The publication is reproduced in full below:
EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY WITH CUBAN CITIZENS FOR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS
______
speech of
HON. ALBIO SIRES
of new jersey
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be an original cosponsor and co-author of House Resolution 760, which demonstrates the United States' firm commitment to standing with the Cuban people.
On July eleventh, we witnessed an awakening in Cuba. It began in San Antonio de los Banos, just ten miles from Bejucal, the town where I was born, and then spread to over sixty towns and cities throughout Cuba. The Cuban people rose up and spoke with one voice to call for freedom. Cubans risked their lives by demonstrating against this repressive regime.
As members of the United States Congress, we must make clear that we stand with them. Many Cubans have paid a steep price for their courage. More than seven hundred people were detained or forcibly disappeared in the wake of the protests. This regime showed its true colors, firing live ammunition into crowds and using beatings, arbitrary arrests, and torture to try to stop people from protesting. It blocked internet access to prevent Cubans from communicating with each other and with the world. But I believe that the Cuban people can and will prevail.
These protests, while historic, did not emerge from thin air. For more than sixty years, the Cuban people have endured unspeakable suffering. But as the regime has expanded its repression to go after not just dissidents but also artists and academics and bloggers, a new generation of Cubans has shown its creativity and bravery. The San Isidro movement, which came together in response to a decree aimed at censoring artistic expression, has unlocked something very powerful. By bringing together artists, academics, and Cubans from all walks of life, the leaders of the San Isidro movement have shown the power of collective action to strip away the veneer that the regime tries to present to the world. Underneath the propaganda and the myths, we see a fragile and failed dictatorship that can only hold onto power through repression, corruption, and cronyism. The brutal treatment of the Associated Press journalist Ramon Espinosa showed just how desperate this regime is to hide the reality in Cuba from the rest of the world.
That desperation is the reason why the regime is now prohibiting planned protests for November 15th. The regime is threatening those who plan to demonstrate that they will face severe repercussions, even though they are merely asking to express themselves peacefully, as is their fundamental right.
The question before the U.S. Congress is whether we will answer the call of the Cuban people. Will we acknowledge them and say ``we see you, we hear you, and we are with you''? I hope the answer is yes.
As many of my colleagues know, I left Cuba at the age of eleven. Ever since then, I have never given up hope that one day Cuba would become a democracy. I will never stop fighting to help the Cuban people become free.
I thank my good friends, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz and Congressman Diaz-Balart, for their leadership. And I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan resolution.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 195
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