Karl Marx's Camel
30th March 2007, 14:32
I can only assume that since threads that deals with the reality in Cuba will be trashed by the pro-Castro fanatics, this one will too. Of course they have a hard time digesting how things really is. They swallow regime propaganda like it was candy. Of course they are scared. They don't want to know about Cuban life, because it is a whole different world from that the regime claims it to be. Too bad for them.
I only want to talk about reality in Cuba. But if one do so it seems that one must be "anti-communist", "anti-Cuban" and even "North American". Funny thing is that it seems many of those who toss the "you are north american" argument around, is actually from that continent themselves.
This is not an essay. It is more of a rambling from a person who has spent large amounts of time in Cuba. You might ask why. Why I am a writing this? Why is a good question. And the reason is that I am getting increasedly fed up with the hallucinations of the pro-Castro fanatics.
You can try to hide truth from foreigners, but you cannot hide the truth from Cubans. And you cannot hide the truth from non-Cubans who have lived in Cuba or spent great amounts of time here.
Anyways here are the ramblings of a man who has spent time in Cuba, and these are the experiences...
The truth is Cuban workers don't have the kind of labor laws in other countries. They can be fired at any second. Everyone who worked at petrol stations in Cuba 2005/2006 got fired and were replaced with "social workers".
If you work in shifts, like for instance in a kiosk, you could sometimes have to work 12 hours after having worked a 12 hours shift, if the one who is going to take oer your shift is sick and have not found a replacement, and you won't get extra paid from this compulsory working overtime.
And we all hear about how Cubans own their own workplaces, but isn't it funny that Cubans exploit about every opportunity to steal or make scams in order to squeeze out money from their place of work?
More nad more high positions are getting personell from the military ranks.
Apparently a tourist agency named "Gaviota" is owned/controlled by the military. Because military leaders will receive much higher penalties if they steal from their workplace.
The notion that there is democracy in Cuba is a joke, even if the state tries to convince its own people and foreginers of it.
Which country would have elcted a president that is getting close to the age of 81 and has spent the past year in hospital and been mortally ill.
If you go against Fidel in Cuba, it could almost be compared to a kamikaze attack/suicide. If you are elected to the national assembly you get power, prestige, extra priviledges like apartment, free food and drinks, hotel stay and the whole family get vacation, so much that you almost do not need the little wage you get. If you go against Fidel you can loose many of these goods and have to move to a apartment of lower standards and perhaps be blackmailed, which means no, or at least a much worse job.
Cubans who do nto vote in elections can be visited by police or their boss and in worst case lose their job, or be degraded and never advance in the system/workplace.
Before Fidel was sick, he was often in some sort of discussion/talk show that often went several times a week. To call it a TV debate would be misleading because everyone agreed almost 100 percent.
This TV show started around 2000 hours and lasted an hour or two, and then started Fidel with his "speech" that could last several hours without anyone being able to say anything, and no one dared to interrupt him. Often the show ended far over midnight, after Fidel's long speech.
I think this example says how much power he has in Cuba. Fidel controls media in when and where he will talk to media and what is going to be brought up and told.
From what I have heard, Fidel makes 36 CUC in a month. Fidel lives in a nice house, and a secret video from his house show that he lives very well compared to Cuban standards.
Even if it is cheap to live in Cuba, 36 cuc is not going to cut his expenses.
These leading people have coupons, they use them to get free food, personal hygiene products etc. Bosses that makes 30 cuc in a month have to their disposal a driver with a lada, that picks him up and drives him to work or drives you to your workplace. The chauffeur gets perhaps 7-10 cuc a month plus what the chauffeur and the boss dear and can sell illegal from the cars gasoline tank on the black market.
This mentioned here in this paragraph is not personal experience, but has happened to a close friend of mine that has been in resturants or by the tables in popular swimming pools and seen important Cubans drink and eat and they have only put things on the receit when they leave, without paying anything. He has seen different people in hotels and seen important Cubans with their family, often their wife, children and mother, live in all inclusive hotels that would have cost them aout 150-200 CUC per night together if they had payed. And even one time when the ordinary tourists drank from the cheap coctails, while Cubans drank 7 year old Havana Club that they did not even get in the bar.
The whole system that the regime/party class is based on are very much about cupoons. Police have their own parties in parks, where they pay one Cuban peso for a beer, there are about 25 cuban peso for 1 peso convertible, then you drink 25 bottles of beer for about 1 dollar. In the stores the bottles costs from about half a dollar to a little under one dollar for one bottle.
Like a friend who is a security guard, he gets some personal hygiene products every month. Others get some food, like cuppons with chickens on them that they can get in special stores.
Just look at these youths who study to be "social workers", they live in 50 CUC hotels and get free food and clothing, great busses that transport them every day, free disco and access swimming pool.
