By Alejandra Garcia on March 1, 2022
students at the University of Havana, photo: Bill Hackwell
I’m from the generation that was born in the 1990s. Those were the most difficult times that Cuba experienced since the revolutionary triumph of 1959, led by Fidel. Then, the young people helped pull the island out of a “Special Period” and an unprecedented economic crisis. Even at a young age we learned the truth and we began to be part of the solution. Our roots, will, and love for our country made the impossible possible to get through that difficult time.
Thirty years later, the youth inherited our parents’ will. Today, we are the mainstay and driving force of the country, which is suffering the aftermath of an unprecedented pandemic and six decades of an increasingly suffocating economic and financial blockade.
In the last five years, we have faced shortages of fuel, medicine, and food. We have also seen the government’s superhuman sacrifices to circumvent the limitations imposed by the health crisis and the blockade -always the blockade-, which was already the greatest obstacle to our development, long before COVID-19.
As in the difficult times of the Special Period, young people were the first to step forward amid adversities. At the height of the struggle against the pandemic, many volunteered in at-risk areas, isolation centers, hospitals, communities. They helped assistants, nurses, cooks.
There, they cared for the elderly, the most vulnerable people, bringing them food and medicines. Solidarity and youthful energy were essential in the nationwide effort to keep this silent and deadly virus at bay.
Today we are present in every sphere of the economy, from science to universities, in sugarcane fields, industries, cafeterias, in leadership positions. Contrary to the generalized perception that “we are leaving the country en masse,” we, the young people, do feel part of the desire to build the sovereign country we want and need Cuba to be.
Even so, economic conditions, aggravated by the health crisis, unilateral U.S. sanctions, toxic campaigns against the government and against those who support the country’s political system, tarnish the aspirations of Cuban youth regarding the future.
But we are a priority for the government. The constant dialogue between the country’s top leaders and the youngest proves it. There are no government plans in which the youth’s vision and interests are not represented.
Recently, Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel recommended Cuban schools, institutes, and universities to further support young people and give them greater prominence. “The recovery of the country depends on them. They are our best strategy to strengthen our scientific and cultural potential,” he said.
Higher education will also be a priority. Díaz-Canel suggested promoting research with multidisciplinary approaches in those topics that benefit the society and each territory of the country.
Amid the shortages, the government is looking for ways to increase investment in the technology and innovation sectors, to promote the training of young scientists, one of the priorities of the Revolution since its beginnings, thanks to Fidel’s futuristic vision.
There are other initiatives, such as updating the themes of the television program University accessible for All, resuming chess learning in schools, rescuing the competitive system of sports, and updating the training programs for computer teachers.
“We must dedicate time to these programs because they are the social base of the Revolution. These initiatives show the Revolution’s true humanist vocation, as they give continuity to Commander-in-Chief’s legacy,” the president said.
They, he defined, “are proof of how the ideal of Cuban socialism lies in achieving the greatest possible justice and guaranteeing that the youth is represented in every decision.”
“Let’s get to work,” Díaz-Canel concluded, emphasizing the gigantic, difficult and urgent, but not impossible task.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English