Solanch
Sanz Suárez, Fourth Grade Pioneer of the Paquito González Cueto Elementary
School, Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba
Dear
Fidel:
People
of Cuba:
With great
sorrow we have learned that once again, inspired by the unjust Cuban Immigrant
Adjustment Act, that was again defended by the President of the United States a
few days ago, a small group of Cuban citizens, taking a four-year-old girl with
them, embarked upon a dangerous venture by hijacking a plane used in Cuban
agriculture. This is a law that has caused the death of many Cubans; a law that
allows the hijacking of airplanes and boats; a terrorist, murderous law that has
filled with sadness many of our schools, because one of its pioneers will no
longer be among us; a law that has deprived many Cuban families of the love of
their dear ones.
The Cuban Immigrant
Adjustment Act has encouraged many parents to drag their children to
considerable danger at sea where many of them have lost their lives. These were
children who lived happily here, who played with their friends in their
neighborhoods, who attended their schools, where they had the right to a
comprehensive education, with the most modern educational programs, such as the
computing program enjoyed by no other children in the world, and with no more
than 20 students per classroom. This educational program includes the
reconstruction of their schools, where they felt respected and loved, where they
had the right to belong to the José Martí Pioneers' Organization, which prepares
us to be better Cubans, better followers of Martí, which teaches us to love and
know nature.
Can
there be worse terrorism than provoking an act such as this? Certainly not! You,
Mr. President, and your government, who call yourselves standard-bearers of the
fight against terrorism, know it very well and, nevertheless, you continue
encouraging laws such as this one. But I am even more surprised when you do not
allow Haitian immigrants who reach your shores to enter your country, because
you say that that way you keep others from dying at sea seeking refuge in the
United States. Then, I ask myself: isn't it the same sea where Cubans are dying?
Why, then, do you incite Cubans to do it? Or is it that you just want Cuban
children to die? Is it that you need more Cuban than Haitian votes in Miami?
What makes you act so differently in your policy?
·
Is
it because there is a praiseworthy and victorious revolution in
Cuba?
·
Is
it because we respect human rights here, especially those of
children?
·
Is
it because in Cuba we are training intelligent people, able to think and
appraise how unjust your policy is?
·
Is
it because in Cuba even we, the youngest, are not afraid of your
empire?
·
Is
it because Cuba is the hope of all the poor countries of the
world?
Answer
these questions for yourself, Mr. President.
If
you want to allow Cubans to enter your country, why, then, are there cases such
as that of one of the persons in the aircraft, who had been denied visa twice
and now, after traveling illegally, has been accepted into your
country?
You
should know, Mr. President of the United States, that we Cuban pioneers do not
want laws such as this one that kills our classmates. We want the migratory
agreements to be observed so no more Cubans die. We want you to respect the
resolutions of the United Nations, where only hours ago 173 countries voted in
favor of lifting the blockade imposed against our
country.
We
pioneers, as part of this patriotic people, also demand that you stop, once and
for all, the irrational policy toward Cubans that puts them in danger of losing
their lives moved by the contemptible interests of people who in the "unstable
and brutal North" dream of making us surrender or seeing our hopes
shattered.
Cubans:
For
the freedom that we are defending today and for the love of the life we are
constructing:
Pioneers
for Communism, we will be like Che!
María
Isabel Torres Alonso, Director, School of Fine Arts, San Antonio de los
Baños
Cubans,
we are in combat!
Our
homeland looks at us with pride!
We
are in combat, for all the glory we have lived through; the glory of holding on
to life with our own hands. We are
in combat for the legacy passed on to us by those who forged and are still
forging the Cuban Nation, its independence, its freedom, its
stature!
Cubans:
When
ours are the dreams that are raised with joy, filling up every little piece of
silence in every morning of schools, scarves and anthems which make us grow as
we learn;
When,
while steeped in those ideas, we all go in search of that sustainable
future;
When
my stoical people hopes for new goals, for a better quality of life, with the
austerity that characterizes us and makes us feel
stronger;
When
solidarity, confidence, and the commitment to attain victory have become an
everlasting motto in Pinar del Río and in the whole Island after and even before
the lashing of the hurricanes;
When
Cuba moves forward upright, optimistic, inspiring, amidst the withered faces of
other peoples, whose misery, their exploitation, their acculturation, their lack
of identity makes you feel outraged;
When,
for the 11th time, 173 votes condemn the empire, which is still
determined to maintain its blockade against us;
When,
after growing bigger, we continue to move ahead, the empire tosses and turns in
its macabre show where we are portrayed as
terrorists.
And
it so happens that yesterday, our health labs, which have worked to promote health, were producing
offensive biological and chemical weapons.
And
today, our diplomats are spies.
Today
Cuba is seen as a threat to the anti-terror crusade designed and advised by the
"Emperor", while American troops laid waste to Afghanistan and prop-up Sharon
through that bloody orgy that is exterminating the Palestinian
people.
