In an act of repression, the Cuban police destroyed the boat built by a group of young people, thus frustrating their attempt to flee the difficult conditions on the island.
Hopelessness and anguish take on new faces among Cuban youth, who see how their desires for freedom and a better future are turned into ashes by the country's authorities.
Asiel García Rodríguez, a member of the Facebook group Balseros Cubanos, shared the painful experience of the day the police burned the raft he and his friends had prepared in hopes of escaping by sea.
"It's very sad to see how a big part of you is burned, likesuffocate your dreams in flames, your dreams and everything you planned for the future," Asiel expressed.
He did not provide details of when or where the incident occurred. The images of the destroyed boat show the state in which the raft was left, completely burned and unusable.
The reactions were immediate and the post accumulated dozens of comments from other people who know closely the desolation after such events.
"In my area a few have been burned almost as soon as they left," said one person. "I spent three days without sleeping or crying when something similar happened to me," shared one Internet user. Another lamented the persecution of rafters, while common criminals seem to evade justice.
This event reflects the continuing immigration crisis that Cubans face. Despite warnings from the United States about the immediate deportation of illegal immigrants, many risk their lives in fragile boats in the hope of reaching host lands.
Recently, the Mexican Navy rescued16 Cuban rafters near Isla Contoy, while a tourist cruise saved another 12 in the Caribbean, although one lost his life before being rescued.
The search for a more promising horizon continues to be marked by determination, but also by the painful interception of the Cuban authorities, who not only deny them the possibility of a better life but literally incinerate their hopes.
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