Mr. Robert De
Niro:
Richard Fisch wrote: “The unattainability of a utopia is a pseudoproblem, but the suffering it entails is very real.” I borrow these works to address the last part of the statement with you; the part that refers to real suffering. I do so on my own and with no pretensions whatsoever because of my astonishment upon having seen you paying tribute to the representative of dictatorship that has been in power for sixty year. In addition, there are thousands of Cubans who were also shocked at seeing you, a world known celebrity in the world of film, supporting a regime that oppresses its people and denies them their freedom. And yes, Mr. De Niro, there is extended suffering at the very soul and core of the Cuban nation and those responsible for this take pictures of themselves with you with total impunity. Those who remained behind suffer, as do those of us who left, and even those just being born. They too bear the burden of a certain anxiety upon arriving into a world where they nothing any different from the suffering of their parents and grandparents.
The Cuban dictatorship is like the Mafia, although it does not move about in secrecy. It functions just like a criminal organization when it flexes its power through force, violence, crime, prison and exile. Sir, you who have played Mafia roles in films should easily be able to understand what I am saying to you now, and the gravity of the issue in which you are now implicated due to your complicity. Perhaps, since anything is possible, you do not know about reality in Cuba or have come to believe the propaganda spread by their mouthpieces there and elsewhere. The revolution is glorified and even presented as a possible and necessary model for improving the lives of peoples around the world, but that is not true. If it were, if you have been so convinced that you have come to believe that Cuba is an example, ask those who spread that information what is going on in Cuba regarding human rights, how many prisons the dictatorship has built, how many Cubans have left for any where in the world after 1959 how many died and are dying trying to leave the island? Just to erase your doubts, look into how many people have been imprisoned for distributing books, engaging in independent journalism, organizing outside official parameters, or criticizing Fidel Castro.
On June 11, 2018, you publicly criticized the Cuban president from Toronto, Canada. The news of it went viral. To my knowledge, no one took revenge on you nor did you suffer any reprisal after that. Nor were you fired from your job. No one will block any of your film contracts. I doubt you are being watched or harassed by the police, or have you been deemed a person dangerous to the nation’s security. If those very same declarations had been made by a Cuban artist, the result would be quite different: that person would be declared persona non grata and become an excludable right after saying his or her very last word. For the Cuban dictatorship, ideas are dangerous and thus imprisoned. They are also killed.
The national history of our country has a very dark chapter that was written by Castro when he ordered the execution by firing squad of his leading political adversaries and authorities from prior to the dictatorship being established. They would be executed on live television so that the terror could be spread to the masses and that way paralyze ideals and dissenting voices regarding freedom for the people. Clearly, you have not heard about this. I am certain that you know nothing about the sinking of the tugboat called 13 de marzo, on July 13, 1994. It was a small vessel with 70 people on board who were trying to cross the Straits to Florida’s shores. It was intercepted seven miles from the Cuban coast by State Security’s elite forces Fidel Castro gave them express orders to sink it. Forty-one people lost their lives, including 10 children who today unwilling rest on the ocean floor. How repugnant might this crime have been had it been committed by Augusto Pinochet in Chile, or Jorge Rafael Videla in Argentina?
Dictatorships are dictatorships: their ideology does not matter. Being a left-wing dictator seems to be a luxurious commodity that seduces some Hollywood stars. And it definitely fascinates a group of artists and intellectuals who are in New York with you and the representative of the only dictatorship in the Western hemisphere. You have stretched your hand out to shake the hand of the person the Cuban people did not elect. He was directly named: this action is entirely a Cuban communist strategy to ensure the continuity of the Cuban communism, after the death of its historical leaders.
Mr. De Niro: history will always judge our acts and condemn those that have been despicable. Do not doubt it: you will face a moral trial will surely be found guilty for your complicity. I invite you to become interested and discover the truth about the revolution you support today. You still have time to wash off your stains and earn acknowledgment of those who have suffered serious wounds from Castroism. Do not delay. Your moral health needs it.
As for myself, I will continue watching your films. It is most definitely the case that the roles you play have no connection with your life. Yet, I will feel ashamed for and with you when I remember, lamentably, that you have put yourself on the side of those who repress my people.
COURAGE!