Yesterday,
today, and all along these 43 years, the same stubborn policy of the empire
against our country; the double standards of a government that took office
thanks to the support of the ultra-right wing and the Cuban-American
mob.
During
four decades, the Cuban Adjustment Act and the siren songs which have been
advertised with irrational fanfare, have encouraged thousands of Cubans to
migrate illegally, thus taking a heavy toll on their
lives.
The
Cuban Adjustment Act is a reflection of the double standards of the
anti-terrorist policy ordered from Washington;
Unscrupulous
persons who violate the Cuban law through acts of air piracy are welcomed
opened-arms.
The
Cuban Adjustment Act encourages violence and death;
It
tries to subvert order through the state-sponsored terrorism policy applied by
the United States against my country.
It
favors the Cuban-American mob, whose savings, worth millions, and Congressional
seats have been obtained at the expense of the Cuban
issue;
I
accuse the government of the United States of causing the death of our
compatriots and the separation of Cuban families!
I
accuse the government of the United States of inciting and perpetrating air
piracy acts!
On
behalf of the Cuban people, I call for a cease of the hostile policy of
Washington against my country!
We
say to the Empire and its bootlickers that the Cuban people are here, demanding
the elimination of the murderous Cuban Adjustment
Act.
Raising
our voices to claim for that machete charge to kill the
rogues.
Asking
the mambi bugle player to call for a cutthroat charge after an order of the Generalissimo. And then we will see that Maceo will be
ready once again to put up with any new bullet to defend his
homeland.
To
the top of our voices, we call for a machete charge to kill the rogues, and we
will see how Marti is back again in Tampa from Dos Rios, and from Tampa he will
go to Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, Venezuela, where he will embrace Bolivar with
his impassioned discourse, claiming for our America, the America of all
Americans.
Let
us charge against those who are lobbying to neoliberalize us, to globalize us,
to impose free trade on us, on behalf of our unconsulted
peoples.
Let
us charge against those who suppress truth in an attempt to put behind bars its
light that illuminates and
kills.
Let
us charge, Cubans, for we will not allow Cuba to be touched in the least, just
as we will not in the least give in to Imperialism.
We
are on the right path, Camilo!
Ever
Onward to Victory!
Homeland
or Death, Cubans!
We
shall Overcome!
Dr.
Alberto Naranjo Bohera, Director, Maternity Home of Old
Havana
Commander
in Chief,
Dear
people of Cuba,
Compatriots;
The history of
our country, full of heroic episodes performed by our people all along these 44
years of courageous battle against the most powerful empire on Earth, which
hates us and despise us, is a monument to the truth and the dignity that have
always characterized the Cuban people and its government, in the face of so many
lies and maneuvers, so much immorality and impudence on the part of the Miami
mob and its godfathers in Washington.
The
American government, that has been so deceitful to the world, has never been
able to mislead us with its double standards and despise against all
peoples. Today, through a
hypocritical speech, it is waging a war against the kind of terrorism that may
damage or interfere with its oil interests. It is not fighting against the terrorism
perpetrated by murderers such as Orlando Bosh, Posada Carriles, Basulto, Otto
Reich, and others of its same sort against our noble people since the first day
of the victorious and enlightening January of 1959.
Cuba,
our beautiful and beloved Island, which has been able to put up resistance
thanks to the strong will of its people and the genius of that person who has
dedicated his entire life to struggle for the happiness of his country, has
always followed a clean and honest policy in compliance with the migration
accords that were signed with the United States. We have never violated anything that was
agreed upon, we have never persecuted or mistreated anyone. We have never put any obstacles to the
re-incorporation of any person to his or her previous job. This is the truth, and the truth makes
us strong and
invincible.
Deception,
the sinister patrimony of the present US administration, is the last resort justify
for Mr. Bush to try to justify the murderous Cuban Adjustment Act, a miscreation
that lacks any ethical or humanitarian rationale. It is, in fact, a real shame and a major
source of concern for the American people to realize that their president, who
was imposed by the followers of Batista in Florida, is an inveterate
irresponsible and a liar who allows for the violation of the famous
"Anti-terrorist Shield" designed to protect his people, only on the basis of his
electoral compromise with the mobsters who outshine Ariel
Sharon.
Let
no one be mistaken about it. The
day when we resign to our freedom, our dignity, our independence, our honor of
steadfast revolutionaries, all Cuban illegal immigrants would be as much
despised, mistreated, beaten, humiliated and finally sent back as today are the
Haitians, Mexicans, and other citizens from the poor countries of our
hemisphere. Then there would be no
more Cuban Adjustment Act.
The
imperial government that tosses and turns with the counterrevolutionary mob is
not in the least human in its own treatment to other peoples. Those who during 44 years have tried to
make a whole people to surrender out of hunger, diseases and pain, something
that they also do in other parts of the world, can not be described any better
but as savage murderers. Should
there be an atom of justice in this world, they should be tried for having
committed crimes against humankind, as the most notorious terrorists ever to be
known by history.
