Believing That You Can Believing That You Can
what they wanted you to know. Only what they said or
taught at schools is what you needed to follow; if you don’t
agree or appear to be on the same path, you won’t be able to
stay in school or finish your career. You may be arrested as
a political prisoner, die trying to make changes in the
system, or leave your country behind.
We don’t have the right to vote for a different president,
or say the truth about what we think of the one in command.
If we do say something in public, I guarantee that you or
your family won’t know what is going to happen but it will
definitely be something really bad. The elections are faked.
Seventy percent of the voters know that they have to lie to
be able to watch over their family and parents. We the
citizens, all of those who want a change in our nation, are
not able to do anything to keep our family safe. That’s why
I’m out of that regime, and can express safely some of the
reasons why my people are here, in this different and
beautiful country; a nation, a system, a community, and a
culture, that we believe in and fight to be a part of this
wonderful liberty of expression. You are probably asking
yourself, “Where I am from?” Well, I am from Cuba. This
is why I call to these last years of my life, “a turning point
in my life”, an important and significant hard decision but it
has made me happier than ever.
Asdiel Brunet-Carcases is a student at Dunbar Community School.
New Life
It was hard for me to decide to live in Destin. It was not
easy to leave the big city life in Istanbul and to be so far
from my family and my friends. I did not want to retire. To
live in a big city was exciting. We had concerts, festivals,
entertainment, good restaurants and many places to go.
Besides, in a big city there is always a lot of traffic. One
time we were late for the Bolshoi Ballet, so we watched the
first half from outside the hall via projection. We could sit
down for the second half. In Istanbul, I was with my friends
and my family all the time. It is hard for me being far from
them. I like using Skype and similar programs to talk with
my family and my friends. I have a good time on the