"My most fervent dream is that my country can live in democracy, that my
sons can choose what to study free of government interference; that
freedom of expression stops being a myth and becomes a reality; that we
can write freely, without fear of being jailed; and finally, that there
be love, peace and prosperity for all Cubans."— Cuban independent journalist Aini Martín Valero, January 2007 interview with Uncommon Sense.
Whenever I need a little inspiration to carry on with my work as a journalist, here and at my day job, I re-read
my January 2007 interview with Cuban independent journalist
Aini Martín Valero. The No. 1 duty of a journalist is to speak truth to power, and few do that better than the men and women of the Cuban independent press. They set the standard, and the least I can do in return is to support those, like Martín and other Cuban journalists, for whom adhering to that first precept puts at risk their safety and their liberty.
Not that they are naive enough to think otherwise, but Martín and her husband, the journalist
Iván Sañudo Pupo were reminded of this last week
when
thugs from State Security arrested them at their home and took them to a local police station for a round of questions, threats and recriminations. And for good measure, the cops warned them they would be prosecuted if they kept on with their "contesting attitude.," according to
a report from independent journalist Belinda Salas Tapanes, a friend of the couple's.
They were then released, but not before first refusing to sign a written version of what they had just been warned about.
Cuban independent journalists are on the front lines of efforts to change Cuba. They tell the stories the dictatorship would prefer remain untold, and as a result, are treated by the dictatorship and its secret police as nothing more than common criminals.
Cuban independent journalists are not unbiased observers of Cuban life; they are not interested in being "fair and balanced," because there is nothing fair about balancing a story by letting the dictatorship have its say. The dictatorship has had its say for 50 years; everyone knows the script.
Cuban independent journalists, as the above quote from Martín reveals, have an agenda — freedom for themselves and for Cuba. The nation needs them to tell their stories, complete with their "contesting attitude."
And it is our duty — as journalists, as Cubans, as people who value our own freedom — to support them.
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