Colleagues, and heroes

When I quote a news report by a Cuban independent journalist, I make it a point to name names, to give credit to whom it is due. It is a professional courtesy, from one journalist to another. But more importantly, I hope that by including the names of these incredibly brave women and men, the exposure provides them with a semblance of protection. The more their names circulate on the Internet, I figure the less likely the Cuban police will come knocking on their doors late at night. Maybe if I, and others, had told their stories sooner, maybe there now wouldn't be so many journalists locked away in Fidel Castro's gulag.

Naive, perhaps, and conceited, too. Tyrants will always do what tyrants do, especially to those committed to exposing their tyranny. And really, only a few dozen each day bother to check in on what I am writing. The Cuban dictatorship must have greater worries.

Still, it is vital that the world know of the work, and the courage, of the Cuban independent press. These are women and men who every day risk what little liberty they enjoy, to serve as the eyes and ears of their countrymen, to discover what really is happening on the island, and then to share their stories with the world. will always be proud to do what I can, to help them.

So, please, show your support, and read the works of:

Marco Antonio Lima.

And Caridad Caballero Batista.

And Esteban Sande Suárez.

And Ignacio Estrada Cepero.

And Lázaro Prieto Álvarez.

And Ahmed Rodríguez Albacia.

And Richard Roselló.

And Manuel Guerra Pérez.

And María Antonia Hidalgo Mir.

And Luis Esteban Espinosa.

And Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez.

And Tania Maceda Guerra.

All of them, and more, are my colleagues, my fellow Cubans and my heroes.