SAM DOLGOFF for his girl friend. . . I felt like following h1m one day and catching him out. . . because, after all, it IS MY BUSINESS... he is a parasite, letting down my block ... I wo ndered if I should not talk to h1s girl friend. . . warn ber to kee p away from him, break relations. . . I am not saying anythl ng. . . but I am watch!ng from here what is happening. . . b ut what a pain if his wife finds out! ... , (14). René Dumont tells that in the barracks of the «macheteros, [cane cutters] working away from home: « .. . there are some- times little signs that read: «Sleep quietly. The Revolution is watchlng over your wife.> As a matter of f act, if a «mache- tero's> wife is visited by a man, the husband gets a telegram from the local CDR... > (15). Cuban Youth Rebels IN THE spring of 1972, Jaime Crombat, Secretary of t he Young Communist League, complained that among t he youth there was a « ... backward minority who neither study nor wo rk -or do so only under pressure- those who, perme ated by the ideol- ogy ... main tain a conduct contrary to socialfs t morale ... , (16). Mesa-Lago's painstaking research unearths t he true situation. He deserves to be quoted at Iength: « ... in spite of the re- markable progress in education, i.e. reduct!on ln the llllteracy rate ... serious deficiencies were reported. I n April 1971, out of the number of school age youngsters, 14 to 16 years old, there were 300,000 who neither worked nor studied ; 23 % among 14 year olds, 44 % among 15 year olds, and 60 % among 16 year olds. The dropout rate was worse -more in rural a reas (88 % ) than 'in urban areas (66 %) . In elementary schools, 69 % of those who attended classes in 1965, dfd not finish in 1971.. . students showed a lack of concern for socl allst property ... > According to the Minfster of Education, 50 % of the books sent to school were lost every year due to ·careless ness. Castro ex- ploded in indignation: « ... there 1s somethfng wrong when we have to educate our young people ln the need to care for sociallst property. . . Ioafers, people who do'n t work, crimlnals are the ones who destroy ... , (14) Barry Reckord, Does Fidel Eat More Than Your Fdher? New York, 1971, pgs. 60-69. (15) René Dumont, 1s Cuba Soclallst?; New York, 1974, p. 137. 54
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