THE REAL FREELOADERS

The latest scandal in this beautiful country of  ours is the cutting off of electrify by the Jamaica Public Service  (JPS) to some of their legal, legitimate customers who are unfortunate enough to reside in some of the notorious garrison communities.

Among the comments you hear from those trying to justify JPS's actions is that most people who live in those communities are free loaders who take what they cannot pay for as they figure  society owes it them. This  may be true to a certain extent, but who are the real freeloaders?

 In my book, it is not so much residents in those areas but the members of parliament who do not live in the areas they "represent"  but who are the the real beneficiaries of garrison politics. For in these garrisons, although most residents may get free water, free light and free homes, they have to give up a great deal of their personal freedoms  for these benefits, which may be free to them but not to us the taxpayers and consumers of electricity.

The real freeloaders get to enjoy the great benefits that come with being a representative in parliament without ever having to do a day of campaigning,  for the  party support has been solidified over time  and constantly maintained by the gunmen aligned to the parties.

 Because of the structure of these constituencies, the representatives have to do absolutely nothing  to improve the lot of the residents and although from time to time you are assaulted by their pompous pronouncements about the many "....decades they have spent serving the people",  when you visit these areas,  you often see people living in conditions not fit for humans.

As far as the JLP and PNP are concerned, these garrison constituencies are however top prizes to be awarded  to the senior and elite of their parties as rewards for years of  service to their particular political club, with no concern about what the maintenance of these garrisons is doing to the country and the future of our children.

 In fact, it is totally disgraceful that in 2014, while we profile about being a democratic county, almost 25% of the constituencies can be described as garrisons or near garrisons.

Unfortunately for the JPS, they are the only private company that has to deal with the officially endorsed and encouraged theft that  comes with garrison politics as the "free"  houses and water comes straight out of the taxpayer's pockets without a peep from us.

I wonder how the outrageous action that the JPS felt forced to take, thus exposing to the world the illegal nature of  a large segment of our "democracy"  so the blessed ones can sit in parliament and become our representatives on the world stage, will  reflect on our reputation when those who compile the "ease of doing business"  do their next survey?

Poor James Forbes

I think most Jamaicans are saddened that Senior Sup. James Forbes has been found guilty in what is loosely being called the Bicknell bribery affair, as for years Senior Sup. Forbes has represented all that we wished for in a police force, by giving it a warmer, human face and an air of professionalism. 

What I have found lacking in the press reports of the trial is what was made of the fact that it was a former Commissioner of Police and current adviser to the Ministry of Security, Lucius Thomas who dragged Forbes into the who messy affair. 

For according to the Gleaner report of the 22nd August 2012, which stated under the heading "Thomas Offered Advice" "When Police Sergeant Jubert Llewellyn met with former Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas at his home, the younger police officer was reportedly advised by the retired police chief to ensure that he takes care of his family.

The police sergeant had reportedly gone to Thomas' home on the advice of a friend, after pressure was allegedly brought to bear on him to drop the bribery charge against businessman Bruce Bicknell.

It is understood that when the sergeant solicited the retired policeman's advice, Thomas sought an assurance from Llewellyn whether he was convinced that Bicknell was actually seeking to bribe him.

The former police commissioner reportedly told the sergeant that he had done the "correct thing", based on what was happening but urged him to think about his family.

It was then that the former Police Commissioner proposed that mediation would best serve to resolve the issue, which brought Senior Superintendent of Police James Forbes into the mix."

It seems therefore it is the former commissioner who brought the Senior Sup. Forbes into the mix to "mediate"! So what weight was given to this and was Thomas called at all to testify at this trial? The report seems to have left out this very important aspect of the affair.

And what did former and present security adviser Commissioner Thomas mean when he reportedly advised  the complainant Jubert Llewelyn to "Think about his family?" 

There is too much left murky in the report of the trial of Senior Superintendent Forbes,  leaving me with a funny feeling that the other half has never been told! 

UPDATE

It took almost nine years, but justice was finally done, hence the Gleaner Headline of February 26, 2021; 

James Forbes freed of corruption charge.

In his famous ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote that “justice too long delayed is justice denied”. 

That being the case, can we ever say that most people in Jamaica who are drawn before the courts, ever achieve justice?

 Sad.

Poor Santiago de Cuba.

New houses in Santiago

The streets of  the city of Santiago de Cuba remind me of the streets of some in San Francisco in that they descend steeply to the bay but that is where the similarity ends. For most of poor Santiago is now one big, derelict, depressing mess. 

This is because it has yet to recover from the extensive damage done by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. 

In fact according to the Cuban hurricane organisation; "Reports from the area after the passage of Sandy spoke of widespread damage, particularly to Santiago de Cuba.  Throughout the province, 132,733 homes were damaged, of which 15,322 were destroyed and 43,426 lost their roof. Electricity and water services had been knocked out, and most of the trees in the city had either been ripped off their roots or had lost all their leaves. "

Monument at General Maceo Plaza of the revolution

While the historic, official  buildings and monuments are in pristine condition, obviously restored and repainted since the hurricane, the residential areas including most of the 132,000 homes seem to have had very little if anything done since the devastation although I will admit that Santiago is the only place in Cuba I have seen brand new homes. 

