"I think that the people have had enough. Those who were dissatisfied, fed up with all the injustices against the Cuban people, took to the streets. It was a genuine expression of discontent. We’ve been told that they were paid by external forces, but so many people paid by the external forces? It is absurd to believe that so many people, so many children, so many intellectuals imprisoned for these very demonstrations participated for financial motives. Look, the government's response was entirely retaliatory. Díaz-Canel called on those who considered themselves revolutionaries to counteract the demonstrations. He himself went out. The police in civilian clothes went out into the streets to beat the people – people who were demanding answers and freedom. They took the young men who were in active military service to beat their brothers and neighbors. This kind of cruelty was employed to suppress a population simply expressing 'Look I’ve had enough; I need an answer."
"I love Cuba. Yet, my heart yearns for a liberated, independent Cuba—far from the grip of communism and socialism, because these doctrines do not solve the challenges of any country, they do not improve any country, those do not bring happiness, nor joy. It brings division, it brings problems, and misery. Every day. Every single day."
„Od dětského věku tě indoktrinují marxisticko-leninskou, José Martího i Fidelovou ideologií. Od sloganů... Každý symbol má svůj význam a už od malička vás indoktrinují podle komunistické a socialistické nauky."
"I’m telling you that Cuba is going from bad to worse and from worse to severe. There doesn't seem to be a solution, like there's no one capable of resolving all of this. The current situation in Cuba is critical, critical, critical. I am going to say it as it is with all the words I have. The current government, taking over from the previous one, which was already bad… seems to have done whatever they pleased with Cuba. It's a continuous state of misery, abuse, and mistreatment. Everything they are doing right now is a disrespect to the Cuban people.”
Erislandy La Rosa Claro was born in 1990 in Guantanamo and spent his childhood in an infamous neighborhood known as España Chiquita, in conditions of hunger, poverty, social problems and violence. Since he was a child, he was regularly taken to Catholic church, but it wasn’t until the age of 25 when she became a Christian. Erislandy personally experienced the suppression of faith in Cuba and accuses President Diaz-Canel‘s government of leaning toward witchcraft. Through his activism, he sheds light on Cuba‘s current challenges, including youth violence and issues related to alcohol and tobacco consumption. His dreams in Cuba felt so suffocated that he decided to emigrate from the island.
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!
