Sinistra
28 mei 2004, 11:09
A class of Washington State Community College students learned firsthand Wednesday some of the limitations of life in a communist country and heard an account of conditions in a Cuban prison from a man recently released.
Thirteen members of Washington State professor Tanya Wilder's third-quarter Spanish I class became the first outside the international press corps to interview blind Cuban lawyer Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, a human rights activist released from prison earlier this month.
The class had difficulty reaching Leiva for nearly an hour, as the call to Cuba was repeatedly blocked by the government. During the interview, beeps on the line as Leiva discussed prisoners and dissidence indicated the call was being recorded.
"Dealing with a communist country was so strange," said student Kathleen Harmon, 27. "I thought it was amazing that the call was obviously being recorded and he could get thrown back in jail, but he was still willing to do the interview."
The class began studying the conditions in Cuba and the political prisoners there in January. The college also sponsored a Prisoners of Conscience program, which highlighted political prisoners in Cuba, in February.
Leiva, 40, is the president of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights. He was one of about 75 journalists, lawyers and others who were jailed without a trial after a March 2002 political protest.
Leiva was released at the beginning of May, though he will remain on house arrest for four more years.
"There were not only people listening to his conversation on the phone but government people outside his home," said Wilder. "He said he was there with some friends and 'some others who were outside.' That was code."
Most of the interview was in Spanish, with Wilder asking Leiva questions the students had prepared beforehand. Leiva also spoke briefly in English to the class.
"I'm very happy, and today is good," he said in English. "I'm happy that I'm with my family."
Leiva spoke about five of his colleagues who remain in prison as well as his experience there.
He said he was tortured by various methods, including being covered in a chemical that causes burning, itching and pain.
"He said it was like being bitten by what they call crazy ants," said Wilder. "He said that pain stopped, but he still has residual bronchitis, nervousness and he can't sleep."
During the interview, Leiva said one of his friends who remains in prison has been denied food for five days.
Leiva's experience in prison and upon release was difficult for many of the students to believe.
"I can't imagine living like that," said Kelly McNabb, 16. "And he's selfless. He just keeps thinking about other people."
Wilder said Leiva refuses to leave Cuba while his friends remain in prison.
"He's fearless," she said. "He is committed to seeing a democratic change on the island of Cuba."
The interview was recorded and will be translated into English by the students in the class and placed in both English and Spanish on the college's Web site next week.
Student Kayleigh Pangle, 16, said she had difficulty understanding some of what Leiva said but picked up on his passion for the subject.
"I could catch about a third of it, but I could understand what he was talking about from the tone," she said. "I was so excited when I found out we were talking to him."
Wilder shares a mutual friend with Leiva and was able to arrange the interview.
"He was deeply moved that we wanted to do this interview," said Wilder, adding that she nearly cried herself while talking to him. "He wants the students to stay on top of what is going on in Cuba although he stressed that human rights is not all about Cuba. He said that several times."
Harmon said she was surprised that Leiva seemed in fairly high spirits.
"His energy was so high," she said. "I can't imagine getting out of prison in the circumstances he was in and not having my spirit completely broken."
The March 2002 protest Leiva participated in was a peaceful one at a Cuban hospital, where a visiting journalist who had reportedly been attacked by police was a patient.
Leiva and others sat on the floor and shouted "Long live human rights," resulting in jail sentences of up to eight years for some protesters, said to be convicted for their political beliefs.
The charges against them were disrespect for authority, public disorder, disobedience and resisting arrest.
"Two months ago I was a healthy man in spite of my blindness," Leiva wrote in a letter from prison in April 2002. "Presently, I am a sick person."
Exhibit will highlight how freedom is oppressed in Cuba
Laida Carro was only 12 years old when she left Cuba in 1963, but she says she left her heart behind.
"Those are the formative years," Carro said. "I miss the food, I miss the music, I miss the land, and I miss the way families were."
But not all of Carro's recollections of Cuba are fond, as she also remembers living under the regime of Fidel Castro.
"Most people don't understand the nature of that regime, but those that live there will tell you it is hell," said Carro, now president of the Coalition of Cuban-American Women in Miami. "There's one TV (station), one newspaper - they control the media. You have to go to your job and do what they want. After living in a free world, it's insanity."
Carro will help bring awareness to the issues in Cuba locally when she speaks at Washington State Community College Feb. 12. Carro's visit coincides with the traveling exhibit, "Prisoners of Conscience," which features a quilt bearing the names of 75 political prisoners arrested and tried in 2002 in Cuba.
"These people were arbitrarily arrested in March while the rest of the world focused on Iraq," said Tanya Wilder, Spanish professor at Washington State. "Castro's regime arrested over 80 journalists, librarians and human rights activists who were part of movements calling for peace and democracy."
