We wrote this post prior to leaving for our Cuba Adventure. We never got around to posting it, but thought it still to be a good intro to our next post (soon to come) after our visit to this unique country.
Five Facts About Cuba:
Five Facts About Cuba:
Island Size and Population: Cuba’s population is about 11 million people. By comparison
Jamaica is under 3 million, Puerto Rico is 3.5 million, the Dominican Republic
and Haiti are each about 10 million, Florida is 19 million, Canada is 32
million, Argentina is 40 million, Mexico is 122 million, Brazil is 200 million
and the U.S. is 320 million.
Cuba’s land mass is about 45 million square miles. By comparison Florida
is 65 million. Haiti is 10 million. The Dominican Republic is about 19 million.
So, Cuba is roughly a little under 2/3 the size and population of
Florida. Oddly enough about 1.2 million Cuban-Americans live in Florida. That
number continues to rise as more come to the U.S. legally. Under current U.S. laws
up to 20,000 Cuban immigrants may enter and become assimilated legally every
year. Cubans are the only immigrants in the world who enjoy this open status.
Cuba lies about 90 miles south of the Florida Keys. Many boats can sail this distance in daylight hours. However, Chugs (Cuban home-made escape craft) often are at sea for a week or
more due to their poor construction, propulsion and navigation. It is estimated that two-thirds to three quarters of Cuban boat people make it to the USA. The rest die at sea. Very sad.
U.S.-Cuba History: In December 1898, with the Treatyof Paris,
the United States emerged as the victorious power in the Spanish-American War.
As a result, Spain ceded Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the
United States. Later, the USA granted Cuba its
independence with the stipulation that the U.S. could intervene in the
country's affairs, if necessary, and that it be granted a perpetual lease on its
naval base at Guantánamo Bay. For the next half-century the two countries more or less
cooperated. But, Fulgencio Batista, the strongman president and later dictator was so
abusive of his power that in 1959 he was overthrown in a revolutionary coupe by many guerilla forces. Fidel Castro and his guerillas gained power because the all the other guerilla leaders had been killed in action. Since that time Cuba has been ruled by Castro, a
Communist dictator. By 1962 the U.S. placed an embargo on Cuba after Castro
nationalized all of the U.S. businesses in Cuba.
Economy:
Economically, Cuba is ranked number 177, or the second most repressed economy in
the world (just ahead of North Korea) by the Heritage Foundation. “Cuba’s economy remains repressed by the systemic
inefficiency and institutional shortcomings characteristic of a Communist
regime. Dominated by state-owned companies connected to the military and
political elite, the economy continues to suffer from a lack of dynamism
aggravated by cronyism, corruption, and bureaucracy. Non-state sectors have
gradually expanded, but the absence of genuine political will for reform leaves
business struggling within a poor regulatory framework. See: http://www.heritage.org/index/country/cuba)
The average Cuban earns about $25 per
month. However, under the Communist regime one is able to subsist on $25 per month.
Housing, food, education and health care are all guaranteed and many Cuban people like this.
Among the many problems this creates, however, is the unlinking of livelihoods
to the overall economy. Teachers, doctors, carpenters, street sweepers, maids….all
are paid the same very low wage. You find a career doing what you like, but
there is little reason to do it well because you’ll always receive the same
pay, regardless of your dedication or capabilities. If everyone does only a little, little is ever done. Prior to our trip, we met a
businessman who just returned from Cuba hoping to expand his solar panel
installation work there. He said that electricity is unreliable (and internet
is also unreliable, as a result), plumbing is fifty years old and mostly broken, sewage fills
the harbors and flows freely, and garbage collection does not exist, so people
drop trash wherever they are on the streets. Our visit confirmed and dispelled some of these comments. Generally, however, Cuban infrastructure is old and collapsing.
Religion
- Cuba has for decades been an Atheist country by government
decree, even though it has been relaxing these laws recently. Santaria is similar to a
religion and commonly practiced throughout Cuba. Santaria is a combination
Christian-like saint worship and west African Yoruban diety worship. The
Spanish were responsible for the Christian side, while African slaves brought
the Yoruban influence. Santaria was spared by the revolution when all other
religions were banned because Fidel Castro’s lover at that time, Naty Revuelta,
was a Santaria priestess. You’ll find a certain voodoo-like quality to Santaria
if you read up on it.
Immigration:
the Wet Foot – Dry Foot Policy – This is the informal name given
to a 1995 agreement under which Cuban migrants seeking passage to the United
States who are intercepted at sea ("wet feet") are sent back to Cuba
or to a third country, while those who make it to U.S. soil ("dry
feet") are allowed to remain in the United States. The policy, formally
known as the U.S.- Cuba Migration Accord, has been
written into law as an amendment to the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act. This policy has
spurred thousands of Cubans to try to make it to the Florida Keys in home-made
craft called “Chugs”. From what we understand the survival rate is terribke, as mentioned earlier. Those
who do not make it either die at sea or are sent back to Cuba by the U.S. Coast Guard.
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| Cuban Chug used by six men to reach Vaca Key, FL in 2013. |
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| This Chug carried 19 people to the Dry Tortugas in March of this year. |
Our trip took us to from Key West to Marina Hemingway in Havana on Saturday April 2. We returned to Key West on Thursday, the 14th of April. We'll publish the next blog as soon as possible. So much to tell and so many pictures to relate!
"Til then.
"Til then.
