Back To School Challenges In Cuba

By Michael Spence

Michael Spence

It’s back to school, and as I read in your paper dated September 3, 2026, about the difficulties Cuban children and families are facing right now with oil, electricity, and food shortages. It’s hard not to feel compassion.

These shortages are driven by multiple factors. One major one is the U.S. embargo and blockade, which has been in place for more than 60 years since 1962 and has been tightened at various times by different U.S. administrations. They are also affected by the recent loss of subsidized Venezuelan oil, the pandemic, and global supply disruptions.

Despite all of that, Cuba keeps surviving. It’s often held up as a case study in resilience and creativity under pressure. With all the stress the embargo causes, it’s still remarkable that Cuba maintains one of the highest literacy rates in the world—about 99.6% to 99.7% of adults. For comparison, the U.S. adult literacy rate is around 79%, with 54% reading below a 6th-grade level.

Cuba is also not the poorest in the Caribbean. Estimates put Cuba’s GDP per capita at about $9,605 nominal, or about $17,690 in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms. By comparison, Haiti is around $2,667 nominal, and Jamaica is around $7,875 nominal.

Cuba’s survival strategy under long-term sanctions is worth studying—especially its investment in universal education and health care. That’s also how Cuba has been able to support other countries, including Jamaica. 

Cuban medical brigades of doctors and nurses have worked in Jamaica and across the Caribbean for decades. Cuba has helped with education too—like the José Martí Technical High School in St. Catherine near to Kingston.

As a Jamaican, I believe we should honour and respect the Cuban people. No country, no matter how economically or militarily powerful, should pressure us into abandoning Cuba.

Gracias, compañeros y al pueblo cubano.

Michael Spence

Michael Spence is a graduate of Cornwall College and the University of the West Indies. He is a trained teacher, a sociologist, and a writer for Bark Di Trute.

Micspen2@hotmail.com 

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Who Owns Jamaica?

By Michael Spence

Michael Spence

Presently, there are 750,000 to 900,000 Jamaicans living in squatter or irregular settlements. When you add people on “family land” with no title, and those paying to squat/rent, 1.5M or more is a fair estimate. 40% of all parcels of land have no registered titles. That’s 350,000 properties locked up as “dead capital” that cannot be used as collateral for wealth creation.

10% of the population controls 60% of the wealth—including most of the titled, valuable land. The government owns 1,080,000 acres.

Let's take a look at history. In 1838 Emancipation freed an estimated 400,000 African slaves but gave them no land and no money. 

Our ancestors became internal migrants and squatters on hills and “waste lands.”

The Baptist Church free villages like Sligoville in St. Catherine and Bethel Town in Westmoreland were rare efforts to actually give freed people plots. It helped but didn’t change the system.

Do the math. If the government gave 2 square chains (0.2 acre) to each of 1.5M people, that’s 300,000 acres total. That would still leave 780,000 acres of Crown/Government land. So, land for housing/liveable space is there. The barrier is policy, cost, and bureaucracy, not acreage.

The risk is that if the state doesn’t distribute, then local elites, plus foreign buyers from China, the US, the UK, and others, will keep buying up tourism, energy, and coastal land. That’s the “new colonization” I am warning about.

Emancipation without land left most Jamaicans free but landless. Until those 1.5M people get titles, the economy will remain lopsided.

“WHO OWNS JAMAICA?” You decide.

Michael Spence

Michael Spence is a graduate of Cornwall College and the University of the West Indies. He is a trained teacher, a sociologist, and a writer for Bark Di Trute.

Micspen2@hotmail.com 

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Keep abreast of the news and information in the world. Bark Di Trute, a Jamaican blog, is packed with accurate information. Click the following link and get information at your fingertips. WhatsApp link is: https://chat.whatsapp.com/C9bkP96JIN2JgHiuktY3Jj 

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You can view the blog on your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com, and you will be able to see the various links. For example, there is a link that takes you to the calendar to see what is happening on the weekend. You can even search the site for articles. There is also a weather link, which you can use to track hurricanes.

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Wannabe Teachers Cannot Meet Colleges' Matriculation Requirements!

TVJ News

It is amazing what makes the news these days. If we cannot find local news, then look to the Caribbean. If there is no news in the Caribbean, there is news in the world. There is news in Sudan, Nigeria, South Africa, Israel, Cuba, the US, and various other countries.

Students who fail to matriculate are not allowed to take their college examinations. That should not be news. That is the normal procedure in the institution. The students who were not allowed to take their college examinations, as reported to the media, could be asked to leave the institution if they fail to meet the college’s matriculation requirements. 

These institutions are facilitating the admission of these students without them meeting the matriculation requirements, and the students turn around and bite the hand that is trying to help them.

Here are some solutions:

• The colleges could stop admitting students who do not meet the matriculation requirements. 
• The student council could meet with the college administration and ask them to continue with the policy while the council develops a programme to help the students.

The student councils could then organize afternoon classes for students who have not fulfilled matriculation requirements.

We must remember that years ago, potential teachers used to work under the supervision of the school principal as monitors. They had to do the Jamaican First, Second, and Third Year examinations. They had to pass all subjects at each sitting. Things are easier these days for students to get into teachers' colleges.

If you cannot meet the matriculation requirements of the college, then you should forget teaching as a profession. Complaining to the media cannot matriculate you. You will continue to be a wannabe teacher.

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Keep abreast of the news and information in the world. Bark Di Trute, a Jamaican blog, is packed with accurate information. Click the following link and get information at your fingertips. WhatsApp link is: https://chat.whatsapp.com/C9bkP96JIN2JgHiuktY3Jj 

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Without your support, Bark Di Trute could fail to bark one day. Send your ideas, stories, and news by WhatsApp at (876) 816-5261.

