Cuba

Between 2003 and 2010, we were heavily involved in the human rights field in Cuba, focusing in particular on assisting political prisoners and their families, as well as supporting the democratic opposition and independent intellectuals. Our activities included various forms of support, ranging from financial assistance, to the distribution of educational materials, to the organisation of public events in Slovakia to draw attention to the situation in Cuba.

We started in 2003 when, in cooperation with the Pontis Foundation, we launched a public collection to help the families of Cuban political prisoners, which continued until 2010. During this period, we managed to collect over 880,000 CZK (29,210.65 EUR), which we distributed among more than 30 families of prisoners. We provided support through an adoption programme, which also involved Slovak politicians, companies and individuals. Since 2005, we started to systematically distribute this aid directly in Cuba through our staff, who also monitored the situation of political prisoners and the situation of the families.

Our cooperation with the democratic opposition and independent intellectuals in Cuba was another pillar of our activities. Between 2005 and 2007, we organised visits of Slovak experts to Cuba, where they passed on their experience and helped Cuban partners prepare for the future transformation of the country. In cooperation with Cuban experts, we also drafted proposals for reforms in the fields of education and the economy, which we published in bilingual editions and distributed in Cuba.

In the field of education, since 2007 we have supported independent education centers and libraries in Cuba, where we have distributed educational materials aimed at developing critical thinking and civic awareness. The “Debate Rings” manual we created has become an important tool for Cuban independent teachers. We later expanded this project to include other manuals focused on ethics education and the organization of debate clubs.

In Slovakia, we regularly organised events to raise awareness of the situation in Cuba. Every year we commemorated the anniversary of the 2003 mass arrests of Cuban dissidents, organised solidarity marches and film screenings combined with debates in schools. In 2008, we organised a Solidarity March in Bratislava, which was attended by former Cuban political prisoner Osvaldo Alfonso Valdés.

Our work in Cuba has had a significant impact not only on the Cuban dissidents themselves and their families, but also on the Slovak public, which has become more engaged in promoting human rights through our activities. Our long-standing cooperation with Cuban partners, independent teachers and the democratic opposition, as well as our efforts to raise awareness of the situation in Cuba in Slovakia, have been key contributions to the struggle for freedom and democracy on the island.