Dr. Darsi Ferrer Beaten by a Re-Education Officer

Zurama, I also want to let you understand why I am against the embargo. I am not against the embargo because it is causing economic devastation in Cuba. That is a lie. The economic hardship in Cuba has nothing to do with the embargo and everything to do with Castro's economic policies of centralization and collectivization which has destroyed the economy.

The human rights abuses, the repression of the freedom of speech, the repression of the press, the repression of private enterprise, the repression of art, and everything else are all things that have nothing to do with the embargo.

I recognize that. I say that because there are people who are mistaken about WHY we need to remove the embargo.

The real reason we need to remove it is because it legitimizes to the Castro regime. It is the excuse the regime uses for all its failed policies. The embargo is the scapegoat of all the problems on the island. And furthermore, ending the embargo will saturate the closed regime with influences and information from abroad which it will not be able to handle.

This is why we need to end the embargo.

Zurama, unfortunately the only thing we can do is let everyone in the outside world know what is happening in Cuba. Regardless of what we try to do, much of what happens over there is out of our hands.

We can only act as trumpets telling the world of the plight of these freedom fighters.

Do you really want to know wht we can do? We need to talk to our elected officials about ending the embargo. The exile community has been trying to regain Cuba for over 50 years now without success.

You know, one the biggest critics of the Castro regime internationally is the Czech government and many of the governments in Eastern Europe that were ll once under the oppression of the Iron Curtain. However, the Czech government is against the embargo. The community in Miami is caught in a paradox. We need to end the embargo, because opening Cuba up and allowing trade and information to flow into Cuba is what will be the bane of the regime.

Just like in Soviet Russia, where the system was brought down by perestroika and glasnost. The same needs to happen in Cuba, and the system will not be able to handle it over the long term. The dilemma is that the exile community here is intent and bent on keeping the embargo in place, when in fact, the embargo is what is keeping Castro and the communist regime in power.

Who is the biggest winner of the embargo? Castro. Unfortunately, most of the exiles here still think that he is the biggest loser in it, when in fact, he is not.

What we can do Zurama, is to get involved. The only way to enact change is to be a part of that change YOURSELF. Speak to your elected politicians, go to a rally, if you are an artist, invite a politician to come see your art, and spek bout what needs to be done to end the dictatorship in Cuba. But please, if there is anything we need to do it is to remove the embargo...

Write letters, speak to your representatives and let them know what is happening in Cuba, why it means so much to you, and what they have to do to help out. It is the most we can do.

This is so frustrating, because there doesn't seem to be anything we can do to stop this abuse. I hate communism!!!

Featured on the Cuba group page:http://current.com/groups/cuba/

Darsi Ferrer has repeatedly been harrassed and finally imprisoned by the regime in Cuba for speaking out against the government. The people most in danger in Cuba are dissidents like Ferrer who are not as well known in the outside world as other people like Yoani Sanchez or Oswaldo Paya.