“Cuba without Castro”
Back in 2013, I watched a documentary ‘Cuba without Fidel.’ I was thinking what will happen to Cuba if Castro is not there - Liberty, Freedom, or Brightness? Now, ‘Cuba without Castro’ has come true, but does it really promise the ‘free future’ for Cuba as our US President-elect hoped? I doubt so.
I spent two weeks at Havana, Cuba. Graciela, a 68-year-old retired Cuban lady, told me, “We Cubans are struggling. We fight for money, we fight for food, we fight for everything, and we all got used to fighting for our lives. But, we are lucky because we know how to get happiness out of our misfortune and be grateful for what we have.”
In contrast to people from other communist countries on the other side of the planet, Cubans show off this attitude in all aspects of life. But would it change while the country is moving forward to the “free future”? Maybe Cubans don’t need to line up for their living necessities using their ration books; maybe they don’t need to hide in the corner of the square to use the extremely expensive public Wi-Fi; maybe there will be no kids kicking the water bottle lid as soccer in the pouring rain; maybe there will be no more well-dressed Cubans ladies walking down the street with a cigar in their mouths; maybe there will be no one telling you “I love America;” maybe there will be no free education system and world-class medical system anymore; maybe there is no one will ever lay on the road and try to fix their 60-year-old car; maybe there will be no more Cubans dancing on street laughing and shouting; maybe there will be no one telling you “I don’t need your money, please give me some food.”; maybe they don’t need to struggle with their tiny monthly salary which worth nothing for us; maybe no one will tell you “we are happy;” maybe one day in the future, they will tell you, “are we really free now?”
All of a sudden, this closed, isolated and innocent land will be exposed to a greedy and anxious world. People will soon be deprived of simple joy and happiness. They might have no choice but to follow the rules set down by others. Will they still know how to appreciate what they have or will they be forced to compete against one another to strive for what the they don’t have?
