In these times when emigration is such a common phenomenon in the world, in Cuba it has increased. In this eagerness of some people to improve their economy and change their lives, the way out is not always so safe and bitter experiences can happen.

I listened to the one I am going to share with you during the wait in a private outing, but the protagonist (I keep her name as a professional secret) asked me to spread her story to avoid experiences like hers in women who, like her, listen to Siren songs.

Her story

It was approaching the day of her expected departure to Spain. She would be reunited with her love of 14 years. Let’s call her Mary Phoenix. Let’s imagine her as the mythological bird that reinvents itself from its ashes.

He, as Cuban as her, -let’s call him Pedro- after living together a 7-year marriage, was granted Spanish citizenship for being the grandson of emigrants and decided to go seek his fortune, with the promise of legally claiming it for a reunion.

The procedures took 7 years, but the communication was kept alive, as well as the desire to meet to feed their love. On several occasions, Pedro returned to Cuba to expedite the paperwork, until finally his wife was granted a visa at the embassy of that country located in Havana.

From the seawall of that city, María, excited, called Pedro. The days of separation would end, only the ticket was missing. His reaction was unexpected, cold, and justified: he didn’t have the money to buy the ticket. Like cold water from the immense sea that stirred before Maria’s eyes, the news hit her.

The insistence

Disappointed, but still wanting to see other horizons and try her luck, María managed to get a loan of 450 euros for the ticket. Within a week, she was flying off into the unknown.

When she arrived, the hardships began. Her light luggage was missing, and when they located it, it was broken and scanty. When she claimed, she learned that briefcases were not compensated, only suitcases of greater weight. Even so, she was not daunted and told the agent in charge that “she was a daughter of Agramonte and she would return to her land with greater conquests.”

For more than 2 hours, Maria remained alone in a cold waiting room. Her husband did not appear. It came for her a driver; distrustful, she refused to go out with the stranger, who finally called Pedro and started the soap opera, which would last 9 months and bring bitter setbacks.

The soap opera

They traveled by road for 5 hours to Logroño city, located in the north of the peninsula, in the province of La Rioja. They stopped to eat in an intermediate town. The winter and Pedro’s behavior -who a year ago was still the usual Camagüeyan, a loving reveler and a good person; and now, a stranger – felt like a bad omen.

They finally reached his apartment. There was Pedro’s daughter, who in Cuba counted on María for all her trips to the embassy and accompanied her until her flight left for Madrid. Her behavior was no better than that of her father, because when they were left alone, he told her that there was no place for her there, since she already had a Bolivian stepmother and many material gifts; that she should look for a job and a place to live.

The reaction

With tears welling up in her eyes, Maria tells me that she spent the coldest and most bitter night she can remember. She didn’t imagine that after wanting the reunion so much, her life would play that trick on her.

But with a willpower she didn’t expect to have, she recalled the recommendations of a Cuban official at the embassy. When she arrived at her destination, María had to go through the local police unit and record her entrance to legalize her residence. And so she did.

She then sat down in a park and confronted Pedro, who told her the truth and insisted that she look for work and shelter, alleging that she leave those sentimentalities for Cuba, that it was something else there, and he turned to stone.

A social worker tried to help her, but the pandemic was already beginning and the situation was becoming difficult.

Deceived by a relative who visited her house in Camagüey, the protagonist of this story ended up in another town near Madrid, where she did not find a job either. She was so desperate that she went to a park to cry. There she met an Albanian woman who offered to take care of her little child and stay in her house for a minimum wage.

The hardships continued. Her family in Cuba was oblivious to the helpless situation. Finally, a niece who lives in the United States sent her money and contacted her mother-in-law (Olivia) in Barcelona, ​​to try to get her life back there, but she didn’t find a job either.

Without money to pay for a roof to sleep and eat, she began to stay at Olivia’s house, a good Samaritan whom she grew fond of, but her husband did not accept the unemployed tenant. The strikes in Barcelona and the increase in unemployment did not give her an opportunity to earn money. So, she decided to return, but… how would she pay for her ticket?

The return

Olivia paid for her ticket, gave her money, and walked her to the airport. With a tearful hug she wished her good luck.

Mary, like the Phoenix bird, reinvented herself. Today she is a common Camagüeyana who works with dignity and does good to anyone in need, but she shares her story with those who may not know the sad face of emigration, which can be terrible.

It took her a long time to recover, because her mental health took a blow. Several times she was offered to prostitute herself to earn money and she did not accept it even when she was helpless, because as she said at the beginning of it, proud of her origins, she is the daughter of Agramonte and she has a strong sense of shame.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García