More bad news

The news can be found in the streets, in people and their situations. From there it jumps to media and the social networks, which are gaining more and more impact. In the end we all feed of each other. Here’s a small sample:

“I already had everything squared away and now they trip me up with a new stick.” It’s how a man reacted when he heard the news that as of April 30, the Dominican Republic will require Cubans in transit to have multiple visas from the U.S., Canada or residency in one of the member states of the Schengen area or the Dominican Republic itself.

“Goddamnit, if I had any of those I wouldn’t be here anymore,” he added.

On this subject, Silvio Rodríguez, founder of the Nueva Trova and well known Cuban musical artist, when addressing this issue on his blog, said: “For my part, I have no faith that verticality will be rectified. As I have said before, it is still a very small group of people, practically a sect, that makes decisions. On the other hand, measures such as those of Panama and the Dominican Republic (imposition of visas on Cubans) show that those who block us know that the informal trade relieves us and they have pressed to impose the requirement, seeking that the pot boil over. But it does not seem that we learn that customs and the borders must be made as flexible as possible, even though it is proven that this opening solves the survival for more and more people. And meanwhile ‘youth flee en masse’…” What “miracle” are we waiting for?

But there are no miracles. The harsh reality is that more than 32,000 Cubans were taken into U.S. custody along the border with Mexico in March of this year, a figure that doubles that of the month of February as we reported April 8. 

The country empties while the number of elderly residents, which already exceed 20% of the population, grows turning Cuba into a country of old people. And surely, we’re happy to grow old, but where is the energy and talent, the workforce?

It is not about miracles but about wise and timely policies, and not ones that react after the fact.