A house divided cannot stand

These words come from Abe Lincoln during a time when the US was torn and engaged in Civil War. Thankfully, Cuba is not in civil war, but it is undoubtably torn in all sorts of directions: Between the exile community and those still on the island. It is a tear that even causes the various dissonances within our own exile community, and even within the various dissonances on the island.

One non-dividing myth I'd like to point out: It is common for fidelito lovers to boast that communism rid Cuba of "regionalisms" and "racisms". A myth that there is no bias among the Cuban people in regard to color or location.

This is in fact a lie.

I first stumbled upon this in reading Raul Rivero's "Pruebas de Contacto." A selection of short factual stories (much like a book version of a blog.) In his book there is one story about a person from Santiago de las Vegas in the Havana Province looking for "Palestinos" and to force them off his land. WHAT I thought to myself? From Palestine? Then as I read on I realized that this was the slang, in Havana, for those Cubans from el Oriente. I didn't get it, but I didn't forget it either. And just recently I discovered it's meaning.

When I was in Miami, about a week ago, I was drinking with a large group of friends. Admist the beer I noticed that there were also to new faces, friends of a friend's cousin thing. Both of them, though they really didn't know each other, just arrived from the island. Bueno, being the outgoing person that I am I spoke to both of them: one un negro de Santiago de Cuba y el otro un blanco de la Havana.

Okay, the three of us got to talking, and in our conversation the reality Cuba's division became more and more apparent to me. One example is that el Habanero couldn't understand and was appauled as to the Santiaguero wearing a Guayabera. I've never seen anyone look down so harshly at someone. A mini, but heated argument, came about over that silly shirt as they argued if anyone in Cuba still wore them. The Habanero said it was a waiters uniform, and the Santiaguero said que no hay otra cosa mas fina que una Guayabera blanca de hilo.

The Habanero was clearly shocked, and was continuely shocked in the mannerisms and accents of el Santiaguero. Seeing this, I recalled what Rivero had wrote about, and so when el Santiaguero left to get a another beer I looked at el Habanero, rolled my eyes, and said "Palestino". And his response was an overwhelming ageement saying: "En cada sentido de la palabra." And it was in that phrase I understood the prejudice, and being a santiaguero myself (he didn't know that), I too was slightly offended.

You see, the real Palestinians don't have a country. They are seen by many in Israel as being uncivilized. And in contrast to Israel, with whom they are always at odds with, they are of darker complextion. "En cada sentido de la palabra," en esa palabra the prejudice of color, culture, and nationality came through y me quedó frio. The division is very deep.

Yet it is things like this that strike at the core of fidelito's power. Divide and conquer, so long as we stay divided (those on and off the island.) fidelito will have his way.

So though Raul Rivero will later state: "Our problem is the absence of a common strategy," and another journalist, Manuel Vazquez Portal, would add: "What Cuba needs is broad agreement around a common objective: to finish off Fidel Castro's government," (Efe News), "common strategy" and "broad agreement" can only happen when we all realize that we are Cuban first, over and above being un exilio, un negro, un niche, un blanco, un mullato, un jabao, un gusano, un palestino, un liquado, or whatever name divides and seperates us.

"Todo lo que divide a los hombres, todo lo que los especifica, aparta o acorrala, es un pecado contra la Humanidad." -Jose Marti

No podemos sacar fidelito o promover una Cuba libre, independiente, y democrata hasta que borramos profundamente de nuestra alma colectiva ese pecado contra la Humanidad.