CUBA: A Good Old Age in Old Havana

[Mika]

CUBA: A Good Old Age in Old Havana
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50559

HAVANA, Mar 5, 2010 (IPS) - In the centre of Old Havana, historic buildings are being restored without neglecting the occupants who are their heart and soul. The priority is to care for elderly residents with programmes that could become a model for the rest of Cuba, whose population is ageing fast.

More than 17 percent of the population of Old Havana is aged over 60, making it the municipality with the highest number of people in this age bracket in the country.

The National Statistics Office (ONE) forecasts that Cuba will have over 2.2 million older adults in five years' time, equivalent to 19.6 percent of the population of 11.2 million.

And according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Cuba will head the list of Latin American and Caribbean countries with the most elderly populations by 2025.

Within 15 years, 25.9 percent of Cubans will be over 60, followed by Barbados (25.4 percent), Trinidad and Tobago (20.5 percent), Uruguay (20 percent) and Chile (18.4 percent), says UNFPA.

This rapid process of demographic change poses the challenge of providing infrastructure and social and health services appropriate for a population group that at the age of 60 can expect to live another two decades or more in Cuba, according to ONE's life expectancy projections.

The Convento de Belén Day Centre exemplifies some key guidelines, such as offering special housing equipped for the disabilities intrinsic to old age, and social and cultural programmes to improve quality of life.

"When I came here, I was sad and downhearted. But that's all in the past, now I feel fine, and I'm useful. The older adults themselves elected me their president," 77-year-old Cira Blanco told IPS. A former teacher, her experience serves her well in her work of organising the 600 or so older people who attend the Day Centre every day.

This project is one of the programmes with the greatest social impact among those developed by the Humanitarian Affairs section of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, based in the former Convent of Our Lady of Bethlehem, a restored 18th century building in the historic heart of Old Havana.

On a day like any other, IPS visited the Day Centre and found groups playing animated games of dominoes, which is very popular in Cuba, while two or three women were busy making pyjamas for the sick, and others were helping Magali Hernández, who cares for 150 bed-ridden elderly patients in their own homes.

Hernández, a retired nurse and a volunteer, shoulders the responsibility for sick people in the neighbourhood, with the support of 26 helpers from the Day Centre. "We visit them and provide them with the food, clothes and medicines they need, especially if they have no family and live alone," Hernández said.

Elderly men and women in better health come to the Day Centre, and start their day with a refreshing exercise session in the small square in front of the building. After a period of "reflection," discussing current affairs and topics of interest to them, they join activities in various workshops.

The range of workshop options includes visual arts, computers, leather working, knitting, papier mâché, theatre, music and dance. "Taking part in these activities changes their lives because they themselves have the starring role. They help distribute donations, or they visit the sick, and they help each other," said Esther Ruiz, a nurse.

As for housing, one of Cuba's most pressing problems, there is a system of homes for older people without any particular infirmities but who were living in precarious conditions. So far, four such homes have been built, housing 54 people including a number of married couples.

The apartments are fully equipped to suit their needs, including safety rails, grab bars in bath tubs and shower chairs. In emergencies, they can press either of two buttons to alert management. "As you see, we lack for nothing to live with peace of mind," said 68-year-old Victoria López.

López works as a cleaner in the old city. Her husband, 73-year-old Emilio Medino, is already retired, but he likes to make himself useful and is a volunteer in charge of plumbing and maintenance in their 12-apartment building. "Coming here was a radical change. My wife weighed only 70 pounds (under 32 kilos) back then," he said.

Residents in these units pay no rent, keep their retirement pensions, and get extra help with food and medicines. A state employee does their laundry and cleans the common areas. "We're looking at similar projects in order to improve the system," said lawyer Julio César Torres.

The Humanitarian Affairs section focuses on people's needs, which in the case of the elderly are obvious. "Older adults are more vulnerable by nature, so caring for their needs was the first goal, though not the only one, of this department," said its head, Nelson Águila.

The projects are financially supported by the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana and by international aid donors, especially Italy and Spain.

"We have confidence in the development of our country; these programmes enjoy high priority and I would say their future is guaranteed," said Águila.

