| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Unpopular Front for the liberation of Cuba" |
| Date: |
11 Mar 2006 09:49:42 PM |
| Object: |
Castro responds to Bush’s prostitution charges |
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5526645/
Castro responds to Bush’s prostitution charges
Cuban leader says president is ‘sinister’
Cuban President Castro delivers speech during Moncada anniversary
Claudia Daut / Reuters
Cuban President Fidel Castro delivers a speech on Monday marking
the 51st anniversary of the attack on the Moncada military
barracks in Santiago de Cuba that launched the start of the Cuban
revolution.
Updated: 11:02 a.m. ET July 27, 2004
HAVANA - An indignant Fidel Castro used a live television
appearance Monday night to respond to White House charges that
his government encourages child prostitution.
Speaking in the central province of Villa Clara on a national
holiday marking 51 years since he launched his revolution, Castro
depicted President Bush as “sinister” and his charges as
“irresponsible statements by the president of the most powerful
nation on the planet.”
Bush earlier this month accused Castro of welcoming sex tourism
to bolster his failing economy and contributing to a global
problem of human trafficking.
Story continues below ? advertisement
Speaking to Florida law enforcement officials on July 16, Bush
claimed the Cuban leader shamelessly promotes sex tourism.
“The dictator welcomes sex tourism. Here’s how he bragged about
the industry,” said Bush. “This is his quote — ‘Cuba has the
cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world’ and ‘sex
tourism is a vital source of hard currency.’”
The president made his accusations amid the release of the State
Department yearly report on global human trafficking, which lists
Cuba among the top ten violators.
Three days after Bush’s remarks, the Los Angeles Times reported
that the White House found the comments in a Dartmouth
undergraduate paper posted on the Internet and lifted them out of
context. “It shows they didn’t read much of the article,”
commented Charlie Trumbull, the author.
Speaking in 1992 to the Cuban parliament, Castro actually said,
“There are prostitutes, but prostitution is not allowed in our
country. There are no women forced to sell themselves to a man,
to a foreigner, to a tourist.”
Psychoanalysis from Castro
On Monday Castro demanded evidence for the attacks on his
country. Castro questioned, “How it is possible that such
unspeakable, foul slander is hurled against Cuba?”
The answer, said Castro, comes from inside the mind of the
president —the subtitle to a book by psychoanalyst Dr. Justin
Frank, called “Bush on the Couch.”
Castro quoted Frank, who delves into Bush’s professed bout with
alcoholism and argues that his history of untreated alcohol abuse
could impair his judgment.
Bush, charged Castro, could be having a difficult time
“distinguishing between relevant and inconsequential
information.”
Wayne Smith, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy
and veteran Foreign Service officer who served 6 years in Havana,
argued that a government crackdown in 1998 stemmed the “rampant”
prostitution that erupted across the island following the
collapse of the Soviet Union.
According to Smith, prostitution “is not longer any more of a
problem in Cuba than it is in…the United States.”
Smith, an advocate of normalizing relations with Havana, also
takes umbrage over Bush’s assertion that Cuba has “replaced
Southeast Asia as a destination for pedophiles” and that new
controversial travel restrictions to the island aim at curtailing
the sexual exploitation of children.
Prostitution attack — another attempt to woo voters?
Bush’s new rules, that took effect June 30, limit Cuban Americans
to one visit home every three years, eliminate humanitarian
permission to attend funerals or visit dying relatives, and
remove extended family like aunts, uncles and cousins from the
list of government-approved relatives. Violators are subject to a
$65,000 fine.
“What does restricting Cuban-Americans to one visit every three
years have to do with reducing prostitution?” asked Smith. “Is
Mr. Bush suggesting that their real purpose was not to visit
their families on the island but to engage in sex tourism?”
Smith is among the Cuba-watchers who believe that Bush’s strident
policy is designed to capture the Cuban American vote this
November in the critical state of Florida.
--
Viva Cuba Libre!
"DE OPRESSO LIBRE"
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| User: "El Marinero" |
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| Title: Re: Castro responds to Bush's prostitution charges |
12 Mar 2006 03:15:25 AM |
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Unpopular Front for the liberation of Cuba wrote:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5526645/
Speaking to Florida law enforcement officials on July 16, Bush
claimed the Cuban leader shamelessly promotes sex tourism.
