“When you turn out the light, a blonde looks like the sheet: you can’t see her in the dark. A black girl looks like the darkness: you can’t see her too. But a mulatta — ah, a mulatta shines and shines in the dark, like a jewel.” - Pico Iyer, “Cuba and the Night”

Cuba, 21st century. One big human experiment, completely successful, people usually stretch a dollar and survive. They have been closed for long time, and they struggle, they fight for themselves, for their family and for people they love. They don’t have strength to fight the system anymore, because couple of previous examples told them that there is no point. Usually they sit and wait. For what? They don’t even know. Something is rotten in the state of Cuba!

Most of the tourists in Cuba don’t notice or they don’t want to notice what is around them. Including all these human traits like jealousy, manipulation, schemes, envy, corruption… Cuban government wants to show them only two things — vast Caribbean Sea and cheap entertainment. It is excellent advert and an illusion that the Cubans are happy people. It draws money from the tourists, and it brings profit to the Government. Mutual gain.

Therefore, the fact that the tourists are well-protected is not surprising. If the mobile phone gets stolen from a tourist, the guilty one could be imprisoned for several months.

When a Cuban sees an average tourist, above tourist’s head two symbols light up. One is the dollar sign, the other one is a passport. Besides money, the second most wanted thing for the Cuban is to escape this doomed country. No matter where and how, just go away. Something is rotten in the state of Cuba!

Besides tourism, other part of economy brings Cuba a lot of profit, and it’s called the world’s oldest profession — prostitution. From the moment when you step on the Cuban airport, you are greeted by the mulatta police women. They wear mini skirt and fishnet stockings. Yes, fishnet stockings. Tempting, with simple make up, and yet very beautiful. Slowly you are approaching Havana, and you realize that majority of girls are wearing fishnet stockings. In the eyes of an average European, that seems like stereotype of a “teasing” girl. That is becoming a standard.

Spending two weeks in Cuba, I realized that the Cubans do not hesitate to give their body in hope that the act is going to provide them better future. They don’t have a problem to shame themselves for just two convertible pesos, in colloquial speech — “dollar”. And who could blame them, when the average salary for a waiter in the tourist district is just twelve (12) dollars. A month! In salsa clubs you can see bunch of older foreign ladies and handsome beautiful young Cuban men — wiggling, wiggling… Dancing salsa, dancing salsa. Cubans simply shine and shine in the shadow of the rotten country.

One Cuban guy, let’s name him Alejandro, met a Belgian lady, who paid him passport, visa, a meeting with Cuban government at which he proves why and how he goes out from Cuba. At the end, he gains permission to leave the country, he comes to Belgium, and he earns ten euros, this time for an hour, not for a month. But, the Belgian lady soon fell out of love, and left Alejandro, who needed to go back to Cuba unless he wants to be deported and to be forbidden entry in Europe.

Back to reality!

Serbia, 21st century. One big human experiment, in it’s inception — we were isolated for some time during nineties, and today we are trying to make ends meet and we survive. Someone is fighting against the system, but majority sees salvation and idols in it, because couple of previous examples showed us that we always need to choose better, right? Usually we sit and watch television. What is on the TV? Reality show. Is there something rotten in the state of Serbia?

Only when you go back to Serbia as a tourist you see all these things which you didn’t notice or you didn’t want to notice. Including all these human traits like commencement of collective nervous breakdown, depression, madness, indifference, pessimism, sad faces on the street. But for tourists, two things are really appealing, vast sea of entertainment and feeling of very affordable country.

An average foreigner who possibly knows where is Serbia will usually say: “I heard that the parties are awesome and that there’s a lot of beautiful girls…” On the other hand, a Serbian seeing a tourist gets two things lighten up in his head. One is euro sign, and the other one is an idea. Besides money, for the Serbian, second most wanted thing in the world is to find the idea how to get to the money. Is there something rotten in the state of Serbia?

Similar like Cuba, the tourists would perceive that the Serbians are happy people, they have rakia, amazing food, Gucha, sexy girls and guys, excellent clubs, amazing night life and the famous Exit festival. All that makes an illusion that in Serbia life is good. For me, who spend most of his life living there, the reality is completely different…

When you enter the Belgrade airport, you are greeted by police women with attitude and posture, yet very tempting and beautiful. You cannot easily mess up with them… Slowly you are getting to Belgrade, you are going out in one of the clubs and you see that some of the girls look very tempting, in cleavage, with pouted lips and ready for good fun. We are not that easy, and you need to approach us and concur us. We have higher price than the Cubans.

But, watching our television for just two hours, I saw that young Serbian girls don’t have a problem to shame themselves in public. The interview of a girl starts on a TV show, she is commenting her best friend and the wrong comment on who painted Mona Lisa. Later she reveals to us how did she become a starlet, the word which has been used and abused in last ten years. After that her almost naked pictures flashes in front of camera, she tells us more about her life and how she likes to wiggle and dance salsa. All looks like an advert. And all that media fuss and reality shows is nothing else then a promotion so you can rise your price. The biggest contradiction is that you can watch all that on the television which couple of years back was the television full of cartoons for children. The standards are changed so easily…

And who could blame them, when the salary is very low, and when majority of people see easy gain in the oldest profession. The guys are not far behind. More and more you can hear stories about guys having their lady-sponsors who are bringing them to the club so they can look pretty in the booth, and probably they don’t have problem getting into sexual intercourse, like in Cuba. Is there something rotten in the state of Serbia?

Back to surreality!