Adiós, Fidel Castro. Good Riddance.
Monday, November 28, 2016
The word "adiós" in Spanish, literally translated, means "go to God." Unlike "hasta luego," or "see you later," adiós is said only at the time of major partings when it is unlikely the persons will see each other again.
Today, I should be saying adiós to Fidel Castro, the long-lived Cuban dictator who died Friday night at the age of 90. But I can't bring myself to do that today, tomorrow, perhaps never.
My family was born in Cuba. Fidel Castro is the reason why we live in the United States, in my case Rhode Island. Castro’s armed troops stormed the streets of Havana in olive drab uniforms, bearded and dirty in a land where clean-shaven men with neatly trimmed mustaches were the norm. My parents and relatives saw chaos and a place in which they no longer wanted to raise their families.
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Not quite.
Castro nationalized all United States owned oil refineries, casinos and factories, taking over their properties. He forced Cuban homeowners to "share" their houses with total strangers even if both parties were against the move. All dissenters got hauled to the "Paredón" (the wall) and shot.
Children were taken from their parents and forcibly placed in state schools where they were indoctrinated by the new regime. Desperate families with the means to do so sent their children to live out of the country. This was the case with some of my cousins and family friends who came to Rhode Island.
Many of Castro's revolutionary cronies (including the infamous Che Guevara) died violently. From a public relations standpoint, dead icons were more valuable to Castro’s plans. And it worked.
Cuba became a land of repression, with laws squashing freedom of assembly, expression and the press. Schools pushed the frontiers further. "The universities are available only to those who share my revolutionary beliefs," said Castro. Speaking one's mind was a privilege available to very few. But Fidel Castro did often for hours, the longest speech on record lasting 7 hours and 30 minutes.
During one marathon Castro said, "History will absolve me." That is yet to be ascertained, as the days, months, years pass and historians write the books. I do not know the outcome of his statement.
What I do know is that Fidel Castro’s actions caused my family and a host of other Cubans untold grief, separation from their loved ones, and their nation. It is unlikely that many Cubans will absolve him of anything, ever.
But most importantly, Fidel Castro died an atheist, an unbeliever in any God of any kind. Can I, can any member of my family, can any number of Cubans say "Adiós, Fidel" knowing that phrase means? I cannot.
Nor can I say "hasta luego," a flip see you later.
Go rot in hell is what I have left.
That will have to do.
Ana Margarita Cabrera was born in Havana, Cuba and lived in Rhode Island most of her life. A former journalist (WJAR NBC 10, The Providence Phoenix, Providence en Español, The New Caymanian in Grand Cayman) she served as Communications Director for the Rhode Island Department of State. Now Cabrera is working in the technology sector in marketing, sales and business development.
