call to arms

Habana 3/23 -- A new flier has found its way through my mail slot, another hand-crafted missive from the Federation for Cuban Democracy. It features the Cuban flag and is headlined "A New Cuba Is Born Tonight." The flier carries paroles that only a few years ago would have been treasonous, and perhaps still are. "Give us elections now!" "Midnight Rally." "TORCHLIGHT Parade for FREEDOM!" "Let the new revolution begin!"

If I hold the flier up closely to the bulb in my desk lamp, and I can clearly read the watermark: "Hammermill Deluxe Velum." I chuckle quietly to myself. Paper products have been on the embargo list for years. It seems funny and at the same time it is not funny.

My friend Miguel has just left after stopping by for a drink. He had to leave his car at the office. There are police barricades along the Prado and the Avenida de las Misiones. He is concerned, not only for his business, but for the country.

He tells me that police have dispersed a rowdy crowd in Santiago. He doesn't know if anyone was hurt. The city is full of rumors, he says. One of his foremen has reported that Robinson Agramonte is back in his home town after being released by sympathetic prison guards.

According to the reports, Robinson is planning a non-violent campaign to reclaim the spirit of the revolution from the corrupt and feckless Castro regime. He will set off for the Sierra Maestra mountains together with supporters in the morning. He invites all people who support a true socialist revolution in Cuba to join him. He has allegedly made his campaign a spiritual one as well as a political one. According to the foreman, the rallying cry is: "From the mountain with cleansed spirit; to the capital with clean politics."

Miguel and I reflect somberly on what is happening. Though we are Spanish, we have lived for many years in Cuba and share a deep love for its people, culture and history. We wonder if the revolutionary spirit is still alive in Cuba. We wonder how many will dare to demonstrate against the ascendancy of Raúl Castro. We wonder what we would do if we were Cuban citizens.

How comfortable we've become with our Western lifestyles and our European values. How far from real political passion. Wasn't it Thomas Jefferson himself who declared that every generation should foster a revolution? How many Western generations have ignored that privilege?

In the distance I hear sirens.

havana hombre