CUBANS-Values

The revolution promulgated socialist, nationalistic, anti-American values.

The U.S. and Cuba have diametrically opposed beliefs as to what constitutes human rights.

Cuban Values and American Values

Service providers are well aware that the source of many resettlement problems is the difference between values the refugees and immigrants bring with them, and values held by the U.S. communities they are resettling into. Cuban refugees are no exception.

The revolution brought about major social changes in almost every aspect of Cuban life, often explicitly intending to change values. Further, the revolution promulgated a socialist, nationalistic, and anti-American society so that many revolutionary values are the "mirror image" of our values. And because of the political conflict between the two countries, there has been little interchange to mitigate against extreme stereotypes on both sides. Any Cuban entrant to the United States under 45 years of age has spent most of his life in a country with an authoritarian, socialist, anti-American government. Even those coming to this country seeking personal and political freedoms will find the difference in values jarring. Although difficult for adults, the acculturation process may be most difficult for adolescents who may not have chosen to come to the US but were brought by their parents.

Cubans as Hispanics

Cubans are Hispanics, of course, and 40 years of socialism have not completely erased the traditional Hispanic values that Cubans have always held. In fact, there is evidence that the Cuban brand of socialism has been tailored somewhat to complement, or at least not to confront directly, the traditional values. Cuban "Hispanicness," however, has always been tempered by influences from its Black community, and many of these influences have been given pride of place by the socialist government in fulfillment of its aim to equalize the citizenry of Cuba. In short, Cubans can not, and should not, be thought of as another group of undifferentiated Hispanics. There are differences within any national Hispanic group, and significant differences between any two Hispanic groups; and Cubans, by virtue of their history and the social system they have lived in, are significantly different from all.

Rights vs. Benefits

In essence, the United States and socialist Cuba are extreme opposites in their beliefs as to what constitutes social and political rights for its citizens. Americans have been taught from childhood that we all have the right to dissent, to vote for change, and to organize politically. We do not consider social benefits as rights; we feel instead that such things as medical care, jobs, housing, and higher education are benefits to be earned through work. Cubans, conversely, see medical care, guaranteed employment, housing, and education as basic rights, but have been taught that control over society is required to provide these rights.

An excellent example of the differences in value systems is a comparison of the treatment of HIV-positive individuals in the United States and in Cuba. In tandem with a mandatory testing program, Cuba, alone among the countries of the world, quarantines all HIV-positive individuals, hospitalizing those with active symptoms and isolating nearly all those who are symptom-free. These latter individuals are required to live in special compounds, apart from their families; most cannot continue practicing their occupations, but are supported by the state. This permanent and obligatory quarantine is "for the common good," and those who oppose the quarantine practice are seen as "enemies of the Revolution."

Americans respond to both the mandatory testing and the quarantining as unthinkable violations of human rights, but in Cuba the practice is defended as necessary to protect the rights of the majority of the population. (Cuba's AIDS rate, 0.8 reported cases per 100,000 people, is one of the lowest in Latin America and the Caribbean.) A Cuban physician who has been quarantined for years asks which is ultimately more humane: to identify exposed individuals and to provide them with comfortable living arrangements and the best medical care available as in Cuba, or to leave them to fend for themselves, as in the United States and other countries.

Socioeconomic Values

Cuban values stress collective wealth and collective political awareness. People who have lived in the Cuban social system may be struck negatively by the materialism, winner-take-all capitalism, individualism, competition, crime, and racism of the United States. It may be difficult for them to see positive aspects of American culture, and their negative view may be amplified by their economic situation: They may be living in poor areas, going to poorer schools, and at the same time being bombarded by advertising and an unbelievable array of consumer goods.

Concept of Self

Socialist notions of interdependence, brotherhood, and loyalty to one's peer group are strongly valued in Cuba and do not differ markedly from the concept of self identified by several writers as a traditional Hispanic value. These values stand in sharp contrast to the independence, impersonal relations, and individualism of the United States.

Goals

Some Cuban newcomers may be present-oriented and hard to motivate to achieve long-term goals, yet many are highly resourceful and perhaps even manipulative. This contrast may reflect the contrast in Cuba between the official socialist system and the unofficial, who-you-know method of getting things done (called sociolismo, from the term socio, 'buddy').