I couldn't agree more with Michael Robbins.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Cuban political system, it's worth remembering that Robert Kent is funded by right wing Cuban-American means. Plus, the 'librarians' he refers to are not librarians but are mostly fronting dissident political
parties. Once again, I refer anyone interested in the matter to look at http://www.folly.ology.org.uk/robert_kent.html
Sending messages of hope and comfort to prisoners of conscience can be organised through Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org who will provide further details.
Pam Foster
[log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: Robbins Michael Mr (LIB) l178
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 1:55 PM
Subject: Re: Holiday Cards for Librarians in Prison
Not that LIS-LINK is a proper forum for such blatant propaganda, but if Mr
Kent insists on going into that area, how about sending Christmas greetings
to the detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Michael Robbins,
Senior Library Assistant,
University of East Anglia Library,
Norwich,
NR4 7TJ
01603 592437
This e-mail represents the personal views of the sender, and in no way
reflects the policy of the University of East Anglia.
-----Original Message-----
From: A general Library and Information Science list for news and
discussion. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Robert Kent
Sent: 07 December 2004 13:09
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Holiday Cards for Librarians in Prison
As the holiday season approaches and our thoughts turn to celebrations with
friends and family members, we hope you will pause to express compassion for
our library colleagues in Cuba who are enduring long prison terms for daring
to
challenge censorship. All of the Cuban librarians have been adopted as
prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International.
Since 1998 approximately 250 unofficial libraries, with the goal of offering
public access to uncensored books, have been opened in private homes in
Cuba.
Persecution of the island's volunteer librarians intensified in March 2003
when many libraries were raided, resulting in the seizure and burning of
book
collections and the arrest of the librarians. After one-day trials, about 15
of
Cuba's volunteer librarians are now serving prison terms of up to 26 years.
The health of many of the prisoners is poor due to bad food, contaminated
drinking water and harsh conditions, such as long periods in tiny punishment
cells where the one small ventilation window is covered with a sheet of
metal,
causing temperatures to 45 degrees Celsius in the fierce heat of the Cuban
summer.
The imprisoned librarians, often denied family visits and food packages sent
from home, are told by their interrogators that no one in the outside world
knows or cares about their fate. We are asking you to show that you do know
and
do care by sending holiday cards to the family of an imprisoned librarian.
The
arrival of brightly colored Christmas or New Year's cards will send
much-needed encouragement to family members who are spending the holidays
away from
their father, son or husband. Word of your act of kindness will filter
through to
the prisoners and reinforce their conviction that their sacrifices for the
cause of freedom are known and honored in the outside world.
The members of this listserv are being asked to send colorful Christmas or
New Year's cards to the family of Dr. Jose Garcia Paneque, a physician who
is
also a volunteer librarian. He is serving a 24-year sentence. Dr. Paneque
has
experienced physical and mental health problems as a result of his
imprisonment.
He has a wife and four children. Messages in the cards to Dr. Paneque's
family can be written in any language, but the Spanish phrase for Merry
Christmas
is "Feliz Navidad" and Happy New Year is "Feliz Aņo Nuevo" (the symbol "~"
above the letter n is important). Please include adequate airmail postage on
the
envelope. To make it more likely that your card will be delivered, DO NOT
write
the word "library" or "biblioteca" on the envelope. The address of Jose
Garcia Paneque's family is:
La Familia Garcia Paneque
Calle Emilio Gonzalez #63
entre Avila y Licea
Las Tunas
Provinica Las Tunas
CUBA
Thank you very much for your expression of concern, and we wish all of you
"Happy Holidays." We would appreciate hearing from those of you who send a
holiday card to a Cuban family. Please ask your friends and colleagues to
also send
cards.
Sincerely,
The Friends of Cuban Libraries
(WWW.FRIENDSOFCUBANLIBRARIES.ORG)
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