that is another way of controlling people, isn't it? Make it hard for them to move about.
6) Tourist areas - "still as beautiful as ever, like being in another country." Of course, natives need not apply. "Took my family to Varadero beach, and they could go because they were with me. Decided on a little experiment to see how vigilant the authorities were - my nephew went off on his own as if he was a local...in no time the cops were on him, asking him for identification and all kinds of questions, then telling him to leave the beach because he was not an authorized tourist." She had to come and explain things and then the polizei told the nephew to join the group and stay with it.
7) Dollars are now like poison. Penalties are imposed on people if they have dollars on them. "Euros only, please." If you bring dollars into Cuba, you are penalized - in her case, the commiekrats assessed a penalty of $50 US for bringing in $200 US and then to top it off, the exchange rate "tax" or "penalty" was another $0.11 so each remaining dollar shrank to $0.89 - on the other hand, she had to purchase euros at the rate of 1 euro for every $1.28 US - the kaSStroites even then, when you exchange your euros for...whatever...only return the equivalent of $1.16 US to you - 12 cents lost on the transaction. Leeching bastards!
All in all, a pretty sad Cuba - tense, expectant, fearful, hopeless, depressed, exhausted. That is the picture I get. That stinking bearded rat cannot die soon enough.
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