Interview to the Osvaldo Brother Jose Mustelier Morals

By: Juan Carlos Hernandez Hernandez
Independent journalist 
Santiago of Cuba, 3 of February, 2009

Interview to the Osvaldo Brother Jose Mustelier Morals that outside the Director of the School the SALLE of Santiago of Cuba in 1961, year of the nationalization of Education in Cuba.

To San Juan Baptist of the SALLE (1651-1719), ecclesiastic and French educator, that its life dedicated to the education of the poor children, we must to the existence in our country of the schools the Salle ⁽¹⁾. The triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and the set of measures taken by the new revolutionary Government truncated 56 years of Lasallista presence in the Island. First of May of 1961, Fidel Castro announced the promulgation of the socialist character of the Constitution of the Republic, and the nationalization of the private schools, as well as the expulsion of the foreign and falangistas catholic priests of the country ⁽²⁾. The Church counted then on 132 primary schools, 48 of the Second Education, 33 schools of Commerce, 22 of Secretaryship, 11 of the Home, 4 High Schools and 3 Vocational ones. In addition it counted on the Catholic universities of Santo Thomas de Social Villanueva and of the Salle ⁽³⁾. 

Journalist: Considered brother, after this introduction, how the intervention of the School takes place the Salle of Santiago of Cuba and in what historical context manage to return, 28 years later, at least three brothers of the 101 expelled from the country.  

Brother OJMM: When declaring themselves the year 1961 “Year of the Education� and going away implementing all a series of laws that went making viable to the Ministry of Education the control on education, we hoped already, at any time, the arrival of the inspector since it had happened in other schools of the city and the country. All the day 2 of May of 1961 our community of to 12 brothers we passed it surrounded by militiamen, but it was not until the day 3 that appeared the inspector and after to show the documents to me guaranteed who it like so, communicated to me, that as of that moment the school with its building, everything what contained and yet what it belonged to him:  banking accounts, vehicles - one of which had been destroyed with treenails and stones by a unknown multitude -, happened to be property of the Cuban State. Memory that inspector was strange by little money found in box strong of school, to which I explained him that the parents of the internal students who were practically those that maintained the institution were retiring their children, in addition that the quotas of the institution were low. I insisted to him that the four thousand pesos that existed in the strong box not could touch because they were for the payment of the wage of the next month of the professors and employees. Perhaps that was the reason so that it was made come to the school to a special accountant who audited books of accounts until being convinced that everything was in sequence. The bottoms of the school that were deposited in the bank Trust Company, located in street Eyrie, enter Crown and Santo Tomás, also was expropriated. Him I remembered to inspector that brothers we lived within school and needed to know if our dependancies also would be nationalized, and not was until arrival of Captain Méndez Cominche, who had been student of the school, that was clarified that the dependancies were not contemplated in the law of Nationalization, but that had to be avoided the visits of students, parents, etc.. On the following day the school dawned full of militiamen and milicianas with long arms throughout, in front of my room, when I am going to leave I am to one of them with its gun and from then éramos guarded to whichever place we would go, besides being registered before and after leaving to attend misa in the Cathedral. The 5 of May the inspector ordered to the militiamen that retired all the religious objects that found in the school and made circulate the rumor that the brothers we wanted to burn the school.                                                       

Journalist: In varied bibliography written after those events, I have observed the tendency to diminish the decision of the Government to expel the priests from the country, a very remarkable example we observed in the book “Operation Peter Pan� page 66 where we found the following statement: “The voluntary massive exodus of priests, monks and nuns�. What can say to me on the matter. 

Brother OJMM: In fact in our case, they did not say it literally to us, but before as much hostility, harassment, offense to our Faith and valuing what it was repeated in other lasallistas schools was no another exit, we made the consultations pertinent and we received the direction of the assistant of the brother General Superior, that had moved from Rome to Panama and soon to Mexico to be more close possible of Cuba, as rapidly as possible to organize the exit of all the brothers of the country, approximately 100. The visitador brother of the district of the Antilles, Manuel Rodriguez, ordered to all the brothers of Cuba to concentrate in the school the Salle of the Private preserve and those that had relatives in Havana which they went to house of his families. I sent to the brothers of two in two and by different routes, I remained until it left the last one and soon I moved to house of my parents because one of the drivers entered the dormitory with two milicianas at night, before this fact I considered that it could not follow in center. Days later I traveled with my Alfredo brother and the brother Paquito Salazar until Havana to unite to me with the other brothers and to leave, thanks to the brothers of the district of New York that paid the load of a Bread airplane America, the 25 of May in the evening for Miami, the United States, where we were received by the Brother Reverendo Attending Antonio Maria and were destined to other countries. All we left, less five, one was the director of the Provincial House that soon was made priest and died two years ago, with 99 years of age and the other four were French. 

Journalist: If so, which was the superior's decision of the Congregation? 