Though peaceful in nature, those involved in the movements often face danger, said Carro in a telephone interview Tuesday from her Miami home.
"In Cuba, dissent is a crime," she said. "They have to crush anyone who speaks or expresses themselves differently. There are accidents that happen; sometimes people are run over, some go into exile and some go to prison."
Those arrested were tried in Cuba in April and given sentences ranging from eight to 25 years in prison, said Wilder.
The jails are not like those in the United States, she said.
"Some of the prisoners are in very, very poor health," Wilder said. "They're housed in miserable conditions and some are put in solitary confinement."
The "Prisoners of Conscience" quilt was created by Cuban human rights activists in Boston to raise awareness of the conditions in the country under the 45-year totalitarian communist regime.
The quilt has only been shown at a handful of sites in the U.S., including Miami and Los Angeles. After its stay at Washington State Community College from Feb. 8 through 15, the quilt will be displayed at Georgetown and Harvard universities before beginning a tour of Europe.
The candlelight program featuring Carro will also include speaker Terry Anderson, who was held hostage for six years in Lebanon and is now honorary chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Each who attends will have the chance to light a candle in honor of someone on the quilt, imprisoned in Cuba.
It was Wilder's friendship with Carro that enabled Washington State to host the exhibit.
"It's a big land for the college and for this area," said Wilder. "It's going to provide a very unique occasion when those who know little about Cuba will have the opportunity to learn and become informed from those who know about it first-hand."
Though Cuba is close in proximity to the United States, most Americans likely don't know about the frustrations of the Cuban people, said Carro.
"Cuba is 90 miles from the U.S., but many Americans are not aware," she said. "All those in that regime want is to stay in power, and they've done that for 45 years with the help of the indifference of the world."
Washington State student Tammy Huck, 28, said she rarely hears about the plight of Cubans.
"There are big news stories once in a while, but for the most part, it doesn't seem to get the attention," Huck said. "You hear about similar circumstances of poverty and oppression in other places, but not in Cuba."
Carro said part of her presentation will be explaining how those in the Mid-Ohio Valley can help.
"Our goal is not to topple this government, but to inform people about it," she said. "I believe in grassroots activism and that within a community, you can create consciousness."
The horrendous day-to-day conditions that the 75 prisoners of conscience face is only one symptom of a bigger problem in Cuba, said Carro.
"We're a frustrated nation," she said. "No one has understood us for so long."
bron: http://www.canf.org/2004/principal-ingles.htm
Thirteen members of Washington State professor Tanya Wilder's third-quarter Spanish I class became the first outside the international press corps to interview blind Cuban lawyer Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, a human rights activist released from prison earlier this month.
The class had difficulty reaching Leiva for nearly an hour, as the call to Cuba was repeatedly blocked by the government. During the interview, beeps on the line as Leiva discussed prisoners and dissidence indicated the call was being recorded.
"Dealing with a communist country was so strange," said student Kathleen Harmon, 27. "I thought it was amazing that the call was obviously being recorded and he could get thrown back in jail, but he was still willing to do the interview."
The class began studying the conditions in Cuba and the political prisoners there in January. The college also sponsored a Prisoners of Conscience program, which highlighted political prisoners in Cuba, in February.
Leiva, 40, is the president of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights. He was one of about 75 journalists, lawyers and others who were jailed without a trial after a March 2002 political protest.
Leiva was released at the beginning of May, though he will remain on house arrest for four more years.
"There were not only people listening to his conversation on the phone but government people outside his home," said Wilder. "He said he was there with some friends and 'some others who were outside.' That was code."
Most of the interview was in Spanish, with Wilder asking Leiva questions the students had prepared beforehand. Leiva also spoke briefly in English to the class.
"I'm very happy, and today is good," he said in English. "I'm happy that I'm with my family."
Leiva spoke about five of his colleagues who remain in prison as well as his experience there.
He said he was tortured by various methods, including being covered in a chemical that causes burning, itching and pain.
"He said it was like being bitten by what they call crazy ants," said Wilder. "He said that pain stopped, but he still has residual bronchitis, nervousness and he can't sleep."
During the interview, Leiva said one of his friends who remains in prison has been denied food for five days.
Leiva's experience in prison and upon release was difficult for many of the students to believe.
"I can't imagine living like that," said Kelly McNabb, 16. "And he's selfless. He just keeps thinking about other people."
Wilder said Leiva refuses to leave Cuba while his friends remain in prison.
"He's fearless," she said. "He is committed to seeing a democratic change on the island of Cuba."
The interview was recorded and will be translated into English by the students in the class and placed in both English and Spanish on the college's Web site next week.
Student Kayleigh Pangle, 16, said she had difficulty understanding some of what Leiva said but picked up on his passion for the subject.
