CUBA AND THE WINDS OF CHANGE

By Leonardo Padura and - - Reprint | | Print |

This column is available for visitors to the IPS website only for reading. Reproduction in print or electronic media is prohibited. Media interested in republishing may contact romacol@ips.org.

HAVANA, Sep 23 2008 (IPS) - The staggering tally of losses caused in Cuba by hurricanes Gustav and Ike do cannot convey the awful desolation of those who saw their homes blasted into a heap of boards, bricks, and tiles, writes Leonardo Padura Fuentes, a Cuban writer and journalist. In this article, the author writes that 444,000 homes were said to have been seriously damaged and more than 63,000 completely destroyed. After passing through the profound economic hardships of the 1990s, Cuba today seems to be entering a new dark era of indescribable shortages in which it is impossible to find food, clothes, matches, shoes, and in which exhaustion and desperation reign. At the moment, the big unknown is whether the Cuban government, in addition to distributing idle land, will finally enact its promised social and economic \”structural and conceptual changes\”, which might help shorten the amount of time the people must wait, and despair. Before this hurricane season, the expectations of change that could energise the economy and mobilise society were a matter of hope. Two hurricanes later and with half the country devastated, they are an absolute necessity.

The staggering tally of losses caused by the ravages of back-to-back hurricanes Gustav and Ike give but a cursory idea of the situation and do almost nothing to convey the awful desolation of those who saw their homes, assembled over long years from any number of materials and with unimaginable effort, blasted into a heap of debris, and who lost forever a part of their lives: photographs and letters, books, belongings acquired only through great difficulty, and the few objects that often constitute the crucial line between poverty and misery: a tooth brush, reading glasses.

Adding a tragic and macabre cast to this disaster is the fact that the destructive power of nature unleashed itself against a country where the economic reality is very hard and at times extremely complicated, and where people have always struggled to maintain dignity and obtain the pleasures of a civilised life.

In the official figures released few days ago, 444,000 homes were said to have been seriously damaged and more than 63,000 completely destroyed. In a country of 11 million where half a million already lacked housing, and where in the last two years just 180,000 new homes were built, today’s situation is a disaster that it will be extremely difficult to set right. Estimates for losses in agriculture, the electric infrastructure, roads, forests, and tourist attractions are equally high and will take a long time to make up, despite the political will expressed in government speeches. That is because the necessary actions involve the Cuban economy, which is hobbled by its own weaknesses, the suffocating US embargo, and the banking and stock market crisis the world finds itself in at the moment.

After passing thorough the profound economic hardships of the 1990s, the so-called “special period” following the collapse of European socialism, Cuba today seems to be entering a new dark era of indescribable shortages in which it is impossible to find food, clothes, matches, shoes, and in which exhaustion and desperation reign. But if in those years -which peaked in the massive exodus known as the crisis of boat people- the search for alternative ways to survive came to dominate people’s lives, in this new phase, the spiral of desolation and desperation seems to be prevailing, weakening the conscience of a significant number of people exhausted by struggle.

In the midst of such hardship and pain, it is encouraging that there is still solidarity among Cubans (true solidarity: that among those with almost nothing) who do more than feel moved by the plight of their fellow citizens. Various religious and cultural organisations, for example, have issued a call to help those who have lost all they had. From auctions of art works to the collection of used clothes, medicine, and cleaning supplies, initiatives have been set in motion by NGOs, like the religious organisation Caritas and associations of artists.

On the other hand, Cubans living off the island, for political and other reasons, have expressed and made good on their desire to cooperate and have sought and found ways to help.

However, the crisis, as is well known, also reveals the dark side of individuals, whether public figures or private citizens. Those incapable of even imagining the suffering of others have begun speculating on the disaster. Prices in the small private markets have doubled and even tripled as a result of scarcity, opportunism, and a jump in fuel prices.

At the moment, the big unknown is whether the Cuban government, in addition to distributing idle land, will finally enact its promised social and economic “structural and conceptual changes”, which might help shorten the amount of time that people must wait, and despair. Before this hurricane season, the expectations of change that could energise the economy and mobilise society were a matter of hope. Two hurricanes later and with half the country devastated, they are an absolute necessity.

The barefoot farmer at a donation distribution centre who spots and grabs one shoe in the hope that he might find its pair among the other goods is a symbol of the desperation of the island and the need to find new alternatives, beyond official aid and human solidarity. This pain could transform itself into illumination. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)