The Chinese Immigrants in Cuba are Excellent Workers Essay Example for Free

The Chinese Immigrants in Cuba are Excellent Workers Essay The Chinese immigrants in Cuba are excellent workers. And, they are known the world over for the hard work that they give to whoever is their employer. The focus here is the immigration of Chinese immigrants to the far away land that is called Cuba. Currently, it is led by the sick old man named Fidel V. Castro. He took over the government through force and bloodshed. The migration of the Chinese people to Cuba started way back in the eighteenth century and continued until the nineteenth and twentieth century before the arrival into power of Fidel V.   Castro. The follow paragraphs explains why and how the Chinese immigrants travelled so far to another side of the world to leave the loving arms of their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children and other friends and relatives. In addition, the research includes the migration of Cuban Chinese into the Miami, Florida shores. This is one of the reasons why the Cubans (including the Chinese coming from Cuba) are the largest foreign group in the Miami area. The article What Type of Transition is Cuba Undergoing? Poquet 91) depicts the current Cuban economy that emanated in the 1990s was confronted by the a crisis similar to the crisis that befell the likes of Eastern Europe. On the other hand, the economic condition of Cuba started to wake up and vigorously walk faster started in the year 1995 until today. This wonderful turn of events is exuding significant outcomes in terms of recovery in the Cuban economy and an improvement in the country’s financial conditions. Further, there were rippling outbursts of stability, liberalization and privatization of entities in Cuba synonymous with the reform that had unfolded in the Chinese economy. The current Cuban economy is happily on the booming path towards a market economy. This has been forced on Cuba because of the world economy outside its borders as well as the internal forces of Fidel Castro’s Cuba. And, this market economy is currently weaning from its infancy stage. The Cuban economic transformation is in line with the new policies of Fidel Castro. The Chinese immigrants in Cuba are excellent workers. The article Towards a Realistic Cuba Policy stated that Cuba’s staunch man on the helms, Fidel V. Castro, has ruled Castro for the longest time among the current leaders of the world. He has learned many lessons during his stay as its ‘commander in chief’. One of the lessons that he has learned from the dismemberment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is that a leader must not implement too many changes in the economic, financial and family lives of the people. For many may not be ready to accept the many innovative changes unfolding before their very eyes. This was what happened to the Russia. It finally splintered into many independent states because of the policy of USSR’s one hundred eighty degree turn towards a free market economy. In fact, such changes could bring too much disorder or chaos during the implementation of the changes brought about as well as after the implementation process is complete. Cuba’s Fidel V. Castro, an Army commander, is implementing changes under his conservative style of government. He is using first gear as he drives the Cuban economy slowly and softly around each turn of his economic recovery program. He is slowly taking each step carefully. Then, he watches the after -effects of his new step in order to make adjustments before, if any. As a self –proclaimed founder of the new Cuban economy, Fidel V Castro moves carefully forward on a parallel course with the fundamental teachings of the Chinese society. Fidel V. Castro lends a deaf ear to his critics from both inside Cuba as well as the outspoken critics outside his state. His more than forty years of philosophically fighting against the teachings of its ‘Goliath’ neighbour, the United States, by implementing a hostile attitude towards Uncle Sam. In return, it has a self imposed isolated isolation. This United States and Cuban conflict started long before the John F. Kennedy presidency. After the United States military left the island of Cuba, The United States army dug itself in for the long haul. General Fizhugh Lee, the military governor of the island then set up his headquarters in Marianaobarrio area of Quemados located in Havana, Cuba. The population at this time period started to grow. Notably, The economic growth of Marianao had speeded on fourth gear as it left behind the economic development as well as the population of people living in two rival municipalities in Western Cuba from the year 1907 to 1919. Its population had mushroomed from 18,156 doubly to 37,464. The economic wealth of the Cubans at this time period had been realized. The houses then sprouted along the roadsides, plateaus, hills and ridges. The chinese  immigrants had contribute their small share to the improvement and landscaping beauty of the countryside for their main jobs focused