Poverty in Cuba

This break, my family and I traveled to Cuba under the title of “helping the Cuban people." I had not expected to see such an extreme extent of poverty shown by decaying buildings, lack of food, and the limitations on products. Although, my camera was about to die as well as having little storage, I managed to take a few photos of the utter poverty, shown by stores and buildings, as well as the vibrant colors, people, and architecture of Havana, Cuba.



Old man crossing the street.




Decaying Architecture



Two men sitting in front of an abandoned building. The inside of the building looked like this:

Further up the street, a water pipe was spewing water directly onto the street, which held piles of broken cement blocks and bricks.

Another building that was falling apart. People would still live in places that would be deemed dangerous, homes where the door of an apartment would open to a gaping abyss rather than a flight of stairs.


View from a café, belonging to housing for students of the Universidad de la Habana. Fidel Castro had planned the Revolution in this café, his markings still noticeable on the table.


While walking around the University, my father and I came across these two teachers. The woman teaches pharmacy and the other history. They brought us to the cafe for a drink and began to tell their stories. The man had trained and fought in Angola for five years (insisting upon the validity by showing us a certificate with Obama's face), but when he came back, he was given no aid whatsoever from the Cuban government. The woman explained that while she was pregnant, her husband was killed from a car explosion during his time in the army. Not only is she now a single mother, but she has to fend for herself through a meager income provided from a teaching position. Although, this could have been a scam, it still showed the depth of poverty currently in Cuba.



The teachers also showed us a table for food rations set in a local shop.
 

Colors

Two men working on a building.


Beautiful colors of Havana.


Often times the vivid colors of the cars would match the painted buildings.




Scarcity of Products


Tomato Soup.


Canned veggies.

This was a much more prized and elegant store, as seen by the modern roof panels. However, the shelves were still half empty.




A pharmacy.
As soon as I began to take photos, a woman inside shooed me away. 



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