I WAS fortunate enough to visit Cuba for the first time between January 28th and February 3rd of this year.  An invitation had been received by our Party inviting some members to participate in the 5th International Conference ‘For World Balance’ which was being held for the second time in Cuba.  The conference is an initiative of the UNESCO and, in Cuba, it is organised by The José Martí Project for World Solidarity, sponsored by UNESCO, which was created in 2003.  The first day of the Conference, January 28th, was Jose Marti’s birthday.  Jose Marti is a Cuban revolutionary who is revered in the country and in much of Latin America. He played an important role in the liberation of Cuba from Spain.   He died in military action in 1895 and was a hero and inspiration to Fidel, Che and other Cuban revolutionaries.

Cuba has been suffering a cruel blockade by the US for 60 years.  In the early years after the Revolution in 1959, it could receive much help from the USSR which co-operated with Cuba to set up industries there.  By the late l980’s, the USSR itself started facing problems and, even before its ultimate collapse, it could not contribute to Cuba’s development in the same way. 

Cuba has had to fend for itself since then.  It has made tremendous strides in medical research and development of vaccines.  Cuban doctors have been working with people fighting colonialism in Africa and, even today, they are found in many countries of Latin America where they are essential as providers of medical assistance.

Cuba developed as an important tourist destination, despite the US blockade and was able to benefit a lot from the millions of tourists from Europe, Canada, Russia and Latin America that flocked there.  Unfortunately, the Covid epidemic dealt tourism a blow from which it has not yet recovered.  The US has also increased the severity of the blockade.

Education in Cuba is still free till the university level and Cuban engineers and other professionals are extremely well qualified.  The tragedy is that they cannot find employment that is in keeping with their educational qualifications and are forced to migrate.  In the last few years nearly a million young Cubans have migrated and there are many who are waiting to do so.  This is, of course, a terrible crisis for the country.  Migration from Cuba, however, is different from migration from many other countries.  The difference is that young Cubans do not want to migrate but they feel they have to.  Those that do, maintain close links with their homeland, contributing money to their families and planning a return after a few years.  Many actually do return and so Cubans call their migration ‘circular migration’ with a large number of the migrants coming back.  The government is trying to create sectors in agriculture and electronics that will mitigate this problem and some amazing progress has been made using ingenuity and whatever is available.

We did not go to Cuba as guests of the government.  We had to make our own arrangements for our travel and also our stay.  Fortunately, we were helped by some young Indians working for an NGO that does a lot of community work in Cuba. They helped us to find accommodation in flats owned by Cubans and let out as ‘homestays’.  The flat that I stayed in had four beautiful, large bedrooms with attached bathrooms with all the modern conveniences that could be imagined.  It had large windows, each one looking out at the blue Caribbean ocean. 

It is not just the city of Havana that is beautiful – and it is!  The roads are wide, good and have pavements.  Many of them are divided by parks and trees.  Many of the houses are old and quite lovely.  They have been maintained very well.  But, it is not just the city that is beautiful, it is the people!  We walked around the city all day and late at night, meeting and talking to old and young people on the streets, in the parks, in cafes and restaurants.  We would question them about the problems they were facing and they were frank in their replies.  Young people are frustrated but they are very clear that it is the US government that is responsible for their plight.  At the same time, they are cheerful, they play music wherever they are, they are friendly and, above all, they are proud of their country.  They belong to a generation that has not seen the hunger, poverty, humiliation and desperation of their grandparents and great grandparents who grew up in pre-Revolution Cuba, but they are proud of their country’s achievements and, above all, they are proud that the revolutionary spirit is still alive in Cuba and this is what makes it stand tall to confront US threats and bullying.                     

The older generation, of course, remembers the dark days before the Revolution, many of them have seen and heard their leaders like Fidel.  They are determined to protect the Revolution in every way.  They are also extremely kind and helpful to everyone, to their neighbours, to sick people and to foreigners.  One can feel that the Revolution and the changes it brought about has changed people too.  Despite the fact that many of them lead very difficult lives, existing on small pensions, they are always ready to help anyone that they can.

I was very fortunate to meet two wonderful, elderly women who, for me, are symbols of the Cuban Revolution.

Marta Justine Rodriquez Herrara, works with the NGO I mentioned earlier.  She was a delegate at the Conference and I interviewed her there.  And then I was fortunate enough to spend one Sunday morning with her in her neighbourhood.  Kartika, a young Malyali, who is an important functionary of the NGO was with us, interpreting.  

Marta was born in 1931, so she is nearly 84 years old.  She is very alert, active and fastidious about her hair and clothes and has very well manicured nails.  When I complimented her she told me that the Cuban Federation of Women had started beauty parlours for women all over the country and so Cuban women could always be well turned out!

