Freedom Without Anger and Without Hatred for Cuba
The regime has taken advantage of our anger to present us as “haters” and to feed the fear of change.
By Yunior Garcia Aguilera (14ymedio)
HAVANA TIMES – “Libertad sin ira,” “freedom without anger” [lyrics] is one of the most representative songs of the Spanish transition to democracy. In its lyrics it speaks of a Spain personified by the old authoritarianism and another embodied in a generation that sought to be free, without bloodshed. At that uncertain moment, after the death of dictator Franco, the song of the Jarcha band became a hymn for many. In our Cuba of 2024, the frustration of a people who fail to dismantle a desperately long-lived dictatorship often leads us to anger. I don’t deny that there are a thousand reasons that can support it. However, I wrap my brain around this question: is resentment useful? Will we be able to achieve a freedom without anger or will we perpetually writhe in anger without freedom?
The Cuban regime has taken advantage of that rage to adorn its narrative. While they, supposedly, are the ones who “love and build,” we are the “haters.” Such cynicism only increases the fury on the opposition side, justifying it equally with concepts from José Martí, such as invincible hatred and eternal resentment. But I haven’t come here to talk to you about poetry. I want to talk about strategy.
Martí has been used by Cubans with almost the same intensity as those who quote Christ to shore up their creeds. That’s why I would like to put the emphasis, rather than on his words, on his actions. The man Cubans call ‘the apostle’ was able to forgive even the henchman who tried to poison him. And not only did he offer them his forgiveness, but he also managed to persuade them to join the independence ranks. The story reveals to us how young Valentín ended up fighting on the Mambí side, reaching the rank of commander and becoming a convinced devotee of Martí for the rest of his life.
I know, it’s always easier to have a repertoire of Martí quotations on the lips than to imitate his behavior. Others will say that we leave the dead alone, that we live in another century, that we should stop waving the apostle as if he were a carnival flag. And maybe they are right. But what we call values, principles or ethics is always a convention based on references. It is useless to give up Martí. In the next century, if there is any Cuban left alive, we will continue to name him.
During these days, there have been heated controversies on social networks about the victory in Paris of the Greco-Roman fighter Mijaín López. Those who congratulate him are right; his sporting feat is undeniable. And those who point to him as a furious defender of Castroism, protagonist of repressive episodes, are right. Others have chosen to celebrate Yasmani Acosta, also Cuban, for his meritorious silver medal representing Chile. Although there is also no shortage of those who have lashed out against him, for his “warm” statements about the dictatorship.
Some European friends write to me without understanding not even one word. You Cubans, they tell me, will never be able to agree. And I’m not saying I’m free of blame. In my case, I limited myself to recognizing the triumph of Mijaín López, with nothing more to add, receiving my corresponding downpour of insults.
In this fight of ours, the most common thing is to entrench ourselves on one side, incessantly lobbing verbal grenades towards the opposite ditch, although it is also common for us to attack ourselves inside our own trench. At this rate, if we achieve freedom one day, we will all be so emotionally mutilated that the reconstruction of the country and national reconciliation will continue to be postponed.
We have a lot to learn from our Venezuelan brothers and sisters. Regardless of how everything ends, the opposition has already managed to concentrate all its arrows against the dictatorship. They have unmasked the tyrant; they have managed to rally the majority of the people, and they have captured the attention of the whole world. Their speech is firm: there will be no impunity, but they extend their hand to anyone, military or civilian, who takes the right side.
In his book “The Art of War,” Sun Tzu recommended always leaving an escape route to the enemy. At the same time, he recommended putting your army in a dead-end position, to motivate them to fight to death, without ever considering withdrawal. The Cuban regime has read the manuals very well. For decades they have suggested to their supporters that, in the face of an eventual change, they expect they would all be hung in the public square. There are ordinary people convinced that the enemy will go house by house to look for them to settle scores for having been in the FMC [Federation of Cuban Women] or the CDR [Committee for the Defense of the Revolution]. The supposed “unity” of the regime is not based on the hope that one day things will improve, but on the fear that one day things will change. And sometimes we ourselves contribute to that mentality.
In order for this battle not to be eternal or useless, it will be necessary to dismantle many myths and change strategies. The possibility of joining together must always be left open. We must be able to differentiate between justice and revenge. We will have to know how to convince as many Cubans as possible that the future will not be a simple change of flags in the barracks of hatred, exclusion and insult, but finally, freedom without anger.
Translated by Regina Anavy for Translating Cuba.