"The dictator welcomes sex tourism. Here's how he bragged about
the industry," said Bush. "This is his quote - 'Cuba has the
cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world' and 'sex
tourism is a vital source of hard currency.'"
snip<
Most of the porn movies available in the world are made in the USA!
The most gruesome with children, homosexuals and pregnant girls.
So what are you talking about you hypocrites.
Shame on You!
--
FREEDOM OF SPEECH, USE IT OR LOSE IT
http://communities.zeelandnet.nl/data/novamente/index.php?page=13&showpage=52538
Posted by news://news.nb.nu
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| User: "Anonymous" |
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| Title: Re: Castro responds to Bush's prostitution charges |
12 Mar 2006 01:25:27 PM |
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"El Marinero" <TodoPorLaPatria(NOSPAM)@zeelandnet.nl> wrote :
Unpopular Front for the liberation of Cuba wrote:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5526645/
Speaking to Florida law enforcement officials on July 16,
Bush claimed the Cuban leader shamelessly promotes sex
tourism.
"The dictator welcomes sex tourism. Here's how he bragged
about the industry," said Bush. "This is his quote - 'Cuba
has the cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world'
and 'sex tourism is a vital source of hard currency.'"
snip<
Most of the porn movies available in the world are made in the
USA! The most gruesome with children, homosexuals and pregnant
girls. So what are you talking about you hypocrites.
Shame on You!
--
Castro propagandist!
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| User: "shrikeback" |
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| Title: Re: Castro responds to Bush's prostitution charges |
12 Mar 2006 10:50:59 AM |
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"El Marinero" <TodoPorLaPatria(NOSPAM)@zeelandnet.nl> wrote in message
news:4413e6ad$1@news.nb.nu...
Unpopular Front for the liberation of Cuba wrote:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5526645/
Speaking to Florida law enforcement officials on July 16, Bush
claimed the Cuban leader shamelessly promotes sex tourism.
"The dictator welcomes sex tourism. Here's how he bragged about
the industry," said Bush. "This is his quote - 'Cuba has the
cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world' and 'sex
tourism is a vital source of hard currency.'"
snip<
Most of the porn movies available in the world are made in the USA!
The most gruesome with children, homosexuals and pregnant girls.
How do you know this?
So what are you talking about you hypocrites.
Shame on You!
--
FREEDOM OF SPEECH, USE IT OR LOSE IT
http://communities.zeelandnet.nl/data/novamente/index.php?page=13&showpage=52538
Posted by news://news.nb.nu
.
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| User: "Unpopular Front for the liberation of Cuba" |
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| Title: Re: Castro responds to Bush's prostitution charges |
12 Mar 2006 01:26:09 PM |
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"shrikeback" <hewpiedawg@hotmail.com> wrote :
"El Marinero" <TodoPorLaPatria(NOSPAM)@zeelandnet.nl> wrote in
message news:4413e6ad$1@news.nb.nu...
Unpopular Front for the liberation of Cuba wrote:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5526645/
Speaking to Florida law enforcement officials on July 16,
Bush claimed the Cuban leader shamelessly promotes sex
tourism.
"The dictator welcomes sex tourism. Here's how he bragged
about the industry," said Bush. "This is his quote - 'Cuba
has the cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world'
and 'sex tourism is a vital source of hard currency.'"
snip<
Most of the porn movies available in the world are made in
the USA! The most gruesome with children, homosexuals and
pregnant girls.
How do you know this?
His Communist master Fidel told him so.
--
Viva Cuba Libre!
"DE OPRESSO LIBRE"
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| User: "Unpopular Front for the liberation of Cuba" |
|
| Title: Sex Tourism in Cuba |
12 Mar 2006 01:34:06 PM |
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http://www.ageofconsent.com/comments/sextourism.htm
Sex Tourism in Cuba
Cuba is currently facing grave problems because of the
continuing U.S. blockade and the collapse of Soviet economic
support. The country is desperate for foreign exchange, and is
looking to the tourist industry as a means to secure it. Cuban
tourism has rapidly expanded with 1.7 million visitors in 1993.
Though successfully generating foreign exchange, the vast
majority of Cubans are suffering enormous hardship. Food rations
ensure only the most basic minimum to stave off starvation, and
many basic commodities such as clothing, soap, cooking oil and
pain killers are often unavailable. In the midst of all this,
luxurious enclaves exist where goods and services are readily
available for tourists.
