A 24 hour Fast & Six minute Silent Vigil for Justice

"To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” - Elie Wiesel, Night

Silent vigil at FIU main fountain

Reading the blog entry A Call to Take Actions for Wilman Villar Mendoza, Orlando Zapata & Brothers to the Rescue Martyrs published by the Free Cuba Foundation inspired me to propose an action on behalf of Wilman Villar Mendoza, Orlando Zapata, Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La Peña, and Armando Alejandre Jr. that involves resolving to fast for 24 hours and engaging in a six-minute silent vigil for justice.

The fast will begin at 3:00pm on February 23, 2012 that marks the moment two years ago when Orlando Zapata Tamayo died after 83 days on hunger strike. It will end 24 hours later on February 24 moments before the moments 3:21pm and 3:27pm when two Brothers to the Rescue planes were shot down out of the sky in international airspace on orders of the Castro brothers extrajudicially killing Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La Peña, and Armando Alejandre Jr.

Silent vigil at UM at the Rock

On February 24 between 3:21pm and 3:27pm wherever you are in the world take part in a silent vigil for justice. Either joining together with others at a public location or individually wherever you are in the world to remember this injustice and offer your prayers in solidarity and for justice for these victims of oppression.

If you wish to take part then just tweet, e-mail, and blog about your intention to do this and invite others to take part. Please use the tag #fast4justice or #ayunoporlajusticia in Spanish and if you plan on taking part in the vigil then help spread the word with the tag #silentvigil4justice or in Spanish #vigiliaporlajusticia.

If you are in Miami, Florida then you can join members of the FIU community in a silent vigil at the main campus on 107th Avenue and SW 8 Street at 3:15pm sharp. In the evening at 7:30pm at St. Brendan Catholic Church you can join with family members of the Carlos, Pablo, Mario, and Armando in a special Mass.

Silent vigil at FIU on February 24, 2011

Memory, truth and justice are necessary components for national reconciliation and liberation. Join in these acts of remembrance that demand justice and in doing so provide a small pebble in the edifice of a future free Cuba.

The late Czech President Vaclav Havel observed in 1968 that: "Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance." History proved him right three decades later. Do your part. Be the change that you want to see in the world.