From outside the bars, you decide; from inside the bars, we decide!
Stáhnout obrázek
Ángel Pardo Mazorra was born on December 16, 1942, in the city of Punta Brava, near Havana. His family belonged to the middle class. When Ángel was finishing high school, the revolution arrived. Although it didn’t seem that way at first, everyone soon began to notice that everything was moving toward communism. He started studying law but didn’t finish his degree and began working in his father’s office. However, the country was getting closer and closer to communism. Ángel started communicating with a CIA agent who requested that he monitor the construction of military bases to send information to the United States. Moreover, Soviet missiles were still in Cuba, even though the October Crisis had already passed. Ángel was arrested in 1964 and soon sentenced to 30 years in prison. The first prison he was sent to was La Cabaña. At first, he couldn’t believe he would ever get used to prison life—the conditions and environment were terrible. After five months, he was transferred to Isla de Pinos prison. There, 15,000 prisoners were held in five sections. They were all forced into labor that lasted nearly two years. This only ended after several prisoners lost their lives while working. One major issue was the prison uniform—the blue uniform. For political prisoners, it was completely unacceptable, as it meant that the prisoner had accepted the so-called rehabilitation or reeducation plan, which required submission to all the regime’s conditions and reintegration into communist society. Ángel, along with other prisoners, considered himself a political prisoner and always fought for that status. He never allowed them to be treated as common criminals. In 1967, he was transferred to Sandino prison. There, they also refused to wear the blue uniforms, so they were forced to remain in their underwear. The living conditions were unimaginable—for instance, they were unable to bathe for 78 days and had to relieve themselves on scraps of newspaper. As part of their struggle for better prison conditions and human rights, they often went on hunger strikes. The longest one lasted 36 days and took place in Boniato prison. There, authorities tried to break them, but they failed. Occasionally, prisoners got access to newspapers, so they started writing their own articles, calling it Prensa tapiada libre (Confined Free Press). Although conditions improved slightly in 1975, prisoners still faced extreme isolation and a lack of medical care. That year, a prison revolt occurred, which culminated in the shooting of a priest. This was a deeply traumatic experience for Ángel. After that, the prisoners were transferred to Combinado del Este prison. In 1975, the regime began opening up slightly to the world. Every month, the government published a list of 600 prisoners who would be released. After some time, in 1976, the prisoners were sent back to Boniato, where they were placed in a special section. It appeared to be a prison within a prison, specifically for about 80 political prisoners, who started calling it Boniatico. There, they suffered not only physical violence but also psychological torture. The guards installed speakers in their cells and played disturbing sounds at different intervals. From the 1980s onward, international pressure on Cuba regarding human rights increased. The regime began releasing some prisoners into exile. This is how Ángel managed to reach the United States. He left Cuba on October 18, 1988, after spending 24 years in prison and 19 years without any contact with his family. He reunited with them upon his arrival in the U.S. Being free again was not easy. However, thanks to his family, he was able to overcome the challenges. During his imprisonment, it was not only his faith that kept him alive but also his fight for the ideals of a democratic society. Together with others, he used his time in prison to educate common prisoners, many of whom defended and protected political prisoners. Ángel always fought for his status as a political prisoner. For him, that was extremely important. He believes that, especially the younger generation, will not stop fighting for Cuba’s freedom. He also believes that those responsible will one day be properly punished.
