By Luis Matos Hernández
Yes, I was “FORCED” to the May Day parade, like every year. Some reasons:
From a poor peasant background, I was 8 years old when the Revolution triumphed. What little I knew how to read and write I learned from my father, who also learned without being able to go to school. And as the grandson of Mambises (Cuban independence fighters), I learned some history through his stories. Today I am a professional, and although retired, I performed my more than 50 years of work as a teacher and in other jobs with dedication and enjoyment.
When I was 11 months old, I suffered for almost a year from a curable illness. Since there was no doctor in the region, I depended on the pharmacist’s prescriptions — medications that only masked the illness and generated profits for him. After the Revolution, my daughter developed chronic asthma, but Cuban medicine saved her without me paying a cent. This same medicine, which reached such high levels thanks to our Commander-in-Chief, now faces serious problems due to the criminal blockade. Today, that daughter is a professional.
I have a large family and thousands of friends who, like me, are threatened with massacre by a U.S. military intervention. They want to wipe us out because we refuse to submit to their petty interests, and we are prepared to defend this SOCIALIST HOMELAND at any cost.
These things alone are enough to make me feel MORALLY OBLIGATED to march for our HOMELAND, FOR PEACE AND AGAINST THE GENOCIDAL BLOCKADE.
There I embraced some supportive friends from other countries, who, like the vast majority of Cubans, are fighting for a better world, for peace, for life.
Yes, we are living through a very difficult situation, but with a dignity that speaks volumes. Those who wish to question me can save their comments; they are wasting their time, although they only amplify my message.
IMAGE CREDIT: Taken from the author’s Facebook profile.
[ SOURCE: www.cubainformacion.tv ]
