Dora Leonor Mesa, 22 January 2016 — In 2016, the toy thieves from Cuban State Security do not wish to say much about the subject, but the comparison is inevitable, and there are more than a few people now who point to their undertaking as a vile and damaging one.
This past 6 January, the day of the Three Kings and the traditional day Cuban children are given Christmas gifts, instead of hunting down rings of drug traffickers and pimps who trade in boys and girls, who have a lot of money and expensive gifts to steal, the agents had to take on a useless activity: utilizing schoolchildren, dressed in their uniforms, accompanied by poorly-paid teachers who let the boys and girls out of school without prior parental permission, to go out and insult and taunt peaceful people who today give gifts on Three Kings Day. The lowlifes in need of defending their illegal business dealings were also present at the show, persecuting women, boys and girls.
It doesn’t matter if the women are Ladies in White, or Shakira herself. In the toy thief profession, the important thing is to destroy the magic of childhood, for life in Cuba is hell. Knock on wood! At least, that was the message of thousands of Cubans in Costa Rica and other countries, Panama, Colombia, Mexico. Cuban refugees unwilling to return to their homeland, not even for thousands of dollars. Even Pope Francis got wind of the tragedy!
Clearly, all Cubans on their beloved and dilapidated Island know of the Three Kings perfectly well, for the worthy Pope John Paul II brought them back [during his visit to Cuba in 1998]. According to UNICEF (2015), there are 15 toys for every 100 Cuban children. For them, having the awful experience of not being able to play with toys, to have one must be like [an adult] dreaming of owning a Rolex or a Patek Philippe.
The Three Kings will again struggle to make their appearance in Cuba next year. Every Cuban man and woman who loves his neighbor, and especially children, will come out to support the Three Kings, doing something so that Cuban boys and girls, of any age and in every corner of the country, can have not just one, but many toys. They need not be new ones. The paramount thing is to break the curse of the toy thieves until, little by little, they disappear. Alelluia!
Translated by Alicia Barraqué Ellison