Benjamin Esson, The Bronx, NY
I visited Cuba twice as an American communist who supports the revolution. I was shocked at the extent of the devastation resulting from the US siege.
While last year we experienced four-hour blackouts every day, this time we had just four hours of power a day. Sometimes, none at all.
I arrived in the middle of a blackout. Not only were houses and apartments dark, but so were social clubs and restaurants. Even the major nationwide establishments that would’ve stayed on with the help of electrical generators had to shut down.
Even more shocking was the fact that none of the hotels had power either. The Hotel Presidente, where I and other students would often go to purchase Wi-Fi, was closed down. It started with refusal to sell Wi-Fi hours, and eventually they had to kick out the guests altogether. The crisis also forced all universities to partially or fully close.
Walking around Havana at night was quite intimidating. It was pitch black and completely silent. Just last year, night life in Havana was vibrant.
The Western myth of Cuba as a totalitarian hellscape with no freedom of speech was blown away in last year’s visit, as everyone wanted to talk about politics, whether they supported the government or not. Random people on the street would ask me how I felt about Trump, immigration, socialism, and more.
But this time, people were worried about immediate problems, literally wondering whether they and their children would have something to eat.
Yet, despite all the hardships, there is an active layer of youth who are committed to political organization to defend the revolution. Both times I was in Cuba I spoke to communists and student leaders who organized debates and discussed the need to defend the revolution—both from foreign aggression, and also internal capitalist restoration.
Overall, as expected, my return visit to Cuba was very bittersweet. While I was happy to see my friends again and reconnect with communists on the island, the conditions imposed by imperialism filled me with rage. I return to the US with a renewed sense of responsibility. It is up to us to build the revolutionary party in the belly of the beast to end imperialism once and for all.