You can view the blog on your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com, and you will be able to see the various links. For example, there is a link that takes you to the calendar to see what is happening on the weekend. You can even search the site for articles. There is also a weather link, which you can use to track hurricanes.

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Alert - NWC Broken Main.

Message from a NWC Consumer

Dear Vernon, there's water running on the ground since days, coming from the corner Pawsey Road and Trafford Place in New Kingston.

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Getting Married To A Lesbian!

A man, his wife and his wife's lesbian friend are in an argument.

You admired that walk, that shape, that beautiful body, and that beautiful personality, and then you made that move to ensnare the one you love with your charm. In a few months, she is your girlfriend, and you are on top of the clouds.

You might then decide to live with her. You might get married to her. It is a fairy-tale story, the philosophy of which is to live happily ever after. Careful how you fall for the fairy tale! They say if you fall in love, you will get hurt.

After a year or two, both of you start to feel comfortable with one another. She has her big catch, and you have the love of your life.

There might be some early telltale signs. For example, she has a girlfriend who visits the house often, and this girlfriend becomes your friend. The friend is a great supporter and is always willing to do things for your wife.

You could have the situation where your wife is always visiting a friend on your avenue or somewhere else. That does not bother you because she is visiting a woman and not a man. You might even notice her admiring other women when you both attend functions. At these functions, your wife loves to engage in small talk with other women. She might say to another woman, "I love your outfit." She might even end up talking to this woman for the whole night if the other lady does not mind.

You will notice that if your wife is ill, that friend who visits the home often takes up the position of nurse and is even willing to give your wife a bath.

You, as a man, are still very naive. You do not suspect anything.

You probably only become concerned when you notice that your wife tends to consult more with her friend, and very little importance is placed on your opinions.

You only realize how serious things are when you come home one day and you find your wife and her friend in a very intimate position. If you are not strong, then this could result in a violent reaction between all parties.

You had married a lesbian. You were just a convenience. You were just someone who provided financial stability. You were just a shield behind which your wife could hide her real sexuality.

This is where the real problem begins. There is the divorce, the sharing of property, and if you have children, this can complicate things.

When one marries a partner who is into same-sex relationships, then a partner has been deceived. There should be a remedy, and one should be able to sue for damages.

This article is based on real people and real relationships. In the case of one couple, the husband now has a male spouse. The other couple has divorced, and his wife is now in a relationship with her friend. This relationship has fallen apart because the female friend was very controlling. The third couple is now going through a divorce. It seems to me that the lawyer handling the case is in love with the husband.

These days, one has to be careful when choosing a spouse. Wise parents can pick up on things easily, so sometimes it is best to consult with your parents. It can be extremely devastating to discover that your spouse is a lesbian. We tend to believe that only men are into same-sex relationships, but women do also. If you do not have good support, this experience can result in serious psychological problems, which will impact your work and your life.

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Please add your comments at the bottom of the blog.

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Keep abreast of the news and information in the world. Bark Di Trute, a Jamaican blog, is packed with accurate information. Click the following link and get information at your fingertips. WhatsApp link is: https://chat.whatsapp.com/C9bkP96JIN2JgHiuktY3Jj 

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Without your support, Bark Di Trute could fail to bark one day. Send your ideas, stories, and news by WhatsApp at (876) 816-5261.

You can view the blog on your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com, and you will be able to see the various links. For example, there is a link that takes you to the calendar to see what is happening on the weekend. You can even search the site for articles. There is also a weather link, which you can use to track hurricanes.

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Jamaicans Need To Take A Stand Now

The JLP is celebrating its third term in government, and the PNP its third term in opposition. Today is the anniversary of one party winning its third term and the opposition party losing national elections for the third time.

Our attention should not be just on which party wins or loses, but on what the country is gaining. Jamaica's main challenge is indisciplined behaviour among its people and the general lack of order in society.

We see the problem in our homes, our schools, our roads, and society. The proliferation of squatting and illegally constructed buildings, with garbage being strewn everywhere and anywhere. These are matters that have to be targeted.

Leaders of the various institutions, such as schools and other government entities, have a role to play. Many of these leaders are the living dead. Many church leaders are also weak and ineffective. That reminds me of the position of one church group on the Coopers Pen removal of squatters.

We cannot have prosperity where indiscipline and disorder reign. Some of us need to take a stand now! If we deal decisively with the indiscipline and disorder, there will be fewer murders and deaths on our roads, and productivity will improve. 

I would love to know what you think. Add your comments at the bottom of the blog.

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Prostate Cancer

Remember to have your prostate checked out by the doctor, or you might see your maker earlier than he had planned.

Please add your comments at the bottom of the blog.

________________

Click Here.

______________________

Keep abreast of the news and information in the world. Bark Di Trute, a Jamaican blog, is packed with accurate information. Click the following link and get information at your fingertips. WhatsApp link is: https://chat.whatsapp.com/C9bkP96JIN2JgHiuktY3Jj 

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It's best to view this blog on your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com.

_________________

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Subscribe Now!

• Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.
• Subscribe to my Emergency News Advice Service.
• Make a financial donation now.

Without your support, Bark Di Trute could fail to bark one day. Send your ideas, stories, and news by WhatsApp at (876) 816-5261.

You can view the blog on your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com, and you will be able to see the various links. For example, there is a link that takes you to the calendar to see what is happening on the weekend. You can even search the site for articles. There is also a weather link, which you can use to track hurricanes.

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