“Dedicating our lives to God is what saved us. Knowing that He was always there; always with us,” said Risbely Ramos, an immigrant originally from Cienfuegos, Cuba.

Ramos was born and raised in Cienfuegos, Cuba, along with her sister. Their parents got married at the age of 19 and lived in their aunt’s house because they couldn’t afford one of their own.  They lived there under one condition which was that they had to take care of their aunts. The purpose of this house originally was so they could store and sell vegetables and grain. Ramos recalled that when it rained, the roof leaked so much, it sometimes it would be more wet inside than outside. There were also rats and roaches inside the house because the wood was so old that they could eat right through it.  

Both her parents were teachers, and her dad was also a doctor. Former Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, forbade practicing any religion, so many believers, like Ramos, hid their faith. Those who did practice their religion openly celebrated received a different treatment form everyone else. Ramos and her sister remember being bullied in school. One time, Risbely’s sister got jumped and beaten by a group of their classmates in front of the church. Catholics, as well as those who practiced other religions, were also deemed the lowest class in society. 

One day when her father was teaching a class, he was asked by his students if he could take them to church. After this happened, police showed up to their house and interrogated them. They asked them if they were Catholic to which they responded that they didn’t deny God, and suffered no shame in that. Both parents were fired from their jobs and punished for their actions of going to church. Her father had to work with hot wax everyday without getting paid. There was not enough money for food, so they starved many nights. Sometimes, when the priest went by their house to give them communion, he would leave them some money under a statue of Mary. Their neighbors, when they had left overs, would take it to them so they had something to eat. And because they had no money, they could also not afford clothes. Risbely said that her toes were so scrunched up at the tip of her shoes as she was a growing youngster, that they ached. The clothes she wore were usually the old ones she owned when she was a child or her sister’s old clothes. 

Her father painted to earn some money, but he had to be very careful because it was illegal to own an independent business and not receive money directly form the government. He would wake up at the crack of dawn to sell his paintings to whomever wished to purchase. Every three months, police appeared, unexpectedly, and searched their home.Her family was always being watched by officers as they were now on the government radar. 

Even through all their desperation and hardships, they never stopped going to church, fully dedicating their life to God.  

“God’s company is what always took us out, and we felt that He was always with us every day,” said Ramos. 

As the years passed, the Catholic Church petitioned to let them leave the country legally. Risbely and her family were the first Catholics legally allowed to leave Cuba in 1992. Eventually, they settled in Miami. 

“The Church took us out of Cuba and it changed my life,” she said. 

Among the many challenges the first challenge the first would be learning English. 

Ramos’s first job was in a private home where she said that her hands bled and hurt so much because of the hard labor. She also took care of kids in church on Sundays. After picking up some English, she landed a job on a boat during the day while attending classes in the morning. They all graduated from UM as a family. Ramos secured a position as a legal assistant, her father became a doctor again, and her mother and sister taught piano. 

Today, Risbely Ramos is 49-years-old, married and with two daughters, one of whom is an ILS alum. Risbely continues to practice her faith and is forever grateful for the life she has now!