I Will Just Be a Cuban Citizen and Patriot says René González

( René González y Olga Salanueva – Photo: Roberto Suárez )

René González Schewerert has continuing to work for the freedom of his four brothers as a priority after demolishing one more wall of the injustice
By: Juana Carrasco – juventudrebelde.cu

In a message to the Cuban youth Rene Gonzalez Schewerert gives wise advice: “You should learn to love its history, to study hard, especially History. Learn why we are here, and why we must continue to defend this. These are difficult times, complicated, but we have to deepen into our roots and make the youth appropriate what we are building, because there are not many other choices and we have to defend this. ”

He says this having spent 13 years of his life in unjust imprisonment, and in this he made history with his four brothers who are still in the imperial dungeons.

As from Monday May 6th he can speak freely, for he has taken steps to renounce his U.S. citizenship.

“We managed to knock down one wall” -I know I said this in the plural because it is the strength of the Five, of his family which in the struggle has become one, of Cuba and of the international solidarity, but there are still other walls to bring down, and for René this is “the first commitment.”

He comes with mixed emotions at this stage of the battle, when he had an ” absurd parole ” because the change in position of the U.S. Government, under the circumstances, occurs when he had unfortunately lost his father, Candido, and that is the catalyst for the decision of Judge Joan Lenard to allow him to stay in Cuba in exchange for the renunciation of his U.S. citizenship, which had René requested on more than one occasion.

“But I think joy is foremost, the happiness to be here, to feel the love of the people when one walks the streets, and knowing that for my brothers there is a small glimmer of hope, it is a joy they will receive in prison . The image of my reunion with my family is a hope for them, it is the display of something that they see as possible. And so it is essential I join this fight, it will be my priority. Once we have completed this whole supervised release business, we will see how we can join in that fight and do our utmost to see justice is done in the end or correct this injustice, because justice cannot now be done. And they will return to us.”

This he reiterates when responding to the question of what will work on in Cuba … “I have not had time to think what I will do from now on.” However, he does not hesitate: “My priorities are our brothers … to keep working for their freedom … and deserve this affection from the people.”

René explained some elements of the process: “The judge gave us a period until the 16th. What we did today was the first step of this process, which is the application for renunciation of citizenship. What remains, and it depends on them, is a certificate that they are going to draw up from my application and once the documents are signed, it is in the hands of the U.S. government, the Department of State, to accept the renunciation. They, before the 16th, should issue me a certificate of loss of citizenship.

“Once that certificate is given me, I will just be a Cuban citizen and patriot,” and his chest swells, he smiles and he fondly squeezes the hand of Olga, his wife, who also smiles.

It’s a long story and somehow the Cuban people have been linked to it; he says the arrest of the Cuban Five, the trial, the harshness of the prison that originally was applied to the maximum extent in order to break them, which took over two years before the start of “a long trial, riddled with irregularities, in which prosecutors simply forgot their legality, acted arbitrarily.”

A test that they faced with the resources they had, each in his own way: “I, doing exercises; Antonio, as you know, communicating, doing his paintings; Ramón in his sport; Fernando studied, and Gerardo with that humour that he has, that rises above any tragedy, but at the same time we cannot forget that suffering, the possibility of dying in jail.

“It may be a hard process, but my presence here says you can face. One has to face it with all the morale that growing up here first gave us, and defend it. ”

René points out what he believes was a very important element against the prosecutors and the prison population, which “sees us as people of dignity, the dignity that emanated from this fight, we were outside the prison status and that allowed us, the Five, to pass this stage with no problems, even up to the respect of the guards in most cases.

It’s a struggle, it is a terrible experience, but which one, if he tries, can leave. Here I am, and all four have the same willingness to continue fighting, but we cannot forget that we do not deserve it. What matters is that they are 15 years, which multiplied by four is 60; and with mine, 75 years, overall, of injustice, five Cuban families robbed, five Cubans robbed that we should be here, and I think it is important not forget that. What is more important, we have to keep fighting for them to return. They will resist, they will not break, but we have to bring them home.”

René appreciated “the solidarity which is overwhelming” and confesses that being unable to respond to every letter, that supported them so much, affected them. “Forgive us for not responding,” and he tells the Cuban people, that he feels the same essence, solidarity, spirit, and love always. And for Obama he wishes “Courage, is all you need, to have the courage to do justice.”

What is missing from the solidarity campaign? A reporter asked, as concerned as the others to achieve the return of all: “Just one thing is lacking; that the whole of American society, that the people know that the government put us in prison to defend their terrorists, and to do that they forced a judge to say to me: Terrorism is bad, but you have no right to fight it here …

By any means that you can access American society, do it, because they need to know … “.

Translated by ESTI

Tags: human-rights, politics