Older Cuban Americans, and older people in general, believe that my generation is apathetic. They call us the “me generation,” far removed from the struggles, political strife and activism that they experienced.
Cuban Americans specifically feel that my generation of Cubans — most were born here — do not understand the exiles’ plight.
It is true. We feel far removed from our families, from our parents’ and grandparents’ home, from and the place where our roots are. Younger generations tend to assimilate quickly and soon forget about “home,” this is a fact. As a result, our parents, grandparents, newspaper editors and politicians ignore us.
No one seeks my generation’s opinion on policy, especially Cuban policy, because we weren’t in Cuba for the revolution; we have no idea about their pain and indignation.
Tonight there was a step in the right direction to change that perception. Students from Miami Lakes Educational Center’s school newspaper, The Harbinger, organized a “Twitter Talk” about the Cuban Embargo using the hashtag #EmbargoTalk. During the discussion, students who were Cuban, or of Cuban descent, or neither, shared ideas about the embargo and posed thought-provoking questions that even an older generation of Cuban-Americans could relate to.
The embargo has long been a topic of debate in Cuban households and across South Florida. In my family, my grandfather — a political prisoner — speaks about the atrocities of the Cuban regime and fervently opposes lifting the embargo. This is a sentiment shared by many “old-school” Cuban dissidents who don’t believe in any sort of relationship with Cuba as long as the Castro regime is in power. Younger generations, not having lived through the harrowing experiences of their parents and grandparents, have a more progressive idea. We are willing to talk about change and can imagine it in the foreseeable future.
The topic recently took center stage as the Florida gubernatorial election approaches and politicians hope to stand out from the crowd and gain voters’ approval and attention although there is nothing that the governor — no matter who he is — can do to change Federal policy.
The underlying importance of the discussion is not simply to be used as a trading chip or ultimate move, it is a discussion that bridges a gap between generations.
My generation is not apathetic. They are not ignorant or indifferent. We have opinions. We want to bring about change. It’s just that no one ever asks us, on a platform that we are comfortable with, what we think or why.
To see tweets from the discussion follow this link http://storify.com/FlaviaCuervo/embargotalk or search the hashtag #EmbargoTalk on Twitter.
