Juan Carlos González Leiva: Speaking out before they hurt him again

"The wisest thing in the world is to cry out before you are hurt. It is no good to cry out after you are hurt; especially after you are mortally hurt. People talk about the impatience of the populace; but sound historians know that most tyrannies have been possible because men moved too late. It is often essential to resist a tyranny before it exists. It is no answer to say, with a distant optimism, that the scheme is only in the air. A blow from a hatchet can only be parried while it is in the air."
—G.K. Chesterton, From his book, "Eugenics and Other Evils", found in Volume 4 of "The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton"

Juan Carlos González Leiva at the UN Human Rights Council last week

When Juan Carlos González Leiva spoke last week at the United Nations Human Rights Council he explained what he had suffered and called on the human rights body to watch over him when he returns to Cuba in a few weeks time. Today the Cuban human rights defender spoke to the international press and again called for greater solidarity with Cubans on the island resisting tyranny and vigilance over the plight of human rights defenders.


G.K. Chesterton, early in the last century, explained the importance of crying out before being hurt. Let us hope that Juan Carlos's warnings and requests are heeded.  Too many good people have died under suspicious circumstances in Cuba.  Let us see that he is not added to the list of martyrs.