| FREADOM | Famous
Authors Say
"Read A Burned Book |
Read A
Burned Book Statement |
|
"¿Por que Introduction
|
| Home Top Ten Books Burned in Cuba Class Activities List of Books & Materials Burned in 2003 Links to History and Practice of Book Burning About the Project For Teachers |
In the "Black
Spring" of 2003, Cuban secret police arrested 75 non-violent
dissidents in
Cuba who
were sentenced for various crimes against the State, and tossed into
prison for upwards of 25 years. These lawyers, journalists, human
rights activists, and independent librarians were given 1-day show
trials and immediately there names became known around the globe as
people and governments condemned Fidel Castro for these repressive
measures. What was not known at the time is the fact that after numerous library collections were confiscated, and their directors were jailed, many books were ordered to undergo "destruction by incineration," according to court documents later smuggled from Cuba. These crimes against intellectual freedom rocked the world, but in meetings with foreign librarians, Cuban library spokesmen were telling gullible visitors that the freedom to read was honored in Cuba and that Amnesty International could certainly not be trusted as a source of reliable information. Unfortunately, while journalists and writers worldwide called for Castro to release all the prisoners of conscience, library officials in the West never condemned the mass book burnings that Castro ordered. Therefore, in this reading and human rights project, Freadom has presented the Cuban book burning atrocities so that participants can discuss the broader question of "Why do tyrants burn books?" The Cuban court documents themselves give reasons why some of the Communist judges ordered so many materials burned, and students will be encouraged to search the primary documents for clues. Also, we have put together class activities and an authoritative bibliography so students can read articles, reviews and interviews with the authors whose "dangerous" books were ordered torched. Librarians in free nations can voice their opposition to Presidents, circulate books which advocate regime change, and lobby lawmakers to preserve civil liberties, but in Cuba you can go to jail for lending the wrong book to your neighbor. Teens, teachers, and parents are encouraged to READ A BURNED BOOK, or about the book, as an exercise of their freedoms, and in solidarity with those who have no recourse to independent courts when their library collections are torched. Let
FREADOM Ring -- Read a Burned Book Today
|