The Cuban priest Alberto Reyes from the diocese of Camagüey has shared a reflection detailing the numerous rights stripped away from the Cuban people by the government over the past six decades. In his message, he also urges the citizens not to lose hope.
Father Reyes, known for his outspoken criticism of the Castro regime on social media, reminded that many Cubans who risked their lives to overthrow Batista were driven by hope. Those who followed nurtured that same hope, conveying false illusions to the people while consolidating their grip on power and seizing control of the nation.
Loss of Freedoms Under Communism
In a post on his Facebook wall, Reyes listed all the freedoms that communism has deprived the people of: alternative political parties, free elections, peaceful protests, and private enterprise. Now, the populace realizes that it was all manipulation and lies; thus, the regime is left with only one option: continued oppression and constant threats.
Reyes' Full Reflection
CiberCuba shares the complete text of Reyes' post:
"I've Been Thinking... (LXXXV) by Alberto Reyes Pías
I've been contemplating the root of certain 'no's'
Many years ago, this nation grew tired of Batista's dictatorship, and the majority supported revolutionary movements fighting against tyranny. Many people risked their wealth, status, and even their lives; many worked in secrecy, many lost family members, many died. Why? What gave them strength and courage? What made them defy the dangers? Hope, the sun that rises in the soul while it is still night.
Those who planned to take over this island fostered hope and communicated to the people in numerous ways that their support and sacrifices would lead to victory. When that victory came, they presented the people with a prepared illusion, making them believe that only they knew the path to the longed-for freedom while buying time to chain the one thing that could truly strip them of power: hope.
Manipulation of Hope
This is why they established a 'no' where the people expected and needed a 'yes.' The 'no's' to what they could not and cannot allow.
No to alternative political parties, because political parties are not just groups of people with different thoughts but groups that unite to dream of a different country, to generate a new vision of reality, and from that vision, to encourage each other to find ways to make it possible. This dream, this vision, needs hope at its core.
No to free elections. They invite voting but prevent choosing, because the right to choose conveys the message that different thinking is possible, and that projects towards change, for choosing is a way of living hope.
No to freedom of expression, because they cannot allow the voices of the people to reach the sleeping, deceived, or frightened masses. They cannot admit being questioned by those who offer a different option, because if the people start to believe in that different option, nothing will stop hope from being born in them, and awakened hope reveals deceptions and strengthens the resolve that something can be done.
No to peaceful demonstrations, because sometimes we believe that hope is just a personal and private matter, but when that hope is shared, proclaimed, and taken to the streets, it is discovered that it is the hope of an entire people, and that makes believing in change that was once thought impossible.
No to amnesty for political prisoners, because imprisoning those who think differently serves as the best warning of what can happen to those who give voice to their hope.
No to the advancement of private enterprise, because private enterprise means autonomy, empowerment, independence from the State. Private enterprise is called freedom, and freedom nurtures hope.
The Current State of Affairs
The times of idyllic infatuations, lulling promises, and energetic songs predicting glorious futures are behind us. Now, we know each other and have looked each other in the eye. Now, we understand that it was all manipulation and lies.
It is no longer worth pretending. All that remains is the iron fist and the continuous threat. All that remains is to try to convince that hope is futile and that dreaming of a different tomorrow is useless.
Yet, in the heart of this nation, every new day, amidst the precariousness and tyranny, a voice deep within rises and resonates: 'I exist,' says hope, 'and one day, one day, we will change the night into a freedom that becomes midday.'