Feliz Neuvo Anno

I have just returned from Cuba. The land of cigars, dark rum and Fidel Castro. That Cuba. I had few expectations while en-route. I knew it would be warmer, and there would be good music, but otherwise, I had no idea what to expect.

I was pleasantly surprised, and somewhat saddened by it all at the same time. The Cubans are a warm hearted and sociable people. They are delighted to have people from Canada and Europe come to visit, and they are also desperately poor. Despite the hardship, the Cuban people we saw always wore clean clothing and held their heads up. They carried themselves with a noble bearing even when life appeared to be a grind by our standards. I guess you can't put a price tag on dignity.

We Norteamericanos are obsessed with the price of everything it seems. We talked about wages and the availability of material things. Cubans don't have a lot of either. The nice fellow that we had lunch with several days told us he earned about 15 convertible pesos a month working 6 twelve hour days a week. He had to hop on a bus from the city every day and leave his wife and two year old daughter behind. He probably earned a few extra pesos in tips doing his job, but even so, he was probably living on the equivalent of a thousand dollars a year. Maybe less. He was one of the higher paid staff at the resort too.

PJ and I made a gift of some T shirts and some household items like shampoo and some razor blades. He was extremely grateful because it would allow him a little more breathing room. As I see it, we can yap all day long about poverty, but when you put a face to it, you can't help but be moved to help. Our Cuban friend was quite happy, and we were glad to help out.

Despite all of the obvious signs of desperation, the Cuban economy is improving because of the tourists coming to her sunny shores. There are resorts springing up all over the island, and money is starting to return. It's a far sight better than it was at the end of the Russian presence in Cuba. At least the economy is based on valid commerce rather than military one-upmanship as it was during the cold war between the Soviets and the Americans. I'd like to think that Cuba will prosper again if the western world continues to embrace this wonderful and friendly nation. The outdated politics of the cold war aren't helping Cuba. Canadians and Europeans are helping lift Cuba out of her slump, and none to soon.