A friend of mine recently returned from Cuba. She was a little girl when the huge migration from Cuba to the US occurred in the early 60's. Her first trip back was nostalgic, reconnecting with family broken apart by the Castro regime. Lots of cousins, in different areas of Cuba. One cousin was not so lucky, recently sent to jail for five years. His crime? Selling toothpaste on the blackmarket. You see they still have shortages of what we consider the essentials of life, toothpaste and toilet paper...yep, TP. The national newspaper serves the purpose in lieu of Charmin, no kidding.
Another cousin is an ophthalmologist...making $25 a month. Nah, not possible right? Guess again. But they do have national health care. I was attending a forum a year ago at Rockhurst College on healthcare when a physician stated he would gladly accept the healthcare system of Cuba over the US. Hmmm, I think it comes as a package.
The bottom line according to my friend is this. It isn't so much the Cubans like or dislike their lot in life as much as they accept it. They settle for what they have. And they are happy. Fancy that?
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