What a long dawn! Sleep tried to defeat us, but the gusts of wind from Hurricane Melissa made it impossible. Two families were in our home, as our doors had been opened to those whose own houses were vulnerable. The conversation was extensive and cheerful, a perfect setting for an orange tea that dispelled the night's chill. But those gusts, close to daybreak, seized us into silence. We had no suspicion of what thousands of people in Granma would soon endure.

The roaring blast shook more than just the trees. It pierced our ears like an invader coming to usurp the oscillating calm, to add a sorrow that went beyond us—to them, those who were there, near the eye. The forceful blow of the gate, the fiber cement sheets of the house on the corner, the metal tank lid flapping like a flag, the dance of the mahogany tree twisting almost to the ground, all moving to the rhythm of the intermittent gales, foreshadowed the sadness.

A Nation's Character in Crisis

It is a grief known only to those who shed selfishness to think of others who are weaker, more fragile, more exposed to pain and loss. A quality of the native Cuban, my grandfather would say, this capacity to wait with faith, or to shout, or to act in the face of a threat to a brother or a neighbor.

We were also accompanied by uncertainty, that uncomfortable sensation that leaves you with the void of not knowing how and when it will end. But we did not suffer from a lack of information, as we saved every bit of battery charge to know the what and where, through the various channels kept open so that no one would be left uninformed.

And in the middle of that tense situation, even more surprising was the imprudence. Although the decision to abandon their home and knock on our door in the midst of the storm's fury was ultimately wise, it was also highly negligent. Leaving one's house was not a matter of fear, nor of the vain reiterations from authorities who had exhaustively stated that no one in a lightly-built home or a potentially dangerous situation should remain there, but should instead go to the safe locations arranged for evacuation in state institutions, or the homes of family or friends.

The act of staying behind out of an irresponsible attitude, or to guard material possessions, however hard-earned, is risky. What does it profit a man to watch over his material goods if he loses his life? Melissa was only consistent with the preparatory period, allowing us to get organized, to apply the Civil Defense principle of being prepared and alert, because prevention is key to avoiding lament.

The Aftermath and the Assurance

It is commendable that the measures adopted by the municipalities minimized the damages, that all voices assumed the same feeling of caution, and that solidarity spread like a geyser to save lives.

Meritorious is the work of our provincial and municipal authorities, whose hearts beat in unison with their people—with those suffering from floods of unprecedented volume, with the heroes and protagonists of rescue acts in the middle of overflowing rivers or profuse runoff, with all those whose energy surpassed the force of the cyclonic system.

These are hard times; terror and sadness are not easily erased from faces. But among those who awaken smiles and hopes with a gesture of solidarity, and a whole country that pours itself out to help, to assist, to build, to reconstruct the streets and the soul, lies that enduring protection, sown by Fidel, of a Revolution. This is evidenced in those leaders who have not slept for days, standing alongside their vulnerable people, embodying the certainty that life is the priority.

We must continue to conquer in our risk perception, in the awareness that we must individually prepare for the worst, so that celebrating the best will be all the more gratifying. The lesson is one of victory, a learning experience that fills us with pride, because in the life of every Granma resident, there is the boundless dedication of the Revolution. In our security resides the work of love that is more powerful than those hurricane gusts and the waters that took our breath away.