It’s a story – so why not tell it?
THE NUJ, like most unions, talks the good fight and is sometimes able to deliver. I’ve been working on a story for well over a year, which if NUJ members were to get involved with, would make a world-changing difference.
I’ve been working with Cuba Solidarity to publicise the plight of five Cuban families, whose husbands/ fathers/brothers/sons were imprisoned by the US government nine years ago. Known as the Miami Five, the sentences the men received from what has been described as an illegal trial were condemned by Amnesty International as unnecessarily punitive.
Two of their wives back in Cuba have been denied visas to visit their husbands and have campaigned relentlessly for nine years. They are hoping to get the US Supreme Court to overturn the sentences.
I have met these women and their determination not to be defeated against such immeasurable odds is truly awe-inspiring.
This is an excellent story — but with the exception of a feature in the Guardian last year and a couple of items on the BBC World Service, there has been a virtual blanket of press silence.
I’d like to ask all my colleagues who went into journalism to tell the truth and fight injustice to do that and ask their editors to carry the story of these women.
Strong media coverage is the women’s best chance of obtaining visas from the Obama administration.
None of this would be an issue if the USA recognised Cuba, but in the real world it’s now up to us to do something that truly matters — to give a voice to those who need to be heard.
For more information visit cuba-solidarity.org.uk
Amanda Campbell
Sanderstead, Surrey