When the Cuban government tried to silence free voices and stifle unapproved reading in 2003 when they arrested 75 non-violent citizens, most of the world responded with condemnation. Journalists around the world spoke up for the independent journalists; diplomats and governments spoke up for jailed human rights activists, writers and artists spoke out for free speech, and human rights groups called for an immediate release of the prisoners of conscience.

Now librarians and teachers are adding their voices in a new way. When whole, book collections are stolen from homes, the lists of patrons are stolen by the secret police, and then thousands of items are ordered "incinerated" by Cuban courts, this becomes a human rights issue for librarians and teachers to address. 

Many people know about the way the Cuban government has tried to repress the growing demand for democratization in Cuba, but many have never read the news of how Castro ordered so many books and "subversive" materials burned, as though the books were heretics in his paradise. This site is an attempt to bring these crimes to the attention of high school and college students, as well as the reading public, in order to provide them with the resources by which they can answer the question "Por que?" (Why)

Will These Books Burn Next?

It is also a testimony to the courage of the independent librarians of Cuba, who are showing the world that the freedom to read is worth going to jail for. It is our small attempt to honor those in Cuba, and elsewhere, who read and write "dangerous" books, even when those who think they hold all the power say "NO, you can't read that"

In Cuba, sadly, there is no independent court system, no independent advocacy groups like the ACLU,
no free library associations, and no network of blogs and independent newspapers with which to challenge the actions of those in power. The fact that many books were burned by court order, however, may turn out to be good news in the end. It shows what frantic efforts the dictatorship of Castro is willing to go to in order to try and stop the spread of independent action, and thinking and speech. If the citizens of Cuba were not in the process of making their voices heard, and choosing their own reading lists, then the Communist Party would not have to worry about stopping, what in the end, it cannot stop.

Celebrate Liberty:
  Read A Burned Book Today.

Is it a coincidence that North Korea glorifies book burning in their propaganda
and that Fidel and Korean leaders are such close friends?