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The Enigma of Cubans
Yordis García Fournier
Political activist & Delegate, Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy in Eastern Cuba
Guantánamo, Cuba

O

n one of my neighborhood’s
corners, right in the center of
Guantánamo, two good friends
of mine were having an animated argument. It was about the general position
of all Cubans regarding the dictatorship
that in various ways has oppressed the
entire country for more than fifty years.
The tougher of the two claimed we were
long-suffering and cowards, that we
lacked the valor to pick up arms to free
ourselves, and that the black-skinned
population would not intervene in the
struggle: that is why we are in the position we are in. The more moderate of the
two was saying ‘no’ and that he did not
entirely blame the dictators. This discussion made me reflect about this issue, its
analysis and the arguments it caused in a
large part of the population. Then, I immediately agreed with the second of the
arguments, that the dictators were not
entirely to blame. I do not agree with
those who believe that we Cubans are
cowards. Many oppositionists like me
have heard this claim from nonoppositionists who in desperation, frustrated, and tired of so much abuse on the
part of the Cuban Revolution’s leaders,
adopt a radical rhetoric and see similar
methods (violence) as the only alterna-

tive for gaining a victory. We Cubans
have always fought very hard against
oppression. It started with Columbus’
arrival in 1492 and has not yet ended.
There have been spontaneous protests
throughout this totalitarian period. Both
Christians and Atheists, both blacks and
whites have raised their voices to demand justice and freedom at all these
protests against those who misgovern us
today. Let us recall the events at the Peruvian Embassy in 1980, which took
place during a fundamentalist era for not
only the then leader, Fidel Castro, but
also his followers, who were not just a
few in number. There was no organized,
peaceful opposition then; that protest
was entirely carried out by the people,
who wanted and demanded freedom.
Another tense moment I remember as
impactful was the Maleconazo in 1994,
when thousands of Cubans took to the
streets demanding freedom. It, too, provoked dramatic encounters with the police and paramilitary groups that had
been created by the regime to deal with
just this sort of situation. The Maleconazo forced Castro to release the pressure
valve and commit a terrible act of genocide by authorizing sea departures from
Cuba on rickety, homemade crafts. This

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