Violence in Cuba People’s Helplessness and Protection of Power

Violence in Cuba: People's Helplessness and Protection of Power / Miriam
Celaya
Posted on September 11, 2013

It was Saturday morning at ten-thirty, and was out with my oldest
grandson. I was driving our old little car down a street in Central
Havana as we turned a corner and I had to stop. On the left side of the
street, a van parked at the curb was taking up a lot of room, while in
the left lane, in the middle of the intersection, a young man was having
an animated conversation with a girl, blocking my way. Since I thought
that maybe they were too absorbed in their talk to notice that I wanted
to proceed where they were standing, I blew the horn once. The young man
glared at me, clearly annoyed at my interruption and immediately,
without moving an inch, continued with his talk.

I insisted then, blowing the horn once again, and he turned to me,
gesticulating angrily, and cursing me out. His face was irate, and, to
my surprise, he challenged me to get out of the car. I didn't even have
time to be scared and couldn't believe such an irrational and unexpected
situation. My grandson was terrified, pressed against the back seat,
while the girl tried to grab the young man by the arm, in an effort to
get him over to the other sidewalk. I finally had enough space for my
little car to move and continued on our way. If the girl had not
intervened, the young man would have hit me, even with my grandson
watching. I would have been helpless in the middle of the street.

"Grandma, who was that man? Why did he want to hit you?" The kid asked,
still overwhelmed by the event. "I don't know who it was. I'm sure he
was a little crazed and mistook me for someone else." I did not know
how.to explain to my grandson why a 20-something total stranger had
become so violent in a matter of seconds when I had not offended him at
all and he did not have the slightest reason to act in such a way. Nor
could I explain to him that the brief episode was just a sample of the
level of violence that is reaching Cuban society, particularly in the
capital, manifesting itself in an increasing spiral of aggression
between individuals and groups for the most insignificant reasons, most
often without any reason.

Almost every day one hears of assaults, burglaries, knives fights,
murders. The news of the attacks seem endless and events happen daily
and in the most dissimilar places. Recently, a woman was beheaded by a
subject in a moving public taxi in a Vedado-La Palma route in the
presence of other passengers, including a child. A few days ago, three
men were attacked by a youth gang in Mulgoba, In the Boyeros area,
leaving one dead of a stab wound and another one hurt of several
fractures as a result of the beating.

At a bus stop, a young man mortally stabbed a family man who was out
with his wife and children, simply because the victim claimed his place
on line, which happened to be just in front of that of the attacker.
Another bus driver was assaulted by a passenger who refused to pay his
fare, and had to be helped by another driver of a bus that stopped at
the same bus stop. Another bus driver from Guanabo was also attacked
with a knife by an irate passenger who did not want to pay for his fare.
The driver had to stop at the village clinic for treatment. It is a fact
that buses are potentially among the most prone to violence in the capital.

The list of violent events becomes endless and it's growing. One could
almost say that each municipality in Havana is competing for the highest
crime rate and, unfortunately, they all seem determined to reach the
first place. At the same time, the impunity of criminals and the police
inaction are staggering, so the feeling of insecurity among the
population is intensifying. Many people say that they fear going out
because of the possibility of becoming victims of the violence that has
become commonplace.

Testimonies of knife assaults abound. It would seem that the law of the
jungle has descended on our streets and that the strong and warlike
elements are taking over, displacing decency and imposing terror among
peaceful people.

The accumulation of frustration, poverty, marginalization and lack of a
social project that would afford the population a modicum of prosperity,
coupled with widespread corruption, even the very law enforcement for
public order favor the emergence of the worst scenarios in a nation
already marked by polarization, deep social differences and exclusions.

Marginal sectors, increasingly prone to violence, are marking the symbol
of the system's social decay, pointing to a spiral of unpredictable
consequences if the situation doesn't get under control. There are
already decent people who have made the decision to acquire self-defense
weapons of various origins and nature to defend themselves in case of
aggression, whether in the streets or in their own homes. Violence as
protection against violence, violence in response, as social code. I
can't think of anything worse that could happen.

The authorities are clueless. The official press continues its praises
of the system, depicting an imaginary Cuba where only flourishing
cooperatives exist, model hospitals where the best specialists in the
world save the lives of children and all the sick poor people that in
other countries would not stand the slightest chance to survive or to
undergo surgery, or where schools are getting ready for the start of a
new year which, incidentally, future criminals will also attend. Because
this is also a revolutionary achievement: there might be many illiterate
delinquents in the world, but not a one of them is Cuban. I have not
heard of any of these violent acts where the police have had an
important role, protecting "the public" or capturing the wrongdoer.

In fact, right now I can't recall a single event in which the police
have been even near the conflict. Most of the evidence I have collected
reflect the tremendous distrust and suspicion of the population in
relation to the euphemistically called "law enforcement". Chances are
that while the crimes are taking place, uniformed law enforcement
entities may be supporting agents of State Insecurity whose job seems to
be cracking down and trying to uselessly intimidate peaceful opponents,
with that other form of selective violence, and making use of police
vehicles not in the pursue of muggers and troublemakers who sow fear in
society, but to carry away those who are dreaming of and working toward
a better Cuba.

However, it appears that in a few years we will have more scientists in
the Ministry responsible for these matters of internal order. This
Sunday September 1st, Juventud Rebelde published a report (Orgullosos de
servir a la sociedad, by Ana María Domínguez Cruz), which reported that
students from the thirteenth detachment of cadets of the Ministry of the
Interior (MININT) composed of 400 young people across the country of
which 250 belong to districts in the capital, have served their period
of "preliminary military training" before being injected into university
careers, such as Journalism, Psychology, Law, Computer and Medical
Sciences, among other specialties not related to Agronomy or any of the
technical schools or offices the General-President so much endorses as
the most necessary for the country. With these cadets, states the
report, "the ranks of MININT will be fed by educated and committed
professionals". We already know on which side the commitment rests.

There is nothing to hope for. The press does not reflect what is
happening in Cuba in real life: Everything seems to be fine with the
country and the news about the assaults and crime is no more than rumors
of those who want to damage the revolution's image and create an opinion
state that is adverse to the system. Everything indicates that the
blue-uniformed police are not going to be more efficient and are not
going to improve the social order and public peace, but we are certainly
going to have more well-educated and learned MININT with the assigned
task of pursuing and harassing anything that threatens the political
power. That's too bad for everyone.

Translated by Norma Whiting

2 September 2013

Source: "Violence in Cuba: People's Helplessness and Protection of Power
/ Miriam Celaya | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/violence-in-cuba-peoples-helplessness-and-protection-of-power-miriam-celaya/