Children, a Ticket Abroad and Revolution

Jorge Milanes

HAVANA TIMES — “My children aren’t interested in the traditional advice I have taught them because they tell me that they aren’t seeing any results, that they can’t see themselves being successful,” I heard a man say this morning as I was getting into a collective taxi.

It seems that he is very worried about his children’s future.

“The revolutionary fervor my generation had in the ‘70s and ‘80s was based on group projects, we were willing to do any job out of awareness and with a future in sight, but it’s very rare to find a young person who thinks like this nowadays,” the man said.

Many families show their children the success they’ve managed to have with their own experiences, but they aren’t interested because they don’t see any financial success.

“For example, my children tell me that if they put these past successes and my experience into a current context, they don’t see a future. They are after more ambitious and concrete projects,” a woman said who was traveling next to me.

“I have tried to convince them, but it was no good. They refuse to listen to me. Their ambitions are in keeping with the times they are living in now. According to them, it’s important to work for foreign companies or firms, where they can earn more, or as a self-employed business owner,” she concluded.

“The way my parents think (which many people from that generation share) doesn’t lead to success anymore. My parents have a lot of love, they raised me the best they could, but they don’t have anything to show for it,” a young passenger added.

“If you have a good education, languages, etc., you can get a job that supports you financially and allows you to reach your goals,” I responded.

“My children are chasing the dream of getting a ticket out of this country, no matter what it costs. I believe I have prepared them for whatever decision they make, even if I’m not around,” added the man who was talking when I got into the car.

His concern, as a father, is them leaving the country no matter what the cost, which was something people didn’t look upon very favorably before, but now they do.      

This situation concerns most parents, so much so that they are faced with the challenge of updating their knowledge, way of expressing, opening up their minds and new legal frameworks in keeping with these times.

“More than anything else, we have to make sure that wages encourage young people’s creative ideas. That’s my opinion, if it helps in any way,” I concluded, as I was reaching my destination.