Something like 70% of Cubans living on the island were born after 1959. That’s approximately 11.4 million people who have never lived in a free society, 11.4 million people who really have no understanding of capitalism or democracy.
Yesterday, Val put up a post on a young Cuban rapper who criticizes injustice in Cuba while wearing a che t-shirt, and that really made me stop and think. I’m not going to debate whether or not that rapper is a voice of dissent, or how good a musician he is, that’s not my intent. I bring him up because he seems to me representative of a disaffected Cuban youth and an excellent example of something not much talked about, but that is very important to the future of Cuba when the castro regime ends.
When there is finally a new Cuban leadership that sets in motion the steps required to establish democracy in Cuba, how do you go about re-educating all those millions of people who have been brainwashed by a lifetime of propaganda? How do you reconcile the differences between the communist hating Cuban exile who views wearing a che shirt as an abomination and the naive young Cuban wearing that shirt?
Ziva, many Things like that subject are not brougth to the front burner these days ..We are consumed with castro passing. but…. there are so many unresolved issues regarding the commom folks living in cuba and abroad that people have decided not to worry about that for now. big mistake. The culture clash is inevitable. It will take decades for that brainwash to dissapear completely out of millions of cuban souls even if there are mc donalds and subways in every cuban corner. I met a lady the other day . She came out of cuba 4 years ago. I ask her what she thinks about cuba and the revolution… She paused … She is living in freedom and democracy and already owns a business,,, She could not tell me she hated castro and the robolution … did you get my point Ziva… there are millions of cubans in cuba today that will make fidel a GOd like figure for centuries to come… How do we handle this? I assure you I dont have the answer..neither you do…Pa su escopeta
Z:
you do what they did in eastern europe and russia; you tell the truth; you release the documents and you make amends to those who were victimized.
The truth is the most powerful weapon against them them; hence why they fight so hard to suppress it.
Exaclty,Ziva
He also mention about not being opposed to the government, the same government that is keeping 11.2 million in slavery Mode. Very contradicting young man.
When I read the post, my first thoughts for an answer was exactly what ‘mike’ says above. In simple answer: “The Truth” will change things! Expose the truth about all that has gone one for the past 50 years, and people will finally begin to understand.
The truth, of course, has to be told, and it will help, but it won’t solve everything. It can’t. The damage is too extensive, too deep and it has gone on too long. All damage is not reversible. People raised and formed in a horrible environment by horrible people are bound to be deformed, twisted and/or permanently scarred. It’s a very serious problem, which will be far more obvious once Cuba is finally free. It will affect things for many, many years, and not in a good way. The Spanish word for it is “lacra” or “tara,” and we might as well face its reality.
Some people think that the exile community, seen as the repository of the historic or real Cuba, can educate, train or reorient those who’ve known nothing but Castroite totalitarianism, but that’s an extremely optimistic view. I’m afraid any attempts to do that will be met with resentment or defensiveness, because people never like to be told there’s something seriously wrong with them that needs to be corrected. It’s going to be a long, hard road.