on gardening. These immigrants had preferred to take abode in the low lands and were ready to take up the struggle to fight the floods whenever the torrential tropical rains dig into their homes. To fight the floods, they dug ditches in order to reroute the waters to other less damaging places. These ditches would drain the flood and rain waters to other less populated areas. The Chinese helped renovate the Cuban economy because they planted crops that could feed only themselves but also the non –Chinese people living in their community. These Chinese loved to plant vegetables and flowers. And, the government decided increase the height of the valleys as the population of Havana, Cuba grew in a geometric ratio. The government dumped tons and tons of soil that would cover the fertile vegetable and flower farmlands of the valleys. As a result, the vegetable lands that had been tilled by the Chinese immigrants were now converted into roads. These were needed by the government to connect the different towns from the different hills surrounding Havana, Cuba. Thus, the luscious and mouth watering lettuce farms of the Chinese immigrants were transformed into truck and automobile pathways. The farms included the beautiful and lovely rose gardens. For, the government wanted to increase the transfer of goods and services among the towns of Principe Hill and Vedado and the upcoming population of Cerro suburb’s population. The Cuban locals living in these suburbs were happy with this new development because the roads connecting the three hill tops would increase the values of their lands. In addition, the Cuban culture is characterized by a society that is bonded together by a marketable custom of is the combination of the different lifestyles distinctly from many of the communities of Cuban island life. The Cubans do not have any wooden footwear nor any gigantean windmills. For these are landmarks of a place commonly called Holland. The Cubans do not have a national textile or ceramic style. The country does not mandate a national costume and there are no distinct religions in the place. In the same light, the country does not pride itself of having an authentic tribal dance. Further, the Spanish colonial culture covering the Cuban air is cannot be identified by Cuba as uniquely its own landmark. Also, the Cuban culture does not have the authentic Indian ruins or easily available. In the same light, the Cuban culture is impregnated by the cultures from the Spanish, African, Chinese and Creole upbringings. For, Cuban society has adopted, reinstalled, improved on the Cultures and traditions from their original countries. For example, the Spanish castanets were old by the Cuban stores as souvenirs. The Cubans also enticed people to visit their Holy Week celebrations in Matanzas. Also, the visitors to Cuba were invited to religious processions that were popular such as the Regla processions which were held monthly. The Cubans also invited tourists to join the carnival celebrations that had been influenced by mixed pagan African Cuba dances and songs fused with Cuban frivolity (Ibid 76) Furthermore, the Cuban tourism founders had cried out that their dreams had been distorted. On the other hand, Cuba has been praised for their beautiful handling of their finances. And the Cubans of the 1950s had a repeat performance of their 1920s where the tourists enjoyed visiting Cuba’s festivities and other special occasions. Cuba was transformed into a place of many sights for those who have sore eyes. Clearly, there were mores bars to enjoy the night away. Also, the number of the restaurants had sprouted like mushrooms. Thus, the Cubans had many eating alternatives to choose from. Here, the people who have the money can literally paint the town red. The Cubans could choose from the Russian foods at Boris’ or the Chinese food at the New Mandarin among other popular choices. Thus, the Chinese had helped the Cuban economy by selling foods that were palatable to the Cuban taste buds. The Cuban hospitality industry was characterized by the presence of hotels like the Bowman ten story hotel and the roof garden entertainment center in 1924. Further, horse races were one of the favourite pastimes of the Cuban people. And, many of the hotels constructed in the 1950s had an average of twenty air conditioned rooms. Many of the tourists had toured Cuba by plane in 1958. There were many Florida, USA to Havana flights and vice versa depending on the occasion or time of the year. The regular plane flights from the United States, European and Latin American countries to and from Cuba would land on Havana’s international airport or even directly touch down in Varadero Beach (Ibid 123) The Chinese immigrated to Cuba from the Guandong and Fukien provinces during the middle of the nineteenth century(Moya, 12). The estimated number of Chinese immigrant to entire West Indies at this time reached only eighteen thousand. Unmistakeably, the British employers prefer to hire the Chinese over the Indians and other races because of their industriousness and hard