The most outspoken voices in the debate on Cuba in the United States have always belonged to the Cuban exiles who have arrived to US soil during more than six decades of the Castro dictatorship and have managed to create there a compact, politically influential and economically strong community- having more than two million members now and preserving a strong sense of national identity. What is their place within the Cuban democratic opposition? There is no doubt that Cuban Americans are indispensable players in this collective effort: they represent an important part of the Cuban nation, and no one serious, as far as I know, has ever proposed that as exiles they should stay out of the struggle for democracy whose center is obviously at home. On the contrary as citizens of the United States they have a special responsibility- a significant role to play in the context of the future development of the endemically asymmetrical US-Cuba relations: to participate actively in the search of a new modus vivendi between Cuba and the United States; to initiate a national debate looking for a balanced, realistic answer to the old question raised by Jose Marti at the very beginning of a still unfinished journey for Cuban freedom and independence. When“ actualizing” Cuban socialism, the government of Raul Castro seems to be ready now to treat Cuban Americans with certain respect and not as traitors. He is even ready to welcome them as honored, valuable visitors on the island – as long as they are willing to stay out of Cuban politics and assume the role of providers of financial assistance to their relatives living there; as long as they are ready to accept the fact that a substantive portion of their money will end up in the coffers of Cuban totalitarian state and be used as a means for its survival. On the contrary, it is the restitution of the Cuban political nation composed of free-minded and committed people from both sides of the Straits of Florida, that the Castro regime is afraid of more than anything else; that therefore should be perceived as the number one priority of Cuban Americans; that is the main reason why all of them, democrats, republicans and independents, should join forces with those who struggle for Cuban freedom on the island and become active carriers of this unifying process. But let’ s be honest and realistic here: to bridge the gap between those who have had to live for the decades exposed to the“ totalitarian radiation” 8 and those who have not, is not an easy task. What is being opened here is a genuine“ Pandora’ s Box”, containing many unsettling questions- especially those touching upon the role of the Cuban-American exile community in the“ crises” during the six decades of strained relationships between the United States and the Cuban totalitarian regime, and being systematically, and very“ creatively”, used by its propagandistic machinery. What is required here is the courage to really start the process of genuine national reconciliation, to launch an inclusive national dialogue- involving Cubans of all generations living on the both sides of the Florida
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