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Cuban Americans in metro Atlanta react to uprising
There has been an uprising in Cuba over its Communist government the past few weeks. A metro Atlanta Cuban American reacts to the hundreds of citizens taking to the streets.
ATLANTA - Protests continue in Cuba as people march in the streets to voice the concerns with the government.
"It's been a very long time since an uprising has happened and never to this magnitude. The people of Cuba are screaming for freedom," said Maria Mussini, a Cuban American living in metro Atlanta.
Protestors have been clashing with police, resulting in hundreds of arrests and disappearances.
While the protests are new, Mussini said demonstrations are a result of years of oppression.
She said the arrest of Maykel Osorbo, an Afro-Cuban rapper whose song became an anthem for the movement is what fueled the fire.
"When they say freedom, they mean the freedom to protest, they mean freedom to say what they want. The artists are the ones who really got affected by this at first so the artists were jailed for just painting, for singing," Mussini said.
Yettel Jimenez lived in Cuba until 2006 and understand all too well the freedom for which Cubans are fighting.
The now Georgia resident is in Washington, D.C., protesting in front of the White House, hopeful the US may be able to help the citizens of Cuba.
"Based on what people are saying, 400 people have disappeared. And what is the crime? Going to the protest. Right now, if I was in Cuba, I would be dead or in a jail," she said.
She said she's now using her freedom in the US to speak up for those who are unable to.
Jimenez said it's especially important since the Cuban government blocked certain social media apps and websites in an apparent effort to stop information from coming into and leaving the country.
"I have people who write me every day. They're like ‘Help us. They're killing us. We don't know what to do, help us. Don't stop fighting for us.’ And that's heartbreaking because I know what it's like," Jimenez said.
Mussini said the oppression within the country is now visible to the world, thanks to the help of social media.
"There's a saying in the Cuban language ‘no se puede tapar el sol con un dedo.’ You cannot cover the sun with a finger. They've been covering the sun with their hand but no longer because the internet and social media has shown what's really going on in the island," she said.
Cuba is undergoing an economic crisis. There's a lack of food, medicine, and other necessities.
The problems have only been fueled by COVID-19. The Cuban government, however, blames the US sanctions.
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