Sooner
than later, peoples will rise, as Cuba did, against so much dishonor and
injustice in the planet. The empire
will be shaken and it will become unsustainable. The truth will still be our combat
flag.
The
genocidal policy against Cuba, which is based on mean political and imperial
interests, is the best example of the inhumane and vicious essence of
imperialism, and the feverish mind, full of hatred and contempt against human
beings of its rulers.
Our
country, which has so many times been attacked and a victim of the terrorism
that all these sinister characters are said to fight, has not but struggled for
the happiness of its people, its health, its culture, and has shed much light
and created much hope for all peoples of the world at this sad and dark moment
facing humankind.
What
other country in the world can love and care more for its
children?
Cuba,
a paradigm of solidarity with all peoples of the world, will never cease to send
health and happiness to all the poor people in this planet, and will never give
up in its struggle against illnesses and pain . The UN vote against the blockade is an
_expression of gratitude and recognition from all peoples to Cuba's everlasting
example. We have wanted to cast our
fate with all the poor people on earth, for a more just world, and with that
infinite confidence in victory, we shall overcome.
We
will never resign to our freedom, our independence and our sovereignty. The ideas and the principles with which
socialism has pervaded the hearts of all of us, free men and women, will be the
most valuable treasure to be guarded by millions of proud Cubans, ready to make
the ultimate sacrifice for our homeland and Fidel.
Cuba
will continue to be free for ever, and its truth will rise to the very top of
the altar, to the glittering image of the heroes of our homeland, to fall with
an added strength upon the gross lies of the deceitful mobsters of
Washington.
Glory
for ever to the values and principles which have made Cuba a monument to truth
and justice!
Long-live
Free Cuba!
Long-live
Fidel!
Iroel
Sanchez Espinosa, President of the Cuban Book
Institute
Commander
in Chief,
Comrades,
Cubans
all;
Nothing
that happens in the United States should be of any surprise to us. We know them only too well, since the
prophetic vision of Martí, which was confirmed, beyond any doubt, by decades of
interference and dependence, up until the heavy toll on the lives of the victims
of sabotages, pirate attacks, and biological aggressions after
1959.
But
all of a sudden, the perpetrators of such feats have become the leaders of a
world war against terrorism, with the criminal and enthusiastic collaboration of
their long-standing ally Osama Bin
Laden, which is a great paradox in a country where many terrorists are walking
in freedom by virtue of a state policy that is tolerant and rewarding to
them.
It
rewards terrorists with the freedom of complicity enjoyed in Miami by people
like Orlando Bosh, Basulto, and their cronies from the
Foundation.
It
rewards terrorists by incarcerating five Cubans who were protecting us from the
extremist groups who have not ceased to perpetrate actions against
Cuba.
It
rewards terrorists by leaving air piracy acts to remain
unpunished.
To
President Bush, air pirates are those persecuted who flee from communism; however, those who flee from the
capitalist dependence that leaves no possible way out, should be rejected and
even murdered. Those who hope to
live the American dream, dazzled by the hundreds of thousands of hours of
idealized images exported to the world by the commercial propaganda of the
developed capitalism, are relentlessly sent back to the nightmare of the Third
World.
The
Champion of anti-terrorism stated this very clearly: with Cuba we follow a different policy,
and that is why the perpetrators of the crime off Barbados, the kidnappers of
boats and the hijackers of planes live a happy life and are acclaimed in
Miami. There they welcome any
occasional pirate as a hero. For
the victims of consumerism and drugs, overcrowded schools, and street violence,
they spare policy brutality and imprisonment. For the poor black and Hispanic majority
that is filling up their prisons, there is no such Adjustment Act, but the
racial and classist adjustment of the law, which results in the biggest penal
population in the world.
And
as for the dissidence, just silence.
That is the fate that the empire reserves for intelligence and thoughts.
The appeal made by some of its most enlightened intellectuals against war was
published by the US press on a paid page of a single newspaper four months
later. Nobody ever since has spoken
about that manifest. Not a single
TV channel has made any comment about it, and there is not one foreign
correspondent in North America to investigate why has this happened in the
country that champions freedom of the press.
Not
a single Western embassy has been courting them. They have not received any
funds from the Agency for International Development or the National Foundation
for Democracy: the nice and
contemporary facade of the CIA.
They only do as their conscience dictate, they do not take orders from
any diplomat of a foreign power who pays to place its own ideas into the
mercenary mouths of its local puppets.
American
officials know only too well how can this be done. They did it in Eastern Europe and they
are trying to transfer that same experience to this Caribbean Island, but all to
no avail. Their diplomatic paradigm is Otto Reich –a terrorist who was involved
in the recent coup détat in Venezuela and the dirty war in Nicaragua- who
recently expelled four Cuban diplomats, as a token of the electoral campaign in
Florida.
In
his demagogic speech, Bush and his Reich spoke about freedom for
Cuba:
-
Freedom
to buy votes
-
Freedom
to provide shelter for terrorists
-
Freedom
to corrupt the courts.
