He is a young Cuban doctor and LGTBIQ activist from the city of Cienfuegos. In 2016, he emigrated to Spain, where he still resides in the city of Madrid. There he lives with his partner and (since recently) finally practices medicine.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought hard times for the entire world population. So it has been for the migrants living in Spain, who have had to face a new unknown challenge and readapt to the new reality, changing lifestyles, customs, and in some cases directly starting over from scratch.
For me, these have been moments of great fear and uncertainty, and above all, of longing, nostalgia for not being able to be close to the people I love at such a sad and tense time. This situation has often made me think of my people in Cuba, and reflect on the need for those of us, who are still alive, to push forward more than ever the struggle so if something like this happens again, there will not be so many families separated. It made me need even harder a future for Cubans, where living in freedom does not require us to go abroad and stop seeing your loved ones for so long, such as in these extreme circumstances we have been experiencing. To think that you cannot help someone you love, and even that they may die while you are so far away, is very hard.
Halfway through the pandemic I was unemployed, and that was the hardest time, because I depend on my work for my survival here. However, the COVID-19 also brought something very positive and satisfying that has been a turning point for my professional career here in Spain. I studied medicine in Cuba, and since I arrived, I applied for the homologation of my degree, a very long and complicated process. Nevertheless, the health emergency produced the need for more medical professionals, and finally my degree was validated. For me, it is incredible to be able to exercise my vocation to help the country that has taken me in and where I am building my future. I cannot think of a better way to thank than by doing the best thing I know how to do: saving lives.
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