These are just across from the 26 de julio museum and I had thought they were offices or some other type of official buildings until I saw the lady who works in the bathroom at the museum entering one and she told me she lived there.

Anyway, the historic districts are a must visit when you go to
Cuba as there is so much to see and learn.

On the other hand, the  historic city centre  is the only place I have ever seen beggars  and persons pestering you to buy everything from tours to services, after four visits to Cuba.

However, the province of Santiago de Cuba itself is really beautiful, lush, expansive, with thousands of acres of healthy cane fields, billowing ranches where horses and cattle seem to roam without a care in the world while the  looming, variegated and historically important Sierra Maestra mountains hover protectively on the periphery.

Despite how depressing some of the city now looks however, I am indeed happy that we undertook the over 170 km ride  from Holguin in our smooth running 1953 Chev  (driven by Rashell) to once again visit that historic province which remains the home of so many Jamaican descendants .

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The magnificent cathedral

Fidel and Raul

I found it interesting that although Raul Castro took over from his brother Fidel as president of Cuba from 2008, Fidel remains ever-present.

For on a recent visit there, although we traveled about 600 kilometeres during our one week stay, almost every billboard (and there were many) we saw with Raul, had Fidel  in the background. Only one did I see of Raul alone during the entire time

Interesting!

Transportation in Cuba

A sidecar

As far as I am concerned, the most devastating effect of the continued US embargo against Cuba, is to be seen in the transportation system.

On a recent visit to Holguin and Santiago provinces, Isaw the most decrepit and uncivilized forms of transportation as people were packed like cattle into anything on wheels, from wagons drawn by tractors, oxen and horses, bikes with side cars to trucks on which rough covering have been installed, at times allowing you to see only the eyes of the passengers in what would be prison like lorries in other countries.

Bicycle taxi stand

The roads are also full of very old American cars which run like a charm and a spattering of new cars and a number of Russian made Ladas.

In the cities the novelty is s.the bicycle taxis which all have umbrellas stashed away to be pulled out when the rain falls.

Of course, there are well organised tour companies run by the government and these have brand new airconditioned buses to take tourists around, but no such luxuries for the natives
I guess the only benefit of this terrible embargo is that because people have to walk and ride a lot, there are very few fat people around.

During our week long visit, we started to count the fat people and after only finding five in the first four days, abandoned the project!

Of course the benefits the Cubans get from exercise seem to be widely counteracted by the widespread use of cigars and cigarettes, but like us here, I guess they say, what the heck, who wants to live forever!

HOLGUIN, OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Holguin is a province in the north eastern side of Cuba (incidentally, the main town is also called Holguin)  and because sugar cane played such an important role in making that island extremely wealthy in the early 1900's, many poor Jamaicans migrated there in search of a better life. 

And I can see why, for it is a beautiful section of the island.

On my fourth trip

On our arrival there, we stayed at Pernik, a nice hotel near the centre of town. However after a few days, we found a delightful place just five blocks from the city centre where the four of us shared two nicely decorated flats operated by Yusi, a young entrepreneur who had completed five years of medical school before taking the opportunity to go into her own business when liberalization started a few years ago.

Yusi (blond) with my friends and family

And that is exactly why I have entitled this article, "Holhuin, open for business" for there they seem to be on a massive drive to privatize and the people are responding. So everywhere you go, you see for sale signs on the houses as the government is now giving people the opportunity to become their own landlords.

The response has apparently been well received been as you see construction and painting up taking place on all the streets. Yusi told us that when she got the opportunity to own her home, she decided to add two rooms upstairs to rent to visitors and her location close to downtown gave her a great advantage. 

A section of downtown Holguin

To achieve her dream however, she had to work non stop, helping the plumbers, carpenters etc in every way. Her efforts have paid off as the rooms are tastefully done and nicely furnished with fridges, flat screen tvs etc and she happily provided breakfast for us for an additional cost, which was quite small, considering the huge amount of food we got each morning!

You see the result of this liberalization downtown too as it is always bustling with people patronizing the stores, restaurants museums and parks and I suspect a large percentage of the people we saw there each day were tourists from Canada, Europe and Latin America.

This is because there is a lot to see there as there are numerous parks and lots of interesting monuments all over.

I never had a boring day for the entire week when we were there for there was so much to see and do. I am especially proud of  having been able to visit Loma De La Cruz. Proud, as to get there, you have to climb up 300 steps so my years of exercising at home paid off while my other three friends, resisted my invitation to accompany me up there.

Up 300 steps!

Loma de la Cruz was formerly called Cerro del Bayando but the name was changed in 1790 when a priest, Antonio Alegria, placed a huge cross at the summit to commemorate the cross at Calvary.

Once you get up there however it is more than worth the effort as this is where you get the most comprehensive view of the city.

While there is a lot of history to enjoy in Holguin, to cool off you only travel 56 kilometres to beautiful white sands beach at Guardalavaca.

The drive out is very pleasant via wide, well maintained roads with attractive fruit stands  all along the roadway.

