Cuba: The Communist toddler without parents ( An Interview )

Ordinary life in Havana – Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.

Olivia Solis ( Photo – special arrangement )

( March 30, 2016, Serbia, Sri Lanka Guardian) With President Obama’s historic visit, the Communist island of Cuba is back in the world headlines. Politically unique since its 1959 revolution, Nilantha Ilangamuwa of Sri Lanka Guardian, spoke with one of its many exiles, Olivia Solis, a Cuban currently living in Serbia.

Here is an excerpt of the interview;

Nilantha Ilangamuwa (NI): You were born and raised in Cuba. What are your childhood memories of the social-political situation in the country?

Olivia Solis (OS): Nothing about Cuba is black and white. Taking sides always brings conflict. It takes time and wisdom to understand the scope of the situation. Being outside the country, you can compare to other societies where basic rights have been secured.

The Castros’ are old now, too old to dictate anything, and is time for a big change. Cuban society is strangled by false promises, excuses, tired of waiting and hopelessness. The youth of today are nothing like mine who still had something to relate to.

My childhood was fine, I think. We were poor but I went to school everyday, everyone was considered as equals, my parents had a paying job. Some children had more and some had less, but less here means near to nothing — no toys, no shoes to wear to school — and more means that you have had family members abroad who were able to send you some money or were a part of the military oligarchy and relatives of “war heroes”. The military still control almost everything on the island. In my case we basically lived off our relatives in the USA. The 1990s were the hardest period for Cuban society after the disintegration of USSR.

NI:  You were born in post-revolution era. How communist is Cuba now?

OS: Well I grew up with the idea of a little island but with huge pride, that everyone in the world paid attention to us. They make sure you are aware of this, and teach in constantly in schools. In every kindergarten, hospital, school, state-owned job (100% of jobs are from the state) you would see photos of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, even Raul rarely.

I was born in the mid-80s so I remember very little. Cuba was a communist paradise, everyone had the same furniture,  same food on the table,  same shirts and shoes, you were able to pay for holidays and life was as good as it can be. If you kept your own ideas quiet everything seemed functional and perfect. My parents had this perception of a perfect society and then there was the breakup of the USSR and you realised how weak the Cuban economy really was, how the system never managed to sustain itself or its people, how there was no backup plan.

NI:  Do you consider Cuba’s Revolution a success story?

OS: The Cuban Revolution failed the Cuban nation. The propaganda of the Cuban revolution sounds very good to the ears of any leftist pseudo-Communist idealist: free education, free health care and tons of advances in the field, equality between women and men. The price for everything is hunger, oppression, poverty. I’m not being dramatic, I know there are many countries worse off and I shouldn’t be comparing Cuba with Sweden, not in a million years. But the lack of basic rights and the death of the civil society… the idea of thriving, not just surviving, and being able build your own path, or even just fix the roof of your house is something crucial in any society. I learned a lot when I got out. Human rights is considered a very sensitive topic because it is the language of the dissents, and the revolution should not be questioned in these terms. You should not question it at all, better talk low — maybe your neighbour works for the political police — that was how I grew up: be quiet, don’t question out loud. In the end you shut up, adapt or leave the country.

NI:  Tell us your story. Why did you leave Cuba?

OS: So I left, I’m married and have a child living in eastern Europe. I wasn’t obsessed by leaving, like many people I knew. There were two kinds of people, those who wanted to leave whenever possible, and those who were comfortable with the idea of the revolution and supported its inner values while compromising their conscience.

NI:  It said the former leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro, is the prime target for foreign intelligence agencies.  The CIA have reportedly tried to assassinate Castro over five hundred times. This is an amazing story. What is your take on this?

OS: I think there is other side of the story as well. Pride has been planted in me since childhood. Propaganda is very violent and sources of information in Cuba are censored when it comes to the “attempts” you mention.

For myself, as for many others, it was very disrespectful how Raul did not wait for Obama at the airport. Are we still playing a game to see who is toughest? Raul is supposed to represent the nation, not his own ideology. The Cold War is over. Great for Castro that he survived those assassination attempts, but this is all part of the myth. With time you realise that there are no untouchable icons, no unreachable leaders, no inhuman presidents.

NI:  You mention the Obama visit. As the first US President visiting Cuba since 1928, does this matter? If so, why?

OS: Cuba needs hope. The economy should flourish, people should have better opportunities and be able to build their own paths and not only focus on putting food on the table. Cuban people should be able to plan, build, grow. Havana is literally falling to pieces…. it is heartbreaking. If the USA is willing to make any progress for the better, they must be welcome.

Everyone should listen to the speech President Obama gave. I wasn’t sure about his position, I always thought he was maybe too charismatic, like a weapon for gaining people favours.  But this was perfect.

NI:  In an unprecedented joint news conference by both leaders they went head to head on human rights and economic sanctions. President Raul Castro gave chilling answers about political prisoners and other sensitive subjects. How did you perceive this?

OS: Well it was a disaster. It appeared staged, Raul did not listen to the questions. He coughed when issues such as political prisoners and human rights were on the table. Raul doesn’t know how to answer to these social issues. A list of political prisoners exists. These prisoners were abused with violence. Some of them died in jail and some through hunger strikes.

NI:  President Obama talked about Human Rights and Universal norms of humanity. Yet Guantanamo Bay Prison is located in Cuba. This hypocrisy has been seized on by the Cuban authorities. What is your take?

OS: The Cuban people should not suffer out of politics and policies regarding issues such as the Guantanamo Bay Prison. Cubans are always reminded of these matters but I think it is also wise to look around, above, under, not just backwards. Politicians cannot play hide and seek — showing Guantanamo or other US hypocrisies — while the ordinary citizens in the country are suffering.