Author: Rebeca Monzo

Vera

Colleagues, can anyone disagree with the ideas expressed in this article? Unfortunately, there are no laws in our country protecting animals from abuse, as there are in other countries.

Consider why:

In the countries where such laws exist there are parliaments. Parliaments legislate, making the laws. And parliaments are composed of deputies.

Those deputies were chosen in elections and have commitments to those who elected them. These laws exist because the deputies proposed and approved them, and thus the officials are obligated to abide by them. These laws exist because the deputies in those countries know that they must fulfill their commitments to the voters.

Having commitments to voters does not mean that they are only accountable for their promises. The elected members, above all, have to respond to the concerns and demands of the voters, even in an electoral system such as ours, where there are no pre-election promises.

Because they were elected and have commitments to their constituents, those deputies don’t wait around until some minister or official proposes a law to approve it, as happens in our system (I say “approve” speaking of us, because I don’t remember any case where our deputies have rejected a proposal by the government, as does happen in other countries).

Those deputies initiate legislation, as delegated to them by the Constitution, the supreme law of a nation, which no official, minister, or even president can ignore, upon pain of dismissal.

Our Constitution also gives to the deputies, as representatives of the people, the legislative initiative. But I have not the slightest recollection of any law that arose at the initiative of our deputies.

(But I do have infinite memories of officials at all levels violating the Constitution, without any deputy, who is sworn to defend it, ever confronting them. But I digress.)

It is simply time for us to demand that Cuban deputies exercise the legislative initiative in the National Assembly. They are required to listen to us and comply with our mandate. Just as we have the right not to vote for them if they do not carry out that for which they were elected, including initiating laws.

We have no reason to follow this or that official around trying in vain to get his attention. The official doesn’t answer to us, but to his boss. The deputy, however, does answer to us; we are the ones who elected him. We should demand this of him (which we don’t).

To begin with, we should get in touch with our deputies, who were elected by our neighborhoods, and demand that they satisfy that for which they were elected, or we will withdraw our support. It is all too common in the city for us not to know who our deputies are or how to contact them directly: they are just three names that we’ve been told to vote for (because they are all worthy).

But we, the members of UNEAC (National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba), have deputies that we know, who belong to the organization, our colleagues, who represent the intellectual sector in the National Assembly.

So in all of our meetings let us demand that these deputies fulfill what they were elected for. And let us be clear: If you do not represent us you have no reason to stand for election on our behalf.

Let us demand that the deputies who represent UNEAC propose at the next session of the National Assembly not merely the law on protection of animals that is so justly sought.

Let us also demand that they submit to the next Assembly the Film Act, the Consumer Protection Act, the amendment to the Law on Associations  . . . and many other legal instruments that our country needs urgently to create or revise.

And that they meet with us (when I say us I don’t mean only the National Council of UNEAC) before going to the National Assembly, to take note of our ideas, as people who work and think like we do, and take to the Assembly our concerns and proposals about the short and long-term future of our country.

Including, of course, the concern that many have expressed about the idea of filling Cuba with golf courses, a threat to our ecology and, in the not very long term, to our economy.

Other members of other sectors of the population should do the same with the deputies these agencies put forward for election, but that’s their business. We at UNEAC are obligated and able to work on legislative initiatives for the deputies we elect to present on behalf of our industry. Or to not re-elect them.

For now, why don’t we make a list of the current deputies put forward by UNEAC?

Let’s start there and write (everyone!) to their electronic addresses, sending our proposals, so no one can say they were unaware of them.

Let’s also push for the deputies of the arts sector to meet with us to talk face-to-face about the country’s problems.

Undoubtedly some of you smiled and thought that what I have written is pure idealism, but … does anyone have a better idea? Let’s try this. Demand that our deputies submit our ideas to the National Assembly. These are not parochial ideas, they relate to everyone.

Cordially,

Alpízar

18 June 2015

Availing myself of an old shortwave radio I had been given (its sale in stores was forbidden), I succeeded, crossing the dial from one extreme to the other over and over again, finding the outlawed station right next to the famous Radio Rebelde (Rebel Radio), which inflicted intolerable interference on Radio Martí. But in my persistence I managed to discover that, by gently moving the device to one side or the other, I could capture quite clearly the forbidden voice.

