Antonio Guerrero Arouses Inmates' Interest in Cuba in U.S. Prison
News from Cuba | Friday, 16 March 2012
from the Cuban News Agency
Antonio Guerrero, one of the five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters unfairly condemned in the U.S. revealed how Cuba is becoming a topic of interest in the Mariana penitentiary, Florida, where he is serving an outrageous sentence.
A recount by Guerrero titled Composiciones (Compositions) and published in different websites thanks to the collaboration of supporters of their cause, Tony explained that his casual friends, prison mates, have shown interest in learning about aspects related to Cuba.
He said that when he first mentioned Cuba his prison partners started to ask questions, pushing him into addressing the complex topic of the Cuban reality.
Confessing not being fond of speaking about the theme -as a mere act of good sense-, the moment came when he didn’t have another choice but to answer to their questions.
The prisoners asked Guerrero about the changes brought by the Revolution to the lives of the Cuban people, including the gratuity of education and health care.
He noted that one of the students kept "poking" him saying: "But, I would rather live in freedom." However, after providing specific examples of the Cuban achievements, mentioning in particular the creation of the Latin American Medical School in Havana, this person, paradoxically, ended up wondering if it might be possible that his adolescent son could study in Cuba.
What started as lesson ended as a pleasant conversation in which everyone respected the other's opinion, Guerrero pointed out.
He added that his students were also curious about the discovery of the Americas. He said he was prompt to improvise a world map and talk about Christopher Columbus’s discovery travels and the conquest, the extermination of the Caribbean natives and the arrival of Diego Velazquez to the region.
In his writing, he also referred to the recent visit of his relatives and to the unfair treatment of Rene Gonzalez, who has been retained in the U.S. for three years after having served his 15-year term in prison.
About his most recent family visit, he wrote: "the rain came; the green became greener; the spring came early with an unusual splendor."
