I am really not so interested in Cuba that I read every jot and tittle written about it, but I do tend to quickly scan the headlines and the first paragraph of newspaper articles, searching for something worth reading. So my overall opinion of Cuba gleaned from these quick scans is that a few things are changing for the better, though s-l-o-w-l-y.
However, today under the local newspaper's 'IN BRIEF' section the headline CUBA: TOILET PAPER SHORTAGE TO LAST TO END OF YEAR caught my eye and I read the whole thing.
In a nutshell, Cuba has a dire shortage of toilet paper. What is available, a package of 4 rolls, costs the equivalent of two days' salary for the average worker.
Seems that "the shortage is a result of the global financial crisis and three devastating hurricanes last summer, which forced cuts in imports as well as domestic production because of reductions in electricity and imports of raw materials."
I can't say that this article falls under the "changing for the better, slowly" genre. And I suppose any small island nation is going to have little glitches in their available goods every now and then.
But what made me laugh is the last line - it says Cubans are forced to buy alternatives - Chinese and North Korean magazines - because they use softer paper than other magazines. Shades of the Sears Catalogs!
Perhaps in a humanitarian gesture, and as side benefit for our own financially-suffering postal service, we can each send a roll of toilet paper to Cuba. I personally would send a roll of Charmin' Ultrasoft with Aloe. Give the suffering Cuban folk a heavenly wipe for a while and give our postal workers something to do that e-mail can't take away.
It's nice to identify a need and meet it in a constructive way. Much better than just sending a financial donation, I think.
1 comment:
Great idea!!! :o) That would be interesting if the postal people in Cuba starting getting toliet paper....would they actually deliver it or would they start "setting it" aside for themselves. Could the next newspaper article headline read something like..."Generious Americans sending toliet paper rolls to Cuban, who are much in need...BUT the postal services are hijacking the toliet paper before they even reach the suffering Cubans." :o)
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