The New York Times today reprints an essay by Raúl Rivero, a Cuban poet recently sentenced to 20 years by the Castro regime. The entire thing is worth reading, but this should give you a good indication of how powerful it is:
"I cannot feel guilty. It is almost as if I were being accused of breathing, or as if an eventual prison term had been predicted for me because I love my daughters, my mother, my wife, my brother, my friends.
"I cannot assume I am a criminal because I recounted with precision the drama of more than 300 political prisoners, or reported that a building in Old Havana was demolished, or published an interview with a Cuban who wants a pluralistic society complete with freedom of expression.
"No one, no law, can make me assume the mentality of a gangster or a criminal because I report the arrest of a dissident or a lawbreaker, or make known the prices of basic food products in Cuba, or write an article saying it's a disaster that each year thousands and thousands of Cubans go into exile, to the United States, and hundreds of others living abroad try to remain wherever they happen to be."
Again, the entire thing deserves your attention.
Article comments
1 - Murphy
wow. thanks for sharing, pd.
Persecution is a terrible thing.