[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 195 (Friday, November 5, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





   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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