By TM DUNN | TALKED hanes 0 cou - = tionaries nter-revolu en Ch in Havana, said dent at Optiany, a third-year Mo, re ne University of To- 0 Cuba, alling his recent trip He Miiang ¢° ans f ne of 45 young €a- re universities across Month ged who made a two- The He Mp there this summer. air Pla Was arranged by the Peiceq Cuba Committee Memment by the Cuban BYE inter: hg rete viewed Choptiany on bin pass week and asked Biessiong wn some of his Ou "olution see the counter- puaties and talk to them Wained avana,” Choptiany Nery, a But in the country Buse «, Supports Castro be- that’s where the revolu- 8an.” ee Lha) 4 bapa ieve that Castro has the Lec, of about 90 percent of Leng of @n people. Three quar- Cuba pe adult population of hs med to fight invad- A Yar ee? wasn’t their pop- A ut of Office could put him % 4 . rc ’ Neat economy can’t be ; Ment? Canadian standards,” | oy ma On. “That’s a mistake jing people make.” De- ieg he group’s stop-over in 4 be, tr ity on the first leg of 'P, he said Mexico offer- tiy'@t¥one is interested in this scale model of a ‘School City. has gone from bullets to books. Summer at work — ©n Cuban farm lew experience | Or Canadians ed a more realistic basis for comparison. “We toured Mexico City and saw the beautiful university there. But we couldn’t miss the beggars and the increased squa- lor as we walked further from the centre of the city.” They left Mexico City with unidentified persons taking pic- tures of them at the airport and arrived in Havana to be greeted with flowers by members of the Cuban Student Institute for Friendship. Havana has a population of about 114 million, the same as Toronto. The students spent one week in this former “playboy’s paradise’ before beginning their tour of the island. New apartments “One of the first things we saw there was a new apartment block,” said Choptiany. “It real- ly impressed me. Every unit was completely furnished with ‘Scandinavian - style’ furniture, refrigerators and gas stoves. Rents throughout the country are from four to ten percent of the family income.” From Cuba’s biggest city they went out to small towns and the countryside. “We saw huge state farms up to 40,000 acres in size. We went through a lot of factories, ’ It is the former Moncada barracks Airport in Havana. some of them new like the re- frigerator and stove factory that opened while we were there. I even rolled a few ‘Ha- vanas’ in a cigar factory. “Most important, though, we talked to people. A few of the kids spoke Spanish and we had a translator with us. Most of the workers are young like our- selves. They told us about the graded wage system in Cuba. The minimum Grade One wage is 49 cents per hour and the grades go up to eight. That’s the top wage bracket for pro- fessionals like doctors and scien- tists. “Alot of their equipment is from the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. At first there were many Soviet technicians in Cuba helping to train work- ers and get new industries off the ground. Most of them are going home now.” Choptiany told of his trip to Santiago for the July 26th cele- brations, where he heard Castro speak. “For me it was an education to listen to Castro. He put his ideas to the half million people who were there and let them decide things by plebiscite.” “You would say, then, that there is democracy in Cuba?” “Definitely. Its form is differ- Canadian students have just ent from our own but the Cuban people make it work.” “What did you do after July 26th?” “Our next experience was the high point of the two months, at least for me. We stopped being tourists and went to work.” “Cutting sugar cane?” “Wrong season. We became construction workers in the hills of Oriente province. That’s where. they’re building the Ca- millo Cienfuegos school city. It will accommodate 20,000 peo- ple.” “We worked as laborers, dig- ging and pouring concrete. By noon it was 80 degrees and very humid. The Cubans eat their lunch then and sit out the heat.” Hard work “What did you eat?” “The same as the Cubans. For lunch it was usually soup, avocados and some rice with meat.” “How about supper?” “We couldn’t get used to their meats. Sometimes it was horse meat or cows’ feet. The Cubans have no qualms about eating it. Other nights the meat was steak or chicken which were more to our taste. “I Jost 15 pounds in one week. I guess it was partially the food as well as the hard work. “Within a few days our work force was down to 30 and by the end of the week only about 15 of us made it. A lot of the kids came down with dysentery or diarrhea.” “Why did you force yourself to work under such conditions?” we asked. “The conditions weren’t that bad. We just weren’t used to them. I worked because I want- ed to contribute a small part to building something worthwhile. I think I can say the same for the rest of the kids.” “You must have needed a rest after your ordeal?” “We recuperated a Varadero. It’s a resort area on the north coast with a beautiful beach, and beautiful women — like in all of Cuba. Then we travelled some more.” “What did you see?” “Progress, everywhere. The Guama Tourist Centre is a ter- September 18, stepped off the plane after flying from Mexico City to the ‘Jose Marti’ rific example of the new oppor- tunity Cubans have to enjoy themselves. It’s a Polynesian style camp situated on a large lake. Rates are only $7 a day and all Cubans have a month’s paid holiday to enjoy it.” “Did you see any Canadian goods on sale in Cuba?” “Yes. I saw Canadian can- ned baby foods, medicines and things like that.” All impressed “What do you think of the American ‘economic blockade’?” “Tt’s stubborn and callous. We visited a hospital built before the revolution where American machinery was breaking down because the U.S. refused to sell parts to Cuba. I read a letter refusing two operating room bulbs to the hospital because it was ‘contrary to the interests of the American people.’ “This is wrong. We’ve no right to condemn a nation be- cause we don’t like its social system.” “Were you sorry to leave?” “That’s a loaded question, but leaving a friendly place is al- ways a little sad. The Canadian embassy in Havana gave us a farewell cocktail party. “That was a good send-off. It reassured me that the Canadian attitude to the revolution is more realistic than that of the U.S. government.” * * * Choptiany said that all of the students were impressed by the trip and now saw Cuba through more objective eyes. The five-point declaration signed by 27 of the 32 English- speaking students states their conclusions that the Cuban people are not held captive; that the revolution is firmly estab- lished; that the people are not Starving; that criticizing the revolution is. not -a crime in Cuba, and that any Cuban is free to leave the country pro- vided he pays his way with American currency. The sentiment of these young Canadians is perhaps best sum- med up in this excerpt from a declaration made by the French- Canadian students: “We have seen a people free of hunger, a people free of il- literacy, a people free of cor- ruption, free of injustice and misery.” 1964—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 7