And
to them we say, as we did in 1868 and 1895, and during Girón and the October
Crisis.
Long
Live Free Cuba!
-
Free
from Yankee proconsuls.
-
Free
from corrupted elections.
-
Free
from human smugglers.
-
Free
from unpunished terrorists.
Homeland
or Death,
We
shall overcome!
Grettel
Rafuls Trujillo, 9th grade Pioneer, Junior High School "Ruben Martinez Villena",
Havana
My
people,
It
is impossible to forget the way in which, from this same battleground, one year
ago, on November 27, 2001, Cuban children and adolescents drew the attention of
the world; the moment when, with all the strength in our hearts and our voices,
we echoed the pain of a group of Cuban families after the loss of thirteen
children, whose death resulted from the irresponsible attitude of the adults who
had forced them to leave illegally from our country, as well as from the
genocidal policy applied by the imperial government against Cuba, the best
example of which being the implementation of the murderous Cuban Adjustment
Act.
We
claim for justice out of great anger, because deep in our hearts we feel the
pain of knowing that we had been deprived from priceless
treasures.
As
a Cuban youngster living in the present times, entertaining the same dreams,
aspirations, worries, and desire to live life to the full as any other youngster
my age in this world, but with a much more accurate vision of today's humankind
thanks to the education provided to me by the Revolution, and of the ethical
concepts and principles that are taught under a socialist society, I support the
considerations and opinions of all the pioneers from my
generation.
Do
we, Cuban pioneers, who enjoy the benefits of an unusual revival of creation in
the fields of education, culture, and the arts, have any need to become
depositaries of the apparent charities of the government of the United States,
as different from the rest of Latin Americans?
The answer is quite evident, for there is an abysmal difference between
the potential to excel for a Cuban child from the moment it is born and that of
any child anywhere in this planet.
We
are speaking about a new Cuba, but not the one suggested by the fantastic
virtual reality of Bush. We are
speaking about a new Cuba that has reaffirmed its socialist vocation, that is
aware of the need to implement renovating projects to revitalize, legitimize,
and pervade human beings with a thirst for knowledge; a new Cuba that is trying
through every possible means to organize its economy in such a way so there
could be no hurricane that could wipe out the smiles, hopes and satisfactions
from the face of any dwarf prince for having a school equipped with the
technical means that would make it easier and further enrich the educational
process. All those children who die
in the quest for a promised paradise are forced to resign from this wonderful
homeland.
It
is this bitter sentence that is saddening to all of us, who do enjoy from the
magic of the country that is being rediscovered by all of our
people.
Is
there any right to clip the wings of those who are so eager to do new things,
given the innocence and the happiness of their age?
Culture
is the only weapon that will never become obsolete, no matter how much updated
the war industry may be. That was
the educational message that was conveyed to all youths who neither worked nor
studied. We have reached the point of creating a job that seemed
unthinkable some years ago: that of studying.
The
revolution that is going on in all our junior high schools, the new strategies
designed by the country to provide youth with good clean entertainment, the
giant challenge to take the universities to all the municipalities, the
refurbishing of all schools in the capital, which will be extended to all the
schools in the country, the fact
that today we can all have TV sets, VCRs, and personal computers in all
our classrooms, are undeniable evidence of how much is being done in Cuba to
improve the educational level of the people, which means that the quality of
their lives will improve too.
If
we value what we have, if we are aware of the way in which we should defend all
that we have achieved, is because we have enough reason for judgment to conclude
that we are privileged precisely for having been born in
Cuba.
It
breaks our heart to see that most of the world's children and youth resort to
alcoholism, pornography, the consumerism that alienates their minds, and
drug-addiction as a form of entertainment, fostered by the capitalist
system. However, Cuban pioneers are
addicts to love, reading, friendship, joy, and the pleasure of being
happy.
I
urge the mobsters and traitors based in Miami to review their concepts of
terrorism and freedom. For, either
theirs do not agree with ours or they see no convenience in such
agreement.
And
to those criminals who, by mere chance, were born here, those who have
shamefully resigned to the traditions of struggle of our people by adopting the
obnoxious attitude of the Cuban American National Foundation, those who accuse
us of violating human rights, those for whom there is no other law but money, we
will say, as expressed by our Apostle, that traitors are the ones who take for
themselves all the honors, in front of those who are the embodiment of
homeland.
Pioneers
for Communism!
We
will be like Che!
Elizabeth
Mirabal Llorens, Student, 11th grade, "Vladimr Ilich Lenin"
School
People
of Cuba;
The
battle that we are all waging is enhanced day after day. The strong belief that we are invincible
is confirmed simply because Cuba feels an ambassador of the undeniable
truth. The voice and the arm of the
homeland will not give in, they will not put the sword down, for plunging it
into the mud of capitulation would be worse than surrendering; it would cast an
all out shame over the people who has struggle for so long against ignorance and
injustice. Our people can dare to
say that the shadow cast by the eagle should not cover the
world.
