I was told the moment I reach Cuba I should go straight to the embassy and get my money, but when I got here I did that and then was told students who come to Cuba get their money before they leave Namibia.

That happened 25 August 2007 and I waited until somewhere in February 2008 when I finally received some money.

In the six months prior I had to rely on friends and others to help me as my mom is unemployed and she's the only one who takes care of me.

In Cuba we are 210 Namibian students and out of those students only two of us never received our money - both students from Ministry of Sports.

They make excuses about the Ministry of Finance and processing, but it takes months and we continue to live like prisoners.

Cuba is very expensive and US$100 is equal to CUC80.

I have seen an article about Namibian students in Russia, and things there are similar to what is happening to us in Cuba.

The disappointment about Namibian athletes in Beijing is not a surprise to me - how can one expect a better result if people in offices are failing to fulfil their tasks and sportspeople have to suffer.

I would like to ask how long the processing of our money will take while we continue depending on our family to send us all the things we need through Cuban doctors who comes here for holidays.

This is a shame.

Cuban Unhappy Student Via e-mail

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