Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is partnering with CitizenGo and other national leaders to rally at the Cuban Embassy on May 17 at noon to protest Cuba’s treatment of homeschooling parents. The protest comes after a Cuban court’s decision to imprison Cuban pastor Ramón Rigal and place his wife Adya under house arrest because they started homeschooling their two children earlier this year.
“[W]e live each day with fear that they may separate us,” Ramón said in an email to HSLDA. “With these people, dialogue is nonexistent. They are not even interested in whether or not they are violating laws. They want to impose what they wish. . . . They show one face to the world, while in truth, the harsh reality is something different.”
The Rigals decided to homeschool in February of this year after their children were bullied at school and were taught ideas that contradicted Ramón and Adya’s values. The parents were soon arrested and tried on the basis that homeschooling has a “capitalist foundation.” At the trial, Ramón was not allowed to speak or present any witnesses in his defense. The Rigals are currently appealing the court’s decision.
“Americans care about what happens to people in Cuba,” said Mike Donnelly, HSLDA’s Director of Global Outreach. “If Cuba is going to have normal relations with the United States, then the Cuban government should know that homeschooling is an option that must be allowed.”
HSLDA and CitizenGo launched a petition aimed at the Cuban Embassy in the U.S. to hold the Cuban government accountable to numerous human rights obligations they are currently violating by restricting the Rigals’ right to homeschool.
“Homeschooling is a fundamental right protected by our Constitution and all major human rights treaties,” said Donnelly. “Cuba is a party to these treaties and must answer for violating the rights of the Rigal family.”
The rally will feature speakers from numerous organizations, including: Mike Donnelly, Director of Global Outreach for HSLDA; Will Estrada, Director of Federal Relations for HSLDA; Gregory Mertz, U.S. Campaigns Director for CitizenGo; Mario H. Lopez, President of the Hispanic Leadership Fund; and Mario Diaz, Legal Counsel for Concerned Women for America.
Home School Legal Defense Association is a nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms. Visit us online at www.HSLDA.org
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b9fa7511-65b7-4a35-ad96-5e8500a31b0f