History
teaches us, provides us with reason for judgment, compiles facts, and links its
own origins to the present to envisage the future. History has taught us that the birds of
pray have not lost sight of their target.
The wounds are still open, and the dagger still keeps its poison. It all depends on the terminology that
is used. What was in the past the
"ripe fruit" policy has now become the Cuban Adjustment
Act.
The
facts that have moved us all, evidence, beyond any doubt, that those evil
purposes remain unchanged, add up to a new violation of the laws of our own
country as well as of several international conventions. It has been one of the most serious and
criminal violations ever perpetrated and promoted by a government that has dared
to call himself an advocator of human rights and a major opponent against
terrorism, a scourge that is distorting the skin of the
planet.
The
kind of piracy that outshines Jacques de Sores, the hijacking of a Cuban
airliner, whose final destination
was Miami, add up to a long list of misdeeds. Fortunately, this time no one died, but
all these Cubans could have been those who continue to die in the Florida
Straits. And this is no
lie.
Our
people have known of many other examples of this. This hijacking will give the lie to
anyone who may think otherwise. The
US government has given itself a lie by welcoming those who risk their own lives
driven by the popularity of a murderous law and attracted by the dazzling
prosperity that colossal and luxurious nation has been boasting of since the
time of the American International Conference in 1889, in the presence of the
delegates that came from the lands of Juárez, Sucre, Hidalgo, Morelos, Bolívar,
the kind of prosperity that was envisaged by Martí, when he refused to consign
the Quetzal and the beloved Inca ruins to oblivion.
The
Cuban-American mob, which enjoys the full support for things that could seem
unconceivable to humankind, shows complacence. The only interest they pursue, that of
enhancing their ego by perpetrating a politically degrading incident, has been
satisfied under the diabolic and subtle guise of death. Those who deport other immigrants
claiming their own protection turn a blind eye to the protection of their own
people.
There
are many daily flights carrying many American passengers heading for Cuba. They could very well be victims of a
terrible and unfortunate accident.
Cuba has punished those who in the past used to hijack planes from the
United States to Cuba.
Isn't
the US government moved by this constructive and just attitude adopted by our
government?
In
what remote place has the government of the United States lost the dignity of
the forefathers of that country, namely Lincoln, the pious eyes lumberjack, and
Martin Luther King?
How
can they speak against terrorism at prestigious international fora when they
have been, are, and will continue to be the nurturing ground of its
ingeniousness?
We
should recall the words expressed by one of our most enlightened politicians
when he said that to refuse to solve a problem that could become the source of
future evils is like harvesting havoc for future generations. He said that we should live our times,
struggle, speak the truth with courage, and dismantle the impudent
complacence.
Today
we appeal to the inflamed discourse, the words that provide contribution and
clarification, explanation and strength, to that very carefully selected
language that results from the power of knowledge, culture, the greater
awareness of our people that was forged during the battle at the Sierra Maestra
mountains and then in the valleys, to condemn all the lies with that same
language that we learned to speak when the beast of hatred showed its paws in
Barbados.
They
who deprived a promising group of offspring from their own lives are still to be
punished, and even a special date has been designated to commend them for their
misdeeds. The only days of special
significance to us are these, when we remember the tragedy of so many Cubans who
have been victims of terrorism, the same common, ordinary terrorism that
threatens us all.
This
is the stand of all Cuban students, who are the main pillars of Freedom, its
most faithful army, for they know that stars do not disappear even if they are
eclipsed by the Sun. This is the
stand of all workers, children, farmers, intellectuals and scientists. There is
only one flag and only one combat front.
Our unifying, demolishing, infinite claim is hereby reiterated against
the Cuban Adjustment Act, against the blockade, for the freedom of our Five
Heroes imprisoned by the Empire, for the solidarity with all peoples, living up
to the oath that we made in Baraguá, to convey culture to every single
citizen.
Cuba
is standing on its feet. Cuba has
conquered its independence and could not be placed in shackles again. Cubans have been taught the principles
of decorum and we have all chosen the same star. The star of Marti, the one that
illuminates and kills, the rebel star on Che´s beret, the lonely star of our
national flag, the star that crowns Cuba.
And that star irradiates its light to show us the way, the only possible
way, the one that leads Ever Onward to Victory!
Claudia
Felipe Torres, National Chairwoman of the Medium-Level Education Students
Federation
Dear
Comandante:
Compatriots:
"The
platform of truth will always remain when all other platforms fall," said our
José Martí. "The truth has a simple language, it has a secret force that
convinces, enthralls and conquers."
Our
homeland beckons us to raise the truth, unique and unquestionable, to the place
it deserves. Being the obstinate bearers of truth for decades has not been easy,
no matter how altruistic the task of brandishing
it.
We
are summoned by the evident crisis of truth provoked by the North that scorns
us; so much have they ill-treated, dirtied, hackneyed and hidden it. All spaces
are valid for their characteristic trade of deceit. The big multinationals of
misinformation, the paradigmatic free American press, is undoubtedly free to
lie.
