Mother by Nature

As Gabriel García Márquez once described it, “only a mother knows how to guide through the darkness of a reality she knows better than any man, and in which she is better oriented with fewer lights"

Author : Martha María Mariño | internet@granma.cu

May 9, 2014 22:05:27

With the same dedication they display at home, women in the FAR [Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias - Cuban Armed Forces] fulfill the duties of their profession with great tenderness. Photo: Anabel Diaz

As Gabriel García Márquez once described it “only a mother knows how to guide through the darkness of a reality she knows better than any man and in which she is better oriented with fewer lights". These are things only about women, I dare say, even if someone could consider this allegory as arrogant feminism.

But this is not about feminism, but about the realities of Mileydis, Mayra, Carmen and Evilenny. All of them --mothers, friends, and professors-- take national security on their shoulders as if it were the security of their own children. They are true representatives of the mothers in the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR).

Mileydis Pozo Calderon, MSc, PhD, for example, is Head of Special Clinical Services at Naval Hospital. Her efforts have made it possible for her to divide her day hours between the TB clinic, the teaching of Morphophysiology classes for doctors and graduate students in Masters programs, as well as helping her little daughter with her homework and school projects, doing housework, and sharing the complicity of married life with her husband.

"Being a doctor demands sacrifice and hours of study after finishing all the tasks at home. Being a doctor in the FAR also requires greater discipline during the performance of that duty; but if I lived again I would choose the same profession and, of course, would seek to have the same family that I have today. Women have earned many spaces in society and we must defend them," she said.

This view is shared by registered nurse Mayra Simono Hechavarria who has been working in the same institution for 25 years. 19 of these years she has spent in the Hemodialysis department where the patients are already part of her family.

"These are patients with chronic renal failure, so they are very sensitive people. We share their sufferings for several years; so it is difficult to break away from that suffering. I am a mother, and also a daughter, and I know what it feels like to have a loved one in these conditions. For me it is a challenge and a priority to help them get ahead," said Mayra, head of the Department.

But that passion is widespread in all areas of military life. Lt. Col. Carmen Feteira Rodriguez has a Masters in computer science and her responsibility as head of the Center for Automation is to ensure the optimal functioning of the General Maximo Gomez FAR Academy.

“We have a group for software development which designs applications for training units. We manage informatics in the camp and there is a support group devoted to applications,” Carmen explained.

"In general, the whole teaching of the academy depends on computer technology. Proper logistics guarantees that the teaching and other activities give life to the center. This is our responsibility," she added.

There is an intrinsic quality that makes them ideal for any task entrusted to them. This is just a fair recognition of the female quintessence responsible for so many victories in our national history. It has transformed females into Marianas, Celias, Vilmas, and Amalias: symbols of courage who left as legacy for all females the model of the Cuban woman: selfless, sweet, intelligent, with strong patriotic conviction.

These are qualities –I stress– that as mothers of the men in the nation, guide the destiny of their children along the right path to turn them into leaders and heroes. An example is Lt. Col. Evilenny Camejo Rodríguez. For almost four years she has worked in an armored unit of the Western Army.

"It's hard because I have two small children and the job requires almost full-time. We do not have free Saturdays or Sundays, or spare time," she said. However, nothing is impossible when you have "a partner who helps in everything."

"My husband and I have a deal. He is an officer in my unit and we have agreed that one of the two must always accompany the children, depending on the work each has. But this is the result of understanding and complicity during the 20 years we've been together," she explained.

Examples like these are evidence of the feelings of mothers when guiding the destiny of their children along the right path, and also of the fact that greatness, rather than a virtue, is the result of hard work, discipline, and above all, motivation to make dreams come true.