From our Bureau of Twenty-First Century Neocolonialism
While some young Cubans are dying for Russia in the trenches of Ukraine, others are busy clearing snow far from the war front. And they’re getting paid what they consider a very good salary. Naturally, they are also sending a good chunk of their measly earnings to their parasitic families back in Castrogonia. Ultimately, whether Cubans end up in Miami or Moscow doesn’t change the rules of the diaspora game: Your earnings abroad must support your relatives who are slaves of Castro, Inc.
These workers claim that they freely chose to work in Moscow and that Castro, Inc. doesn’t claim any of their earnings. But this kind of labor arrangement seems a bit odd. Chances are Castro, Inc. must be behind it and that it is cashing in on it, somehow.
Abridged from 14yMedio via Translating Cuba
Russian media has discovered that dozens of Cubans are clearing large amounts of snow from Moscow streets. Last weekend the online news site MSK1 interviewed a group of young people from the island who do this work in the Arbat and Khamovniki districts.
“My name is Robert. I’m from Cuba,” said the head of the makeshift brigade. “Generally, my team has 150 to 200 people. We work in the Arbat but we can work wherever they might need us. We came here on our own, voluntarily, not as part of a government program.”
MSK1 met in a fast-food restaurant with some of Robert’s team members, who said emphatically that they were very satisified with their Russian jobs. “There is no one from Cuba controlling us. My boss is Uzbek. My salary comes straight to me. I don’t have to hand it over to anyone,” one of them says smiling.
Their salary, they claim, is 34,000 rubles a month, more than 9,000 Cuban pesos. According to these immigrants, their pay is almost double what they would earn in Cuba. They can also buy most things at very affordable prices. In Cuba, they report, they would need at least 3,000 pesos to buy a canned cola — alternatively, a domestically produced version goes for 220 pesos — but in Russia it is much cheaper and they can drink as much soda or eat as many hamburgers as they like . . .
. . . MSK1, on the other hand, reports that Russia needs an additional 4.8 million workers based on a study by the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Economics. The problem is especially critical in jobs that do not require special qualifications, as is the case here, in which employees do not even need to speak the language.
The devaluation of the ruble is affecting the entire country, which previously attracted many immigrants but now is attracting Cubans almost exclusively. “They save every penny to send home to their families,” says analyst Valery Mironov, who was interviewed by MSK1.
Whole story HERE
Funny how life in Russia even during a war and under severe economic sanctions and while earning minimal wages is still better than in Cuba.
“They save every penny to send home to their families,” says analyst Valery Mironov, who was interviewed by MSK1.”
Got to give the Cuban’s credit. They are indeed close to family. We are all afflicted with that weakness. Funny, how the Cuban communist exploits this virtue of the Cuban people and that is what keeps them in power. “La sangre llama” is the basis of the diaspora remittances.