Groups Across Canada Mark the 10 Years of Unjust Imprisonment of the Cuban 5!
Reports Edited and Compiled By
Tamara Hansen
On Friday September 12th 2008, Cuba solidarity
groups across Canada joined the call to raise
awareness about the fact that the Cuban 5
have now been in held unjustly in US prisons
for 10 years! Throughout the world supporters
of the Cuban Five organized over 40 actions
in defense of the Five and demanded their
immediate release from US prisons. Below are
short reports from the events held in Montréal,
Toronto and Vancouver.
VANCOUVER:
Excerpts below are from full reports at:
http://vancubasolidarity.com/freethefivevan.
html
“10 years too long!” rang through the streets
of Vancouver on September 12, 2008, the Free
the Cuban Five Committee-Vancouver and
Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with
Cuba co-organized the picket which saw over
25 people picket the US Consulate.
MC Noah Fine, the coordinator of the Free the
Cuban Five Committee-Vancouver, welcomed
everyone to the picket. The first round of
protesting began with people chanting for
justice for the Five. The first speaker, phoning
from Washington, DC, was Alison Bodine. She
spoke about the actions in Washington that
saw the US government arrest five Cuban 5
supporters for trying to deliver over 100,000
petitions in support of the Cuban Five to George
Bush.
The other two dynamic speakers were Charles
Boylan, a member of the Communist Party of
Canada (Marxist-Leninist) and Nita Palmer, an
organizer with the Free the Cuban 5 Committee-
Vancouver and the Pastors for Peace Caravan to
Cuba. Both spoke of the urgency of the case of
the Cuban 5 today and why people need to fight
for their freedom.
The picket was followed by an extremely
important and poignant cultural evening. In
a bold quest the FC5C-Van had sent a broad
call for original poetry to commemorate 10
years of our continued fight for justice. The
response was extraordinary with over 30 people
writing heart-felt poems for the 5 heroes and
this special cultural night. Over 45 supporters
and defenders of the Cuban 5 enjoyed a great
evening of original poetry for the 5 heroes,
at Mount Pleasant Neighborhood House in
Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Poetry was not only read in English, but also in
Spanish, French and Farsi. Added to this werepoems
sung as songs, poems read over powerful
music and hip hop infused spoken word. Many
poems had a common introduction…“I am not
really a poet,” or “I have never really written
poetry,” followed by how all had been inspired
to write their poem for the 5. From humble
introductions came moving and imaginative
poems that encompassed many aspects of
the case of the 5 Heroes, rousing emotions
of sorrow, happiness, anger and above all the
determination to continue the fight for their
freedom.
The beautiful film, “Ivette” about the daughter
of René González (one of the Cuban 5) was also
shown. The film illustrates the injustice inflicted
on 7-year-old Ivette, as she dedicates a drawing
to a father she hadn’t seen since she was 2.
The Free the Cuban Five Committee
– Vancouver & Vancouver Communities in
Solidarity with Cuba would like send another
great big “Thank You” to everyone who
contributed their poems!
TORONTO:
Excerpts from the full report at:
http://www.freethefive.org
This September 12th, Toronto participated in
the international condemnation of ten years
of the unjust imprisonment of the Cuban Five,
with an event organized by Toronto Forum on
Cuba and presented by Ontario Public Interest
Research Group at U of T, demanding freedom
for the Cuban Five and visitation rights for their
families.
Thando Hyman, the host of the “African Woman
and Family” program on 89.5 CIUT-FM, was
the master of ceremonies for the evening and
after welcoming everyone, she invited Morteza
Gorgzadeh to give a brief introduction of
Toronto Forum on Cuba.
The Honourable Consul General of Cuba in
Toronto, Laureano Cardoso, described the
injustice that the Cuban Five and their families
continue to be subjected to and he provided
some of the circumstances surrounding their
arrest and their conviction. Samira Amndan ,
the Honourable Consul and the Consul General
of the Consulate of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela in Toronto brought strong words of
solidarity for the Cuban Five.
Other wonderful and enthusiastic speakers
included: William Castilla Alvarez, a Social
Researcher and Human Rights Defender in
Colombia; Sister Marie Clark Walker, Executive
Vice President of the Canadian Labour
Congress; Keith Ellis, Professor Emeritus and
former Chair of the Latin American Studies
Committee of the University of Toronto; Juan
Carranza, Attorney at Law; and Mr. Khaled
Muammar, the President of the Canadian Arab
Federation.
A letter of solidarity was also read from Dave
Bleakney from the Education Department of
the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, who
was scheduled to speak.
Poetry written by two of the Cuban Five
–Antonio Guerrero and Ramón Labañino
was interpreted by Carlos Angulo from Perú
and by Ardis Harriman from CCFA-Toronto.
Benny Esguerra thrilled the audience with
his performance of a song entitled “Se Acabe
el Silencio” (Break the Silence), dedicated
to the Five and by singing and rapping more
lyrics filled with socially conscious context.
Ten-year old Skigh Johnson concluded the
cultural segment of the program, by performing
a monologue written by her, portraying Ivette,
René González’ daughter.
The event had a successful participation of
about 90 people united in demanding freedom
for the Cuban Five, over $1000 in donations
were collected for the Cuba Hurricane Relief
and hundreds for the Cuban Five campaign.
QUÉBEC:
Excerpts from a Press release of the Table de
Concertation Solidarité Québec-Cuba and
its Comité Fabio Di Celmo pour les 5.
On 12 September, there will be
exactly 10 years since the Cuban
Five are unjustly imprisoned in the
USA. In Montreal at the invitation of
the Table de Concertation Solidarité
Québec-Cuba and its Comité Fabio
Di Celmo pour les 5, more than 60
people came forward to the U.S.
consulate to demand the freedom of
5 Cubans imprisoned in the U.S. 350
informative leaflets were distributed
to pedestrians and passing cars while
demonstrators chanted slogans in
support of 5 and their families. The
participation of 5 people shackled and
dressed as prisoners and musicians
added to the animation of the event.
Earlier in the day, representatives
of the committee handed over a
petition to the U.S. consulate signed
by 2,020 Quebecers addressed to the
Ambassador of the United States
to Canada, David Wilkins. The
signatories support the demand: ‘Mr
Ambassador of USA to Canada, David
Wilkins: We demand the release of five
Cubans Gerardo Hernández Nordelo,
Antonio Guerrero Rodríguez, Ramón
Labañino Salazar, Fernando González
Llort, René González Sehwerert who
are unjustly imprisoned in the USA
for defending the Cuban people
against terrorist attacks.
We continue to hold picket lines once
a month before the U.S. consulate in
Montreal since May 2007. The event
was covered by national and local media.
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