A couple of photos I found online tonight offer plenty of reasons to remain optimisic about the struggle for liberty in Cuba, and to avoid the self-pity it might be easy to fall victim to in the absence of anything resembling progress.
This one was attached to a report by independent journalist Aini Martín Valero about a vigil on behalf of political prisoner María de Los Ángeles Borrego Mir, an activist with the Rural Federation of Latin American Women (FLAMUR) serving a 4-year prison sentence for being a supposed “social danger.” Joining FLAMUR activists were members of the Republican Party of Cuba.
If Cubans struggling each day to keep what little liberty they enjoy have the courage to allow themselves to be photographed and identified as opponents of the dictatorship, shouldn’t the rest of us also not be afraid, whatever “anguish” it might cause us?
The other photograph was of several Cuban dissidents, including journalist Martín (in the dark red tank top), commemorating on Friday the 40-year anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
It is inspiring to realize that at least some in the Cuban opposition see their struggle as part of a larger campaign for liberty worldwide. Just as American freedom could not be fully enjoyed until black Americans were welcomed at the table, neither can Americans — and Cubans and Chinese and Mexicans and everyone else — be fully free until Cuba is free.
It is not a surprise that King would be an inspiration.
King’s “non-violent direct action on behalf of civil rights marked a paradigm in the history of opposition struggle, which is why we see King reflected in our struggle for respect of human rights in Cuba,” said Julio César Valcarcel Ballester, a member of the Republican Party of Cuba from Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba.
All we need is these same people to take it onto the streets NOW .. Cant be inside four walls anymore, the streets is where is at..Or nothing will ever change
lo unico que falta ahora es que alguien diga o se pruebe que Oscar Biscet es Antinorteamericano
no Biscet has not told me shit
Martin Luther King Jr. was far from perfect, and many of those around him, much less so. But there is no denying that his was a message relevant to ALL Americans. That is, he implored the nation to deliver on the promise of America for all Americans, that they freedom the majority enjoyed would never reach maturation until it was enjoyed by all Americans. He was an American, but his was a message with universal value. If Cubans feel as if it is worth emulating, it only adds power to what King accomplished.
And to imply that something is wrong with these Cubans because they choose to honor King, reveals a misunderstanding of King and what these Cubans are trying to accomplish.