A `black' market in currency and in many
of the goods that are officially intended for tourist has
developed. Officially, US $ 1 is equivalent to 1 peso, but on
the `black' market, the value of the US dollar is between 35 and
40 pesos. Cuban wages are generally somewhere between 250 and
400 pesos per month. Many basic necessities can only be obtained
for hard currency from tourist shops or `black' market
entrepreneurs. It is not surprising that many women and girls,
as well as some men and boys, are prepared to grant tourists
(the most accessible source of hard currency) sexual access in
exchange for cash, even for drinks or a restaurant meal. This
report on the growing sex tourism in Cuba is based on interviews
conducted in March 1995 in Havana, Varedero and Santiago de Cuba
by myself and Jacqueline Sanchez Taylor.
Prostitution in Cuba
Prostitution in Cuba today differs both from prostitution in
Western countries and Thailand. The post 1959 Cuban state tried
to outlaw prostitution, but also attempted to remedy the
conditions
which create a supply of sex workers (i.e., poverty, absence of
educational and employment opportunities for women, etc.), means
that, at present, the sale of sexual services in Cuba does not
take place within an established institutional and
organisational framework. In other countries (especially those
where the links between prostitution and the entertainment,
leisure and tourist industries are well developed), most sex
workers are forced into one of a variety of indirect employment
with pimps, brothel keepers, massage parlour or bar owners -
third parties who then exert a powerful influence over the
prostitute-client exchange.
In Cuba there is no network of
brothels, no organised system of bar prostitution, in fact,
third party involvement in the organisation of prostitution is
rare. Most women and girls are prostituting themselves
independently. Since she is usually desperate, and he does not
have to satisfy the greed of a third party, he can secure sexual
access to her very cheaply. In Cuba, professional prostitutes
will open negotiations by asking for $10 for oral sex or short
*****, but can often be beaten down to as little as US $2 to $4.
Inexperienced women and girls can be persuaded and/or tricked
into spending a whole night with a client for the cost of a
meal, a few drinks or small gift.
Sex tourists state that it
costs them less to spend two weeks indulging themselves in Cuba
than it does in other centres of sex tourism, such as the
Philippines and Thailand. This is partly because they are not
paying a third party and partly because competition between
prostitutes lowers prices. Prostitutes will entice tourists away
from each other with offers of better deals (for example, cheap
accommodation plus sexual access, rather than cheap sexual
access alone). Although very few prostitutes are directly
controlled and organised by pimps, they are indirectly
exploited. Prostitution is only viable in tourist centres, and
many women and girls therefore migrate to Havana, Varedero,
Santiago de Cuba and Santa Lucia from inland villages. Though
official residents of these cities and resorts are entitled to
housing, migrants are not. They must find somewhere to stay in
order to work and to avoid police harassment.
`Black' market
renters have been quick to exploit this. In Varedero, landlords
are charging between $2 and $4 a night for substandard
accommodation. This pressures the tenant to seek a continuous
stream of paying clients, and reduces her net income from them,
thus locking her into prostitution as a means of day to day
survival. One consequence of this is that the women and girls
who sell sex to tourists are not a homogeneous group. Those who
are legitimate residents of a tourist centre can often elect to
supply their sexual `labour' on an infrequent basis, and for
very specific ends (e.g., some cooking oil and meat, some
children's clothes, even simply a night out).
Their economic
disadvantage is still being exploited by sex tourists, of
course, and their freedom limited, but women in this situation
have more choices than migrants exploited by landlords and sex
tourists alike. This latter group (which includes girls aged 14
and 15) are even more desperate for dollars and therefore more
vulnerable. Cubans do not typically refer to the women, girls
and men who grant tourists sex in exchange for dollars and/or
other benefits as putas (prostitutes or bitches), but as
jiniteras. This literally translates as `jockeys', and is used
because of the way in which such people are perceived by some to
be ´riding' tourists.
