“this Cuban government I could have asked the Russians when the pandemic started to give us Cubans a legal status that would allow us to work Marta, a Cuban living in Moscow, explains: She arrived in 2019, the year that nearly 28,000 Cubans entered Russia on a tourist visa. last Pandemic like an explosion Russia-Ukraine conflict. He claims that due to his irregular status in the country, it has always been difficult to find a job for him and he wants to return to his country. Lidia, also a Cuban, shares this view and says, “Cubans should really get what they work for in Russia.” Both chose not to give their real names for privacy.
“Cubans in Russia are a trading company,” Marta affirms, emphasizing. “It’s a very profitable business, because we don’t have legal status, companies don’t hire us, they make us pay far below what we get,” he explains. Although Russia has facilitated the participation of foreigners who want to voluntarily join the offensive on the Russian side, No record of Cubans at the frontdespite the high salaries offered—usually compared to the salaries of the irregulars.
“Today, many Cubans want to go back, but cannot because the airfare is too expensive,” complains Anna Voronkova, a volunteer helping the country’s Cuban community. She also points out that the situation is very difficult for many during the pandemic, she said. barely had work. Marta herself points to this He came to live on the street, no matter how hard it was in the middle of the Moscow winter at that time. when temperatures can under the zero for several months in a row. Lidia pointed out that the Cuban government did not offer support to the islanders living in Russia, “it didn’t even do it. planes so we can get back“Tickets can now go up to almost 6,000 euros, we get an average of 300 euros, a significant part of which goes towards rent, meals and other daily living expenses,” he says.
The growth of the Cuban community
During Marta’s two years in Russia, many Cubans came to this Eurasian country. Almost everyone goes to Moscow, hoping to “do”. trampoline” to another European country, preferably Spain and Italy. For this “bestseller Everything you have in Cubaeven the car,” he adds. Some get over it. Serbia, Finland or Belarusalthough not all of them are successful. “In my case, I tried this via Belarus but couldn’t,” he says.
The difficult economic situation on the island, aggravated by the impact of the Kovid-19 epidemic, caused the Cuban citizens to try to find a place for themselves. a better life away from the caribbean. However, this did not lead to a larger increase. rapport The opposite of Cuban society. “There was a Cuban boom in Russia at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021,” says Marta. From that moment on, they started seeing each other.”scams and scams defrauded with all kinds of plane tickets, rentals, business…”. In some cases, he fulfilled his business obligations to not get what was agreed at the end of the month.
Just this Tuesday, Cuban President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel, some of the Cubans A person residing in a Eurasian country with whom he discusses some issues of interest to the citizens of that country. However, the main purpose of this official visit to Cuba is to wheat, fertilizers and hydrocarbons for Cuba, which is in a very vulnerable situation. Currently, power outages in the Caribbean country are common due to the failure of the country’s power plants and can last for days. Despite these difficulties, Lidia points out that both Cubans abroad and those who remain “make memes about what’s going on on the island.” “No we lose our mood“.