Sergio Lastres

* 1965

Cuba, Emigrant, Cuban dissident
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    Will I reunite with my family?

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    duration: 01:33
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    You have no guarantee that you will meet your family, you just do it based on hope. But one gets to the point where one realizes that this is the only way to help the family. What you do is often illegal. The police visited us to sell the lottery. I had to fill the list once, you collect money, people have to write down the number they want to play, and you have to take it to another place, some call it a bank. It's risky, because if the police know you're doing this, they'll wait for you on the road. They can also track where you save the list, like a bank, an institution that receives and pays something. Whoever wins the money. We were at constant risk. But that gave us the money that allowed us to live, we couldn't leave it. I had to swallow the list once. Once again, the police knocked on the door, dropping the thing we kept the numbers in and letting it disappear, even if it was risky. So, we could not live. We left the children in good hands.

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    They call us ex-Cubans

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    They no longer recognize us as Cubans. These were very difficult negotiations. We had to start a normal life in an emergency situation that we had to adapt to. For example, children did not study for many months, we were worried about it, even though there were teachers. We talked to the soldiers that children must learn to spend their time mentally distracted in such a stressful situation. Stress was not the only factor; many people fell ill early. The worst thing was the uncertainty, they would tell you that you would be here for 5 months, but you didn't know how much time you would actually stay for. You left life in Cuba, helped people, started working, and then it turned out that you had been in place for a year without producing anything. It was difficult, many people drowned. In Guantanamo there were stories of all people. I spoke to the survivors when family deaths occurred at sea. I think there is still no exact number of people who have already died.

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    In danger at sea

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    When people realized they were going to die, the raft remained in grave silence, in amazing peace. Those who had screamed were now sitting in silence. Water reached up to our chests. I was afraid I would drown; I was afraid of my wife. I felt guilty. Guilt didn't let me fear. I shouldn't have taken a woman here because if we both drowned, the children would be left alone. I thought of all possible scenarios. I prayed. I believe in God, but I am not a practicing believer. I don't go to church every Sunday as a Catholic, I don't know a complete prayer. But well, I began to pray to the Virgin Mary to save us. I had a Cuban flag with me and promised to take her to a church in Miami. Let them save at least women and my wife and others. I closed myself completely, it seemed that everyone was praying because there was total silence all over. The sea was calm. The only day the sea was calm. As I prayed, I heard noise and thought it was me, but the volume was rising, and as I lifted my head, I saw two aircrafts of the Rescue Brothers (Hermanos al Rescate), which finaly saw us. We were saved.

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    Miami, USA, 10.04.2019

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    duration: 01:43:55
    media recorded in project Memoria de la Nación Cubana / Memory of the Cuban Nation
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    Miami, USA, 10.04.2019

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    duration: 01:43:55
    media recorded in project Memoria de la Nación Cubana / Memory of the Cuban Nation
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I owe nothing to Cuba. I learned everything myself.

Lastres Sergio_
Lastres Sergio_
photo: Post Bellum
photo: Post Bellum
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Sergio Lastres was born in Cuba on March 27, 1965, into a poor peasant family who never sympathized with the regime or even recognized it. When he grew up, he knew he couldn’t stay in Cuba because he imagined his life differently. Sergio liked art very much, and while he was accepted into an art school in Cuba, he never attended courses. After trying to escape from Cuba, he was fired from his job. This only encouraged him to try again. On the third attempt, he was successful. After several months in Guantanamo, Sergio and his wife arrived in the United States. Although they still have one grandchild daughter in Cuba, they never want to go back. Freedom offers many opportunities, and they do not intend to give it up. In addition, Sergio is fully devoted to his beloved art. During his life, he understood that discussing communism with people was not easy. And the attitude of some Cubans to the struggle for freedom totally discouraged him from trying and risking his own life. Sergio believes that much of Cuban society is not interested in any significant change.

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