Alex
Rivero - 2003
In
response to the thousands of anti-war protesters that littered the streets of
Manhattan several days ago, the dependably loyal Cuban-American community
responded on Saturday, March 29 by coming out and protesting as well, spreading
a different message to the bystanders on the sidewalks and the millions watching
on television.
Members of the exile organized a march in favor of Operation Iraqi
Freedom that inspired a large amount of people, Cubans especially, to come out
and demonstrate their patriotism and political position on terrorists like
Saddam Hussein. The cluster walked for twenty blocks along Bergenline Avenue in
West New York, New Jersey, waving hand-written signs and American and Cuban
flags. Despite the heavy downpour of rain, several hundreds of patriotic
islanders stormed the wet streets, passionately chanting “God bless America”
and “Viva Bush” along the heavily crowded Bergenline Avenue, the main
boulevard of the Latino-concentrated town.
Meanwhile, thousands of other Cubans filled the famous Calle Ocho,
or Eighth Street, in Miami. Their shouts demanding the removal of Saddam Hussein
simultaneously resounded with their compatriots’ in New Jersey. An estimated
40,000 people protested against the Iraqi dictator in Miami, not only showing
the world the Cuban exile’s opposition to further diplomatic pampering by the
United Nations, but also their political power, which, obviously, is still very
much alive and well in South Florida.
The
ocean of red, white, and blue along the street called not only for the removal
of the Butcher of Baghdad from Iraq and continuous support for our brave troops,
but showed opposition to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro who, after forty-four years
of totalitarian rule, remains in power over the Communist island.
With
chants of ''Long Live America!'' and ''Long Live A Free Cuba!'' they applauded
the Bush administration's tough stance against terrorism and compared Cuba's
Fidel Castro to Iraq's Saddam Hussein.
“We
don’t like tyrants,” said flag-waving Gloria Mendez. “We Cubans have
suffered under a Communist tyrant for almost forty-five years. We can imagine
what the Iraqi people are going through with this evil, evil man.”
“As
a former political prisoner under the Castro regime,” said Roberto Arturo, a
Cuban immigrant who has lived in Union City, NJ for twenty years, “I am proud
to march in a free country, supporting freedom in the world. It is a God-given
right that these disgraceful totalitarian dictators are denying their people.
”
“When
you have a guy who tortures his soccer players for losing in competition,
tortures his people for disagreeing with him, and spends American-provided
financial aid on illegal weapons only to deny having them later on, you know you
have to take action against him,” said Edwardo Gomez, a plumber who took the
day off to march.
The exile is reportedly organizing another manifestation, mostly to make up for the many who failed to appear due to terrible weather conditions in New Jersey.
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