The Day Centre has a physiotherapy room, a pharmacy, and ophthalmology and optometry services. During tropical storms and hurricanes, it is used as a shelter for vulnerable sectors of the population like the elderly, or people living in the areas of greatest risk. It also cooperates with the care of children with disabilities.

Experts point out that rapid ageing of the population in any country implies structural changes that require appropriate responses, by means of public spending programmes that anticipate future needs in terms of housing, transport, and infrastructure generally.

"From the point of view of urban planning, appropriate facilities and services must be created, incorporating the latest architectural and functional design concepts," wrote architect Miguel Coyula in an article published in Temas, the leading Cuban magazine in the social sciences.

Cuba has a national programme for older adults, and in recent years has implemented initiatives aimed at guaranteeing a satisfactory old age, although experts say not enough measures are being taken.

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[protocol rv]

1. Housing problem in Cuba

Would be reduced if they allowed Cubans to won private property, and build houses and apartments.

[Mika]

2. And allow banks to traunch mortgages based on ginned up pricing and rates.

That way Cuba can get more in line with American housing/ownership ethics - and allow banks to kick millions out of their homes and onto the streets.

Its the American way :patriot: , and Cuba should get with the program.


:sarcasm:

No Homeless in Cuba, Cuba holds up a mirror to the U.S
http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/breaking-down-understanding-our-enemies/5393-no-homeless-cuba-cuba-holds-up-mirror-u-s.html

by scott winn

"But one thing is clear: Whatever its imperfections, in Cuba the poor have not been held in contempt; they have been empowered. Which is different from being made wealthy in a capitalist sense, and more lasting."
Ñ ALICE WALKER, WRITER/ACTIVIST

You must be de la gente," the taxi driver joked to my friend. She had just negotiated a price for a taxi for our group of four. She was dubbed "of the people" for her leadership. In revolutionary Cuba, "the people" threw a United States-backed dictator off their backs in 1959. The working people of the island took over. Being a leader or an official in the Cuban government gives you the automatic title of being of the people. Now, in what seemed both a sign of respect and a sarcastic jab at the government, the taxi driver had begged the question: what happens when "the people" take over?

That the lives of Cuban people have been bettered by the 1959 revolution is without a doubt. The people of Cuba have created almost universal literacy, and have provided themselves with free or largely subsidized necessities. For them, this means not only education, health care and housing, but books, films, and ballet. In a testament to what the revolution has created, there is no homelessness in Cuba. The country has stood against racism and imperialism, both in its borders and the world. It was the only country to send troops to fight apartheid when South Africa invaded Angola in the 1980s. Cuba has given hope and possibility to many in the struggle for justice.

But the most amazing aspect of the country is its perspective on poverty. In the US, poverty is framed as an individual issue. A poor person has a problem and must come up with a solution. In Cuba, poverty is a societal problem requiring a societal solution. The fruits of the land, the water, the industry Ñ all of it Ñ has been nationalized and shared by members of society. Material wealth, as well as the responsibility for ending poverty, has been collectivized.

There are many critiques of Cuba, and with my hopes for the planet I have created a list of my own. However, over my travels and studies, it has become apparent that the US government actively promotes if not causes so many of Cuba's problems. The US government then turns around and acts as the almighty critic. To stand in solidarity with the people of Cuba, the best I can offer is to give them room to be human. Which, to me, means to be imperfect. Cubans have proven to me that a revolution is not solely an event, but a process of transformation. I have faith that the Cuban people take responsibility for their triumphs, as well as their mistakes. Besides, there are clearly enough imperfections in the US that need my attention.

Cuba is one example of how things might change. It is this example that the US government has tried to extinguish through the economic blockade of the island since the early 1960s. The blockade makes my simple trip a violation of federal law. More importantly, it virtually stops all trade between the US and Cuba, including life-saving medicines. The US government's blockade of Cuba lessens us, making us all complicit with the harming and suffering of our neighbors.


-scott winn traveled to Cuba this past January. He has been twice before with Pastors for Peace and the Venceremos Brigade. He is the city organizer for the Tenants Union and a regular contributor to Real Change.

