Cuba is an island country found in the Caribbean. It is a small nation with the capital City at Havana. Its neighboring countries include Mexico to the North, Jamaica and Cayman Islands to the South, Haiti to the Southeast, Bahamas to the Northeast and the United States to the North. Cuba was essentially a colony of Spain. The society of Cuba is a multiracial one consisting majorly of whites and blacks. Despite its independence, Cuba still grapples with growing inequalities that greatly threaten the stability of the island country.
Cuba faces a problem with racism. Despite the fact that the majority of the population comprises Blacks and the Mullato, there is still evidence of unequal treatment to the Blacks. In fact, the whites in Cuba believe that black are way less intelligent than the former. Probably the same explains why the majority, if not all of the ruling class, is made up of the whites. The major decisions of leadership are made by the minority white who dominate the governmental positions. As a result, there has been an outright discrimination of the black population in Cuba in almost every aspect of leadership and provision of social services.
Inequality is evident in the employment sector. In other words, one may say that it is much easier for a white person seeking employment to get a job than a Black person under the same circumstances even if the Black person is more qualified for the job than his white counterpart. Thus, the blacks form the larger portion of the unemployed people in Cuba. The black population is, therefore, relegated to working at the very low levels of employment. The earnings at this point are barely enough to sustain their livelihood given the cost of living in Cuba.
The racial discrimination of the blacks in Cuba is all round and is practiced in all the systems and the institutions. For example, the Black people are not allowed to take up jobs falling within the tourism sector. This is primarily to prevent them from benefiting from the huge tips by the tourists often offered in foreign currencies. Such lucrative jobs with potentially high incomes are primarily left for the white population. The black population is also excluded from managerial positions within any of the governmental positions. This can also be explained by the fact that most white believe the black are not intelligent enough and are thus unfit to hold such positions of power.
The blacks in Cuba equally suffer poor housing. The same is partly because they are not within the financial capacity to afford better housing facilities. However, this is also because certain housing facilities have been declared exclusively for the white population. The white population has taken possession of most of the habitable facilities, and the black population has to hustle and survive on the little poor facilities left for them. This also explains the congestion and overpopulation in the blacks living areas. They are the majority yet they occupy the smallest living space as the minority white population dominates the larger portions.
The black population faces racial discrimination when it comes to the provision of social amenities. The schools where they (Blacks) are allowed to take their children have poor infrastructures and do not provide any conducive environment for learning. They are also not allowed to take their children to better institutions. This could either be due to their financial incapacitation or due to the fact that some of the best learning institutions are predominantly meant for the whites. The black are also discriminated against in access to health services. They have complained of having to wait longest in order to get health services. The services availed to them often may be evaluated as being of lower standards compared to those accorded to the whites. This leads to higher mortality rates in the Blacks as opposed to the Whites.
The government, majorly by the whites has also put in place rules that are very stringent for the blacks. In Cuba, a black person is 5 times more likely to go to prison. They are also easily sent to prisons even without the due process being followed. Even in the prison, the blacks are still discriminated against. Even the guards in the prison call them names.
The democratic rights of the black population are also interfered with. Despite forming the largest portion of the population and, thus the electorate, they hardly influence the election results. They can never be able to have one of their own occupy the top office in the land. This is because their most basic rights as members of the state are not respected.
The black Cubans have low representation in every sector of government. This includes, political representation, economic representation and even in the judicial representation. This is very much in contrast to the prevailing black population which under normal circumstance would mean that the dominance in population be reflected in the representations. The penal dominance of the population by the black Cubans is indeed undermined by the country’s ruling class.
The black Cubans are prevented from raising a revolution by harsh laws promulgated against them. It is made clear that any attempt to start an uprising against the white ruing class would make one face long prison sentences or even the death penalty if necessary. Civil rights movements are not even an option in Cuba and such attempts could possibly lead to huge massacres on the black population. The inequality in this case is inhuman and the fact that their very right of expression is denied shows that it requires more than just the will of the black Cubans to change the situation of affairs. No matter how much they would like to change the state of affairs their abilities are limited and their hands are tied.
In conclusion, the inequalities in Cuba are an indication of violation of human rights in the country. Despite the call by activists and human rights personnel from outside and also within the country, there has been little change. The ruling class has been persistent in their violation of the rights of the black and also the oppression of the same people. It is time that the other countries, especially the developed countries stepped in to help with the situation in Cuba. The United Nations calls for and promotes equality among all citizens of a country. It is of great importance that they come into the picture and help make the situation better. It is time that the white ruling class got to know that being of a different race does not make anyone inferior or less human. Race does not affect ones intelligence or one’s ability to do things I the right way. Political and democratic rights are vital and should be retained for the black population too. There should be equality for all.
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