Young Communists discuss their daily problems
In the Evaluative Assembly of the Union
of Young Communists
of Sierra De Cubitas, Camaguey province, discussion deepened
By Yahily Hernandez Porto
Email: digital@rebelde.cip.cu
June 5, 2007
A CubaNews translation by Greg McDonald.
Edited by Walter Lippmann.
SIERRA DE CUBITAS, Camaguey.--While the young woman discussed the work of her base committee, the sound of muttering could be heard from one end of the theatre to the other. Yanisleydis' message roused most of the participants among the 180 delegates in the Evaluative Assembly of young communists here.
This participant hit a sore spot when she admitted that her base committee was functioning improperly: "You must work with the man one on one, pull him along and engage him with your example. And to do this, you have to knock on this militant's door, understand his problems, his prolonged absence, and only in the final instance should he be sanctioned".
Although this would appear to be sound advice, some would disagree because it aired the deficiencies of the base committee during a large assembly gathering.
Nonetheless, Jorge Enrique Sutil Sarabia, the organization's provincial first secretary, silenced the murmurs when he said that this meeting should be like any other which takes place within each structure: "We must be objective and discuss our daily problems, and without a doubt this is one of them", he explained.
We need to reflect upon and resolve our problems from the point at which they occur in each base committee, and to overcome them, he insisted, we must play a leadership role at school and work".
But can this organization play a leading role if people only show up on time for meetings and pay their dues? It is a duty rather than a task that all militants assume responsibility and not leave all the work to the secretary-general, whose time is consumed with leading, planning, orienting and even preparing each weekly activity. If this work is not supported by the rest of the militants then the youth collective will not move forward.
We need to apply a conceptual change in all circumstances: once and for all get rid of the word "help", because really this does not imply responsibility.
Each young communist has their quota of
work. The solution is not to see ourselves as eternal aides to the
secretary-general. As delegate Dayixy Martin of the Enrique Hart primary
school points out, every young person has decided to affiliate with the
UJC of their own free will and therefore must assume a corresponding
role in their daily activities.
"We should not be satisfied with helping the secretary. Here each
militant has duties they need to accomplish, and we need to internalize
them as our own and not leave them to the 'top dog', he said".
Wherein lies the responsibility, asks Silvia Maria, student of the IPUEC Reform Campaign? " A short while ago I joined the women's Voluntary Military Service. My responsibility rests with the defense of the nation. It should be a priority for the UJC and FEEM to move in this direction. Leadership by example should be the primary method of increasing membership", she concluded.
Noiman Napoles, a member of the UJC
National Committee, urged everyone to do quality work on each task they
perform, both inside and outside the base committees, and from that
premise create new methods and styles of work dealing with values
formation.
====================================
EDITOR'S NOTE
by Walter Lippmann:
A Cuban friend sent me this further explanation:
"Cotización" (probably a Cubanism in this context) is the process
that involves, as you say, payment of dues, and it's also the dues
(fees) themselves. That is, you pay the "cotización" to the person who
charges the "cotización" (there's always someone responsible for that
particular task in every Party or YCL cell, CDR, labor union, etc., etc.
It's a very common term here, as when the Secretary lashes at the
audience (the membership) on the grounds that "there are delays with the
cotización" (an euphemism for "stop fooling around and pay what you owe
once and for all). By the way, failure to pay your "cotización" within
the deadline may entail penalties within the cell).
The one cited refers to those members who actually do little more than attending the (usually monthly) scheduled meetings and paying their fee (which depends on how much you earn). From a practical, technical viewpoint, they are fulfilling their objective obligations to the letter. But, alas, there's the subjective attitude (your willingness to play an active role and be "political", something you neither do nor are if you just "attend meetings" and "pay your dues"), which is what matters in the final analysis and what the writer of that article is talking about and alerting to. Hope this will help.
Jóvenes
comunistas debaten sus problemas cotidianos
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2007-06-05/jovenes-comunistas-debaten-sus-problemas-cotidianos/
Esta joven puso «el dedo en la llaga» al admitir que su célula de base aún no funciona correctamente: «Hay que trabajar con el hombre de tú a tú, arrastrarlo y comprometerlo, pero con el ejemplo. Y para eso, enfatizó, hay que tocar las puertas de ese militante, preocuparse por sus problemas, por su ausencia prolongada, y solo en última instancia sancionarlo».
Parecía entonces una intervención oportunista, con la que algunos no estaban de acuerdo, por hacer públicas en medio de la asamblea, deficiencias de su comité de base.
Sin embargo Jorge Enrique Sutil Sarabia, primer secretario de la organización en la provincia, acabó con el murmullo cuando expresó que este encuentro juvenil tiene que parecerse a lo que ocurre en cada estructura: «Hay que ser objetivos, discutir con profundidad y argumentos los problemas cotidianos y este sin duda es uno de ellos», afirmó.
«Hay que reflexionar y resolver los problemas a partir del entorno en que se encuentra cada comité de base, y para lograrlo, insistió, hay que convertirse en el protagonista de la escuela y del centro de trabajo».
¿Pero podrá ser esa estructura protagonista solo con la puntualidad a las reuniones y el pago de la cotización? Es deber más que tarea que todos los militantes asuman su responsabilidad y no dejarle todo el trabajo al secretario general, quien no pocas veces se desgasta dirigiendo, planificando, orientando y hasta preparando cuanta actividad aparezca durante la semana. Si este no es respaldado por el resto de los militantes muy poco avanzará ese colectivo de jóvenes.
Un cambio de concepto se impone en todas las circunstancias: desterrar de una vez y por todas la palabra «ayudar», porque esta realmente no implica responsabilidad.
Y esa cuota de deber la tiene cada joven comunista. La solución no está en vernos como eternos ayudantes del secretario general, sino, como dijo la delegada Dayixy Martín, de la primaria Enrique Hart, en asumir el rol que le corresponde desde que por voluntad propia el joven decidió pertenecer a las filas de la UJC.
«No podemos conformarnos con ayudar al secretario. Aquí todo militante tiene deberes y derechos con los que hay que cumplir, por eso las tareas hay que hacerlas nuestras y no dejárselas todas al “hombre montaña”», explicó.
¿Dónde queda entonces el valor de la responsabilidad? Se preguntó Silvia María, estudiante del IPUEC Campaña de la Reforma: «Dentro de poco me incorporo al Servicio Militar Voluntario femenino. Esta es mi responsabilidad con la defensa de la Patria. Debe ser prioridad de la UJC y la FEEM trabajar en esta dirección. El ejemplo de los dirigentes será el arma principal para sumar compañeras», concluyó.
Al respecto Noimán Nápoles, miembro del Comité Nacional de la UJC, instó a trabajar con calidad en cada tarea que se haga dentro y fuera de la organización de base, y desde esa premisa crear nuevos métodos y estilos de trabajo en el tratamiento de la formación de valores.