They probably want to go back to help rebuild the place.
I visited Cuba in December of 2002. It's a heartbreakingly beautiful place, and it has wonderfully hospitable people. I really enjoyed my trip but decided not to return after the big crackdown on dissidents in the following March. I'd convinced myself that Castro was pretty much a paper tiger dictator but in March I was rudely awakened.
It's true that the place is falling apart but Havana could be one of the world's most stunningly beautiful cities if the reconstruction is done well.
If you are so inclined, you can check out my photos here: The fabulous ruins of Cuba:
http://www.amazing.com/cuba/fabulous-ruins/
I'd love to be able to visit again under a healthy government and society, so I hope present Cubans and exiles can work something out for the good of everyone. It's going to be touchy since billions of dollars of expropriated property is involved. The people in it now aren't going to want to move, after decades, and the exiles who fled are going to want it back - and may be the only people with the capital to fix it up.
D
David, I've seen your pictures and they are quite stunning. I was in Cuba for a few days a long time ago and it looked pretty much like you dipicted. Wonderful people with a hateful government. By contrast I also visited Haiti and that place made Cuba look like paradise.
Lee