Sex Tourists in Cuba
Sex
tourism is often a means to satisfy very specific sexual
preferences. Many men choose to travel to particular
destinations because they know that it is possible to pursue
their tastes more cheaply and safely. Paedophiles are an obvious
example of this type of sex tourist, but more common are men who
have a preference for experiencing multiple, anonymous sexual
encounters with teenagers and women in their early 20s. Other
men do not travel specifically to buy sexual services, but do
enter into sexually exploitative relationships with local women
as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Alongside and often
overlapping these groups, there are men who have very specific
`racialised'-sexual fantasies. They travel in order to secure
cheap, easy sexual access to `Oriental', Asian, Black or Latino
women, men and/or children. Cuba does not, as yet, appear to
cater to men who buy sex from very young children. Although we
found no evidence of pre-teen prostitution in Cuba, sexual
access to girls between the ages of 14 and 16 is not difficult
to attain, and girls between the ages of 16 and 18 are very
accessible. We met 14 and 15 year old prostitutes working in
Varedero who reported that a number of their Italian, Canadian
and German clients make between three and five trips to Cuba per
year. More disturbing still, such tourists are paying older
Cuban women and men, often prostitutes themselves, to procure 14
and 15 year old girls for them. This practice is probably not as
widespread as it is in other sites of sex tourism, and as yet it
relies on individual `initiative' rather than being an organised
system of recruitment. However, it does mean that young girls
from the more economically desperate inland towns are being
encouraged to migrate to tourist centres to prostitute
themselves. Inexperienced and without either language skills or
knowledge about prostitution, these `new' girls are very
vulnerable. The sex tourists who are primarily interested in
Cuban girls aged 16 and over can be divided into two main
groups: those who acknowledge the instrumental nature of their
relationships (Macho men), and sex tourists who tend to deny it
(Mr Averages and Right On Backpackers). The hostile sexuality of
the former group can be encapsulated in the motto `Find them,
feed them, ***** them, forget them'.
The majority of Macho male
tourists in Cuba we saw were Italian, Spanish and Canadian, but
British package tour operators are beginning to promote Cuba as
a `beach party' holiday destination, and a US-based company that
publishes a book and electronic newsletter entitled Travel & the
Single Male identifies Cuba as a new `hot destination for the
adventurous single male'. Macho sex tourists are typically happy
to enter into fairly explicit transactions with the young women
who approach them, generally offering (but not always actually
paying) between $20 and $40 plus meals for 12 to 24 hours of
access to her person. In exchange, they expect at least one
night and one morning *****. They often prefer to `pick up' in
the late evening, thereby saving the expense of buying the woman
dinner, and, depending upon how much they like the particular
woman, will `drop' her after breakfast. Not all sex tourists
prefer multiple, relatively anonymous encounters. Some can only
attain sexual and psychological satisfaction from a woman's body
if they tell themselves that they are involved in a reciprocal
relationship. Mr Averages and Right On Backpackers tend to spend
several days or even weeks with the same woman and are keen to
conceal the economic basis of the relationship from themselves.
They do not wish to see themselves as clients, and cannot
therefore think of the women as prostitutes.
They will often
turn down women who approach them with direct sexual
propositions, preferring less explicit overtures (`Where are you
from?', `Do you like Cuba?') to lead into the same scripts they
would use in non-commercial encounters (`Can I get you a
drink?', `Would you like to have dinner with me?'). The whole
process can then be interpreted as confirming a mutual
attraction, and when the woman later confides her desperate need
for dollars, the man can construct the act of giving her money
not as payment for services rendered, but as a gesture of
solidarity. This accords him the role of a `good guy', both
irresistibly charming and generous.
As well as granting sexual license, the woman often helps the
tourist to find cheaper accommodation (sometimes putting him up
in her own room), she acts his guide, companion and interpreter,
she may even do his laundry and cook for him. In return, he is
expected to pay for food, drinks and evening entertainment, he
may give her soap, shampoo and clothing or leave her some cash
when he moves on to the next place or the next girl. The price
paid by the sex tourist and the benefits secured by the jinitera
are thus highly variable. An experienced and skilled woman with
good `black' market connections might manage to squeeze as much
as $50 and $100 a day out of her tourist, though not all of this
will be in cash. A more inexperienced woman or girl may secure
next to nothing. One British sex tourist proudly boasted ´Some
of them have slept with me for just a bar of soap'.
The sums of money involved are often negligible to a European or
North American man. One British Mr Average explained that his
´girlfriend' (he had traded in another woman for her the
previous day) had suggested that he move out of the hotel where
he was paying $20 per night, and stay in her flat where she
would do all his washing and cook his meals for him. For all
this, plus acting as guide and interpreter and granting him
sexual access, she asked only $5 a day plus the cost of the
food. At home, this man could not even buy a pack of cigarettes
for this sum, far less obtain the services of a maid/prostitute.