work. However, the British were not very successful in enticing many of the Chinese to work for them in the West Indies. The Chinese would rather work for the employers in Peru and Cuba. The Chinese that migrated into Cuba reached a big chunky amount of 150,000 persons. In contrast the Chinese that immigrated to Cuba only reached the chunky 100,000 persons. The author, Moya, describes that the Cuba had the biggest number of Chinese immigrants as compared to the other countries where other droves of Chinese Immigrants arrived. This immigration of the Chinese people happened in the middle of the nineteenth century and increased in number and frequency until the entire twentieth century. Also the Chinese formed themselves in groups or organizations there. These Chinese organizations were more diverse than the Chinese organizations established in Jamaica. The Chinese organizations in Cuba were generally falling under the categories of federations, agriculture groups, credit associations, triads among many other smaller Chinese clusters. The Chinese were also socially diverse themselves. The Chinese immigrants that arrived in Cuba during this time period were generally grouped as coolie Chinese immigrants who generally started arriving in Cuba during the middle of the nineteenth century. Some came to Cuba as free Chinese immigrants. This group came during the twentieth century. Many former coolies and other Chinese groups in Cuba formed an exclusively elite class. This elite cluster was evidently richer than the elite groups formed in the West Indies. Further, the glaringly diverse Chinese population in Cuba could be divided into several diverse groups themselves such that concentrating the study on the Chinese population in Cuba would entail also studying the middle and higher social classes of Cuban Chinese. Also, many of the Chinese in Cuba had slowly migrated into the suburbs of Manhattan, USA. Sad to say, many of the White intellectuals in Cuba created a fear in the Cuban population that the African immigrants as well as others like the Chinese were the importers of such deadly diseases as the malaria and smallpox(Mcleod 1). In a related story, the Cuba Cane Corporation pushed through with its plans to move for the hiring of Chinese from across the ocean to migrate into Cuba and work in their plantations. This Cuban company targeted more than two thousand Chinese living in Hong Kong. The were contracted to work for five years in the Cuban Cane plantations. These Chinese Cane workers would receive a pay of $50 per month to work between seven to ten hours a day for the entire seven day week. In addition, the Chinese recruiter headed by Guy Morrison Walker was paid $100 for each Chinese Immigrant that was hired by the Cuba Cane Corporation (Ayala 116). And, another famous history writer, Alexander Von Humboldt, wrote that he encountered a large group of Chinese immigrants in Cuba from the year 1799 to the year 1804. They were brought there from the Philippines using the Manila (Philippines) Galleons. These Galleons were owned by the Spanish who literally owned the Philippines for an estimated three hundred years. This shows that the Migration of Chinese to Cuba started many years before the large Chinese influx to Cuba during the middle of the nineteenth century. During Alexander Von Humboldt’s visit, he noticed that the 1860s saw a Chinese migration into the Caribbean and Latin American countries which is bigger in size than the Chinese immigrants that entered in the United States then. A census of population in 1861 showed that there were 34,834 Chinese in Cuba alone. This is almost similar to the 34,933 Chinese immigrants that entered the United States. During the 1880s there were around one hundred forty two thousand Chinese immigrants that entered the borders of Cuba. At the same time period, there were only one hundred thousand Chinese immigrants that entered Peru and another nineteen thousand Chinese immigrants had entered into the British West Indies. However, a big group of Chinese immigrants reaching six hundred thousand persons left for the United States at this same time period (West 143). The year 1991 saw and estimated four million people in Cuba. And, twenty seven percent or 1,079,106 of the such population were colored. Colored refers to any race that is not Caucasian. This includes, the Africans, the Chinese, the Filipinos, the Japanese and others. The immigrants that compromise the Cuban population at this time shows that there were ten thousand three hundred (10,300) Chinese in Cuba in 1991. This figure ballooned to twenty four thousand four hundred eighty (24,480) in 1931 which gives us an increase in the Chinese in Cuba of fourteen thousand one hundred eighty (14,180). This represents a one hundred thirty –seven and 7/10 percent increase of the Chinese people in Cuba. The alien population of Cuba had increased uncontrollably starting from the World War I era. The table below gives the other missing details of the colored aliens living in Cuba during the Cuba census of 1991 and 1931 periods.