OUR CHILDREN
CANNOT ATTEND THIS GAME
Five years ago twenty-three children, together with
their parents and grandparents (30 women and 19 men), boarded a tugboat in the early
morning of July 13, 1994. The tugboat pointed northward, the passengers boarded quickly
and quietly; their mood was mixed. The children were excited with the new experience, full
of anticipation. The parents were determined, they had enough. The grandparents were
fearful, for they knew better.
The vessel’s engines started. It’s roar brought
fear to the adult passengers. The vessel moved slowly away from the docks on its journey
to Freedom, proceeding carefully to avoid detection. The coastline began to blend with the
ocean. The adult passengers relaxed, anticipation of Freedom was overwhelming.
Three tugboats were detected in the Horizon - Freedom
was NOT to be had!
Castro’s vessels, running at full throttle, quickly
reached the "13 de Marzo" boat. Their mission was to pursue and destroy -
without regards for the lives of 72 human beings. The aggressors circled their prey and
the attack began. The weapons were high-pressured water hoses. The targets were the
passengers and the vessel’s walls. The victims’ ship began to sink, the men
screaming "we surrender", the mothers crying, "our children, don’t
hurt our children". Their voices unheeded, the attack continued and one by one
children, parents and grand parents were thrown off their ship into the ocean waters. The
aggressors continued circling at high speed creating a whirlpool, which would pull the
helpless victims to the bottom of the ocean.
Our children’s lungs filled with water, their limp
bodies slowly dropping to the bottom of the ocean. Twenty-one young lives ceased to be. No
longer can we hope for our children to become the "Mickey Mantle" or the
"El Duque" of the 21st century. Their remains rest at the bottom of
the ocean. Only thirty-one passengers survived this genocide.
Five years later, the world’s will, wealth and power
is focused on Kosovo, for there, too, a Castro-like dictator is extinguishing the lives of
children like ours. Five years later and only ninety miles away our children are still
waiting for justice. The pursuit of justice cannot and should not be selective.
OUR CHILDREN CANNOT ATTEND THIS GAME
Distributed by:OCU, Organizaciones Cubanas Unidas
(United Cuban Organizations)
508 43Rd Street, Union City, NJ 07087 Tel:
201-867-6211
TRABAJANDO JUNTOS PARA LA LIBERTAD DE CUBA (WORKING
TOGETHER FOR CUBA’S FREEDOM)
May 3, 1999 |