The
bearers of truth are banished as befits the imperial tradition, four of them,
worthy sons of this land, were recently forced to leave the domains of the
greenback monarch in the name of the old, recurrent politics of l'etat se
moi.
However,
the truth, tarnished, twisted, incarcerated, banished, negotiates the obstacles
bathed in light.
The
truth beckons us in this space where sea and sky come together in their tropical
splendor. But we are not beckoned by the festivity of their beauty. How often
they have been dressed in mourning!
How
many lives have been lost in the Florida straits in the name of the besmirched
truth! The sky has also presented itself without its heavenly regalia to bring
us fear in murderous bombs and pirates worthy of the outrages of their
ancestors. The American people know very well that the skies can dress up as
death.
But
the Cuban exception is a story-telling resource. The irrationality and double
standards assumed by the American government in the last few days requires the
preparation of a linguistic and legal dictionary that could well be entitled
Dictionary of the Royal Academy of Cynicism.
It
turns out that in the case of Cuba, the diversion of aircraft is worthy of
applause and crime is an honorable act, the mobsters are patriots and scientists
are designers of death, murderers are honest citizens and genuine leaders are
tyrants; The people's security is a concept in accordance with mean interests
and human traffic has been given carte blanche. In short, truth is unnecessary
and lies are indispensable.
The
rest, not included in their dictionary of exceptions, the collateral effects of
brutal neoliberalism, are the thousands of immigrants hunted like rats. They are
not an effective instrument of propaganda: those who run up against the official
border hordes are the fugitives of a system idealized and imposed by the United
States.
Another
exception, the defenders of truth, those who fight against the only possible
terrorism, the heroes, are criminals in their dictionary. Five of them, behind
bars, evoke what is most pure and clean in human essence, alien to the stink of
the vengeful and resentful Miami gutter. Antonio universalizes our truth in his
verses:
Know
ye that so rejoice in your last ignominy
That
in my boldness terror has no room
That
in my honor injustice does not work
That
in my virtue greed makes no dent
That
in my truth dignity coexists
That
in my love happiness always reigns.
The
truth, yearned for during millennia, object of speculations and theories, denied
and accepted, is as simple as the smile of a child or the infinite faith of a
people. In defending truth there is no place for exhaustion; it is grateful and
offers itself to everyone and convinces them without tricks or ornaments. No
trench is small in the defense of truth. Sincere words, hands ready to grasp the
earth, a rifle, a pen turn out to save it. Obstacles are futile and ephemeral.
They have come in succession for more than forty years in our road to absolute
freedom. As José Martí affirmed: "Poison oak grows in the field of an
industrious man and the snake hisses from its hidden laird, but the Sun
continues to shine in the realms of heavens and the truth continues unscathed
its march over the earth."
Listen,
mobsters, pirates, those who trade with lives, cynical rulers, we are an
exception, we are the honorable exception of your constellation of dishonor, and
our truth is multiplied into peoples who refuse to join your team of submissive
nations. Your political tricks will have to face the courage of this people of
giants.
Our
sky will continue to be a luminous refuge of dreams and lofty clouds to be
reached with our more than strong wings, and we warn the skeptics: This people
will only die forging the impossible and realizing utopias. On the road to
victory we may be offered the warm bed of the indolent. As the poet said, the
road may be filled with chairs inviting us to rest.
Once
the truth awakens, it will never sleep. And our truth has awakened and knows no
other road than the road to victory.
Long
live the Revolution
Freedom
for our heroes
Long
live our undefeated Commander-in-Chief
Homeland
or Death, We shall overcome!
Miguel
Manuel Fraga González, Deputy Chairman of the Federation of University Students,
Faculty of Law, University of Havana
I
come to this platform today with the immense pride of being Cuban, which means
being part of this heroic people admired and respected throughout the
world.
The
Northern Empire, vain and arrogant, thinks that the world belongs to them. They
impose their will and the rest of the planet must obey or face the consequences.
Peace reigns where they decide it should, justice for them is the one they
apply, democracy, the one they certify and control, the only terrorism they
acknowledge as such is the terrorism that harms them. It would seem as if the
United States of America only recognizes three categories of
countries:
1.
The
allies, which are the governments of countries that join them in their aims and
ambitions.
2.
The
lackeys, which are the governments of the countries that have to comply with the
mandate of the North no matter how absurd they may
seem.
3.
The
enemies, which are those countries that do not give in to the plans of the
Almighty master.
Cuba
has occupied this latter category from Eisenhower to W. Bush, for not obeying
their orders, for wanting to be truly free and independent. That is why we have
been treated as enemies, although we have never been and will never be enemies
of the American people. By means of a hostile, aggressive policy ten US
administrations have tried to vanquish our people and destroy the Revolution.
None of them have understood that the Revolution is the people itself, which
transform society with its sacrifice and efforts day by day building a better
future.
Our
people have been ready to pay the high price of freedom, even with its blood!
And it continues to fight today when the world is facing the threats of
war.