Marta was born in a working class home.  Her father was a turner in a foreign-owned factory.  They were poor.  This is the time of the Batista regime in which people faced many kinds of deprivation. She was going to school and wanted to study further.  Tragically, her father had an accident at work and lost some of his fingers.  Life became very difficult for them.  Marta studied for as long as she could and then at the age of 16/17 she started working.  She said that she worked for 45 years.  She worked in the Waterworks Department of Cuba and also at the Institute of Hydraulic Research.  She worked in the Human Resources Department and would help women with the interviews and find out what their strengths were whether in the engineering field or in administration.  She would also take interest in their problems at home. 

Marta is very proud of the work she did for so many years of her life.  She said that the engineers were mostly men but it was women who did the planning and men who did the execution!

About the place where she worked, she said it had more than 2000 workers.  In later years, it entered into a joint venture with a Spanish company that invested capital and helped with modernisation.  This helped to increase salaries also.  Unfortunately, due to the blockade and the fact that the US started punishing other countries that had ties with Cuba, the Spanish company had to leave and this, of course, created problems. 

Marta remembers with excitement the day that they heard about the Revolution.  Her father was a Communist and the only word she has to describe her feelings is ‘Magnificent!’  After the Revolution, her father’s social responsibilities increased.  He joined the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution.  She says that her father was her ideal and then adds, ‘And Fidel was my father too!’

She said that after the Revolution, counter-revolutionaries were very active.  She remembers going to one of their houses and being shocked by the luxuries that she saw there.  She realised that they were active in the black market.

Marta said that while the Revolution brought great changes, it changed women’s lives most radically.  She said that earlier women were treated like property, like prostitutes.  After the Revolution, they could access education and understand that their bodies were not for sale.  She spoke about the work that the Federation of Women did, about the contribution of the Revolutionary leader, Vilma Espin, whom she had met.  She felt that domestic violence had been much reduced and it certainly was not tolerated.  If a case was reported there would be action. 

The emigration of young people was something that worried her a lot.  She also said that jobs abroad were drying up and this was causing its own problems.  It was a difficult situation. She hoped that international support for Cuba that was growing would help bring about a change.  But she added ‘Fidel said, if everything is good, there is no need to improve’ – problems and hard times have to be faced and the fight for a better future cannot be given up.

Marta talked about the protests against inflation and the electricity breakdowns that had occurred in 2021.  She said that she was and still is a member of the Rapid Action Group that intervenes whenever there is a problem in the locality.  On October 10, there were strikes and protests.  At first she thought that the people involved were genuine protestors but then they started burning and looting and overturned a police van.  She said that it was then that she along with other members of the Rapid Action Group came into action and confronted the protestors.  They were able to chase them away. 

Despite her tremendous spirit, Marta faces many difficulties.  Her pension is only 7000 pesos a month and prices are going up all the time.  The government does provide rations – sugar, rice, bread, salt, a kg of chicken and 4 eggs a month.  But there are other expenses.  Milk is expensive.  Even tomatoes are expensive.  On the other hand, medical facilities are free, water and electricity are free and she now owns her home. 

A few days later, it was Sunday and I went with Kartika to meet Marta just near her home.  We met on the Street of Art where a famous artist, Salvador, lived.  He believed that art belongs to the people and he painted on the walls all along the street.  Fidel, who knew him, came to see the place and loved it and so it remains the Street of Art.  The outsides and insides of houses are also full of paintings and people gather on the street and in the little square to sing and dance!  Marta, Kartika and I walked around and then went to see a wonderful vegetable garden that they and other residents are making in what used to be a rubbish dump.  The municipality has allowed them to clean it and make vegetable and flower beds.  They hope that later they will be able to share the vegetables with the people in the area.

That Sunday morning there was no electricity in Havana.  This power cut had been announced a day before on the television.  People were told that the power would be restored at 1.30 in the afternoon.  The three of us were having lunch in a house in the neighbourhood which has been turned into a restaurant and exactly at 1.30, the lights and fan went on!  People cheered and laughed.  It was another problem to be accepted since the electricity power plants were old and could not be replaced.

It was very sad to say goodbye to Marta.  When I was leaving, she held my hand and then closed it.  When I opened my hand, there was a silver ring.  She told me that Jose Marti had made a ring for himself like this one in jail.  It was very simple with CUBA engraved on it. 

After my return to India, Marta whatsapps me quite often.  Recently she sent me a photograph of her young self in the militia uniform, carrying a gun.  Below the photograph she had written (in Spanish) “I’m sending you this photo as a souvenir of that April 16, 1961 anniversay of the creation of the Militias, where you see me with my rifle on my shoulder, participating in the first parade in the Plaza de la Revolucion at the age of 23 as a Militia member.  Today, all these years later, I am still very proud to be a Cuban.”