IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 7 ENGLISH | Page 29

chronic. A toothbrush or tube of toothpaste costs 10 pesos, which for many
workers is the equivalent of one day’s
work; a low-quality bath soap, pound of
rice, bunch of Swiss chard, or pound of
bread cost 5 pesos each. A really low
quality pair of panties costs 35 pesos and
breaks after being worn only once. Cucarachita Martina would have died in
this situation, even if young, due to some
degenerative disease stemming from the
stress of continuously living with a lack
of food. I have worked as a professional
for 19 years, and I have never been able
to buy a mattress for my daughter’s single bed. For 21 years, she has had to
sleep on a used crib mattress I bought
her, but that’s not all. I have not been
able to buy either a television set, or
blender, or refrigerator, or stove. As one
might expect, I can’t even think of renting or buying an apartment or home.
Contract law for the buying and selling
of houses did not bring about any improvement whatsoever for the majority
of the population, which lives cramped
in the same space that has been shared
by two or three generations. Even if you
work your entire life and combine your
entire family’s salary, there is no possibility of buying a place to live. If he or
she does not go abroad on a work mission, or have family abroad to send remittances, the honest worker faces an
asphyxiating situation. Nowhere to be
found is an increase in economic-social
development; the Cuban population is
not able to enjoy or take advantage of
something that doesn’t exist. Only those
people who have relatives abroad (as

was mentioned before), or members of
that small population group known as
luchadores (fighters), who can take
products from their workplaces and sell
them, or drive cars that can be rented, or
own houses, or apartments, or have
rooms to rent, can get ahead. The wellbeing of this minority is not representative nor can it be used to characterize the
living conditions for the Cuban people.
Medical expertise
In spite of everything else, I never
thought I’d be involved in a nearly threeyear process of dealing with several
chronic health issues and getting expert
advice on how to deal with them, and
their effect on my retirement. I can’t
precisely say when they started, or when
they might go away, but if they never do,
I won’t be sorry to have invested in this,
because if I retire this way I will not be
able to support myself. What I would
receive for that sort of retirement, due to
illness, would not cover even for a week
of groceries. One must choose between
eating and buying medicines. If you
don’t have family or friends who can
help you, it’s going to be rough for you:
you will be needy and still have to pay
for water, electricity, transportation, as
well as tend to children who are studying, or any number of other things on an
endless list. The Ministry of Public
Health staff the Medical Experts Labor
Commission is staffed by, under Article
7 of Law 24/1979. It determines disability for people, so they can gain access to
social security benefits if they cannot
work for six straight months.

29