Cubans Leaving the Island Aren’t Stupid

By Benjamin Noria

HAVANA TIMES – Every time I sign into Facebook and I see activity in my feed from groups called: Cubans in Russia, Cubans in the Dominican Republic, Cubans in Haiti or Cubans in Spain. I’ve confirmed that the majority of Cubans posting in these groups are asking how to leave Cuba and find a home and job outside the country.

It’s a pity that such a large number of Cubans aspire to leave the country and leave their family and close friends behind so that they can try their luck in other places. They are fleeing from hunger, oppression, and the violence of one of the longest dictatorships in the Americas. People’s desperation to leave is growing, as wages aren’t enough to cover their most basic needs and feed their families.

I know that some Cubans have been arrested when crossing the US-Mexico border. Others take trails with dangerous obstacles that put their lives at risk. There are some people who have managed to get fake documents and some are applying for political asylum in embassies in developed countries. Nobody will be able to stop Cuban emigration. All migrants agree on the basic fact that they aspire to have better opportunities, dignified wages, quality of life and well-being.

The general comment I’ve seen Cubans make on social media is that any country is better than Cuba to live in right now. The economic situation is becoming more and more tense, so much so that goods double in price from one month to the next. There are also lots of shortages of basic essentials.

Cubans no longer believe in the government that governs them. The regime’s corruption has increased. People are being sentenced in court for protesting with excessive charges so as to set an example for others. Meanwhile, the government puts strategies into action such as the Communist Party’s guidelines and economic reforms that continue to paralyze the Cuban economy. Furthermore, the Castro regime hasn’t been looking for solutions to get out of the economic crisis but has instead stepped-up repression and the military’s presence on our streets.

It’s a fact that Cuba’s regime is not going to change its ideology. They won’t renounce their luxuries or recognize that they are barricade politicans. What’s more, in spite of 62 years of economic and political failures, they still continue to tell the Cuban people that they are victims of the US economic blockade. That country has carried the burden of Cuba’s tragic fate.

I have seen many analysts and mercenary experts who work for the Castro’s appear on the nightly Mesa Redonda TV show broadcast on Cuban TV. They routinely demonize the capitalist system and try to persuade potential emigrants about this system’s flaws. However, they are not fooling anybody.

With all its imperfections, capitalism is the system that has been the closest to satisfying humans’ biological and spiritual needs. I believe that Cuban migrants aren’t stupid. None of them would risk dying in caravans and trying to cross the border if it weren’t for the jobs, wages and better living conditions that this system offers them.

Read more from Benjamin Noria in Cuba here.