[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13155]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         CUBAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 20, 2009

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize that 
today, May 20, 2009, is Cuban Independence Day. On this day, many 
people in my home community of South Florida will mark the rich 
cultural heritage and deep-rooted traditions of Cuban Independence Day. 
What was once a day of festivity and joy has become a day of nostalgia 
for a Cuba that once was free, but also of hope that it will soon 
regain its freedom.
  As we continue to see political prisoners jailed in Cuba for 
peacefully expressing their rights and freedoms, we must remember that 
May 20, 1902, stood as a day of freedom and liberty after years of 
struggle and hardship.
  Political prisoners today such as Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet and 
dissidents like Jorge Luis Garcia Perez ``Antunez'' hold strong unto 
their forefathers' passion for liberty and desire to live in a free and 
transparent democracy. While Dr. Biscet currently serves a 25-year 
prison sentence in Cuba, even from behind bars, he continues to promote 
democracy, social justice and liberty for all Cuban people.
  Close friends, neighbors and many others who I grew up with are 
Cuban-Americans who have come to this country with little else beyond 
the clothes on their back and are now living the American Dream. I 
stand alongside these patriotic individuals as they mark May 20th in 
our State. They are men and women who love their adopted homeland, but 
long for their native land to allow them the freedoms they enjoy here. 
I offer them my solidarity on this special day.

                          ____________________