“The economy is the hardest part of living in Cuba. I am a psychologist and my husband is too. I make $12 a month and I went to five years of college and have 25 years of experience. My husband makes $30. That is ridiculous. We have to find other ways to make money. We have children and we live with other family members. There are nine of us living in one house and there is never any privacy. It cost so much money to buy a house. We built our house from 1994-1999 and we did it ourselves because we couldn’t afford a builder. The state has many hard rules and we don’t have the freedom to do the things we need to do to make money. The government doesn’t think people need freedom because it is not convenient for them. Most people don’t know the real situation in Cuba. The embargo needs to be lifted and the government needs to open its mind to the professionals. We want to establish relationships with psychologists at other universities in other countries and learn from each other. Professionals want to interact without restrictions and develop and get better. Many doctors and lawyers leave Cuba.”

“We have a choice to live in the moment without thinking about the future. The future is unsettling. If we don’t have the present, how can we think about the future? We don’t know tomorrow if we will have food or water. There is a drought and little water in Havana. Some places have gone 21 days without water. Can you imagine living without water? Food, transportation and water. Life is very hard. For supper I cook a piece of chicken and a pico de gallo. That is all. Transportation is expensive. Owning a car is only a dream and the dream costs very much. I have learned to be happy like this because the other option is stress and suffering. Some people have the option of getting out of the country, but this is the only life we have.”

“Cuban people have lost hope and that is very bad for us. We have been happy during the history of the country. The teenagers no longer have orientation. They are drinking and dancing and listening to bad music. They don’t have a guide to lead them to the future. We have to take responsibility and show them a better future.”