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[Judi Lynn]

3. It's a matter of character, in the end. It can't be faked, and it can't be bought.

Thank you for this great article, Mika.

Superb.

[protocol rv]

6. People just like to own the place where they live

People who don't want to have their home taken by a bank can always avoid borrowing from a bank, right? Also, it seems to me in the USA they allow banks to get away with too much. I would have a law to reduce the largest size a bank can be, this way when they are going to go bankrupt it's easy to let them fail, and the stockholders can be free to fire and eviscerate the management. Now that I dealt with your American problem....

People do like to own the place where they live. Well, most people do. Maybe some of you marxists don't, but you're always going to be a minority, ignored by the masses, precisely because you have such ideas, which clash with human nature.

Cubans can't even build a 10 meter by 10 meter apartment and own it, not even if they do have the resources. This is dumb dumb dumb, because anybody with a working brain knows very well people are more motivated to build and maintain an apartment when they own it, and sell it, and give it to their children.

In Venezuela, even the poorest people dream of building their own home, and owning it. This is why the marxism used in Cuba, where the state owns everything, won't be too popular in Venezuela.

[Mika]

7. You are clueless when it comes to Cuba

This article is primarily about foreign investment, but there's this ....

From Communism to Capitalism - Cuba opening up to property investment
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:ULSwOauKe90J:www.propertywire.com/news/features/cuba-opening-property-investment-200810011659.html+Cuba+property+ownership&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Although the constitution now allows private property ownership and technically the majority of Cubans now own their own homes they are not allowed to buy or sell to each other, let alone a foreigner. A kind of swap system exists and although money inevitably changes hands it is in an underground world that would offer no security to the foreign buyer.

There are no legal estate agents and no mortgages. But every Saturday a crowd of people gather under the ficus trees on El Prado, one of Havana's grand avenues, carrying cardboard signs advertising their property.

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[bemildred]

8. People like to be SECURE, safe, protected, stuff like that.

"Ownership" is just a legal pretense of that. A man's home is his castle, unless he doesn't pay his taxes or he pisses off some cop or prosecutor or politician or drug warrior or other wannabe hero and/or bigshot.

[Downwinder]

9. You have a lot to learn. Lets talk again when you reach 70. n/t

[Peace Patriot]

4. Protocol rv, you have yet to take back your racist comment on "Indians"

and have instead defended it. It is without question racist to say that an "Indian"'s word should be questioned because he is an "Indian." That is what you said, in the course of also defending Chevron-Texaco's humongous toxic oil spill in Ecuador (commonly referred to as the "rainforest Chernobyl").

Your typically rightwing opinion--that Cuba's "housing problem" (no link, no documentation) would be helped by "private property"--complete with off-point disinformation (what "housing problem"?) and a misspelled word (won/own)--is not at all surprising, given your other views. In fact, my Rule of Thumb for Bushwhacks is useful here, that whatever you say, the opposite is true. And we know how "private property" works in countries where "private property" is God: Some have multiple mansions; others live on the streets--homeless, jobless, hungry--which makes owning several mansions all the sweeter, to those with your sort of views. That's the kind of world that those of your ilk seem to prefer--a cruel, greedy, selfish, "dog eat dog" world in which the rich rule and the banksters and the oil corps and the war profiteers rob the poor majority, destroy "the commons," destroy democracy and destroy our very humanity.

The article is NOT about a "housing problem in Cuba." It is about the best housing for the elderly. You miss the point entirely, and I can only presume deliberately. The article even points out that many Cuban elderly still live in "their homes," and are helped--with food deliveries and other assistance--by the elders living in the renovated historic buildings. But then, we have learned, with your comments, to reverse whatever you say, to know the truth.


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Protocol rv's racist comment

Comment 36, here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x30994

[Mika]

5. All good points.

Cuban Drs and nurses who staff the local clinics make house calls a regular part of their daily practice. After serving the area for some time the practitioners really get to know their patients and the family situation for them, that way the patients needs can be properly assessed and met.


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Of course, Castro forces this on an unwilling population. :sarcasm:

:hi:

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