The news reached me from the city of Moron, in Cuba’s province of Ciego de Avila. The piece was about a 13-year-old who, while enjoying carnival festivities in the town of Cacahual fell from a height of about 8 meters, hit the pavement and suffered a serious head trauma.
I could begin by saying that I lived under a capitalist regime for long enough to be able to make comparisons. It would suffice to make a general statement: 60 years elapsed from the time Cuba achieved independence from Spanish domination to the triumph of the revolution and the country made very little or next to no progress.
I have heard say that human beings are the only rational beings on the planet. However, I become more and more convinced that this rationality is something highly relative, as I do not know of a single so-called irrational species that deliberately destroys its habitat.
There are two dates in which Cubans experience pain over those who have perished and hatred and contempt towards the monsters capable of organizing or carrying out terrorist acts: September 4 and October 6. In fact, In the course of 55 years, thousands of terrorist acts against Cuba have been carried out.
September 11th is a calamitous date that holds different meanings for different people (in dependence of their experiences). In the United States, it is a day of mourning for thousands of families who lost a relative in the terrorist attacks on New York’s Twin Towers, whose planning still raises questions and doubts.
The ill-intentioned press refers to it as a “ration booklet.” However, it has never been a question of rationing anything, but of guaranteeing that every citizen can access basic supplies at reasonably low, State subsidized prices which cannot be affected by the activities of hoarders and speculators.
Today, my memories take me back to a certain figure that was a common sight in Cuba’s countryside before the revolution. I am referring to “wanderers.” These were people who, tired of looking for a job and going hungry – having lost their homes because they were unable to pay the rent – had no other choice but to become beggars.
I frequently come across the comments and articles written by those who are always criticizing the Cuban revolution, pointing out Cuba’s economic problems time and time again. These are only partly right.
The US blockade on Cuba continues to generate news and more and more enemies in the international community. The most recent news was related to what former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote on the subject in her recent book Hard Choices.
Thousands of Cubans voluntarily travelled to Angola to defend the freedom of its people, once seriously threatened by the racist South African regime. I was mobilized several times to receive training as a militiaman and asked if I was willing to go into combat in Angola. I said I was, but they never called me.