Several days after my previous detention in that Eastern Cuban city, we were finally able to make it there without the usual “security” obstacles. Although they did require identification of all the men at the Point of Control at the entrance of the city, my family and I were able to pass through without difficulties. In what seemed to be a wholesome ambiance, without the presence (at least it was not visible) of the police, Rolando Rodriguez Lobaina’s kids received the holy water which consecrates them as baptized children of the Christian faith. The event took place at 3 pm on Sunday, November 19.
Was there some reason for obstructing us a few weeks ago? What order came from Villa Marista or from the general barracks of Guantanamo which demanded that my family be sent back to San German while I was taken to a dark and wretched cell? Should we believe that it was “just an error”, as they told Rolando Lobaina?
What is certain is that an attitude such as the one in the city of Guaso continues making that area one of the most repressive zones in the entire island.
Every single human action serves as an experience. This one served to reaffirm my faith in Jesus Christ and in the day that freedom arrives in Cuba. I would once again go through all the fiery doorways, all the cells, and the corporal punishments if that meant I will be a free man. It is my belief and it is my faith, just as it is the belief and faith of many others. That day in the principal Catholic church of Guantanamo, it seemed as it was the day after the fall of the dictatorship. It was a sign of the days soon to come.
Translated by Raul. G.
January 9 2011