Since
September 11 of last year, Mr. W. Bush prides himself in leading a sacred war
against terrorism. And I mean sacred, because that little gentleman W. Bush
affirmed that in this war God was not neutral. It turns out that now the power
of the United States does not only decide things on Earth but also in Heaven. It
would be good to ask Bush senior if Allah or Buddha has been consulted. And I
would ask Bush senior, not Bush junior, for fear that the latter might not know
what deities I am talking about.
Mr. Bush, we know you owe that tragic September 11 a popularity you never
had at the polls, because you are a president de facto not de jure; in other
words, imposed.
Don't
be ignorant, Mr. Bush: Do you want culprits of terrorism? There you have all the
administrations that were in power before you. There you have your own father,
who gave his permission so that confessed; murderous, cowardly terrorists like
Orlando Bosh can walk freely through the streets of Miami. This forceful and
virile people shall never forget the Barbados crime! A crime which was
masterminded by Orlando Bosh and Posada Carriles.
Do
you want any more terrorists? There you have the anti-Cuban Miami mob with its
cowardly, murderous and treacherous commandos Alfa 66, F 4 and Omega 7. Why
don't you arrest them and have them tried?
Put
your lies aside and do true justice. Do not leave unpunished the murders and
crimes of which my people and your people have been victims, including the
recent hijacking of a Cuban aircraft. Regarding its perpetrator, we are only
claiming for one thing: justice.
Mr.
W. Bush, once I told you that you should change the initial of your middle name
(in Spanish the double-u is dobleve, which can be taken to mean sees
double or sees twofold) if you were not able to see
the true power of the Cuban people. Today I'll tell you more: Do you want to be
able to use that initial proudly? Then, have courage and a sense of shame, let
truth and peace reign rather than violence and war.
Cubans:
As
history not only acquits the innocent but condemns the guilty, some day history
will condemn them.
In
our struggle, we will never forget those who have died! Eternal glory for
them!
Our
struggle is one of ideas and we are invincible in this struggle, for we have the
courage, the dignity and other necessary virtues.
We
are not afraid, because nobody here in Cuba surrenders and we have not lost
hope!
The din of war shall be silenced by the voices of peoples that are
claiming for peace!
Some
day, sooner than later, that better world good people dream of will be a
fact.
Until
then, we will fight here as Che taught us to do:
Ever
onward to victory!
Long
live the heroic people of Cuba!
Long
live Fidel!
Hassan
Perez Casabona, Chairman of the University Student
Federation
Dear
Compatriots
Men
and women of a free, independent, sovereign homeland who have come here as the
_expression of a Revolution of the humble, by the humble and for the
humble;
A
people rich in history who for more than 134 years have been performing heroic
deeds drenched with our blood and energies;
A
people of titans;
Workers
who are the masters of their factories;
Students
for whom the revolution has conceived new educational and social programs, the
Presidente Allende School, the Lenin School, a school for social workers and
nurses, the universities of today and tomorrow, of the student movement,of more
than 80 years, together, in a free homeland, always accompanied by our
invincible Commander in Chief, a people of farmers, intellectuals, scientists,
of those who are willing to offer our hearts for Cuba and for the world, of
those who have made this tribune a
place of combat that transcends barriers.
We have come here to inaugurate the School for Latin American students or
to protest against the murderous Cuban Adjustment Act on September
25th, 2000, or on May day to demand that the people of Porto Rico be
independent and the withdrawal of the US Navy from Vieques on May 26th, 2001.
Here we have also come to present the new members of the Young Communist Union
with their membership card and here our young pioneers secondary and university
students receive a book when they graduate, as a symbol of ideas and arguments.
Today,
once again, the street and avenues are flooded with a massive demonstration of
more than 150 000 persons. It is not possible to see where the last of our
compatriots stands in this square vibrant with energy, passion and above all,
with ideas, impetus and revolutionary fervor.
We
will address three issues and as on previous occasions will expose each of the
lies.
They
accuse us of producing biological weapons which is a calumny, an infamy and an
outrage against our people and our scientists who produce vaccines for our
children to save their lives, to immunize them, to protect them so that Cuba can
continue to be a beacon of hope. What we produce is dignity, the idea that
another America is possible, that is what we produce in our laboratories, in our
schools. We produce sports trainers who come here with Italian, Venezuelan and
Brazilian teams to the International Baseball Championships. What we produce
here is the morale of the peoples at each and every one of these
institutions. No one believes these
fallacies. The accusations against our people have been disproved on multiple
occasions. It is time that they stop playing with a nation that has dedicated
what no one else has done, namely, to save human lives, to save the lives of
human beings in any latitude, without any prior conditions or barriers and by
overcoming all sorts or hurdles.
They
have expelled four diplomats from our Interest Section in Washington and from or
Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, accusing them of espionage,
diplomats whose main purpose was the promotion of relations between the noble
people of the United States, a people who is also cultured and 80% of the public
opinion of that country supported the return of Elian Gonzalez, a people whom
they want to deceive, whom they manipulate because they know that the blockade
cannot last forever, because it is an act of genocide, a terrorist act.
