WE ARE MORE

Eliecer Avila. Poland. 24 March 2103.

ELIECER AVILA: Greetings to all Cubans inside and outside the country.

I have to tell you that right now I am very proud and grateful

for the support I have received from all of you since our story began.

A story that, well, you knew something of this humble servant

and I knew many of you, who from the very beginning...

showed your solidarity and your approach that continues to this day.

The time has come, friends, to do something more than words.

We believe that this great movement that has been created around the opinions

around the ideas for the future that many of us share

it is time for action..

and to create together an organization that allows us to have a louder voice

a clearer voice, a cleaner and more forceful voice, facing the reality we want to transform.

Fortunately, I was born in one of the most humble parts of the Cuban countryside

and at the same time I studied in the capital of all Cubans.

This has given me a broad vision of the national reality

also because I have been able to share experiences and conversations

with hundreds or thousands of Cubans within the country, and now, through this opportunity

I have done exactly the same thing outside of Cuba.

And I can affirm for you, with total confidence, that we are more

those of us who today want to build a modern state

with a government that has a different policy toward its citizens

precisely because it is elected by those same citizens

and because of this it is a legitimate force that represents them.

We want to have a state where all Cubans have the opportunity to develop ourselves

economically as well as professionally and spiritually, inside our own country.

We want to have a state that, above all, respects all of our families

and we also want to do much to unite the many many families

who today continue to suffer from a distance being separated from their loved ones.

We want to add our grain of sand to promote policies, laws

projects within Cuba that allow us to build this reality.

To build a country that works for Cubans, or works for many of us

or that works for more than none of us. Because that's how it should be!

Because Cuba is our great home.

We have our private space, but we do nothing

to transform what happens within the walls of our home

so when we step into the street, everything is destroyed.

There is no tolerance. We can't express ourselves.

We have to speak in whispers in case someone hears us, and there can be consequences

simply for thinking differently.

We want to transform this reality with the help of all of you

and we know there are many others fighting in their own ways to achieve the same goals.

But we want to fight in our way for the same objective

and we have the right to do so.

We want to focus our fight from a professional point of view

from an in depth knowledge of the reality every Cuban lives

to be able to have ideas on how to transform it.

We are counting on a fight focused on the reasons that each Cuban has

to fight for this change.

What do the workers need?

What do our teachers need?

What do our students need?

What do our professionals need?

What, in the end, do we all need to make the reality of our country what we want it to be?

From this point of view we believe we have an immense field of action within which to work.

And what we need, is the question of numbers.

The government constantly says that the majority of people support it.

We recognize the real thinking of many people on the street.

We know the majority don't support maintaining the situation we are now in.

But how can we demonstrate this?

Once and for all we have to demonstrate that we are more.

Or at least we are some.

And we, independent of the number, we have to have the courage

to defend our right to express ourselves.

As a majority or as a minority.

At the end of the day we are Cubans, and one Cuban, even alone, who has a different idea

deserves the respect of the other 11 million.

Because that is a State of rights.

Where no one can pass over a single individual.

And I believe that what we want, to build a more prosperous country, a more modern country

more tolerant and more democratic at this time, is not just one Cuban

nor are we hundreds, nor are we thousands.

We believe we are millions who have this desire

and there are millions also, those who today are outside Cuba, who have this desire

this dream shared with those of us inside.

So all this potential, we want to use it to make this idea a reality.

I have decided to begin to form this organization at this time

because taking into account the objective conditions

that we have within Cuba for communicating

it would be impossible to articulate this within Cuba.

But my objective is precisely to reach this Cuba, that we cannot access

because of media censorship, but that now, the new technologies

open a new door for us, a new opportunity.

What is happening, in my judgment, in the Cuban political landscape of today

especially within people who disagree in some way with the official politics

is that we are creating a model where one person proposes, speaks and executes actions

and has great international support, that says, "Oh, great!"

"What you're doing is great!" - "You're so brave!"

But to me, it doesn't seem that this road takes us very far.

We need to convert all this support

we need to convert all these favorable opinions

all these shared ideas into a movement that has real form and real strength.

And that can also inspire respect from the government itself.

If this movement doesn't come together

if this movement doesn't take off and reach sufficient strength

the Communist Government, despite being aware of our ideas

shared by many within the people, by many Cubans

who have every right to participate in Cuban politics

who have had to leave Cuba, and have their family and work in a different place.

Although the government is aware of this it is never going to sit down to negotiate.

It is never going to compromise.

So, I believe a lion can eat a hundred sheep one by one.

Now, if a hundred sheep directly confront the lion we will see what happens.

And we don't want to eat the lion, we want to talk to the lion.

That's in the first place.

But we also want the lion to respect us

and we will only be able to earn this respect if we are capable of translating all this support

that we see on Facebook, all this support that we see on Twitter

all this support that we see on the web

we have to translate it ultimately into a significant political movement

with names and surnames. With courage. With strength.

It's preferable, as our grandparents said, to turn red [from anger] once

than to be pink for a lifetime [ up with something].

And think about it: It's cheaper to fix things in our own country

than to support the people who live in our country for their whole lives.

Think: We will not all win

if we don't join together, and manage to truly negotiate, to truly move this great rock

that is Cuban politics, this great uphill battle.

Once the rock begins to move

then the future will be easier in some ways, harder in others.

But at least we will have gained the right to disagree.

In the future we will mostly agree

using the instruments of democracy

using the guarantees of respectable powers that work

in a modern, democratic, developed country.

Respecting... that with these guarantees we can build a better country.

We can make mistakes on some things, but we can get more things right.

And experience will tell us what we need to do.

But to get to this point, where we can decide, where we can move forward

I'm willing to invest my youth, my energy, these years

together with you, on the same level with you, facing this fight, and winning.

Fully convinced that we are more, that we want to build a prosperous country

a country with dynamic and plural politics

a democratic country

a country where our children can realize their dreams.

A country where we can work and live on our honest wages.

A country where we can unite our families, so that finally

...grandparents can watch their grandchildren play in their backyards.

We Are More