''Such a conceptualization has enabled the Cuban government to redefine some ecidivist' political activity as a form of mental illness," wrote two veteran Cuba analysts, Charles J. Brown and Armando Lago, in the 1991 book The Politics of Psychiatry in Revolutionary Cuba, published by Freedom House.
The book details the cases of 27 dissidents diagnosed since 1963 as suffering from mental ailments, mostly depression. Many received electroshocks, more as torture than treatment, the authors alleged.
SOVIET PARALLELS
Rigoberto Rodriguez, a Cuban-American who heads the South Florida Psychiatric Society, said Cuba's abuses are similar to those of the former Soviet Union, which diagnosed many dissidents in the 1970s as suffering from ''sluggish schizophrenia.
But they are even more prevalent, said Rodriguez, who sits on an American Psychiatric Association panel that investigates abuses of the profession around the world.
Eyes Wide Open--[Excerpts] The Los Angeles kids, chosen for their photographic skills and their ability to work with others, represented the Venice Arts Mecca, a nonprofit organization that brings volunteer artists together with youngsters from low-income families to nurture their creativity in areas ranging from literary arts to photography. They looked. They listened. They photographed. And they took notes for their journals.
…….Before embarking on their adventure, the kids--who were joined by two young people from Washington, D.C., and accompanied by adult mentors--studied the sociopolitical history of South Africa, including apartheid. All were Latino or African American or a mix of the two, and were encouraged to think about their own identity, their own experiences with racism.
……..Before embarking on their adventure, the kids--who were joined by two young people from Washington, D.C., and accompanied by adult mentors--studied the sociopolitical history of South Africa, including apartheid. All were Latino or African American or a mix of the two, and were encouraged to think about their own identity, their own experiences with racism.
…..At the conference exhibit hall, the L.A. kids mounted a photo exhibition showing the underbelly of America. There were bleak images of life on an Indian reservation, of the homeless in Los Angeles. It was an eye-opener to some South Africans, who thought everyone in America was rich. "They were absolutely shocked," said Lynn Warshafsky, executive director of Venice Arts Mecca.
In turn, the L.A. group was surprised at the degree of anti-American sentiment, something they had to process. "They had to ask themselves questions they'd never asked before" about how others see them, Warshafsky said.
……..For Eamon, the highlight was hearing Fidel Castro speak. "I had thought of him as seriously evil. I realized he's not evil, he's doing what he thinks is best. He has this sort of demeanor about him. Whether you like him or not, you respect him. It opened my eyes." [End Excerpts]
Untold stories in Elian case expose media bias *** "The image of a mental prison recurs often in conversations with Cuban immigrants here," wrote Taranto. "They talk about wearing la mascara - the mask - to hide their true feelings. They describe a process of self-censorship in which they don't allow themselves even to think certain things, lest a counterrevolutionary sentiment slip out in an unguarded moment." Taranto found Cuban Americans who would still not condemn Castro out of fear of what he would do to family members still on the island nation.
On April 10, the Weekly Standard gave a disturbing look at the family climate to which Elian would return. Reported the Standard: "It's the Cuban constitution of 1976 (article 38, Clause C) that requires Communist indoctrination and military training for grammar-school children. The Cuban school system keeps a permanent file shared with the secret police (the expediente acumulativo del ascolar) on ideologically suspect children and requires faculty to interrogate children concerning the ideological integration of their parents. The Cuban regime dragoons 98 percent of school children into the paramilitary 'Union of Communist Pioneers' and that requires children, starting at age 10, to attend summer indoctrination camps (escuelas al campo). Constitutionally, parental rights obtain "only as long as their influence does not go against the political objectives of the state."***
Against All Hope: The Prison Memoirs of Armando Valladares***Reviewer from Redmond, Washington - If you ever wanted to know more about the horrible crimes that are still happening in Cuba's prisons, this is the book for you. Also, this book will show you how the human spirit can be the factor that will decide your survival "against all hope". A similar book is "I will die free" by Noble Alexander. Both are very impressive.***
Homecoming...or Brainwashing? ***Another point ignored or forgotten by media analysts is the rather extraordinarily-timed February arrest of INS official Mariano Faget, caught by the FBI of leaking secrets to Cuba, and the related expulsion from the U.S. of one of Mr. Faget's contacts, Cuban diplomat Jose Imperatori. Just last week a jury convicted Mr. Faget of all charges, including espionage. The INS denies that Mr. Faget shared any information on Elian Gonzalez with Cubans. But it seems hard to believe that the Cuban government wouldn't use a contact in the INS to cull information about the most important Cuban refugee case the INS has ever dealt with. As for the accused Cuban spy, one of Mr. Imperatori's last duties before being expelled from the U.S. was "escorting" Elian's nervous grandmothers during their trip to the U.S. So much for claims by the National Council of Churches that Elian's grandmothers and his father were not coached by Cuban agents.***