Report on a street protest

BY MAX LESNIK, (Radio Miami, United States)

THIS is the title of our commentary, because what we are going to talk about is last Saturday morning’s protest (October 9) organized by the Christian Women in Defense of the Family Association. Protestors met up at the political offices of Mr. Melquíades Martínez, the Republican candidate to the Federal Senate and someone who claims to be a Cuban, but is not ashamed – with a pride worthy of a better cause – that he was one of the chief architects of those cruel measures impeding Cubans residing in the United States to visit their families on the island as they used to.

There, in South West Miami’s Coral Way and 28th Avenue, outside the "Peter Pan" Mel Martínez’ office, we, about 150 Cubans, were holding up our placards to protest against unfair travel restrictions to Cuba. Facing us was meager group of about a dozen Republican protestors, holding Martínez’ electoral campaign posters, and attempting to muffle our shouts from the other side of the street. The Miami police, with their pursuit cars in addition to two Mounted Police officers riding their slender horses, was positioned in the center of Coral Way Avenue to ensure that the heated shouting from this side and the placards, some vulgar, from the other side, did not break the rule of order – even though from our side respect was always guaranteed.

Cars driving by the leafy Coral Way Avenue also took part in the protest by giving signs of support or opposition by stretching their hands outside the windows. Their thumbs-up were reminiscent of the alive or dead signals of gladiators at the Roman circuses during the time of the empire.

To be completely honest, and without trying to work things to one’s own advantage, the truth is that seven out of 10 drivers supported us, and only three backed the group across the street, the Republicans for Bush and Martínez. The goal of our protest was not to support the Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. But in truth, President Bush’s aggressive behavior toward the Cuban people, dividing our families to please an extreme right blinded with hatred, has placed Cubans in a dilemma without an alternative. Voting for Bush for the presidency of the United States or for Mel Martínez for the Federal Senate for Florida is to vote for the cruel measures that are threatening the human rights of the Cuban people, and for splitting Cuban families. Voting against Bush and Mel Martínez leaves us with the promise that a new Democratic government will lift the travel restrictions to Cuba, as Kerry himself has just announced in his recent visit to Miami.

Our street protests supporting the Christian Women who are defending the rights of Cuban families, will continue until the very day of presidential elections and beyond, given that this is not only about our own cause, motivated by electoral reasons, or sectarian or cheap politics dictated by selfish interests as in the case of Bush’s measures against Cubans. Ours is a moral protest that is developing into a shout from our people’s heart, from here and over there.