From that glorious moment, my life changed. I became aware of what was happening inside and outside our borders. But above all, I was happy to leave behind the manipulative official rhetoric.

Because it was very difficult for me not to occasionally drop a controversial comment at my then workplace, influenced of course by this new source of information, I soon found myself in the administration’s spotlight. So in 1986 I decided to quit my office job and devote myself entirely to my artistic work as a way of life.

Imagine my surprise and excitement when one day, as I was working in my studio with my ear glued to my favorite radio station, listening to an interview they were doing about an SIP (Inter American Press Association) event, I heard the unmistakable voice of a much-beloved family member, whom I had not had any contact with for 26 years. Despite the difficulties and intolerable interference, I became a faithful follower of this radio station, which opened a new window to the world of information.

My sincere congratulations on your 30th anniversary of this great collective work, which over the years has made a recognized and valuable contribution, after providing information to all Cuban citizens, because even though it does not reach many, those who do manage to connect are responsible for disseminating it, changing the single view provided by the island’s official media.

One that now has my attention is particularly painful, involving medications, because it plays dirty with the health of the population.

The daily Granma published a complaint on Friday May 29th, on page 11 (national edition) in the Letters section, from Yasser Huete, a citizen from Artemisa, who asserts that tubes of Tolnaftato (an anti-fungal skin cream) from the Roberto Escudero Laboratories, located at 20th of May Street, in Cerro, Havana, are more than 50% filled with air.

He claims that he ran a test by buying two tubes and emptying one of them, then weighing it, and the resulting difference was 48.6 grams, when the weight printed on the tube is 100 grams. He went to the pharmacy where he had bought them to complain, and the employee who waited on him said they had already received several complaints like this from other citizens involving the same laboratory, which means, according to the affected chronic patient who made the complaint, that he has to “do more with less.”

Honey also promotes better sleep, as well as easing indigestion. Its principal components are simple sugars, fructose and glucose, water, pollen, organic acids, enzymes and various proteins. Honey contains only small traces of the toxins emitted by industries, autos and chemical products used in agriculture. Its carriers, the bees, act as a biological filter and die if they are exposed to toxins so they do not return live to the hives.

It is a healthy stimulant, as the glucose has also been pre-digested by the bees that produce it. These simple sugars are rapidly and easily absorbed by human beings. If you use honey in place of sugar to sweeten tea or coffee, take care because of the high calorie content: a teaspoon of honey has 64 calories, while a teaspoon of granulated sugar has 46.

There are many kinds of honey. Its characteristics are determined by the type of bee and the flower it has sipped in collecting the nectar. It is always advisable to look for honey produced by beekeepers who don’t use dangerous insecticides. It is important to read the labels with its components.

Caution: Unpasteurized honey is dangerous for children because it contains a bacteria that is not harmful for teenagers and adults, but is for small children.

Use of honey as a wound dressing: applied externally, honey cures minor cuts and abrasions, because it extracts excess water from the tissues and reduces inflammation. To do this, spread the honey on the would and cover it with a sterile bandage. It is a powerful home remedy that can be combined with medicinal herbs.

Right now, honey with propolis sells in the Cuban market for 15 Cuban pesos, or almost an entire day’s wages, for a 240ml bottle. This product is highly recommended for diseases of the throat.

3 June 2015

, there is an equally short supply in the others mainly because imported items such as these are sold in the container stores. Only the supplies of electrical appliances for sale at these stores are relatively stable due to their high prices.

Many citizens complain and wonder aloud why the old supermarkets are not being modernized to consolidate all the timbiriches (tiny “mom-and-pop” kiosks) that have been proliferating in their neighborhoods, especially given their lack of basic requirements. This leaves only one small establishment in any given neighborhood to carry the few products still available through the ration book.

