A Badly Garnished Dish

A Badly Garnished Dish / Fernando Damaso
Posted on August 12, 2014

Every now and then the Cuban Authorities mount the spectacle of
'external subversion' against the regime. As if it were a 'blue plate
special' it's seasoned with a press statement from a second or third
rate official, articles on the subject from some government journalists,
a session on the Roundtable TV Show with energetic participants, an
anecdote about an alleged event that took place in a cultural forum, and
statements about some media junkie being a double agent.

It happens that, despite the political events they participate in, a
great part of Cuban youth don't believe in the country's current
political, economic and social project, and try to abandon the country
by any means possible to pursue their lives in other lands.

If the constant defections of athletes, artists and professionals
weren't enough, along with the illegal departures on boats, rafts and
other methods by hundreds of Cubans, you only have to talk honestly with
the young people in any neighborhood in our towns and cities to know
what they really think.

The double standard is well-rooted here, right along with the invasive
marabou weed, and you shouldn't give much credence to what is said in an
assembly or mass event, or in front of a microphone or camera. At those
times, most of the young and not so young say what the authorities want
to hear, so as to avoid trouble.

The solution is not 'blue plate specials' every now and then, but the
adoption of profound measures to resolve the current critical situation
and to offer, rather than a long delayed future, a prosperous and
dignified present.

7 August 2014

Source: A Badly Garnished Dish / Fernando Damaso | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/a-badly-garnished-dish-fernando-damaso/