Una vida de lucha y supervivencia: la realidad de opresión religiosa en Cuba

Padre Alberto Reyes Pías es un sacerdote católico romano en la Arquidiócesis de Camagüey, Cuba. Es una de las voces más articuladas sobre la libertad de religión o de creencias en Cuba y continúa denunciando con valentía las violaciones sistemáticas de este derecho por parte del gobierno cubano. Esta es una transcripción de una presentación que hizo como parte de un panel de discusión moderado por la CSW, en la Cumbre Internacional de Libertad Religiosa de 2024 en Washington, DC.

Uno de los más sutiles mecanismos del mal es lo que llamamos “la normalización”, que no es otra cosa que el mal convertido en parte habitual de la vida, de modo que no sólo damos por hecho su presencia sino que enfocamos nuestras energías no en eliminarlo y liberarnos de él sino en ver cómo podemos seguir caminando a pesar de que nos traba los pies, nos ata las manos y nos oprime la garganta.

Aparentemente, en Cuba se respeta la libertad religiosa: las iglesias están abiertas, los cultos son permitidos, las catequesis existen, los jóvenes se reúnen, se puede hablar abiertamente de Dios, poseer una Biblia, portar signos religiosos… Y como en este momento en Cuba hay tanta sed de Dios, los agentes de pastoral nos enfocamos en atender a toda esa gente que viene buscando una experiencia de Dios que toque su vida, pero al precio de asumir como “normal” lo que no lo es.

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Fang Bin with his wife and son in an undated photo.

A family shattered for 24 years – the story of Falun Gong activist Fang Bin

Crowded hospital halls, frantic doctors and nurses in protective suits, patients lying in the corridors, body bags piled up in a funeral van outside a hospital… In early February 2020, 57-year-old businessman Fang Bin drove around Wuhan and documented what he saw in five hospitals. The short videos he posted on social media gave a rare glimpse into what was happening in the epicentre of the pandemic under lockdown.

Mr Fang was detained by police briefly on 1 February 2020. In the next few days, he became more outspoken. Videos were widely shared on social media in which he commented that ‘tyranny lies at the root of this virus’. Then, on 9 February 2020, he vanished after calling ‘all citizens to resist’ tyranny and the government to ‘return the power to the people’ on YouTube, a platform banned in China.

The disappearances of Fang Bin, Zhang Zhan and at least two other citizen journalists drew the attention of world media. Although Mr Fang and his wife are known to the authorities as veteran Falun Gong activists, people who are familiar with him hesitated in mentioning his faith background when calling for his release. They may have been conscious of the social stigma attached to this belief group in China, or feared that he might be jailed not for his online speech but for his faith, or even that he might face mistreatment for it in police custody.

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Fang Bin with his wife and son in an undated photo.

一个破碎了24年的家庭——法轮功维权人士方斌的故事

拥挤的医院大厅、奔忙的穿戴全身防护的医护人员、躺在走廊里的病人、堆放在医院外殡葬车上的尸袋……2020 年 2 月初,57 岁的商人方斌驾车在武汉市内转悠,记录下了他在五家医院的所见所闻。他在社交媒体上发布的短视频让人们难得一见地看到疫情中心地带发生的一切。

2020 年 2 月 1 日,方斌被警方短暂拘留。获释后,他变得更加敢言。在社交媒体上广泛传播的视频中,他直言不讳地说:“病毒的根源是暴政!” 几天后,2 月 9 日,他在 YouTube(一个在中国被禁止的社交媒体平台)上呼吁“全民反抗”、要求当局“还政于民”后消失。

方斌、张展和另外至少两名公民记者的先后失踪引起了全世界媒体的关注。尽管当局知道方斌及其妻子是资深法轮功维权人士,但很多熟悉的朋友在呼吁释放方斌时,选择不提他的信仰背景。他们可能意识到中国社会仍对法轮功这一信仰团体存在某种歧视,或者担心当局对方斌抓捕判刑可能不基于其网络言论而基于其信仰,他甚至可能因之遭到当局酷刑。

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Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei. Credit: Radio Free Asia

中国,停止跨境打压人权捍卫者

“三个警察来了,要把我带走。不能再发信息了。”

张春晓回忆说,这是2023年7月28日她丈夫在老挝被拘留前对她说的最后的话。

卢思位是在试图前往泰国时被老挝警方带走的,他原本计划到泰国搭乘飞往美国的航班。其妻张春晓及 14 岁的女儿等候与他团聚。

卢先生是中国著名的人权律师,因多年来代理被中国当局视为异议人士而抓捕的政治案件,其律师证于 2021 年被当局吊销。

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Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei. Credit: Radio Free Asia

China, stop targeting overseas human rights defenders

‘Three policemen have come. They want to take me away. I can’t send you messages anymore.’

Zhang Chunxiao recalled these as the last words her husband left her before his detention in Laos on Friday 28 July 2023.

Lu Siwei was taken by Lao police while trying to travel to Thailand, where he would board a flight to the United States to reunite with Zhang and their 14-year-old daughter.

Mr Lu is a well-known Chinese human rights lawyer, whose license was revoked by authorities in 2021 following years of representing clients deemed to be dissidents by the authorities.

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