I was born in a small neighborhood in Havana, Cuba, six months before the Revolution and the 1959 coup. My family was not involved in politics, but to some extent, they supported the Revolution in its early days. Still, then it became a commonplace occurrence for people to disappear, be tortured, and appear dead on the roads. Political assassinations and executions became daily news.
Blood has been spilling on Cuban soil for many years, and the most recent events have called to me as they are calling to all Cubans abroad that feel that loving connection to their mother country. In our first-world countries, we live with more resources, opportunities, and even luxuries, yet, for better or worse, we are connected with what happens in Cuba. This is the passion of the Cuban people on the island and abroad, in the past and now.
From the first days of the Revolution, when Fidel Castro victoriously entered Cuba, and Fulgencio Batista escaped like a thief in the night, the trajectory of the Cuban people became a social experiment for international analysis and comment. We became the Petri dish of communism.
Many suffered and died, while others benefited from the chaos. Cuba is a sovereign country, and its people have the right to live freely and in peace. Cuba is not a museum of attraction for tourists who want to travel back in time and want Cuba to stay still until they have their ticket ready to see how a country has been frozen in time.
After 62 years, Cuba is still under the regime that divided the island and caused a mass exile to the United States and other countries. Before the 1959 revolution, a large part of the people suffered needs; they were afraid of the Batista dictatorship and had to take care of what they said for fear of jail. In that respect, nothing changed.
Anyone who knows the history of Cuba knows that it has been a long story of abuse and suffering for the Cuban people. Since the conquerors eradicated indigenous cultures, the colonialists who imposed themselves on the island and enslaved the Africans to continue violating the island’s wealth, Cuba has suffered 500 years of bloody oppression, abuse, war, and foreign rule.
In 1896, The Spanish General Weyler began a policy of «Reconcentration in Cuba’s rural areas. He sent thousands of Cubans citizens into concentration camps to make it more difficult for the Cuban guerrilla fighters to blend amongst the rural population. Under his policy, Weyler forced the countryside people to move into concentration camps within eight days or be shot. In these concentration camps, the citizens were treated horribly, and 30% died of hunger and disease. At that time, there was no way to send an #SOS.
In 2021, Cubans have spread the distress message (#SOS) worldwide through social networks. Although Cubans are experiencing basic needs due to lack of food, they do not ask for bread in a country rich in fertile land and fishing. They ask for Freedom! The absolute control of the government suffocates them. It does not allow people to breathe.
No evil lasts a hundred years, nor a body that can endure it. What will be the next steps for the Cuban people? The repression of any people has its limits. The spirits of the Mambises have risen in Cuba.
Watch closely! If the same mistakes are made again, we will be lost. Cuba has a constitution, but unlike the United States, it is not followed. To be successful in government, Cuba needs a legitimate democracy. Voted in by the people and respected by all.
No more coups. Cubans will have to listen to opinions that they like and those they do not like. We have to dialogue—no more killing or exile of everyone who disagrees with the government, no more blood. I ask God to clear our minds and empower our hearts to unite as a people without marginalizing or excluding anyone. Pray for the future of a free, strong, and prosperous Cuba. #SOS
