Situations like this remind me to be thankful that I live in a free country. When the new president of the communist country, Raul Castro, announced that he’ll be loosening prior restrictions, people skipped to the nearest location where they could buy cell phones and line up along with hundreds of others to buy one, or to register ones they’ve been using illegally. Once only allowed for government officials and other bigwigs, cell phones are now a public commodity in Cuba, along with other consumer electronic goods.

Unfortunately though, electronics are usually sold in a currency called CUC, which is 4 times the amount of the Cuban peso. Since the average laborer in Cuba only earns US$18 a month, some people find it hard to afford anything at all. That doesn’t stop people from arriving in waves to buy their first (or their first legal) cell phone. There’s really nothing freedom of communication.

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