Miriam Celaya, Translator: Unstated
On Tuesday the 28th, at three in the afternoon, the first LGTB
(Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals) Observatory Walk took place
in Havana, along the middle of the central street of the Prado, starting
from the corner of Neptune and continuing to the sea. The date selected
recalls the massive gay pride march celebrated in New York in 1970 that
marked an important victory for these minorities. The parade, of small
numbers but peaceful was not interrupted or repressed by the uniformed
police force, or by civil agents of the political police who, however,
were abundant in the sites adjacent to the popular avenue.
Around twenty members of the independent organization marched down the
center of the old Paseo del Prado, waving their multicolored flags and
proclaiming the right to freely choose their sexual preferences and
opposing discrimination against different minorities. A march of this
nature, led by an organization not attached to the official CENESEX led
by Mariela Castro, has no antecedents in Cuba, so the small
representation achieved in this first edition does not discount its
significance, and perhaps in future years it will be exceeded. Surely
the fear that dominates vulnerable sectors of society faced with the
repressive forces, coupled with a strong social prejudice aimed at these
groups, was a decisive factor in the number of witnesses who crowded
into the area and the silent multitude formed by both curious
homosexuals and heterosexuals unaccustomed to such boldness in our
streets, who accompanied the demonstrators from a certain distance and
from nearby sites, without openly joining in with the walk. We can not
forget that, until recently, homosexuality was fiercely persecuted and
harassed by the powers-that-be, that its members continue to be
stigmatized and discriminated against in various ways and that, in
general, society tends to marginalize those who are different.
The small number of determined demonstrators, however, could
congratulate themselves on the importance of the event, given that this
is the first unofficial public demonstration of an eminently civic
character that has occurred in Cuba without having been prohibited or
repressed by the authorities. Unable to anticipate, until this moment,
what would be the reaction of the usual repressors, one has to respect
the bravery of the organizers of the small event who intended to
peacefully claim their own public space. It was established, by a
decision of its members, that each June 28 there will be a LGTB Walk in
the same place.
On the other hand, the official institution headed by Mrs. Castro Espin
does not accommodate the LGTB Observatory. The desire for official
control does not allow the existence of independent civil society
organizations, not even those that relate to an element so personal as
the free choice of sexuality of individuals and their right to exercise
it. That is, homosexuals do not escape the primary classification of
"revolutionaries" or "not revolutionaries."
I must admit that I was pleased to see that the LGTB Walk was free of
political signs, of slogans for or against the system or of the
discourse of the barricades. Nor was there praise for the
representatives of the government, nor a display of supportive images of
the five State Security fighters imprisoned in the United States, as
usually occurs in the demonstrations called by CENESEX. No ideological
disorder contaminated the civic scene of the Tuesday march. It remains
to be seen whether the strained tolerance exhibited by the authorities
this Tuesday will continue, or if this is a preamble that, in some ways,
convenes a broader civic participation of citizens who represent various
interests that include the entire complex spectrum of Cuban society.
July 1 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment