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Nature has been very kind to Cuba;
the country has one of the most beautiful landscapes in the
world. No wonder Ernest Hemingway, a great American novelist,
chose Cuba as his abode in the last decade of his life and it
figures in at least three of his novels — The Old Man and
the Sea, To Have and Have Not, and Islands in the
Stream. Sadiq visited many towns, beaches, historical
places, schools and hospitals.
He was surprised
to find a much higher academic level and a much better sense of
discipline among Cuban children. "In Britain," he
says, "Individualism dominates the minds of the students...
They easily pick quarrels, bad-mouth each other, indulge in
dirty erotic activities, puff out cigarette smoke in the face of
their teachers, exchange blows and kicks at the slightest
provocation." But Cuba has been able to produce highly
responsible and disciplined citizens who take pride in their
system and nation. Despite harsh American restrictions under the
Helms Burton Act, the country is doing extremely well in the
field of health and education. No doubt, the Cubans have been
facing many problems, particularly after the disintegration of
Soviet Union, yet they have been able to devise alternative ways
and are now showing a respectable rate of economic growth.
They have their
main source of inspiration in Jose Marti, Julio Antomio, Che
Guevara and Fidel Castro, all of whom have now become legends in
their own right. The author gives an outline of the chequered
history of the Cuban revolution.
The Second
International Conference was attended by 4,264 delegates from
118 countries of the world. Among others, it was addressed by
Fidel Castro. He delivered a fiery speech denouncing the
present-day "unjust world economic order" in which the
interests of the poor nations of the world are being sacrificed
for the sake of comforts and luxuries of the developed world. He
decried the neo-colonial globalisation and its adjuncts like
liberalisation and privatisation that have pushed a huge mass of
the poor into a dark tunnel.
The debt burden on
the poor nations in the Third World has increased to $ 2.5
trillion and many of them have landed in a vicious debt trap.
America, the captain of this globalisation, spends 27 billion
dollars on spying on the Third World countries alone. Up to 80
per cent of the oil produced there is consumed by a few
developed countries; 15 per cent of the population in the rich
countries uses 88 per cent of the Internet facilities; and 97
per cent of all patent rights have been monopolised by them.
Castro emphasised that the new world economic order is being
imposed on the poor nations by the rich ones.
This new system is
based on gross economic injustice that leads to predatory loot
of the poor by the rich. One can even find racial discrimination
hidden behind a veneer of superficial equality. The free market
forces are playing havoc with the ecological resources of the
world and the USA alone is causing 25 per cent atmospheric
pollution and has even walked out of the Kyoto Protocol. This
travelogue is different from other such writings in the sense
that it highlights ideological, ecological and cultural issues.
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IN
the recent years many Punjabi writers have had foreign jaunts
courtesy World Punjabi Conferences in different countries.
Whenever writers travel abroad, they are tempted to write
about their experiences over there. However, very few Punjabi
writers have ever bothered to travel across Latin America,
Africa and other countries off the beaten path. Their
favourite haunts have been a few centres in the western world.
Thus, one is surprised when one finds a travel narrative about
Cuba.
