Helms-Burton, remember Bay of Pigs
The life of José Leardo Rodríguez Marí (Papín) was difficult before January 1, 1959, when the Cuban Revolution came to power. From the age of twelve he had to start working and all his working life and youth were spent in today’s America Libre Sugar Miller. No one knows better than Pepín about dead time and hard work in the sugar mill.
“In order to work as a substitute, we had to learn in all jobs. Because, when someone was missing there, I would go into action. In 1958 I began to work as a greaser. In 1960 I worked in Romana 7 as a cane weigher until 1967. I worked as a weigher in the truck scale, then I went to the centrifuge area; a year later I went to the warehouse until I retired. I was first a longshoreman and then a warehouse manager.”
What do you remember about those years before the Revolution?
” You had to work hard. And wages were very low. The owner of the mill was as extremist as there was elsewhere. Here when the harvest was over, there was no work. Only the mechanics, the chiefs of areas, worked, and the turners had the chance to work.”
With the security of years he lived and the memory of times of strikes and uncertainties, Pepín confesses that he does not fear the threats of laws or people towards Cuba. If anyone wants to claim, in our case, América Libre Sugar Mill, they simply have to come!
“If they imagine that the laws of their country can be applied in Cuba, let them come, we are here, we are waiting for them. To me, that doesn’t stop me from sleeping, nor does it worry me. They (US sanctions) do have a bad effect because they persecute the companies that work with Cuba, they persecute the whole world, but we are adapted to the blockade since 60 years ago (…) They already tasted what happened in the Bay of Pigs. Let them come!
Written by Jorge Lora
