"From the government, I have not received any kind of help. And they have never come to kconk on my door to tell me: 'You are the hero of Cuito Cuanavale and we are not even going to give you a bicycle.’ I have never received a call phone call, not a kconk on the door at my house, or anything like that. And rather I organized myself in the succession of combatants. When the Special Period arrived, I quit the Youth [Union of Young Communists], I quit everything that, because they never came to my house to tell me: 'Look, you're the hero of Cuito Cuanavale and we're going to give you... anything.' I'm not interested [in material stuff]... Not even a diploma, damn it."
"There, where I arrived, they called it La Finca del Miedo [The Fear Farm, or Fear Zone]. There were plenty of Mortars [muzzle-loaded weapons], and ground attack every two three days. And the 500-pound bombs, boom! And the helicopters arrived to look for... Cuito Cuanavale's logistics fell to my responsability, all those people wounded and even dead... And the constant explosions. Do you actually know what a war is?"
Daniel Feal Limonta was born in 1970 in Cuba, and currently lives in Santa Bárbara, Santiago de Cuba province. When he reached the age to enter the Military Service, the War in Angola was just taking place, in which Cuba participated in its military mission, called Operation Carlota, beginning in 1975 and ending with the withdrawal of Cuban troops in 1991. Daniel, when entering his Military Service, had two options – either serve three years in Cuba, or shorten his Service to two years within the mission in Angola. Eager for the experience, Daniel opted for Angola, where he spent a total of two years and four months between the years 1987-1989. Upon returning to Cuba as a hero of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, and holder of several military medals, Daniel did not receive any type of support from the Cuban Government, be it material, psychological or emotional, and continues to claim his right to be considered and treated like a war veteran. He is part of the Association of Veterans of the Angolan War.
Hrdinové 20. století odcházejí. Nesmíme zapomenout. Dokumentujeme a vyprávíme jejich příběhy. Záleží vám na odkazu minulých generací, na občanských postojích, demokracii a vzdělávání? Pomozte nám!
