------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Sept. 12, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
GERARDO HERNANDEZ NORDELO: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A POLITICAL PRISONER By Alicia Jrapko [This article describing the prison life of one of the five Cuban political prisoners held in the United States for monitoring the terrorist activities of right-wing Cubans in Miami also appeared in Spanish in the Cuban newspaper Granma.] The living conditions of five Cuban political prisoners held in U.S. prisons is one of the greatest preoccupations of millions of Cuban people. The five were accused of espionage, among other things. They received long sentences--from 15 years to double life terms. Since they were sentenced last December, the five have been scattered across the United States in different federal prisons.The U.S. government obviously separated them in an attempt to break the strength and morale they had shown throughout their trial and sentencing. Conditions in the federal prison system vary from one facility to another. Their severity depends on several factors, including the political climate of the state and the level of security of a prisoner's unit. Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo faces the most severe sentence: two life terms plus 80 months. He is in Lompoc federal prison in California. Lompoc is called the "New Rock" because it replaced the infamous Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay. Prisoners deemed to have had some type of "disciplinary" problem in other prisons are often sent to Lompoc. If after 18 months their behavior improves, they are assigned to federal prisons that are supposedly less severe. Like all the other prisoners at Lompoc, Gerardo starts his day at 5:50 a.m. That is when the guards automatically open the bars of all the cells and the prisoners can go to the common areas of their unit. Between 6:15 and 6:30 they are called for breakfast. After breakfast the prisoners return to their cells or to the common areas, and around 7:45 are called to go to work. The U.S. prison-industrial complex, which continues to grow, is now the second-biggest employer in the country. It is responsible for eliminating thousands of jobs on the outside, many of which had been covered by union contracts. Exorbitant profits are generated from cheap prison labor. Each prisoner makes 23 cents to $1.15 per hour; Gerardo makes approximately 50 cents per hour. In all federal prisons, all prisoners have to work. The corporation that operates all prison production is called "Unicor." In Lompoc there are three factories: one cable joiner factory, a print shop and a sign factory. The three factories are located inside the prison walls. They are considered a desirable place to work because the work tends to be less menial than in other jobs. Although the wage is very low, it is the only source of income for many prisoners. If they cannot get work in the factories, they are assigned to other jobs, such as general cleaning, cooking or other services. Gerardo first worked in the cable factory. After a month he was transferred to a job in the sign factory, which he feels is a little bit more interesting. In the sign factory prisoners make everything from small stickers to big signs for the freeways. The factory's clients are all government agencies and institutions. For example, the Forest Service orders posters with messages such as forest fire prevention. Any sign found in a national park was most likely produced in Lompoc. BROUGHT SKILLS FROM CUBA As in any other work place, the bosses in prison quickly identify the workers who are more skilled to be assigned to specific jobs. Gerardo was assigned to a job of high responsibility, not because his bosses were concerned with his well-being or because they were interested in his progress, but because they found out that he brought with him a high level of education and knowledge that could be utilized to further maximize profits. This is not surprising because Gerardo, like the four other Cuban political prisoners, grew up in Cuba, where everyone has access to free education from kindergarten to graduate school. The United Nations has named Cuba's educational system the best in Latin America. Gerardo mostly works on a computer, where the entire sign database for the factory is stored. His responsibilities include inputting orders, keeping records, redirecting orders, passing them to production, closing orders that are sent to clients, making sales and order status reports, and responding to any requests for data. At 4 p.m. he returns to his cell. The prison guards close all the cells and count the prisoners. Between 4:30 and 4:45 they open the cells and at 5:00 there are "activities"-- prisoners can go into the yard, to the library or to church after passing through a series of metal detectors. Around 5:30 they are called to the dining area. After supper the prisoners can either go back to their cells or go directly to the yard. All movement of prisoners takes place under close surveillance at designated times, after being announced on loud speakers. At 10 p.m. all the cells are closed until the next morning. The weekends provide some break from the routine. It is then that Gerardo tries to get some time in the yard for exercise and some sun. Sunday also means the possibility of a phone call to Cuba. In the last two months, Gerardo has been by himself in his cell because his "celly"--cell mate--was sent to another prison. Lompoc is a very old prison and the cells are small, so this is a great advantage. It not only provides him a little more comfort, but he can also decorate the cell to his own taste. He has two bulletin boards in his cell that he was able to acquire with a lot of perseverance. The boards, he explains, have become a collage of photos of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Nelson Mandela, images of the Cuban people attending open tribunals, Cuban marches calling for the freedom of the five, and pictures sent to him by Cuban students, as well as photos of demonstrations by solidarity groups around the world. Gerardo is well known in Cuba as a cartoonist. His work will soon appear in a new book, so besides his task of keeping up his correspondence, he spends as much time as he can creating new caricatures that reflect his political point of view and his undaunted sense of humor. Gerardo's cell lacks a chair or a little table to write on, and although he has become used to writing and drawing while standing up against the closet, his greatest complaint is not this obstacle but the lack of time he has to write and draw. MAIL FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD Because the case of the five Cubans is gaining international recognition, Gerardo is receiving between five to 10 letters per day from all over the world. He expresses his gratitude for all the support and good wishes he receives daily, and at the same time wants to apologize for not having enough time to respond in a timely way to all the letters. The solidarity letters are a great source of encouragement. All this mail has given him a sense of pride, knowing that so many peace- and justice-loving people support the case of the Cuban Five and their defense of Cuba against the terrorism that emanates out of Miami. There are 20 Cubans in Lompoc prison, six of them in Gerardo's unit. All the others are people who left Cuba in the 1980s and are known as Marielitos. Although many of them have completed their sentences, they are being retained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, victimized by the U.S. blockade of Cuba. This particularly cruel aspect of the 43-year-old blockade of Cuba comes because there is no extradition treaty between the two countries, so many Cubans in prison are in legal limbo. This situation plays itself out in many state and federal prisons throughout the United States, where thousands of Cubans are imprisoned for an undefined time. Many of them have been in prison for 10, 15 and even 20 years without charges. Many of the Cubans in prison with Gerardo have no contact with their families. In a show of solidarity, he has helped some of them find their families in Cuba. Due to this effort he has become known in the prison and even some prisoners from the United States have asked him to help them find their lost relatives. Many Cubans in the prison have told him that leaving Cuba was the biggest mistake they ever made. Many consider themselves revolutionaries and have asked to have a photo taken with him to send to their families in Cuba. Others share letters they have received from their Cuban families, who have asked them to look out for him and show him solidarity. Gerardo's case, like that of the other Cuban patriots, is well known by other prisoners, too. Some have read the court closing statements of the five and asked Gerardo for a book with his signature. Several African American prisoners ask him regularly to let them read materials he receives in English. Many have followed closely the case of Mumia Abu- Jamal; others have expressed to Gerardo their admiration for Cuban President Fidel Castro. It is clear that Gerardo has been able to remain strong behind the walls of Lompoc. Sometimes late at night, on a small radio, he has been able to tune in Radio Havana Cuba in English. One night he was even able to pick up the Cuban National Anthem. Gerardo and his four comrades--Ram�n, Ren�, Fernando, and Antonio--are the only political prisoners in the United States who have the unconditional support of their entire country. The five inside U.S. prisons and the great majority of the Cuban people in Cuba fight the same battle--the battle for self-determination and the right to defend the sovereignty of Cuba against all types of aggression. Sooner or later the five will return to their homeland. For more information about the five Cuban political prisoners and their prison addresses, visit the web site: www.freethefive.org. [Jrapko is a member of the National Committee to Free the Five and is from San Francisco.] - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. 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