Interviews with Ariel Sigler Amaya

I think there are people now and in the past who have not only inspired me, but anyone who loves freedom or a future with hope for a better life for their people. People like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, [19th century Cuban nationalist José] Martí, or anyone else who has fought for freedom one way or another. For me and people who love freedom, these figures have been a source of inspiration because of their courage, values, and strength in those times.

Now we are transmitting those same ideas, and now we too are facing the same things they had to overcome. And following in their footsteps, they serve as an inspiration in our fight for freedom to the death, just as they took that position in the past. Just as they knew they could die through their efforts, we too are very conscious of what could happen to us. We could get run over, we could be beaten to death; but basing our efforts on their ideas and beliefs, we have continued the fight. Why? Because we respect anyone who stands up to a dictatorship, regime, or government that has only wanted destruction for its people. And we feel just like these figures felt in times past, and they mean a lot to us.

They are heroes – martyrs. They reflect an example to follow, and we want to be like them. We want to see a better future for our countries, so we act like we act; and even when we are afraid, these sources of inspiration give us the courage to continue our fight.

Ariel Sigler Amaya was a teacher and an accomplished amateur boxer in his native Cuba. After he began speaking out in favor of democratic reforms, he became one of the 75 dissidents arrested in the Black Spring of 2003 and was convicted of having acted “against the independence or territorial integrity of the state.” In prison he suffered torture and other forms of ill treatment.

By the time of his release in 2010, Sigler’s weight had gone down from 205 to 117 pounds. Once in excellent physical shape, he suffered from a variety of medical conditions resulting from his treatment in prison and his friends and family members feared he was near death. After arriving in the United States, he gradually began regaining his strength and began walking with a cane instead of using a wheelchair.

Sigler remains a vigorous advocate of freedom and democracy, not only for his fellow Cubans but also for others living in countries with totalitarian and highly authoritarian governments around the world.