At the May women's club meeting Arlington Heights resident Gladys Davis (pictured left) shared her experiences as an exile who fled Cuba at the age of 9. She was separated from her family but later reunited with them in the States. Her presentation included poignant DVD movie clips of her family in Cuba and the way they remembered their beloved homeland in the 1950's. Gladys described a happy middle class life immersed in the Cuban culture when it was ripped away by the Castro regime. Afterwards there were many changes including government rationing of food and supplies. Everything they did was monitored and her family lived in fear for their lives. They were robbed of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and under the tyrannical Castro government, left with no way to defend themselves. Under totalitarian government there was no justice or fair trials and the conditions in jails were horrible. Life in Cuba today is step back in time -now an isolated existence for the people there, with a blackmarket economy, lacking communication (there is no internet access) and modern modes of transportation. Coming to the States was a culture shock for her and her family at first but Gladys has enjoyed being a U.S. citizen. Her speech was very inspirational. The women left with a better understanding of how fragile freedom is and a heartfelt gratitude for living in democracy with the privilege to exercise rights.
