Germán J. Miret

"There was a crushing incident in 1961. It happened during a church procession that took place on September 7th or 8th. It is a day when the so-called Fiesta de la Caridad is celebrated in Cuba. The church would always permit to hold a procession at about 5 p.m. But this time, the regime allowed the celebrations at 7 o'clock in the morning. Of course, there was no point in organizing anything at all this time, so Monsignor Masvidal cancelled the whole event. However, people gathered in front of the church nevertheless. They thought the celebrations would take place anyway. Then suddenly, a boy named Arnaldo Socorro grabbed a picture of the Virgin Mary, some people lifted him on their shoulders, and he held it in the air. Others were following him like in procession. And the soldiers standing by... one of them fired several shots at the boy from a machine gun. Yet indicted then was Father Arnelio Blanco. The regime stated it was him who fired from the bell tower. But at that time, Father Arnelio was staying in Matanzas, about 150 kilometres from Havana. It was impossible for him to shoot. It has never cleared up. Besides, if it was Father Arnelio, why wasn't he arrested right after returning to Havana? The boy was a member of the Catholic Church, and the regime made him look like a martyr of the revolution. They claimed it was a poor boy from a working family and was murdered by a priest. The government took the body, organized a funeral, memorial service and everything around. He was declared a martyr of the revolution, although he was a martyr of the church."

"It felt as if a dividing line had been drawn in my neighbourhood. Them and us. Us on the one side and them on the other. On the one hand, people fought against the regime and, on the other, those who supported the government. And at that exact moment, we stopped talking with each other, despite being friends until then. Even siblings in the neighbourhood simply stopped communicating with one another. Everyone could choose just one side."

"It hasn't been easy to get used to the new order of things in the society. One of which was spying on each other and snitching on each other, even between neighbours. No one was used to doing that. It makes one sick. When I was leaving the house holding a bag, they kept an eye on me. I knew I was being watched. The omnipresent pressure was distasteful. That's why I deeply admire those who are willing to stand up to the Cuban regime today. In our time, it simply was not possible. Anyone who anyhow opposed the government ended up behind bars. They simply imprisoned him. I even remember having a friend who, to my great surprise, turned out to be a judge at La Cabaña Prison. Prison where they shoot people. He was a black man, a very good friend of mine with whom we often argued about various things. At first, he kept saying to me over and over again: "Look, although I disagree with you, I will always fight to the death so that you could freely express your opinion." Then I always replied: "That means a lot to me." It is a phrase that was used during the Great French Revolution. But in the end, everything has changed. He said: "Yeah, but you're a counterrevolutionary." And I was like: "Thank God you'll always fight so that I could express my opinion." And he tells me: "Of course, but it must comply with the revolution."