This week I sat down with Florida’s own Doctor Omar Garcia, to interview and talk to him about his own journey from Cuba to the United States. Doctor Garcia was born (1967) and raised in Havana, Cuba, until 1995, when he left, for hopes of a better life in the States. He moved to the US immediately after leaving his home country. For him and his family, there wasn’t any other place they could go. Before leaving the country, Garcia lived in the small town of Aldabo, a subsection of the country’s capital: Havana. The main reason for leaving was obvious: the communist government run by Fidel Castro. Over 10,000,000 lived on the island before his departure, Garcia points out. Most of them were young women, the ratio of women to men being about 2:1.

As for life in his community, Garcia points out that they did have free health care and education, which some may see as a good thing, however, the quality was the worst you could imagine.

Something which might be hard to believe as an American is that there was no shopping in Cuba. All items were handed out and rationed, and the things that weren’t rationed out were sold on the black market at unreasonable prices.

Garcia remembers that on the days he did go to school, he would play baseball and soccer with his friends after school. Neither one of his parents graduated high school: his father graduated 9th grade, and his mother graduated 6th. Both had sustainable jobs. His mother worked in a kitchen for a business, and his father was the director of an auto shop. When he married after medical school Doctor Garcia’s wife was also a doctor. Both of them saw first hand how poor the health care was.

Despite the government’s effect on the country, Garcia describes everyone on the island as very pleasant. Everyone got along and was friendly. No one was any richer than anyone else unless they were apart of the government.  His neighborhood consisted of groups of apartment much like the US projects, which were assigned by the government and included a human monitor for each apartment, to make sure the government’s requirements and laws were being met. Garcia’s family of five barely fit into their apartment. His sister, Yoli, slept with their parents in one room, and he and his brother Eddie, in the other. When they left the island, their home was promptly returned as the property of the government.

The day the family left for Cuba, he recalls, was in December. His sister was 15, and less reluctant to go then her 28 and 29-year-old brothers, who knew full well what they were fleeing from. Garcia’s father Aguedo had dared to speak up against the government and was imprisoned for it. When he got out, the government allowed them to flee by plane, so as to not cause any more trouble for them. His family was excited about the move. When they arrived in the States, they were greeted very well and were given food and shelter. The family settled in Hialeah and with the exception of Doctor Garcia, have stayed there for the last 23 years. Doctor Garcia says that he had many different opportunities for jobs and other things in the States. He was divorced twice before meeting a nurse in New York, whom he married and had a daughter with.

While reflecting about his country, Garcia notes: “A society like that, it puts the brake on the initiative of individuals to better themselves and move forward in society and become better people. There’s no incentive; there’s no hope. One thing the Cuban people don’t have is hope. It’s exactly the same as when I left 23 years ago, and maybe worse,” he admits. “There’s no dignity. No human dignity.”

Only Garcia, his wife, and his daughter plan to return to his island birthplace in the near future, but it’s clear to see that the whole Garcia family is hoping for a better future for their former home.