Although he was nearly 40, fat with receding hair, while she was
20 and, in his words, ´like a model', he could tell himself that
this sum of money was too small to have anything to do with the
invitation she was extending to him. She must find him sexually
attractive to be offering so much for so little in return.
The relationship between racism and sex tourism in Cuba is too
complex to analyse properly in a report of this length, but two
points need to be made about the significance of the dynamics of
racism within Cuba itself for sex tourists. First, it is sadly
the case that Black Cubans face many of the same `racialised'
barriers that oppress Black people elsewhere in the world.
Groups that face this kind of structural disadvantage are often
over-represented in prostitution. Our initial impression was
that there were more Black than ´mixed' or white jiniteras not
just in Santiago (where this can be explained by demographics),
but also in Varedero and Havana. Second, a number of racist
stereotypes still exist amongst Cubans, some of whom (white,
´mixed' and Black) will openly attribute `characteristics' such
as hypersexuality and rhythm to Black people, and in the same
breath insist that there is no racism in Cuba.
All this is of enormous significance for sex tourists. To begin
with, it means that large numbers of Black women are sexually
available to them, which is perceived as a benefit by those men
who find it difficult to satisfy their `racialised'-sexual
fantasies at home. Meanwhile, Cuba's own racism is frighteningly
congruent with variants of European and North American racism,
and visiting white racists therefore feel very much at ease in
Cuba, often more so than they do in their own countries. As one
Canadian said to me `You can call a ***** a ***** here, and
no-one takes it the wrong way'.
Some white sex tourists adhere
to a classic racist ideology, believing Black sexuality to be
more uninhibited and exciting than white sexuality. In most
European countries as well as in Canada, this form of racism has
been strongly challenged by Black intellectuals and political
activists, with some success in reducing the open expression of
such attitudes. Many racists therefore feel under attack in
their own countries, where their opportunities for satisfying a
sexual appetite for the Others they both despise and desire are
also generally quite limited. For them, Cuba is ´paradise' in
the sense that here, rather than being challenged, their racism
is both implicitly and explicitly affirmed. In Cuba, Right On
Backpackers and Mr Averages can satisfy their sexual curiosity
about Black and `mixed' women and/or demonstrate their own
`racial liberalism' to themselves easily and without having to
address any of the uncomfortable issues about racism which such
a relationship would raise in their own country.
In Cuba today, exploitative sexual encounters are not only cheap
financially, but in other terms. Because he is on holiday, the
white sex tourist gets to enjoy sexual access to `racialised'
Others without risking the censure of his racist friends.
Because he tells himself that Cuban girls are both hot and care
free, he need feel no guilt about abandoning the woman and
replacing her with a superior model.
Cuba presently has a great deal to offer the sex tourist. Such
men can contemptuously command Cuban women and girls with the
same ease that they order cocktails. Their power to do so rests
not only upon the obscene disparity in wealth between the
developed and underdeveloped world, but also upon American
foreign policy. Under Batista, the US indirectly organised Cuba
as its brothel and gambling house. Today, its punishment of Cuba
is helping to recreate the conditions under which Cuban women
and girls must become the playthings of economically advantaged,
white, male Europeans and North Americans. Julia O'Connell
Davidson is a lecturer in sociology at a British university. Her
articles on sex tourism in Thailand have appeared in the WRI
Women's Newsletter.
--
Viva Cuba Libre!
“La libertad no es negotiable.” – Jose Marti
"DE OPRESSO LIBRE"
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| User: "Unpopular Front for the liberation of Cuba" |
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| Title: Tourism in Cuba: Breeding a nation of hustlers |
12 Mar 2006 01:36:50 PM |
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_fatah/20040212.html
NATASHA FATAH:
Tourism in Cuba: Breeding a nation of hustlers
CBC News Viewpoint | February 12, 2004 | More from Natasha Fatah
Natasha Fatah Cuba, si! It's that time of year when millions of
us escape the blistering cold by travelling to Cuba. To lounge on
the beautiful white beaches, stay in fancy resorts, buy cheap
cigars and bask in the soft glow of our moral superiority because
we're supporting the Cubans by visiting their country. Last year,
I travelled to Havana alone for eight days and that was when I
received a rude awakening: tourism is creating all sorts of
social inequity in Cuba.
When Castro opened Cuba's doors for international tourism, there
was one proviso: all transactions had to take place with American
money. Each American dollar is worth 25 pesos and those who have
access to this money are far better off than those who don't. And
while black Cubans can get ahead in other industries, they have
little to no presence in Cuban tourism.
