Readers of this blog will know that I have a special affection for Cuba, having visited it many times and gotten to know, to some extent, the 'real' Cuba. Yet it would be wrong for me or any other non-Cuban to pontificate about what is best for the country, given the changes that are coming due to its increasing normalization with the United States. The course of Cuba's future has to be decided by Cuba itself.
Nonetheless, one hopes that the ecological balance highlighted in the following will continue well into the future, despite what will undoubtedly be an onslaught of American tourism:
I share your love for Cuba and her people and fear that the grubby hands of the US will destroy both.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I loved about travel to Cuba was the absence of 'merican's' and their bluster about being the best in the world (in their own minds). '
While a handful of Cubans may benefit from US tourism/takeover, the majority of people will not. They will become 3rd class citizens in their own country. Gone will be Cuba's excellent systems of free healthcare and education, agricultural land, resources, etc., - that they will have to sign away in exchange for loans from the IMF and World Bank.
My heart aches.
Wendy
The grim scenario you offer could well come to pass, Wendy, but then again, the resilience of the Cubans that has allowed them to survive a 55-year-old embargo may also prove a formidable counterbalance to the threats posed by 'Americanization.'
Delete