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FROM
CUBA
Wild
children
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| Child
searching through the trash in Pinar del Rio
(Arroyo) |
PINAR DEL RÍO, Cuba, August (www.cubanet.org)
- The group of foreign tourists was surprised
by the scene. It was like a fiction movie. The
policeman was running after the child, shouting
warnings. It involved a child of school age. Another
policeman tried to explain to the tourists what
had happened. He talked to them of new prohibitions
against minors in the street. "They're too
much now."
A while later, the policeman who had run returned,
leading the boy by the hand. This occurred on
the very corner where the factory that manufactures
a famous local liquor is located, and the tourists
arrive at the place daily. Pinar del Río
owes some of its reknown to that liquor known
as Guayabita del Pinar.
The boys take advantage of the constant visits
to the factory by foreigners, and go on the assault.
They demand everything from the tourists: from
a piece of gum to a pencil; from a caramel to
even a dollar.
That morning there were many children awaiting
the arrival of the tourists' bus. It was at that
moment that the policeman chasing the boy occurred.
The other minors were able to evade the police.
Now they were taking the child away in a patrol
car. The man who was explaining to the tourists
had called for the police unit. Some of them asked
the policeman to let the boy go. It was useless.
The agent continued explaining the laws protecting
tourists.
Some of the foreigners entered the factory, interrupting
the policemen, who frowned in annoyance. It involved
tourists after all, and in Cuba foreigners can
go as they please. No policeman dares to ask where
they're going or where they've come from.
The little boys looked on from a far corner.
They didn't dare approach the factory. That morning
things hadn't turned out well. They would have
to wait for another day and other visitors, and
this way, with a bit more luck, the most daring
in the "gang" would hit on something.
These children proliferated at the start of the
decade of the '90s with the massive invasion of
tourists to the country, and the minors began
demanding from the tourists. Later the alarm went
up from the authorities and the alarm brought
new laws and repressive measures.
None of that has been able to deter the children,
because no one can do anything against hunger
and need. These boys, in the majority, are children
of low-income workers. Some belong to families
who are unemployed and for the most part, they
have left school for good. The parents accept
that reality with resignation.
The truth is that the boys often arrive home
with something or other obtained through the pity
of the tourists. The luckiest arrive home with
dollars. This has its saddest aspect when it involves
the girls who, after a year or two, become prostitutes
and begin to frequent the luxury hotels that are
off limits to the Cuban citizens.
It could be that a Cuban, hidden amongst the
group of tourists, passes undetected by the harassing
eye of the police. And it may be he has made notes
of the events, and the notes turned into this
chronicle dedicated to the wild children of the
streets.
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