The public profile of Cuban political prisoners will receive a considerable lift this evening, when Blanca González, the mother of imprisoned journalist Normando Hernández González, takes her seat in First Lady Laura Bush's box in the U.S. House chambers for the State of the Union address.
From WhiteHouse.gov:
Blanca González is the mother of Normando Hernández González, a political prisoner suffering under the regime of Fidel and Raul Castro. In 2002, Blanca González fled Cuba and applied for political asylum in the United States; she now resides in Miami, Florida with her husband. While in Cuba, she was a human rights activist and was harassed by the Cuban regime. Her son, Normando Hernández González, is a writer and independent journalist and was arrested on March 18, 2003, in his hometown of Camagüey, Cuba. Normando Hernández González was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment for reporting on the conditions of state-run services in Cuba and for criticizing the government's management of issues such as tourism, agriculture, fishing, and cultural affairs. Hernández received the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award in April 2007, an award that recognizes international literary figures who have been persecuted or imprisoned for exercising or defending the right to freedom of expression. He has also been recognized by the Costa Rican legislature. His health has deteriorated due to a severe, chronic, and untreated gastro-intestinal disorder which causes constant diarrhea, headaches, intermittent fever, and poor gastro-intestinal absorption. He has lost at least 35 pounds. Normando Hernández González remains in prison.
President Bush's record on Cuba is mixed, considering his enforcement of the abhorrent wet-foot, dry-foot policy and somewhat tepid response to Fidel Castro's illness. But in the past few months, Bush has several times used his bully pulpit to raise awareness about Cuban political prisoners. He has met with prisoners' relatives, and late last year, he awarded Dr. Oscar Biscet, perhaps the best known Cuban prisoner of conscience, the Medal of Freedom.
Similar in stature is Normándo Hernández, who even from behind bars, is leading the struggle for Cuban liberty, regardless of the cost. He is a true giant, a moral force in the face of evil.
President Bush, and his wife, deserve praise for opening their home, and their hearts, to him and his family.
I have written numerous times about Hernández. To read previous postings, go here.
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