Andres Carrion Alvarez was born, raised and disillusioned in communist Cuba.
And after 40 years poverty, repression and soulless living -- and supposedly the free education and health care that make Cuba such a wonderful place to live -- Andres Carrion Alvarez had had enough.
So on Monday, he went to the Papal Mass in Santiago de Cuba and going off the script for the Ptoemkin stageplay orchestrated by church and state, Carrion let out all his anger, frustration and grief.
Abajo el comunismo!
Down with communism!
If the Castro goons that hustled him away had given him a chance to go on, Carrion -- who on Friday turned 40 years old -- might have continued with his denouncements.
Down with the schools that turn children into slaves for the state and snitches on their parents.
Down with the health care system that caters best to the needs of the elite and kills patients because of its ineptitude.
Down with a system that sent out its goons to block Cubans who differ with the dictatorship from attending Mass.
Down with the secret police watching you on every corner, ready to pounce on any sign of rebellion or free expression of what a Cuban really thinks and wants.
Down with communism!
As bad as the conditions that drove Carrion to his courageous act are, they do not compare to what he probably has experienced during the past five days.
There has been no information released about his whereabouts and conditions, but Carrion presumably is locked away in one of the dictatorship's dungeons, suffering unimaginable tortures, until the moment the communist regime figures the world has forgotten about him.
But he will not be forgotten. Time will tell whether Carrion will inspire other Cubans to say, Basta! -- Enough! -- but his is already a powerful symbol of the desire for freedom that dwells in every man.
Hopefully, his example of acting on that desire will spread.
Show your support for Carrion and demand his safe release by signing this petition.
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