Our
four compatriots: Oscar, Machin, Francisco and Carlos are from the same lineage
of Emperatori, a moral Quixote, this is the lineage of our true diplomats who
contributed to the sounding success
with 173 votes in favor of the lifting of the blockade at the United
Nations and those who represent us at the Human Rights Commission. The only
thing they promote is peace, solidarity, brotherhood and equality.. They only
express the values of a Revolution, of a people with cultural, political
knowledge as you very well know.
They
will not be able to prevent our message from reaching out to the very hearts of
US society. They cannot silence our voices. Everyday more youth, honest
citizens, farmers, intellectuals, scientists, scholars, religious community
leaders are able to witness the undeniable advances of the Revolution, of the
Cuban people, of its programs and are truly impressed when they see what a poor,
third world country can do for its fellow human
beings.
They
have released the hijacker of an aircraft and his accomplices, which sets a
nefarious precedent by stimulating terrorist acts against our country and
air-piracy which was invented against Cuba. Cuba has placed all its resources
and determination in the struggle against terrorist actions.
Our
people has all the information. It is familiar with the double standards of the
White House when it comes to fighting terrorism. The President goes to Miami and
embraces the most infamous Mafiosi and terrorists of the continent, at a fund
gathering dinner that costs $ 25 000 a plate for the electoral campaign of his
brother, as was already expressed here.
Our
people is familiar with the criminal Cuban Adjustment Act which has caused the
lives of many of our citizens. Our people knows that terrorism against Cuba was
not invented on September 11, 2001.
We
have lost 3 478 lives and 2 099 of our brothers and sisters have been maimed.
The recent events have set a precedent which must be stopped in order to avoid
more problems for the international community.
They
speak of combating terrorism and every day we receive new proof of actions
undertaken to subvert the internal order of our country in order to destroy the
Revolution which is invincible,in order to destroy a people of heroes and we
must be better prepared every day so that the international community will know
that there is a policy for Cuba and another for the rest of the world.
We have seen the images of what happens
to the Haitians. We know what happens to Mexican migrant workers who die trying
to cross the boundaries of that country. Every year more Mexicans die in this
endeavor than those who tried to cross the Berlin Wall in 40
years.
Our
people have the necessary arguments. There is talk about the FTAA, which is none
other than a mechanism of imperial domination. Yet they do not speak of regional
integration but of the free flow of capital, goods and services. However, they
do not speak of a free flow of persons.
This
extraordinary demonstration once again unmasks the policy of the United States,
and demands an end to the machinations, to the criminal Cuban Adjustment Act and
to the blockade, for the same reasons that gave rise to the battle for the
return of Elian Gonzalez, which have not ceased. That is why we swore the
Baragua Oath which we carry out in our factories, schools and under the
leadership of our invincible Commander in Chief.
The
moral example of Cuba grows, from Doha to Dar es Salaam, from Damascus to
Windhoek, from Bridgetown to Kuala Lumpur, from Monterey to Athens, from Bavaro
to Malabo, whose Prime Minister graduated from a Cuban university, from Madrid
to Guadalajara, from Los Angeles to Bolivia. The whole world supports the cause
of the humble, of decency, sovereignty, independence and decorum of our
people.
Down
with the criminal Cuban Adjustment Act!
Long
live the Commanders of the Revolution!
Long
live our five heroes: Gerado, Fernando, Antonio, Ramon and
Rene!
Long
live Raul!
Long
live our invincible Commander in Chief!
Long
live of invincible Commander in Chief!
Socialism
or Death,
Homeland
or Death,
We
shall overcome!
Ernesto
Chico Véliz, Researcher of the Molecular Engineering
Center
Compatriots:
The US Immigration and Naturalization Service have once again let people
who stole a Cuban plane go free...
as they have done at other times with hijackers and
murderers.
But these gentlemen of the INS can sleep calmly when they turn into a
legal resident any criminal that comes from Cuba in a hijacked aircraft. They
are protected by a law, a law that clearly discriminates against the millions of
illegal Mexican immigrants, the more than 300,000 Salvadorans, the 160,000
Guatemalans and even the 100,000 Canadians that currently live in hiding within
the United States, without any right or hope of ever obtaining
citizenship.
Concerning this, the US President has said that all illegal immigrants
are turned back, except Cubans. And to justify this obvious discrimination, he
says that it is because Cubans are persecuted.
Who can believe this, Mr. President?
You know very well that the true persecuted are the masses of illegal
Latin American immigrants, who cross the Rio Grande risking death in the desert,
persecuted by your border guards, famous for their racist violence or by white
ranchers, who seem to long for the massacres of Indians carried out by their
ancestors while they were conquering the West.
No, Mr. President: a few days ago, the world was able to see on
television that the truly persecuted are the illegal Haitian immigrants, who
desperately ran toward the Miami shores, while your immigration officers hunted
them down like animals in an operation reminiscent of a Hollywood
movie.
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