CUBA'S EMBARGO ON EDUCATION AND FREEDOM CONTINUES

It is nice to live in a free country like the United States of America. I should thank God every day for living here. Although not explicitly stated on my daily prayers, that part where I give thanks for all good things granted me and my family includes that sentiment. Tragically, the people in Cuba, the country where I was born, are not so lucky.

Here, the education a student receives in public and private schools is extensive. We embrace the free exchange of ideas. A citizen can go to any public library and take home any book he or she wants. The government does not impose restrictions on the kinds of subjects or books one can research and study. You can take home and enjoy the sort of material that suits your fancy.

In Cuba, the situation is different. The government does not want citizens reading any material critical of their repressive regime. They do not want citizens reading about the huge drop in the standard of living of Cubans since Castro took over in 1959. They do not want citizens reading about the executions and murders carried out by the revolution, or the stories of all those that have died in prison or trying to reach the shores of liberty in America. They do not want citizens reading about all the political prisoners that still suffer in Cuban prisons, people whose only crime is to demand a representative form of government in Cuba, one that respects the inalienable rights of human beings.

Because the Castro regime controls everything in Cuba, some time ago freedom fighter Marta Beatriz Roque founded La Asamblea para la Promoción de la Sociedad Civil (APSC), the Assembly for the Promotion of the Civil Society. Its goals are to challenge the government’s monopoly on power, demanding freedom and human rights, and working to bring a democratic form of government back to Cuba. As one would expect, Castro and his communist constitution consider it illegal to engage in such subversive activities. Imagine that, to complain about one’s lack of freedoms and rights, or to want a truly representative form of government is an illegal and subversive activity. Evidently, the only thing illegal in Cuba is the government itself.

Recently, Marta Beatriz announced an initiative to carry out a congress of independent libraries. It was to start yesterday, October 10 and last until February 24, 2007. In the central province of Santa Clara, a mob of government supporters disrupted the opening ceremonies. The few people inside the house could not get out because of the mob. Other members of the opposition were unable to enter the house, also because of the mob. Today, on Ninoska Pérez Castellón’s program on Miami’s Radio Mambí, Bárbara Jímenez, one of the participants in the congress of independent libraries, reported an attack on a married couple that took place after they left the premises. Some thugs forming part of the government mob gave them a beating. Orestes and Nancy González are the names of the victims. Orestes has multiple fractures, and Nancy bruises on her face.

Tell the world about it: there is no freedom of assembly in Cuba. Such acts of repudiation are operations planned, organized, and executed by government agents to discourage and eliminate the voices of dissent. With fear and intimidation tactics, the government hopes to silence those clamoring for freedom and human rights.

To summarize, Cuba’s embargo on education and freedom continues. The international community must support the U.S. embargo and whatever other measures and actions are necessary to oust Castro and his associates from power. Nothing less that complete change, we should accept. A free democratic republic of Cuba is what we want. After half a century of living in shackles, the people of Cuba deserve a breath of fresh air.

Recommended Reading: Ercian Testament - Part Three, chapter 24 “Ercian Values and Ideals.”