There was always racism on the island but Castro took steps to
achieve equity by building schools and hospitals in some of the
poorest areas, where mostly black Cubans lived. He banned
racially segregated clubs and made racial discrimination illegal.
But today, tourism is the biggest generator of income in the
country and it represents the new segregated club of Cuba.
Pedro Rodriguez, an investigator with the Center for
Anthropological Studies told the Chicago Tribune that, "Whites
are predominating in the sectors that service tourists. We have
interviewed many blacks, and more and more of them are saying
it's easier for them to get a job in the interior of an
establishment, as a cook or cleaning up, than to get one where
you work closely with the tourists."
Rodriguez goes on to explain that whites are hired for positions
where they deal directly with the tourists and have access to
American money because the management insists that tourists
prefer to be attended by "beautiful" people.
I stayed at a small hotel in Old Havana where I noticed that
black Cubans were constantly under the watch of the police
because they didn't want blacks to "harass" the tourists.
I speak Spanish and easily made friends in Cuba. On one occasion
I rented a taxi and travelled outside Havana province with
Morito, a friend from Havana City. The police on the highway
stopped us for a routine inspection. I presented my passport and
international student card and that was adequate for the officer.
However, Morito, who is black, was told that his Cuban
identification card wasn't good enough and he had to return with
the police. I told the officer that I was a student at Havana
University and that Morito and I planned to get married. After
this song and dance the officer let Morito leave with me.
Yes, it was dishonest but I wasn't about to rely on the kindness
of the Cuban police to return Morito home safely. This wasn't
unusual; Morito and I were often stopped by the police. What was
even more troubling was that when I took similar excursions with
Oscar, my white Cuban friend, we were never stopped.
But, it's more than racism – it's about money. A cab driver told
me that because of his constant contact with tourists and their
tips he made more money than his cousin, who was a doctor.
Tourism can also be thanked for creating thousands of jobs in the
sex trade. In Havana it's not unusual to find 50- or 60-year-old
men who are obviously tourists, strutting around with young,
beautiful Cuban women they've rented for the day.
The ECPAT Network – End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism – is
a group of international organizations that works directly with
UNICEF to end child prostitution and pornography. In 1996 they
broadened their advocacy work to include North and South America,
Africa and Europe but decided to keep their old acronym.
Their study, "Child Prostitution and Sex Tourism: Cuba" says, "In
Cuba, the link between tourism and prostitution is perhaps more
direct than in any other country that hosts sex tourists."
Carol Smolenski of ECPAT USA explained to me that a higher ratio
of tourists are drawn to Cuba for prostitution – rather than for
the beaches, the shopping or the cultural experience – than to
any other country in the world. Meaning, if you're looking for a
prostitute, look to Cuba first.
The study goes on to explain, "With mass tourism came large-scale
effective demand for prostitution. Since many Cuban people are
currently experiencing enormous economic hardship, it is not
surprising that a supply of prostitutes has emerged to meet this
demand."
At the same time, the Cubans I met did recognize the benefits of
their system. According to UNICEF, Cuba scores almost 100 per
cent for adult literacy rates, access to health care and
education, access to state-provided employment and a guarantee of
a home and basic food.
While these statistics are impressive when compared to other
Latin American and Caribbean nations, there is one thing
desperately lacking in the spirits of the Cubans I encountered:
Hope. Thanks in large part to the tourism industry there is a
growing social hierarchy in Cuba and if you don't work in tourism
you have little hope of moving up.
The taxi driver I travelled with during my stay in Havana made
about $100 US from me in a week, which translates into about
2,500 pesos. According to the ECPAT Network's study, average
Cuban wages are around only 250 to 400 pesos per month, which is
worthless in the real economy:
"For large numbers of Cubans, the pursuit of (American) dollars
has become a far more meaningful economic activity than that
which takes place in formal work settings. Since tourists are the
most accessible source of hard currency, it is unsurprising that
many adults and children travel to tourist centers in the hope
that they will somehow be able to milk tourists for a few of
their dollars."
So, while there are no beggars on the streets of Havana, tourism
is breeding a nation of hustlers. The dignity of a people is
being sold in the streets: cheap cigars, bootlegged rum and easy
women for our consuming pleasure. Cuba, si?
--
Viva Cuba Libre!
“La libertad no es negotiable.” – Jose Marti
"DE OPRESSO LIBRE"
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