We keep searching for you, Homeland

'We keep searching for you, Homeland'* / Antonio Rodiles
Posted on December 24, 2014

December 17 is a watershed in the recent history of our country. It is
the break point between those who are betting on neo-Castroism or who
are willing to participate in its moves, and those of us who argue that
our nation should rebuild itself around the basic premises of freedoms
and fundamental rights.

No nation has to assume our burdens and resolve our conflicts, but
undoubtedly the measures taken by President Barack Obama will provide
great benefits to those who intend to mutate to this new
authoritarianism. It has been a grave error to set aside the many voices
and stories that have so much to say about Cuba, and to listen only to
the Castros and to a handful who pretend to know how to transition to
democracy.

In parallel, they have tried to show that those who advocate an
unbending position with regards to full respect for fundamental human
rights are retrograde and extremist people, obsoletes who revel in pain
and lack a vision of the future. What a naïve and dangerous game they
propose as an exit strategy from totalitarianism. Can they ignore so
much history and fail to understand that in a transition there are
actors who cannot be omitted?

The longest dictatorship in the hemisphere has destroyed our country
materially and profoundly damaged the Cuban soul. The reconstruction of
the nation requires more than investment, cellphones and flash memories.
Cuba is not a computer on which new software can be installed to make it
become socially functional.

We need a consciousness and memory of what has happened to us, our
frustrations and pains, what we do not want to repeat or never again
perpetuate. Without this recognition we will continue to be a dispersed
and broken nation, without the spirit to be reborn. Cuba needs to be
re-founded with a fresh impulse, full of strength and a sense of
freedom. Starting from clear demands to return the dignity, the pride,
and to allow the design of a future without the burden of the Castro regime.

There is a great deal for us to rethink: projection, messages,
strategies and even aesthetics. But the hope of shaking off an elite
that has shown the most profound contempt for Cubans is a genuine
sentiment that steers us. A political solution is only possible if it is
based on full respect for the human being.

The current United States administration has to change course if it
wants to be an agent of credible change, and it must pay attention to
the demand of thousands of Cuban citizens who from within and outside
the Island insist on a solid and firm commitment to human rights. The
ratification and above all the implementation of the United Nations
Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights should be a key tool as a precondition to move us
forward in the Cuban dilemma. The European Union has already paid
attention to this demand, adding the International Labor Organization
(ILO) standards. A clear and firm repositioning is the only way to give
credibility to a process that began with profound mistakes.

What is needed is a strong push to infect with desires of freedom Cubans
who, in the face of survival and evasion, have lost faith. To find a
solution to our long conflict, it is a premise that all political
actors, from within and outside the island, must participate.

It is no longer about the Castro regime, the Castro regime is dying. The
conflict is between accepting a neo-Castro authoritarianism, or moving
to a true democracy.

The phrase that is the title of this article is a quote from Reinaldo
Arenas.

Source: 'We keep searching for you, Homeland'* / Antonio Rodiles |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/we-keep-searching-for-you-homeland-antonio-rodiles/