This was my fourth visit
 to Cuba and  had thought I had seen most of the beautiful island before but I cannot recall ever having gone to Holguin. 

This trip was specially to meet the Cuban side of my family but I never expected it to be as beautiful and full as history as I found it to be. 

The Cuban Connection

Would you believe I now know more relatives from my father's side in Cuba than in Jamaica, although that side of my family was born right here!

Miriam, Bebita, (me)Magaly, Maydolys, (Back) Hector Ian Casrlos (Front)

I  tell you it was great to finally meet these members of my family and learn something about my paternal grandfather who died when I was quite young and of whom, I recall, I was very scared.

I was scared of him as he was blind so always wore dark glasses and he had a big beard. I think I only saw him twice but what puzzles me now is that I can't recall anyone ever telling me anything about him or his family!

 The only thing I knew was that he was the principal of a primary school, became blind in his 40s and died in his early 80's. It is only through my cousin Barry who lives in Canada but who had grown up with us and who later found another cousin there named Sheila who brought him up speed on the relatives of my paternal grandfather, that I too am getting some information about that side of the family.

Barry heard about the relatives in Cuba and some years ago attended a small gathering to celebrate the 105th birthday of our grand aunt there. He sent me the email address of her daughter called Bebita (Real name Florianna). We started to communicate and that is how I ended up going there this time to meet the wonderful family there who I had known nothing about on my previous three trips to Cuba.

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I now know  that my grandfather actually had eleven siblings most of whom migrated all over the world.

Bebita speaks English and is in touch with relatives in Jamaica, Canada, England and the USA and she has a wealth of information.

However her children, grandchildren and great grand children speak only Spanish and do not appear to be too interested in communicating with far flung relatives so I don't know how long the connections will remain, but it was really great linking up with them.

Body builder, Asiel

Bebita's mother migrated to Cuba around 1919 when the Cuban economy was blooming and many Caribbean migrants went there in search of good jobs. (On my latest visit there, I met quite a few descents of Jamaicans, Grenadians and St. Lucians).

Bebita was born there and while another aunt who had gone there with her mom moved on to the USA, her mom stayed there forever and raised a Cuban family. Bebita is the only child but she has three daughters, two grandsons and a grand daughter and 2 great grand sons.

Most live in Cayo Mambi in the municipality of Fank Pais which is in Holguin province, some 160 kms from Holguin city.

Her town is a pleasant, rural farming area with wide tree lined streets and high rise buildings built by the government to house the people.

Bebita had been a teacher in her youth, teaching adults English after the revolution.

In the 1962, hurricane Flora destroyed her home and she was given a two bedroom ground floor apartment in a government house.

The main source of employment used to be at the Frank Pais sugar factory, but after it was destroyed by one of the many hurricanes that constantly devastate us in the Caribbean, it was closed and many people were left unemployed.

 As a result  of the liberalization now taking place under Raul Castro, many persons have now set up small businesses in their homes and operate farms. In Cuba today, you can now keep, use and sell farm products and  small animals and you can dispose of everything as you wish, except cows which have to be sold to the state.

Cayo Mambi is a very pleasant rural town like any you would see here but it is the first place I have even seen an outdoor gym with exercise equipment for the residents to use.

The most confusing thing I found about Cuba was the money as they have two types, the peso and the Peso CUC.

To travel over to Cayo Mambi from Holguin town, we chartered an old Russian made Lada which looked a bit decrepit and had a noisy engine but it drove well. We had planned to hop on a bus to return, but learnt that the buses were reserved for the residents as the fares are subsidized so we came home in a brand new chartered, air conditioned Chinese car. It did not appear to be as good as the old Lada however as we noticed that the engine kept fading so the driver was constantly turning the key back on, but it never stopped and we got back comfortably and safely.

Flowers were laid in front of the monument dedicated to Frank Pais

I was very curious about Frank Pais as not only is the airport at Holguin and an entire municipality named after him but also the sugar factory in Cayo Mambi and the house where he was born in Santiago de Cuba is highlighted as a place of interest.

 On looking him up on my return, I learnt from WIKIPEDIA that; "Frank País (December 7, 1934 – July 30, 1957) was a Cuban revolutionary who campaigned for the overthrow of General Fulgencio Batista's government in Cuba. País was the urban coordinator of the 26th of July Movement, and was a key organizer within the urban underground movement, collaborating with Fidel Castro's guerrilla forces which were conducting activities in the Sierra Maestra mountains.^[1] País was killed in the streets of Santiago de Cuba by the Santiago police on July 30, 1957.^[2][3]
His father was Francisco País Pesqueira, a Protestant pastor married to Rosario García Calviño. Both were from Marín in Galicia, Spain and immigrants to Cuba. Francisco País Pesqueira was one of the founding members of the First Baptist Church of Santiago de Cuba. On his death, Rosario García Calviño took sole charge of 5-year-old Frank and his younger brothers Augustin, 3, and Josué, 2.^[4]

The family struggled financially, although his mother taught piano to make ends meet.^[5] Frank began to study architecture, but abandoned his studies to enroll in the Oriente Teacher’s College which he graduated from on July 6, 1953."