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Harvard College University Council of the Cuban American National Foundation December 10th is internationally recognized as a day to salute those around theworld who struggle to defend, protect and promote the fundamental freedoms that are the birthright of all mankind. One such individual is Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, sentenced to 25 years in prison by Fidel Castro's dictatorship. His crime was vocalizing his opposition to the government, and even worse, believing in human rights. In 1998, Dr. Biscet uncovered the government practice of chemically inducing abortions through the use of a drug called Rivanol, publishing a book titled "Rivanol: A method to destroy life." This drug caused viable fetuses to be born alive, which were then allowed to bleed to death or wrapped in paper and asphyxiated. Denouncing this practice cost Biscet not only his physician's license and his home, but all claims to liberty. After being released from an initial three-year sentence, Biscet continued to peacefully advocate for freedom of speech and the extension of human rights to the Cuban people. His focus on human rights landed him a 25 year sentence in 2003. Biscet is subject to inhumane prison conditions, confined in a windowless 3 by 6 foot cell for periods as long as 42 days, with a hole in the floor serving as a toilet. He spends the rest of the time in a communal cell with violent criminals. He is denied visitors (his wife has been allowed only two visits) and medical treatment for his high blood pressure. But he continues his fight, bravely refusing the government's offer to let him leave the country if he retracts his pleas for justice and criticisms of the government. The courage and faith of this man earned him a Presidential Medal of Freedom in November. His son was at the White House to accept it on his behalf. Dr. Biscet unfortunately couldn't be there; he was still withering away in a prison cell in his native land. Before accepting his father's award, Yan Valdes Morejon, emphasized in a Boston Globe editorial that his father's suffering had not diminished. Biscet has lost nearly 40 pounds and most of his teeth. Prior to his most recent sentence, he had been arrested on "more than a dozen occasions," beaten and humiliated, often at his house or in the middle of the night. Castro refuses to release Biscet, despite appeals from the United Nations and international human rights organizations. By no means is this the only incident of abuse that can be charged on Castro's regime. One horrific account, as reported by the InterAmerican Human Rights Commission in 1967, documented the extraction of nearly seven pints of blood from prisoners before executing them. This blood was then sold at a rate of $50 per pint to Vietnam. This is the reality of human rights abuses occurring in Cuba and that occur elsewhere in the world. Today we celebrate those who risk their livelihood to defend human rights. Why should we be concerned if human rights abuses are so widespread? As Biscet's role model, Dr. Martin Luther King once told us "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." This rings especially true when the abuses areoccurring only 90 miles from our shores. We might be in the 21st century, but millions of people are still fighting for the liberties we enjoy in this country. This day should mean more than just another day to commemorate brave individuals with whom we might not have any connection. As human beings together sharing this earth, we are inextricably linked. With so many places in the world where human dignity is suppressed, it is merely a blessing of history to find ourselves living in a free country. Any of us may very well have been born in a place devoid of individual liberties. We do not need to be enduring abuses and imprisonment in order to advocate human rights. In fact, our liberty can serve as the best weapon against oppression. Our voice has an impact and its reverberations are felt around the world.College students like you and I have been messengers of hope for decades, and we shouldn't desist now; especially at an institution with the international reputation of Harvard. It might be idyllic, yes, but necessary. It is our duty as privileged beneficiaries of freedom to advocate for the respect of human beings throughout the world. John F. Kennedy once told us: "when one man is enslaved, all are not free." True freedom exists only when it can reaped by all. And we can help. © Copyright 2007 by canf.org Top of Page |
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