Cuba is for all
By Osmany Sánchez
From the blog La Joven Cuba
MATANZAS – My wife thought I was crazy, talking to myself, when she heard me say “Finally!” during the first game of Team Cuba against Brazil in the Third Baseball World Classic. What prompted me to say so? Well, I heard Modesto Agüero refer to Juan Carlos Muñiz, a member of the South American team, as “a Cuban, formed in the baseball Cuban school, who played in the Industriales team.”
Some years ago, during a women’s volleyball game, the announcers referred to a Cuban woman who played for Italy by her number, never by her name. Everyone who mentions that incident says the same thing: it was ridiculous.
To watch a Cuban athlete competing in a world tournament or an Olympic Game for a country that’s more developed than ours should not be considered a defeat but a victory, because it’s an acknowledgment of our sports system. Of course, I would rather see them stay in Cuba but, if for any reason they decided to emigrate, we shouldn’t “erase” them from our memory. Perhaps if the Cuban media interviewed them, their statements would be much more positive than we think.
Cultural affairs are a different story. Actors, singers, dancers, they all appear quite routinely in the TV spaces with the largest audiences and talk about the years they performed “work commitments” in other countries. Many of those who once “left” now return, get jobs in Cuba and even win awards on television.
The country is changing. Transformations in the immigration policy allow artists, athletes, doctors and scientists who emigrated to return to their homeland in a normal fashion. That’s a good first step, but we should go beyond; if we have doubts, then we should consult the people.
A functionary could make a mistake and make a wrong move, thinking that he’s doing the right thing, but in this type of decision the people are not mistaken. Anyone who doubts that should review the process of consultation followed for the Guidelines.
Some weeks ago, the national Volleyball Commissioner was asked if his office was considering the possibility that Cuban players who left the country and now play in foreign leagues might again wear the national uniform. His answer, though sincere, did not seem to me to be serious. He said that that possibility was not even under discussion because no such application had been received. If we say that it could be done, I’m sure that many applications will be filed.
Some prefer to take a hard line and continue to look at those who emigrated as traitors or defectors. I think that we should reflect and ask ourselves if we can say categorically that those who stayed and lived (and still live) on the margins of the law deserve more than those who left. We give the former an opportunity to integrate into society and contribute to the construction of a better homeland; I think we should also take the latter into consideration.
Since this is a complex topic that lends itself to misinterpretation, I wish to make clear that I include ALL the Cubans who have emigrated, from the simple economic emigrant to someone who, as a member of a terrorist group, committed violent acts against his homeland. I would not deny the latter the possibility of returning and facing trial with all the available guarantees. If they are innocent, they’ll have nothing to fear.
Why deny Cubans the possibility to dance to the songs of Celia Cruz or laugh at the jokes of Trespatines? It’s not a question of national security or anything like it. They and many other Cuban artists are part of the history of Cuban culture; to marginalize them would give space to those who try to build a parallel Cuba, frozen in the 1950s and sweetened by an image of well-being and prosperity.
I know some fine professionals who emigrated and found work in their specialties. True, it won’t be easy to convince them to return and work in Cuba, but they can contribute their knowledge at conferences and exchanges with Cuban scientists or students.
The objective should be to convince them to return and contribute to their homeland. I confess that they’re not the ones I think about first; I think of that majority that was drawn by the sirens’ song and ended up working in jobs that, though honest, were way below their qualifications.
The objective should be to allow the athletes to join the professional leagues in an orderly manner and contribute to the state, as they improve their own personal finances. To give space to the professionals who emigrated and wish to return to their country. To recover the nation’s cultural patrimony, which some have tried to hand over to “the exile community.” These are the steps that we must take to build a country where all Cubans can find their space.
