Only a few hours are left until the New Year and in several points of the busy 23rd avenue in the capital, its inhabitants are taken aback by the light of the smart slates that promote products of the state and private market.
“The king has died without a crown,” Alejando commented, highlighting how Fidel was able to govern in all of Latin America from Cuba, as well as lead a war in Angola from Havana. “A man like him will never be forgotten,” he concluded regretfully.
The main reason for this national mobilization was to provide support to the local population in different ways because of the great blow the province of Guantanamo suffered from hurricane Matthew, especially Baracoa and Maisi.
The decision to leave Cuba has been an extremely recurrent issue here for over the last 30 years. Last July, when I traveled to Europe, I had the opportunity to meet somebody who chose this path firsthand.
“It’s not the country that’s crazy, it’s the system,” replied the Internet guy. “I studied at the CUJAE university, and you know what every young person who studies there wants to do after they graduate?”
The short time I was in the Czech Republic gave me the opportunity to get to know another reality that has derived from the same history of Communism. Cuba is going down the same route with some big differences…
We were greeted by one of the staff of the NGO that sponsored the scholarship in Prague. This person worked out our lodging, gave us a card to use in public transport, and a SIM card.
This is the first time I travel abroad, quite an adventure for a Cuban who has only had the opportunity to see part of the world via Internet. I’ll be in the city of Prague, Czech Republic studying in a Video-Journalism workshop.
Many years ago, Cuba’s telecommunications monopoly (Etecsa) decided to adopt a policy to try and invest in mobile phones and the Internet. They almost put fixed landline management and installation for the Cuban people to one side completely…
It’s been exactly a year now since I naively pinned my hopes on the Cuban bureaucratic system for the umpteenth time. I’m sad to say it, but reality keeps giving me a slap in the face …