"I could catch about a third of it, but I could understand what he was talking about from the tone," she said. "I was so excited when I found out we were talking to him."
Wilder shares a mutual friend with Leiva and was able to arrange the interview.
"He was deeply moved that we wanted to do this interview," said Wilder, adding that she nearly cried herself while talking to him. "He wants the students to stay on top of what is going on in Cuba although he stressed that human rights is not all about Cuba. He said that several times."
Harmon said she was surprised that Leiva seemed in fairly high spirits.
"His energy was so high," she said. "I can't imagine getting out of prison in the circumstances he was in and not having my spirit completely broken."
The March 2002 protest Leiva participated in was a peaceful one at a Cuban hospital, where a visiting journalist who had reportedly been attacked by police was a patient.
Leiva and others sat on the floor and shouted "Long live human rights," resulting in jail sentences of up to eight years for some protesters, said to be convicted for their political beliefs.
The charges against them were disrespect for authority, public disorder, disobedience and resisting arrest.
"Two months ago I was a healthy man in spite of my blindness," Leiva wrote in a letter from prison in April 2002. "Presently, I am a sick person."
Exhibit will highlight how freedom is oppressed in Cuba
Laida Carro was only 12 years old when she left Cuba in 1963, but she says she left her heart behind.
"Those are the formative years," Carro said. "I miss the food, I miss the music, I miss the land, and I miss the way families were."
But not all of Carro's recollections of Cuba are fond, as she also remembers living under the regime of Fidel Castro.
"Most people don't understand the nature of that regime, but those that live there will tell you it is hell," said Carro, now president of the Coalition of Cuban-American Women in Miami. "There's one TV (station), one newspaper - they control the media. You have to go to your job and do what they want. After living in a free world, it's insanity."
Carro will help bring awareness to the issues in Cuba locally when she speaks at Washington State Community College Feb. 12. Carro's visit coincides with the traveling exhibit, "Prisoners of Conscience," which features a quilt bearing the names of 75 political prisoners arrested and tried in 2002 in Cuba.
"These people were arbitrarily arrested in March while the rest of the world focused on Iraq," said Tanya Wilder, Spanish professor at Washington State. "Castro's regime arrested over 80 journalists, librarians and human rights activists who were part of movements calling for peace and democracy."
Though peaceful in nature, those involved in the movements often face danger, said Carro in a telephone interview Tuesday from her Miami home.
"In Cuba, dissent is a crime," she said. "They have to crush anyone who speaks or expresses themselves differently. There are accidents that happen; sometimes people are run over, some go into exile and some go to prison."
Those arrested were tried in Cuba in April and given sentences ranging from eight to 25 years in prison, said Wilder.
The jails are not like those in the United States, she said.
"Some of the prisoners are in very, very poor health," Wilder said. "They're housed in miserable conditions and some are put in solitary confinement."
The "Prisoners of Conscience" quilt was created by Cuban human rights activists in Boston to raise awareness of the conditions in the country under the 45-year totalitarian communist regime.
The quilt has only been shown at a handful of sites in the U.S., including Miami and Los Angeles. After its stay at Washington State Community College from Feb. 8 through 15, the quilt will be displayed at Georgetown and Harvard universities before beginning a tour of Europe.
The candlelight program featuring Carro will also include speaker Terry Anderson, who was held hostage for six years in Lebanon and is now honorary chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Each who attends will have the chance to light a candle in honor of someone on the quilt, imprisoned in Cuba.
It was Wilder's friendship with Carro that enabled Washington State to host the exhibit.
"It's a big land for the college and for this area," said Wilder. "It's going to provide a very unique occasion when those who know little about Cuba will have the opportunity to learn and become informed from those who know about it first-hand."
Though Cuba is close in proximity to the United States, most Americans likely don't know about the frustrations of the Cuban people, said Carro.
"Cuba is 90 miles from the U.S., but many Americans are not aware," she said. "All those in that regime want is to stay in power, and they've done that for 45 years with the help of the indifference of the world."
Washington State student Tammy Huck, 28, said she rarely hears about the plight of Cubans.
"There are big news stories once in a while, but for the most part, it doesn't seem to get the attention," Huck said. "You hear about similar circumstances of poverty and oppression in other places, but not in Cuba."
Carro said part of her presentation will be explaining how those in the Mid-Ohio Valley can help.
"Our goal is not to topple this government, but to inform people about it," she said. "I believe in grassroots activism and that within a community, you can create consciousness."
The horrendous day-to-day conditions that the 75 prisoners of conscience face is only one symptom of a bigger problem in Cuba, said Carro.
"We're a frustrated nation," she said. "No one has understood us for so long."
bron: http://www.canf.org/2004/principal-ingles.htm