Brother OJMM: I was named of the brothers and director of the school of Puerto Rico visitador, but from the beginning we made contact with the enemy with the different Embassies looking for the possibility of returning to Cuba. Memory that being in Rome, like in Chile I maintained conversations with the Cuban Ambassador in those countries but nothing I could obtain. Soon in a visit in 1978, 17 years later and almost when returning, a civil servant of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Towns (ICAP) asked to me that had left so that participated I in which it was called, “Dialog of the Adentros and of Outside�, this meeting it was very important because he was obtained that they released to almost 3000 political prisoners, and the possibility of visits was fomented from Miami. Based on this and next to another Cuban I organized from the Dominican Republic a trip Charter and we brought to Cuba by 15 days to a total of 40 priests, Cuban brothers and nuns who had not been able to visit Cuba before. Soon they authorized to me to come to Cuba every year and it always took advantage of the possibility to visit Slaughtered Felipe, who was the civil servant of the government who then took care of in the Central Committee the religious subjects, and he raised to him that the brothers we wanted to come and he always responded to me that the problem of us was in which éramos “educators� unlike some nuns who had let enter. In the 1986 I arrived at Cuba to the third day to be celebrating Cuban Ecclesiastical National Encuentro, very special moment of the Catholic Church since it decided to leave the confinement in which one had sunk. Monsignor Meurice, Archbishop of Santiago of Cuba invites, me to a reception in the Nunciature where I am with Mr. Carneado, to who I indicated the idea to him of Monsignor, to want to form a community for which we would need that he let enter at least three brothers, this one responded to me that the request had to come directly from the Nuncio that were in the activity and also it was, moments later in the conversation that maintained remembered send the list to him from which they wanted to return. Years later the General Superior Johnston finds out that Slaughtered he is in Rome inviting to the Pope so that realized a visit to the Island and there it went away. Of its conversation it was the commitment that in the month of June of 1989 would be in Cuba and wanted to speak personally with Fidel Castro, and indeed fulfilled its word and before requesting the hearing to him already they had authorized to enter three of the brothers like religious educators of the Seminary San Basilio. Nevertheless never no permission has existed to exert teaching, the Revolution nationalized all the private schools to have the total control of the education, and thus “to train a new man in its ideas and system�. By that time, by our part, we reinforced the Pastoral Institute remote “Perez Serantes� and traveled to Manzanillo and Guantánamo like part of the workings of the Diocese. We were near 10 years in San Pedro # 809, soon we permuted for this new direction: Trinidad # 257 between Sign and Crown and was not until the year 2000 that we began with the computation courses, and as you see already at this moments we have in addition 4 levels to English, in two years, a course of a year of Bilingual Secretaryship and two levels of Marketing.  

Journalist: The 27 of November of 2007 the Cuban Movement of Young people by the Democracy, organization nonofficial, presented/displayed before a representation of credited the independent and foreign press in Cuba, 5003 companies of young people, the majority university students, who request the return of the University Autonomy and the Catholic University of Villanueva. Recently the catholic magazine “New Word� of the Arquidiócesis of Havana proposed to the Cuban authorities to establish with the Catholic Church a relation of cooperation in the areas of social attendance, health and education. What paper the Salle of being approved that initiative by the Cuban Government would play the schools. 

Brother OJMM: The one of that group of young people is a good symptom, lamentably other many have chosen to leave the country, the church, clearly, wishes to be able to return to have the possibility of having schools. The Revolution assumed all the education to train the new man, has not obtained it, on the contrary at the same time the schools to the field has been and is a disaster from the moral point of view, promoted sometimes by the same professors, trained in the same “values�. They cleared all reference to God, the religion and the fundamental principles, now see the consequences. The brothers of the Salle are part of the Catholic church. We would enter that line according to our economic present possibilities of personnel and, and according to the plans of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

Journalist: Of the 101 brothers that left Cuba in the 1961 whatever he has now in our country and which is the proposal, to call it somehow, of the new schools of the SALLE. 

Brother OJMM: Of the 60 Cuban brothers that we left the country, still they are alive 19 between Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico and the United States. Now in Cuba, we are only 7 brothers, of which I am unique the Cuban, who we caused to the students the suitable instruments so that they are making decisions that influence in the personal autonomy and the life and the growth of the group in a healthy atmosphere and cheers, teaching to see the importance of the other in its life and the wealth to them that is come off the reciprocal influence, making possible the construction of a communitarian future, betting by the education in values of the Gospel, where the faith in a same God, that does brothers to us, jeopardizes to dream and to believe to us together in a new world, based in the brotherhood evangelical and from projects and shared proposals, where we pruned to make an effort to us to work together unifying preoccupations and dreams like friendly and brothers.  

Journalist: Thank you very much Brother. 

Brother OJMM: Thank you very much

Bibliography:

1. - The Voice of the Church in Cuba. 100 Episcopal Documents. “

     Deprived education�, P. 69                                       

2. - Speech delivered by Fidel Castro 1ro of May of 1961.

    Revolutionary work, No.16, P. 31.                   

3. - Operation Peter Pan, Ramon Torreira Crespo and Jose Buajasán  

    Marrawi, P. 63.