Maybe Cindy O’Hara, as a lawyer, could visit the five Cuban antiterrorists imprisoned in different jails inside of the United States but, as she must keep the confidentiality principle, it would interpose as an oversight between them; so, she says: “I don't want such a kind of relationship, I prefer to multiply their letters, their works, their thoughts, as a way of fighting for their liberation.” 
 
Since the beginning of the Elián Gonzalez’s battle for the return to our homeland, the North American lawyer got involved with Cuba. Later, she cozily assumed, as something close and personal “because it touch hearts; they are condemned to very long and unfair punishments” the notice about the unjust condemnations imposed to the five Cuban antiterrorist fighters: Gerardo Hernandez, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González.

“Fight has many ways. There is a very important one: it is the education, the activism that we should do inside of U.S.A. to make our own people, the American, to know what is actually happening to those young men, what is their legal and personal situation; another way would be to get them our breath so they could feel supported by us, in connection with people, because this fight is already too young, just ten years old, and it could be quite long.”
 
“They try to keep them isolate all the time. Fernando could be a good example of it: he requested me a Noam Chomsky's book, and just after receiving it, they put him the next day in the ´hole´ without any explanation; he pass there two days and  later they took him away from the jail, they sat him in a bus and he was travelling without knowing to where  during ten or twelve hours, until he arrived to Indiana, where is his new jai; and again to the ´hole´, without his belongings; he received some of them but missing letters, things…, can you imagine it…” 

“Even to their relatives, visits are limited, in spite of their nexus. Visas are delayed. Another absurd is Adriana Perez’s and Olga Salanueva´s situation, who are not allowed to enter into U.S.A. to see their respective husbands. Lastly, wives and daughters, who could travel there, then they were limited without possibilities of seen them, because of the coincidence with the prison look down.” 

LETTERS: A VERY OLD RELATIONSHIP 

Cindy O´Hara loads a heap of letters, envelopes, pictures, almanacs, poems, congratulation postcards that she has received from the Five and it is her hope that God willing allows them to send fewer cards due to their freedom: «my prognosis is their return maybe with a new and more progressive administration our hopes may come true. »
 
“Since I knew about the Five’s case I thought I should support them from inside the United States, I just meant it would be nice to send them postcards. I prepare packages with their addresses and I distributed them in events among progressive people, until I had the idea of sending a postcard to them with a picture of the pier, the picture out and the message inside, in a way that it would deceive regarding restrictions correspondence.”

“They answered to me. One said: Oh, how pretty are they!  It makes me remember when I used to walk down the pier. Another one was remembering when he used to ride around that place on his bike. Since the beginning they made me know their interests, and I prepared cards with pictures that I took in Cuba at the agro-market and they say : -Look at this papaya fruit, I love it!. There was another card with the baseball team «Industrials», another with birds; so, with the interests of each one of them I took different directions.”
 
“I also tried with letters, that ancient way of relationship among the human beings; because in this modern world if you want to relate with somebody you just call him by phone or thru Internet,  you put him an electronic mail or an instantaneous message, but the correspondence thru letters, which delay one or two weeks, it is something different.”

“Now there is a great delay. Gerardo’s  mail sometimes delays two months or even it may happen that in three or four days he doesn't receive anything -he feels sad in spite of he knows he is not losing support - and then one day he receives 300 letters. Something psychological is affecting them.”
 
“When Tony wanted to paint birds I discharged a book in Internet -I cannot send him a book…, I took out some pictures and send them, but they were returned back to me. So, I decided to write some words behind each card: for ex.: in Picture1 I wrote: look at the beak,  it is very big; in picture 2: this has colourful feathers; etc., just some words, and I have endowed in this way a collection for him, because he wants to paint national birds from all the world; he started with the Mexicans, Canadians and Panamanians.” 

To know every one for his letters  

Five differently coloured tapes helps Cindy to identify the Five’s mail. Fernando’s is blue and the very bulky one of all. René’s one is mallow and the thinnest: "he writes me less, but their letters are lovely; every month they make a summary of all that happened, of the messages, and they are always expressing their thanks by the work that we carry out together.
 
“Tony is teaching in the prison to people that have not finished the secondary education, there are many Mexicans in his classroom and they discuss about the national bird of Mexico, because there are two eagle types but anywhere it is told which one is the authentic one of the country.”

“They all are very polite, but Fernando is (of all of them for me) the more intellectual. I was joking recently with Rose, his wife, because he is reading philosophy, at a very high level, it is necessary to have books of Freud, of John, of Chomsky, of great psychologists and philosophers; it is too difficult to find inside of a prison a person to talk with.” 
 
“For Ramón, the last thing it is to copy family pictures that can share with people that write him. I have a program in the computer to fix him the pictures, I printed them to him, and so he could send them. He is also practicing the calligraphy, as he made it before Tony. I bought for him a poster that has got the sea, something like that, as Havana pier, and he writes his messages on it.” 

“The communication with Gerardo is quite pretty. He continues working on its graphic work, he sends me drawings, and even he made the logo for the Cuba House that we installed in Low California. I have had to know them thru letters, to know each one of their character, they are different personalities, but the five, they are together and they have an incredible strong spirit.” 
 
For Fernando's recently received letter I knew that in Indiana prison, where the cells at this moment were designed for one prisoner, with such a penal super population  they have to be two for cell;  in these modern times there are other cases, but for the way that the institution works, I find it more flexible than Oxford, where he was before.” 

To multiply messages
 
Cuba was visited in 1986 for a group of the National Union of Lawyers from United States, for the first time, to know the reality here and to investigate the legal system. Since that moment I could never take off Cuba of my hard.”
 
“With the letters I introduced myself to the Five relatives, one week later I walked by with Rosa Aurora inside the United States. I didn't go with her to visit Fernando, but I accompanied her in the hotel; the winter was very cold and it is difficult to be alone under those conditions. In the previous time I was in Colorado with Maruchy and Tonito- Tony’s sister and son- and I have a beloved friendship with them, although I am related very well with all the families, I feel my self very close to them.”

“In the letters they count me of their relatives, they send me pictures of the visits and later I feel as if I were there. In United States I talk with them by phone.” 

For several years, this lawyer specialized in labour matters and civil rights, maintains a project with my friends of the CUJAE (Techno-industrial institute): Julián Gutiérrez and Gilda Vega, to multiply the Five letters, pictures and messages. –“I met him thru Internet, during the fight for Elian’s return.” 

“We’ve got a website:  http://5heroes.cujae.edu.cu,  which  has all the Five’s  letters  -more than  300- and it has related about 600 people that also  have their own net, for this reason every day more people incorporates. We continue fighting every day, every weekend, every night, when ever I can; I work with my heart.” 

Cindy O´Hara recognizes that if this planet will survive she has to have peace, justice and another way of living. –“We have to unite and to fight to achieve a better world.” 

The impossible one
 
They bet for the fatigue / of all these long years of confinement / for giving our stability /and as vulgar damsels / let us beg mercy. / They bet for the betrayal / the cowardice / the worst human meanness. / They bet simply / for an impossible one… / because we will never get tired / Of fighting and defending our town / and for the right for life / for our humanity, / for that better world for all. / We will never cease of dreaming / because if we made it, / If so, only a second of our lives / we stop dreaming, / then somehow, / they would begin to win this battle. / And that’s simply / an impossible one!

Ramón Labañino Salazar / November of the 2007