Converting architecturally magnificent houses into tiny shops is also an unfortunate practice. The dramatic reuse and inadequate care to which these buildings are subjected leads to deterioration and subsequent damage. One such example is a building located on 47th Street between Conill and Santa Ana in Nuevo Vedado. Designed by the architect Carlos Ferrer Nadal and built in 1956, it is one of the jewels of modern Cuban architecture.

In my very personal opinion, this is a way of disguising unemployment in a country that produces almost nothing. By underemploying the staff of these small stores, where three employees would essentially be enough to provide a decent level of service, the size of the workforce can be increased.

6 March 2015

he wouldn’t be operating due to an accident in the operating room, and to return to the clinic in 15 days to see what could be done.

I left the hospital surprised and disappointed, because I had already been preparing physically and mentally for the moment. I even had to postpone an exposition abroad and delay the longed-for visit of my granddaughter to Cuba, two things very important to me. In addition, why when I filled out the form for the operation did they ask me for a telephone number where they could find me?

On arriving at the hospital parking lot, where fortunately a car was waiting for me I learned from the parking attendant himself, who had worked there for a few years, that the operating room in question had caught fire a few days before and that’s why it was closed, and also there was only one anesthesiologist for the whole hospital because, normally, the person who come for pre-operative consultations sometimes don’t get done until 3:00 in the afternoon because he is the only one for the room and the consultations.

I left the hospital thinking that, sadly, I myself had experienced a joke that I often used on my friends: if you get sick here, then get a ticket and go to Haiti or Venezuela because there you’ll find a good Cuban specialist to see you with all the necessary equipment, because public health in Cuba is “A candle in the street, darkness in the house.”*

*Translator’s note: A common saying that means you “show off your good works” away from home, bt don’t help your own family. Rebeca is referring to Cuba’s healthcare “missions” abroad; the export of doctors is a major source of hard currency for the country.

of the population but the Cubans who work for this and other UN organizations are paid in CUC (Cuban convertible peso), which surpass by leaps and bounds the highest salaries of the most qualified professionals in our society, who are paid in CUP (Cuban pesos).

According to the aforementioned article, Granma “chatted” with Mrs. Jessica Faieta, Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the Assistant Secretary-General of the UN, who discussed the improvement of the quality of life of our citizens. She recognized the efforts of the Cuban government in regards to food security and the strengthening of the agricultural and non-agricultural cooperatives, pointing out, in addition, that the Cuban healthcare system has been strengthened.

With all due respect, it strikes me that this official had only a limited view of the situation, as is the case with everyone who visits us. Guests are taken only to those organizations that have been prepared in advance by the government and which serve as “display windows” for foreigners.

Perhaps if she had to depend on the ration book for a while or to seek medical help at one of our clinics — those  used by the average citizen — it is quite possible she might think differently. I do not understand how UNDP, based in our country for four decades, has not been given the task of investigating on their own — in closer contact with the population — to verify the “wonderful statistics” provided by the government, which does not at all reflect our reality.

One need only take a stroll through Central Havana, Old Havana (provided one ventures beyond the historic center), Cerro, Tenth of October Arroyo Naranjo, San Miguel del Padron and even Vedadao and other neighborhhoods to see the poor sanitation conditions and overcrowding in which the Cuban people must live. and the lack of specialists in our health centers, for being these missions abroad, being replaced mostly by students, many of them foreigners. There is also the issue of a shortage of specialists in our health system due to the large number of them serving abroad in medical missions. They are being replaced mainly by medical students, many of them foreigners.

In terms of our society’s standard of living, it should be pointed out that the disappearance of the middle class — the very mark of a country’s wealth — has led to the emergence of an impoverished class (with equality for all) with salaries that do not cover even the most basic necessities. The contrast is made even more striking by the emergence of a leadership class with an affluent lifestyle which only accentuates the differences.

However, Mrs. Faieta and I are in full agreement when it comes to the positive steps taken towards normalization of diplomatic relations between the governments of the United States of America and Cuba. Once there is a successful outcome — one hopes sooner rather than later — it will be to the benefit of all Cubans. I believe that it is time to end once and for all the blindness that until now has led the way.