Cuban Woman's Bold Message to Mothers Leaving Children Behind: "You Don't Love Your Child"

Karla González, a Cuban influencer, recently shared a thought-provoking video on TikTok addressing migrant mothers who have left their children in Cuba. This direct and candid message is aimed at those who find themselves paralyzed by fear in their new countries.

In her video, available on her profile @marketing_con_karla, she begins with a hard-hitting statement: "No, you don't love your child. You can't tell me you do, and I'll explain why."

Drawing from personal experience, Karla admits in the video’s description that a year ago, "depression consumed me for making such hard decisions," alluding to leaving her child in Cuba upon emigrating.

The core of her argument challenges the notion of fear versus love. If a mother can cross borders, abandon her culture, family, and child—"not everyone can do that"—then the fear of building a life in the new country should not outweigh that love.

"While you’re lying in bed crying and complaining, your child is growing up without you. Doesn't that scare you? Their birthdays, their first teeth, their first steps, their first laughs. You're missing all of this while you lie paralyzed in bed," she asserts in the video.

Karla clarifies that her message isn't intended as a scolding: "This is the Karla I can offer you today, not as a reprimand, but as an experience because it's what you need, even if you don't understand it right now."

She suggests digital entrepreneurship as a tangible path to family reunification. "You're in a country where you can build whatever you want with just the phone in your hand, without prior experience, papers, bosses, or anything holding you back," she declares.

The video concludes with an appeal to self-esteem: "The only thing you need to do is believe you are amazing because look at everything you've achieved since leaving your country."

This message comes amidst the largest Cuban exodus in recent history. Between 2020 and 2024, over 1.4 million Cubans left the island, driven by economic crisis, constant blackouts, and the political repression of the dictatorship.

This mass migration has led to countless fragmented families. By 2023, 38% of Cuban families had at least one member living abroad. These separations have documented emotional costs: mothers face depression and anxiety, while children experience behavioral changes and, in severe cases, a heightened risk of serious psychological issues.

TikTok has become a platform where these stories are shared. Heartbreaking goodbyes at airports and reunions after years apart are chronicled, serving as a testament to a crisis unacknowledged by the Cuban regime.

Other mothers have shared similar tales: six years without seeing their daughter or the ongoing debate between abandonment and sacrifice that divides the migrant community.

Karla González wraps up her message with a powerful phrase: "Your child doesn't need a perfect mother. They need a mother who won't give up and will build something to ensure they are never separated again."