Jamaica and Cuba are only 90 miles apart, but their historical paths have completely diverged. Since it gained independence in 1898 after the Spanish American War, Cuba has known only American occupation and military dictatorship. Pre 1958 administrations were primarily noted for corruption, and social insensitivity - especially toward Afro-Cubans. Fidel Castro is, in many ways, an unquestionable improvement on his predecessors. Yet Cubans still enjoy little political freedom. Earlier this year four prominent opposition activists were jailed for criticizing the Communist Party and calling for political and economic reforms. Cubans remain unable to choose their leaders, and the ultimate guarantor of Castro’s power is not the people’s will but military force.

Granted a bloodless independence and untouched by war, Jamaica’s past is pretty tame in comparison. Incidents like the Frome riots would scarcely rate footnotes in a Cuban history book. There was never any popular protest here against colonial rule - the British were sometimes arrogant and condescending but their administrations were relatively honest, fair and flexible. Jamaicans have been voting since 1944. And since becoming fully independent in 1962 the country has held regular multi-party elections, remained assassination free, suffered no serious uprisings, adhered to the rule of law, and maintained a robustly free press. The hallmark of the 20^th century Jamaican experience is continuity.

Yet in the 1999 United Nations Human Development Index, which rates countries based on life expectancy, literacy rates and purchasing power adjusted per capita GDP, Cuba ranks 58^th out of 174 countries, while Jamaica ranks only 82^nd. Has Castro’s Cuba then been more a more successful country than independent Jamaica?

As Mark Twain once said, there are lies, damned lies and statistics. Only people who have lived for fairly long periods in both can reasonably compare two countries. So I have asked a number of Jamaican students who are studying in Cuba about their impressions of both countries.

(All asked to be quoted anonymously. They feared that negative comments about Cuba would get back to the authorities and make life difficult for themselves and other Jamaican students. This in itself says a lot about Cuba and Jamaica. Nobody here is afraid to criticize the government.)

All agreed that life in Cuba is enjoyable for foreigners with money, but not very pleasant for the average Cuban.

“Utility services are very poor. The phone system is backward, and light and water are unreliable and partially rationed. It’s hard to believe, but Cuba makes Cable and Wireless, NWC and JPS look good! But then the average light and water bill is only about 5 pesos out of a state controlled salary of maybe 200 pesos.

Food is rationed but cheap, and people get the basics. If someone is really hungry, they can go to a school or hospital cafeteria and get a meal. Everything has a price in Jamaica, but this is not so in Cuba. The health and education basics are also free. But while basic medical care is good, more advanced treatment is hampered by a shortage of medicine and equipment.”

Cuban women are seen as more sexually active than Jamaican women. One female student put it this way

“Money plays a part in sex in Jamaica too. But generally a Jamaican women has to like a man a little bit before she sleeps with him even for money. In Cuba it is very often a strictly financial deal with no feelings at all. Prostitution is very common in the tourist areas, especially among black Cubans. A lot of the tourism means older Spanish and Italian men and young black girls. A foreigner with money can live like a king with an unlimited number of women. Cubans start sex earlier and have more sexual partners, more casual sex, and more one night stands. Abortion is very common. Many Jamaican women go there to have abortions. The men are probably the same as Jamaican men. But Jamaican women are more discreet than Cuban women.”

What about personal safety and race relations?

“There is less serious crime in Cuba than Jamaica. But there is quite a bit of petty crime and Havana is not as safe as we were led to believe in Jamaica. But Cuba is still a police state. Papers are checked often, and  state informers are still a reality. Cubans fear their police because they have a lot of arbitrary powers. There is no such thing as due process or complaining to the press here.

Cuba has a lot of racial problems. Blacks are overepresented among hustlers and prostitutes, and well dressed black Jamaican students are often mistaken for prostitutes. There is a lot of racial prejudice toward blacks from whites. The attitude of white Jamaicans is not necessarily better, but there are a lot more whites in Cuba so the racism is more noticeable.”

One student who has traveled widely feels that the lack of control they have over their lives is a critical issue to Cubans.

“Cubans are generally well educated, but there is little prospect of improving their lot in life. Only those with government contacts or relatives abroad have access to American dollars, and only American dollar shops are well stocked. Those not among the privileged few often see life as bleak and hopeless. Things can be tough in Jamaica, but at least there is a chance of changing your situation in life, whether by legal or illegal means.

My communist party official friends privately admitted to me that they could not win free and fair elections. Most people feel the current system will not outlast Castro. He is still personally popular and while he is there the public will tolerate the hardships. But when he dies, only military control can keep things as they are. Cubans may not want a completely capitalist American system, but they want more control over their lives, more opportunity.”

Would it be possible to combine the best of both worlds, to have Jamaica’s liberal democracy with Cuba’s free education and medicine?

“No. The system in both countries are totally opposite. I don’t think they can be reconciled. The fact that we Jamaicans can even contemplate this question shows the difference. Cubans could not even talk about such a thing publicly.  Many Jamaican students enjoy living here as foreigners. But none of them would choose to do so as an ordinary Cuban.

If Jamaica is going to progress, it must be by developing a stronger liberal democracy which is more responsive to the needs and wants of its citizens. I have seen state control up close in Cuba, and it does not work.”