Jamaican students who arrived in Cuba with the hope of training as internationally recognized doctors have faced a harsh reality: they are experiencing the same blackouts, shortages, and hardships that daily afflict Cuban families.
In a report published by the Jamaica Observer, young people like Kelsey Clarke and Dominique Whitely shared how prolonged power outages, water shortages, and a lack of basic goods have impacted their university experience on the island.
Clarke, who studies in Girón, stated that “power outages of up to eight hours a day” directly impact his academic performance. “I need the light and the fan to be able to study, but the heat and the mosquitoes make it impossible to concentrate”, he said.
Whitely, a sixth-year student at the University of Havana, described the experience as "humiliating," recalling how, from the moment she arrived, she had to learn to improvise due to the scarcity of toothpaste, hygiene products, and even drinking water. "If you survive in Cuba, you can survive anywhere," she told the Observer.
The country's energy situation is going through one of its most critical moments. In May, the regime promised that summer blackouts would not exceed four hours daily per customer. However, just weeks later, the Electric Union (UNE) acknowledged that the outages would be much longer due to a structural deficit.
In July, the Minister of Energy, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged before the National Assembly that the promise had not been fulfilled. And today, according to official data, the deficit is around 1,700 MW, which is causing blackouts of more than 12 hours in several provinces.
The contrast is painful because while foreign students pay around 90,000 Canadian dollars for six years of study, which is much lower than costs in other countries, they have to learn to study by candlelight or among mosquitoes, as Cubans do.
Broken promises and hidden millions
Frustration mounts when recalling that, according to research, the military conglomerate Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), which is associated with the Armed Forces (FAR) controls over 18 billion dollars, enough to build modern plants and put an end to the electric nightmare.
However, those resources are diverted to luxury hotels like Torre K23 in Havana, while students and families across the island are forced to cook with charcoal or sleep on the streets to escape the heat.
The Jamaica Observer summarized that the scholarship holders from that country believe that medical training in Cuba is rigorous, but ten times more difficult due to the living conditions. What is a test of endurance for them, for Cubans is everyday life.
However, the coincidence is clear when seeing so many young people who arrived with the hope of becoming doctors, just like those born on the island, as both their dreams face the same reality. A country where the light goes out every day, not only in homes but also in the expectations of a better future.
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