We are not going to heal you because you are a Black Counter-Revolutionary

Bertha Antunez Pertet, talks about racism in Cuba at the hands of the communist. She recalls how in 93 when her brother dissident Jose Luis Garcia Perez (Antunez) was in prison for political reasons, he endured additional mistreatment and humiliation due to the color of his skin and she recalls a horrible incident, that seems like something right out of 19th century Spanish colonialism, where her brother's jailers incited some dogs to attack him and they destroyed parts of his body, but he was refused medical care and was told......____"We are not going to heal you, because you are a black counter-revolutionary". 


Nowadays,  Antunez is out of prison, but lives in Cuba and in his own way he is a free man. He is an outspoken critic of the Castro Regime and twitters and blogs for freedom. He calls his blogs "Ni me Callo ni me Voy", which means, I will not be Silent and I will not Leave.


Racism is and has been evident from the early days of the communist revolution and even before the bearded men came down from the hills of Sierra Maestra in 1959. The communists want the world to believe that they are for equality, but the reality is very different and in a crowd the black man with be the first to be asked for his identity papers and racial slurs during arrests of dissidents or none dissident is common practice and if they are unlucky enough to end up in prison-they always get the worse treatment.

Interviewed March 2011

Bertha Antúnez Pernet was born in 1959 to a family of limited means. She began to become politically aware in 1990 when her brother, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (“Antúnez”), was unjustly charged with “enemy propaganda” for saying in a public square that Cuba should experience the same political changes that were taking place in Eastern Europe. He was incarcerated and then charged with additional political offenses during his confinement, which extended his sentence until 2007.

Antúnez Pernet became increasingly aware of the gravity of the human rights situation in Cuba through visiting her brother in prison and learning about the conditions to which he and other prisoners of conscience were subjected.

In 1997, Antúnez Pernet and other family members of political prisoners founded an organization called the National Movement of Civic Resistance Pedro Luis Boitel to fight ill-treatment in prison. By 1999, the movement had collected over 5,000 signatures for a general amnesty of political prisoners in Cuba. It has also carried out protests in front of various prisons throughout the island. 

Source:

The Freedom Collection

The Courage to be Free!

I wanted to share this blog post and video about the Cuban resistance, who now more then ever need the support of the international community and especially the US. Throughout our history Cubans looked to the US for inspiration. It's important for them to know that they have our support and our admiration. Knowing the world is watching gives the resistance the courage to carry on. Visit the blog, Uncommon Sense for more information on the Cuban Resistance movement.
The National Endowment for Democracy has produced this outstanding video about the Cuban democracy movement, focusing on the five activists it honored last month with its Democracy Award.

As the video makes clear, their struggle is the struggle of all free men, and those risking their lives for that freedom.

Viva Cuba Libre!

The Courage To Be Free: Tribute to Cuban Democracy Activists from National Endowment for Democracy on Vimeo.

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