Summary
[Mirta Ojito]'s story begins long before [Mariel]. In [Fidel Castro]'s Cuba, she explains, "wanting to leave became a way of life." Her father was forced to work in a truck-driving job he despised and both of her parents-who were comfortable ignoring politics altogether-were driven by Castro's daily intrusions into their lives to adopt opinions disagreeable to the regime. Ojito's entire experience growing up can only be conveyed through the context of Castro's Cuba. She lost a longtime boyfriend to the war in Angola, through which the Cuban government was promoting communism. She turned 16 at a camp called Felicidad ("happiness"), where she was forced to work long, hard hours harvesting tobacco in service to the revolution. She failed to get into a prestigious middle school, despite her superior academic record, because she didn't exhibit a strong enough commitment to so-called "revolutionary activities."
See the full content of this document
Extract
Childhood Exile
LIT
CHILDHOOD EXILEMirta Ojito's Cuban memoirIn the spring of 1980, when Fidel Castro decided to rid Cuba of Cubans he disliked, Mirta Ojito was just 16. With her ...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
