Don’t Give Away Your Life to Those Bastards, Compadre!

Don't Give Away Your Life to Those Bastards, Compadre! / 14ymedio,
Eliecer Avila

14ymedio, Eliecer Avila, Havana, 9 August 2016 — I think I should say at
this time what I think of the situation of human beings who are on
hunger strike, especially my friend Carlos Amel.

In Somos+ (We Are More), being respectful of the decisions they took, we
send them in their moment our messages of solidarity. Not because we
believe that hunger strikes work as a method to achieve anything in Cuba
today, but because it always seems unjust to us that ordinary people did
not know what was going on and the reasons behind these extreme decisions.

Today, I want to express my personal opinion, as a friend. This is not
an official statement of the President of Somos+, it is the opinion of
Eliecer Avila.

I am dying of pain when I see the images of Carlos, an intelligent young
man, father of two beautiful children and with a future ahead of him, at
risk of suffering irreversible traumas and even death, for demanding
things from a cruel and ruthless system that will gain more with his
death than with his life.

If Carlos was a member of my organization I would not have allowed him
to do something like this or, at least, I would have done everything
possible to dissuade him. I think there are many more effective ways to
generate pressure, especially when in theory we have thousands of
activists across the country, to have to simply rely on the health, and
even death, of these young people to be able to move forward.

I do not consider the sacrifice of one's life as a "natural cost" of any
political battle, on the contrary, to encourage an attitude like this
seems to me a crime, and more so from the abundance of the table of many
who today light up Facebook with messages such as: "The death of these
patriots paves the path of freedom." This is cynical.

I do not see how the death of leaders who must motivate people and drive
change can help in any way. For days I have felt the need to say it,
although some may not find it not politically correct. Today I could not
hold back anymore.

Our struggle is for life, for family, for the future, for our children.
All this becomes meaningless if we die.

There is no material value in Carlos Amel's or any of the others ceasing
to breathe. I would gladly give everything I own for a man like him to
live and to live a long life, because the nation will need him more and
more. In the past, many patriots, with their pressures, pushed our best
men to die. I will not be part of the club of those who accept or
promote such a horrendous act that rather than providing any political
gain, not only forever stains our history, but our consciences.

Carlos, friend, I want to attend your valuable participation in
political life, not your funeral.

Do not give away your life to these bastards, compadre!

I love you and respect you always.

Eliecer Avila

Source: Don't Give Away Your Life to Those Bastards, Compadre! /
14ymedio, Eliecer Avila – Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/no-regales-tu-vida-a-estos-cabrones-compadre-14ymedio-eliecer-avila/