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Sunday, October 06, 2013

''Cheap Flesh Of The Revolution'' - Cuban Women Recount A Grim Reality

''Cheap Flesh Of The Revolution'' - Cuban Women Recount A Grim Reality
Łukasz Woźnicki (2013-10-05)

HAVANA — Though propaganda from the Cuban regime claims otherwise, the
everyday reality for Cuban women does not involve fighting economic
aggression from the United States.

Instead, they struggle to provide basic necessities such as food and
clothes for their families — and occasional luxuries such as cosmetics —
sometimes having to pay with their own dignity. We interviewed several
Cuban women, and here are some of their stories.

Felina, 34, prostitute
"Do you know how most Cuban women commit suicide? They set themselves on
fire. As if they wanted to purge themselves of all this sh*t. Last week
a friend of mine did it. She was a hooker, like me. Her daughter said
that they were watching TV and suddenly Yoana kissed her and went to the
bathroom. She ran out of it like a living torch.

I think about suicide every day. But I would not like to suffer. If I do
this, I will jump off the balcony.

Jorge was the only man I have truly loved. Today he is my husband, but
all I feel for him now is what a hooker may feel toward her pimp — disdain.

We met at the airport. I was a waitress in the local café, he was a
baggage handler. Before the suitcases went on the baggage carousel,
Jorge would steal alcohol, clothes, perfumes. On Friday night people
would come to his place to perfume themselves. Three sprays cost $1.
Unfortunately, what we both made was not enough to live.

One day he said he had an idea for how we could earn more: I should
sleep with tourists that he and his friend, a taxi driver, would
'recruit' at the airport. He said we needed to use my beauty to move
forward.

Tourists changed Cuba into a virtual country, like in a video game in
which you f**k Cuban women and men, drink rum and smoke cigars.

Clients always feel like praising Cubans and Havana after we have sex. I
hate this. My city looks like the next day after a war.

We are the cheap meat of the revolution: I take $50 for classic sex, 80
for anal. There are girls who take less than $30.

I have studied Marxist philosophy for five years. I graduated with
honors. I speak multiple languages, which is useful. For instance, I can
say 'I will do you good' in English, French and Portuguese.

Most of my colleagues have university diplomas. We are probably the most
educated hookers in the world.

I still have some hope that one day I will earn my life in a decent way
— for example, as a translator. But there are days when I go out on the
balcony, I look down and I imagine I hit the ground."

Laura, 23, IT specialist
"Meeting a foreigner was not my dream. I have always wanted to be an
independent woman, to study, to get a job and to be able to pay my bills.

After two years of working at a cultural office in a big city, I noticed
that all my colleagues had foreign boyfriends. When I asked one of them
how it was possible, she said, 'The Internet, stupid!'

In Cuba, home Internet connections are forbidden. There are Internet
access points controlled by the state, but one hour costs $6 and is
beyond the reach of an average Cuban. We are lucky at work to be able to
surf all day long. Only porn and counter-revolutionary sites are banned.
My girlfriends persuaded me to create a profile on Facebook. One day I
got a message from Hans.

Nowadays men wait for women to provide the household with the
necessities of life. Quite often, young married women have 'sponsors'
from abroad who are accepted by the girls' families. I have two
girlfriends who are in such sick relationships.

Cuban men put me off. They are too aggressive. They treat women like
properties. Besides, they drink too much. What I like about Germans,
French, Swiss or Austrians is that you can talk with them about anything.

Hans is a 34-year-old engineer. He is German, but he learned Spanish
during his studies in Mexico. After a year and a half of online
chatting, he came to see me for the first time, without notice. Two
years ago I started to learn German. My first visit there was in 2012.

I have heard that many tourists lie about how rich they are and who they
are. I have been lucky. Hans is a good man. In one month, I am leaving
for good to join him."

Matilda, 42, hairdresser
"The life of a Cuban woman is more difficult that a man's. Women take
care of the household and that means children, husband and food. We
spend 90% of the day trying to come up with something to eat. That is
our task: how to survive with $15 a month.

I have been working as a hairdresser for the past 20 years, but I opened
my own place only a year and a half ago, together with my friends. We
take ideas for the hairstyles from foreign magazines, if we manage to
get any. The latest we have is a Spanish edition of Glamour from 2008.

Cubans have optimism in their blood. We work a lot, and we get nothing
in return. Still, we meet friends and keep smiling. If you worry all the
time, it is time to die!

I feel pity for Cuban men. They are frustrated. They cannot support
their families, so they try to confirm their masculinity by cheating. I
don't have one girlfriend who has not gone through this. I am divorced
myself.

I don't want to leave Cuba. My roots, my family, my girlfriends are
here. The sad reality is that most Cuban women dream about meeting a
foreigner and leaving. It's their only chance to improve their lives. My
daughter dreams about it too."

Source: "''Cheap Flesh Of The Revolution'' - Cuban Women Recount A Grim
Reality - All News Is Global" -
http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/-039-039-cheap-flesh-of-the-revolution-039-039-cuban-women-recount-a-grim-reality/cuba-prostitution-hookers-havana/c3s13589/

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