Cubaverdad

I am XXXXXXXXXX and have been living in La Havana for about X years. 2 of there years were spent taking Spanish at XXXXXXX.

No one lives on the street in Cuba because it is illegal. The police who are on every corner do not permit it. You go to jail if you are out-of-province without papers. That too is illegal.

Otherwise, they will send you back to the residence that is listed on your Carnet (identity papers). If you don´t have your Carnet in your posession, you also go to jail. That too is illegal.

Education is free in Cuba. You can go to college to be a chef, but try to go to University. You will not be accepted. There are strict limits on who gets into what programs. Children of party officials have the best chance.

The result of the low paying jobs is rampant theft from the goverment who owns everything. This moral decay is necessay because on a nurses´ salary ( $10 US) you need to pay phone, hydro, gas and water. Some pay rent when they do not possess the rights to their property and it is a government house. A leg of chicken costs $1. Shoes cost $20. A shirt is $8. A fridge is $400. A TV is $300. A fan is $30. Nobody has any money. This forces them to steal whenever they get the chance. It is everyone, not just a few. It is a matter of necessity. It is true that no one starves in Cuba. They do get free food, but it is mostly rice and beans. 1 bread roll per person per day and 1 piece of chicken and fish per month.

The best job in Cuba (aside from Party Official) is a taxi driver. Why? He has access to foreigners with hard currency. Next best job – cash till operator in a store that sells in dollars. This allows them to steal directly. Theft rings operate in the dollar stores and the scheme works like this. When you are checking out your purchase, they double ring in items or overcharge for them. They do not give you the reciept and the person pays the amount on the till. Certain stores cheat you all the time. The theft rings are well organized. I have been cheated even when watching like a hawk. You must always check your receipt.

I always know when I have arrived in Cuba. The store shelves are empty. The worst shortages I can remember have been toilet paper (about 6 weeks – I now always keep a stock), lighters (about a month – how do you light your gas stove?) and sanitary napkins for women.

The medical system works well unless you need some pills. Cubans must buy their medicine at the LOCAL pharmacy. They can´t go to the one on the other side of town, If they don´t have it, you need to buy it from a dollar pharmacy and this costs much more than they make. The dental system is terrible. No freezing is supplied for people who what a filling. You must pay $ 5 extra. Freezing is only available for pulling teeth. This leads to everyone having ´bombed-out mouth´ . They pull the teeth, they do not repair them. No one goes to the dentist until it is an absolute emergency. Would you go for a filling wihout freezing?

The US is mistaken in their response to Cuban propaganda. They need to explain why there is an embargo. No one knows why. The answer is that in 1960 they stole $2 billion in US property. The owners were not compensated. This cannot be allowed. This needs to be explained. This is not personal, it is about theft of foreign property without compensation.
How would you like to live in a country with no freedom of speech, no freedom of association, no freedom of the press, no freedom of movement? A country that does not allow you to own a car or use the internet or sell a house. This may be someone´s idea of a great country, but it is not mine.