06 Nov, 2008
Cubans hope Obama’s win means ‘better times ahead’
Posted by: admin In: Around Beijing| News
By Mary Murray, NBC News Havana Bureau Chief
HAVANA – It didn’t take long for Cubans to hear about the success of Barack Obama.
The girl’s dorm at Havana’s V.I. Lenin High School broke into cheers after 17-year-old Gabriela Sanchez received a cell phone text message from her mom watching the U.S. election results on satellite TV.
Housewife Rosa Llanos heard the news on short wave radio and thought about her daughter and grandchild living in South Florida. She wants Obama to stick to his promise to lift current U.S. restrictions that limit family visits to once every three years.
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| EPA |
| A woman combs her hair as she watches the news on Cuban TV about the newly-elected U.S. President Barack Obama, in Havana, Cuba on Wednesday. |
That same wish was echoed by child psychiatrist Ana Teresa Martinez who sees young patients suffering from “the trauma of families divided by the Straits of Florida.”
All through the night, Fernanda Hernandez spoke with her sibling Patricia, calling from Miami with regular election updates. These sisters too want changes in U.S. policy with Cuba.
Car mechanic Boris Ruiz working the night shift heard the news on Cuban TV and immediately called his wife. “I woke her up but I needed to tell someone the good news,” Ruiz said.
For the first time in his life, Ruiz sees “a chance to normalize relations with the United States and that will make my life better.”
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