Ramón Humberto Colás
Richard Fisch wrote: “The unattainability of a utopia is a pseudoproblem, but the suffering it entails is very real.” I borrow these works to address the last part of the statement with you; the part that refers to real suffering. I do so on my own and with no pretensions whatsoever because of my astonishment upon having seen you paying tribute to the representative of dictatorship that has been in power for sixty year. In addition, there are thousands of Cubans who were also shocked at seeing you, a world known celebrity in the world of film, supporting a regime that oppresses its people and denies them their freedom. And yes, Mr. De Niro, there is extended suffering at the very soul and core of the Cuban nation and those responsible for this take pictures of themselves with you with total impunity. Those who remained behind suffer, as do those of us who left, and even those just being born. They too bear the burden of a certain anxiety upon arriving into a world where they nothing any different from the suffering of their parents and grandparents.
The Cuban dictatorship is like the Mafia, although it does not move about in secrecy. It functions just like a criminal organization when it flexes its power through force, violence, crime, prison and exile. Sir, you who have played Mafia roles in films should easily be able to understand what I am saying to you now, and the gravity of the issue in which you are now implicated due to your complicity. Perhaps, since anything is possible, you do not know about reality in Cuba or have come to believe the propaganda spread by their mouthpieces there and elsewhere. The revolution is glorified and even presented as a possible and necessary model for improving the lives of peoples around the world, but that is not true. If it were, if you have been so convinced that you have come to believe that Cuba is an example, ask those who spread that information what is going on in Cuba regarding human rights, how many prisons the dictatorship has built, how many Cubans have left for any where in the world after 1959 how many died and are dying trying to leave the island? Just to erase your doubts, look into how many people have been imprisoned for distributing books, engaging in independent journalism, organizing outside official parameters, or criticizing Fidel Castro.
On June 11, 2018, you publicly criticized the Cuban president from Toronto, Canada. The news of it went viral. To my knowledge, no one took revenge on you nor did you suffer any reprisal after that. Nor were you fired from your job. No one will block any of your film contracts. I doubt you are being watched or harassed by the police, or have you been deemed a person dangerous to the nation’s security. If those very same declarations had been made by a Cuban artist, the result would be quite different: that person would be declared persona non grata and become an excludable right after saying his or her very last word. For the Cuban dictatorship, ideas are dangerous and thus imprisoned. They are also killed.
The national history of our country has a very dark chapter that was written by Castro when he ordered the execution by firing squad of his leading political adversaries and authorities from prior to the dictatorship being established. They would be executed on live television so that the terror could be spread to the masses and that way paralyze ideals and dissenting voices regarding freedom for the people. Clearly, you have not heard about this. I am certain that you know nothing about the sinking of the tugboat called 13 de marzo, on July 13, 1994. It was a small vessel with 70 people on board who were trying to cross the Straits to Florida’s shores. It was intercepted seven miles from the Cuban coast by State Security’s elite forces Fidel Castro gave them express orders to sink it. Forty-one people lost their lives, including 10 children who today unwilling rest on the ocean floor. How repugnant might this crime have been had it been committed by Augusto Pinochet in Chile, or Jorge Rafael Videla in Argentina?
Dictatorships are dictatorships: their ideology does not matter. Being a left-wing dictator seems to be a luxurious commodity that seduces some Hollywood stars. And it definitely fascinates a group of artists and intellectuals who are in New York with you and the representative of the only dictatorship in the Western hemisphere. You have stretched your hand out to shake the hand of the person the Cuban people did not elect. He was directly named: this action is entirely a Cuban communist strategy to ensure the continuity of the Cuban communism, after the death of its historical leaders.
Mr. De Niro: history will always judge our acts and condemn those that have been despicable. Do not doubt it: you will face a moral trial will surely be found guilty for your complicity. I invite you to become interested and discover the truth about the revolution you support today. You still have time to wash off your stains and earn acknowledgment of those who have suffered serious wounds from Castroism. Do not delay. Your moral health needs it.
As for myself, I will continue watching your films. It is most definitely the case that the roles you play have no connection with your life. Yet, I will feel ashamed for and with you when I remember, lamentably, that you have put yourself on the side of those who repress my people.
COURAGE!
Ramón Humberto Colás
No comments:
Post a Comment