The commitment to be exiled

By: Pedro Corzo - 20/01/2025

Guest columnist.
Share:     

Cuban political exile, like political imprisonment, is, without a doubt, one of the longest and most numerous in the history of humanity. Few countries have citizens who have not been able to visit their native country for 66 years, due to restrictions imposed by a dictatorship.

Of course we should not confuse exile with immigration, although both have common characteristics. The political exile, it is assumed, does not stop working for the change of government in his country, while the immigrant is seasoned with other motivations.

Exile, for the benefit of the new generations of Cubans who, inside or outside the Island, have been subject to the chronic censorship and misinformation that the dictatorship exercises on every event, is an honorable evidence of the commitment of many Cubans who have never given up on their efforts to overthrow the dictatorship by any means possible, including those that for some are not politically correct.

From the beaches of exile, they are only beautiful when they are bid farewell, as José Martí wrote, hundreds of Cubans have left to bring freedom and democracy to Cuba, dying in combat as happened to many others, such as Armentino “el Indio” Feria, or going to prison for long decades as was the case of Armando Sosa Fortuny, 44 years in prison in two periods until he died in prison.

Many exiles have served long prison sentences outside Cuba for fighting the interests or resources of the tyranny in foreign lands. Here in the United States, as in Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, as far as I know, numerous compatriots have been imprisoned for years, among others, Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles, a truly large number of men and women.

There has been no shortage of those who seek to fulfill their duty as exiles by taking the route of U.S. national politics, exemplified by Congressmen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz Balart, who, within the framework of local politics, like other serving Cuban politicians, have never ceased to attack Castro's totalitarianism.

Another aspect of the exile that we must mention is the work of the communicators. Many of them, like Agustín Tamargo, Armando Pérez Roura, Salvador Lew and Ninoska Pérez Castellón, have encouraged and promoted the commitment to bring freedom to Cuba, and there has also been no shortage of editors deeply committed to Cuban democracy, like Juan Manuel Salvat and Nancy Pérez Crespo.

Writers and journalists committed to the rights of all have not been absent. Carlos Alberto Montaner breathed and lived in the pain of Cuba all his life, and we can also write about many others such as Reinaldo Arenas, Ángel Cuadra and Jorge Vals, as well as journalists such as Ariel Remo and Cary Roque.

The decades that have passed and the lack of success in the libertarian proposal have not exhausted the exiles. Many Cubans have been able to make a fortune thanks to their capacity for work and ingenuity, like Rogelio Cisneros who has given up his fortune to fight totalitarianism.

The defense of human rights by exiles has been another constant, as Ricardo Bofill Pages and Reinaldo Bragado Bretaña, two citizens who fought for their convictions on and off the island, always demonstrated.

Human solidarity has not been lacking either, as has been the case with the management of the Miami Medical Team, headed by Dr. Manuel Alzugaray. The management of this institution is proof that the fight for freedom is not divorced from the most sensitive humanism.

Finally, the constant work, the infinite dedication, the example of perseverance and quiet sacrifice of overlooking potential benefits to advance the democratic cause in which we must believe when founding organizations that assume the commitment to fight to the last consequences as Nazario Sargent did when founding Alpha66, Antonio José Varona when founding the “Patriotic Board” or Jorge Mas Canosa when establishing the Cuban American National Foundation.

Exile organizations are key to continuing the struggle, as exemplified by, among others, the aforementioned Alpha66 under the leadership of Ernesto Díaz Rodríguez or the Resistance Assembly coordinated by the tireless Orlando Gutiérrez, who has shown his commitment to Cuba since his adolescence.

The author is a Cuban journalist.

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».