Why is there no unrest among the people of Cuba for change?

Why is there no unrest among the people of Cuba for change?

 

Why, when the country and its people are so poor and so controlled by their government, is there not a rallying cry for change, for upheaval, for revolution?

I am not sure what the answer to this question is, but I have some ideas.

One, the sheer impact of oppression and control over a long period of time.  Castro and the regime have been in power for 57 years.  

The ones who wanted to leave did so.  Almost 20%, by some accounts, of the people of Cuba have migrated since Castro took over.  Most of them to the United States.

Of the ones remaining, they have lived under the control and economic realities for 57 years.  They have become used to it.  They have accepted it as their reality.  They are surviving.  They have many good things to point to.  And since Raul Castro has assumed the Presidency, there have been a few reforms that have given some hope for change.  Yet, they also know that there is very little hope that things will significantly or dramatically change.

Second, there is very little opportunity for resistance or counter revolutionary forces to gather.  There are no guns in Cuba.  The military controls everything.  The ministers of many of the Cabinet departments are generals. 

So, it is one thing for the older generation to have accepted the realities of present day Cuba, but what about the younger generation.  How can they be silent? 

This is the perplexing question.  Part of the answer is in the system and how it works.  All children are in school from an early age and the system is drilled into them.  This is reinforced in the home.  By the father and mother, and often grandparents, who want to make sure that their family does not do anything to attract the attention of the authorities. 

Part of the answer is the lack of knowing what alternatives there are.  The lack of internet access in particular is crucial in my mind.  The youth of today in Cuba are not being exposed to the opportunities that exist elsewhere.

Still, the question perplexes me.  There is no indication that the youth of Cuba today are restless.  Are unhappy.  Are itching for change.