Met someone from the telephone compnay, they too lived in hotel and had cupoons they used in resturants, even hotel rooms they can get with cuppons.
I only want to talk about reality in Cuba. But if one do so it seems that one must be "anti-communist", "anti-Cuban" and even "North American". Funny thing is that it seems many of those who toss the "you are north american" argument around, is actually from that continent themselves.
This is not an essay. It is more of a rambling from a person who has spent large amounts of time in Cuba. You might ask why. Why I am a writing this? Why is a good question. And the reason is that I am getting increasedly fed up with the hallucinations of the pro-Castro fanatics.
You can try to hide truth from foreigners, but you cannot hide the truth from Cubans. And you cannot hide the truth from non-Cubans who have lived in Cuba or spent great amounts of time here.
Anyways here are the ramblings of a man who has spent time in Cuba, and these are the experiences...
The truth is Cuban workers don't have the kind of labor laws in other countries. They can be fired at any second. Everyone who worked at petrol stations in Cuba 2005/2006 got fired and were replaced with "social workers".
If you work in shifts, like for instance in a kiosk, you could sometimes have to work 12 hours after having worked a 12 hours shift, if the one who is going to take oer your shift is sick and have not found a replacement, and you won't get extra paid from this compulsory working overtime.
And we all hear about how Cubans own their own workplaces, but isn't it funny that Cubans exploit about every opportunity to steal or make scams in order to squeeze out money from their place of work?
More nad more high positions are getting personell from the military ranks.
Apparently a tourist agency named "Gaviota" is owned/controlled by the military. Because military leaders will receive much higher penalties if they steal from their workplace.
The notion that there is democracy in Cuba is a joke, even if the state tries to convince its own people and foreginers of it.
Which country would have elcted a president that is getting close to the age of 81 and has spent the past year in hospital and been mortally ill.
If you go against Fidel in Cuba, it could almost be compared to a kamikaze attack/suicide. If you are elected to the national assembly you get power, prestige, extra priviledges like apartment, free food and drinks, hotel stay and the whole family get vacation, so much that you almost do not need the little wage you get. If you go against Fidel you can loose many of these goods and have to move to a apartment of lower standards and perhaps be blackmailed, which means no, or at least a much worse job.
Cubans who do nto vote in elections can be visited by police or their boss and in worst case lose their job, or be degraded and never advance in the system/workplace.
Before Fidel was sick, he was often in some sort of discussion/talk show that often went several times a week. To call it a TV debate would be misleading because everyone agreed almost 100 percent.
This TV show started around 2000 hours and lasted an hour or two, and then started Fidel with his "speech" that could last several hours without anyone being able to say anything, and no one dared to interrupt him. Often the show ended far over midnight, after Fidel's long speech.
I think this example says how much power he has in Cuba. Fidel controls media in when and where he will talk to media and what is going to be brought up and told.
From what I have heard, Fidel makes 36 CUC in a month. Fidel lives in a nice house, and a secret video from his house show that he lives very well compared to Cuban standards.
Even if it is cheap to live in Cuba, 36 cuc is not going to cut his expenses.
These leading people have coupons, they use them to get free food, personal hygiene products etc. Bosses that makes 30 cuc in a month have to their disposal a driver with a lada, that picks him up and drives him to work or drives you to your workplace. The chauffeur gets perhaps 7-10 cuc a month plus what the chauffeur and the boss dear and can sell illegal from the cars gasoline tank on the black market.
This mentioned here in this paragraph is not personal experience, but has happened to a close friend of mine that has been in resturants or by the tables in popular swimming pools and seen important Cubans drink and eat and they have only put things on the receit when they leave, without paying anything. He has seen different people in hotels and seen important Cubans with their family, often their wife, children and mother, live in all inclusive hotels that would have cost them aout 150-200 CUC per night together if they had payed. And even one time when the ordinary tourists drank from the cheap coctails, while Cubans drank 7 year old Havana Club that they did not even get in the bar.
The whole system that the regime/party class is based on are very much about cupoons. Police have their own parties in parks, where they pay one Cuban peso for a beer, there are about 25 cuban peso for 1 peso convertible, then you drink 25 bottles of beer for about 1 dollar. In the stores the bottles costs from about half a dollar to a little under one dollar for one bottle.
Like a friend who is a security guard, he gets some personal hygiene products every month. Others get some food, like cuppons with chickens on them that they can get in special stores.
Just look at these youths who study to be "social workers", they live in 50 CUC hotels and get free food and clothing, great busses that transport them every day, free disco and access swimming pool.
Met someone from the telephone compnay, they too lived in hotel and had cupoons they used in resturants, even hotel rooms they can get with cuppons.