The Cuban Karla González posted a 1 minute and 45 seconds video on TikTok yesterday, which has caught attention for its direct and provocative tone, aimed at mothers who emigrated and left their children in Cuba, and who are paralyzed by fear in their destination countries.
The video, available on their profile @marketing_con_karla, begins with a statement intended to provoke: "No, you don't love your child. You can't tell me that you love your child, and I'm going to explain why."
Karla speaks from personal experience. In the video description, she acknowledges that a year ago "depression was consuming me for having made such difficult decisions," implicitly referring to leaving her son on the island when she emigrated.
Its central argument is a contradiction that directly challenges: if a mother was able to cross borders, leave her culture, her family, and her own child—“that’s not something just anyone does”—it makes no sense that the fear of building something in the destination country would be greater than that love.
"While you are lying on a bed crying and complaining, your child is growing up without you. Doesn't that scare you? His birthday, his Three Kings Day, his first teeth, his first steps, his first laughs. You're missing all of that while you lie paralyzed in bed," he says in the video.
"The message is not a reprimand, she clarifies herself: 'This is the Karla I can give you today, not as a scolding, but as an experience and because it’s what you need even if you don't understand it right now.'"
Karla proposes digital entrepreneurship as a concrete means of family reunification. "You are in a country where you can build whatever you want just with the phone in your hand, with no prior experience, no papers, no bosses, and absolutely nothing holding you back," she states.
The closing of the video appeals to self-esteem: "The only thing you have to do is believe that you are an amazing woman, because look at everything you have accomplished during your time away from your country."
The video is produced in the context of the largest Cuban exodus in recent history. Between 2020 and 2024, more than 1.4 million Cubans left the island, driven by the economic crisis, chronic blackouts, and the political repression of the dictatorship.
This exodus has resulted in thousands of fragmented families. As of 2023, 38% of Cuban families had at least one member living abroad. The separations incur a documented emotional toll: mothers experience depression and anxiety, while children face behavioral issues, and in extreme cases, a higher risk of serious psychological problems.
TikTok has become the space where these stories come to light. Heartbreaking farewells at the airport and reunions after years of separation are piling up on the platform as a testament to a crisis that the Cuban regime fails to acknowledge.
Other mothers have shared similar stories: six years without seeing their daughter or the debate between abandonment and sacrifice that divides the emigrant community.
Karla González concludes her message with a phrase that summarizes her entire proposal: "Your child doesn't need a perfect mother. They need a mother who doesn't give up and builds something that allows them never to be separated again."
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