A Cuban living abroad shared an emotional post on Facebook to celebrate, with both joy and sorrow, that his two children, daughter-in-law, and grandson left Cuba on Wednesday in search of the opportunities they could not find on the island.
Héctor D. Bayarre Vea titled his publication «Goodbye, Cuba, Beloved Homeland: In Search of Prosperity» and concluded it with a phrase that encapsulates the drama of thousands of Cuban families: «Goodbye, Cuba, beloved homeland. Not because love has extinguished, but because hope had to pack its bags».
The date holds a special significance for him. In just a few days, it will mark eight years since his own departure from Cuba, which took place on November 25, 2018, when he emigrated to join his children after the birth of his first grandchild. That same grandchild is now the one leaving with his parents.
"I never imagined that farewell would mark the beginning of a long separation, much less that, almost eight years later, that same grandson would be leaving Cuba with his parents," Bayarre wrote.
The author was explicit about the reasons for leaving: it was not due to a lack of love for Cuba nor a desire for wealth. “They left in search of something much more fundamental and legitimate: the possibility of building a life project based on work, stability, merit, and hope,” he pointed out.
Bayarre also pointed to the real moment when emigration begins, long before boarding a plane: "when a family feels that their effort is no longer enough; when young people realize that their aspirations face more obstacles than opportunities."
The text acknowledges a contradictory feeling that the author describes as a "approach-avoidance conflict": "on one hand, I feel happy about the shift towards freedom, but on the other, I feel the uprooting that such action can cause and the contribution to the rampant aging of the Cuban population and the professional devaluation that my country suffers on a daily basis."
Cuba closed 2025 with 9,434,593 inhabitants, compared to about 11.1 million in 2022. The negative net migration that year was 245,264 people. Deaths nearly doubled births: 136,214 deaths versus 68,064 births. The number of registered doctors fell from 106,131 in 2021 to 71,635 in 2025, a reduction of 32.5% over four years.
50% of emigrants by the end of 2024 were under 35, according to researchers from the Demographic Studies Center at the University of Havana, which accelerates the aging of those who remain on the island.
"The story of my family is not exceptional; it is the norm. That is precisely why it hurts so much. Because, deep down, it is also the story of Cuba," he wrote. "Cuba's recent history is filled with similar farewells. Behind every emigrant, there is a mother waiting, a father missing his child, grandparents counting the days to see their grandchildren again, and children setting off fueled by hope. Statistics speak in numbers; families speak in feelings."
"If so many people continue to leave, if so many families keep fragmenting, it's because the reasons that drive them to do so still persist," she noted.
"Cuba will remain the beloved homeland of our memories, our language, our customs, and our affections. No one renounces the land where they learned to walk. No one leaves behind the memories that helped shape their identity. And, wherever one may be, they project in their behavior that sense of Cuban-ness that some believe they have the right to usurp," he affirmed.
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