Prison and the firing squad

"I was taken from my office to a sport stadium that had been converted into a prison. There were 35,000 prisoners there." " At sunset that day I was transferred from the stadium to la Cabaña, an old fortress located at the entrance of Havana Harbor. There I was placed in a cell located below sea level. This cell had windows looking out upon a wall which had been used for executions by firing squad during Spain's war of independence" "The cell was about 32 feet long and 13 feet wide. The ceiling was six feet high and dome-shaped. The wall, ceiling, and floor were cover with mildew from the dampness. Rats, cockroaches, and spiders crawled everywhere. In this cell there were more than 145 women. Some of them were older than 80, and one was so crippled she could not walk. The cell had no beds and no sanitation. We had to use the corners for toilet purposes." "I made my way to the window and saw the horrible sight of people being shot to death. They were placed against the wall not singly or in two's or three's but in masses. Machine guns were used to execute them." "I could not look for long. But I could not keep from hearing. In one case, after the sound of the machine guns, the prisoner, not yet dead, cried out in the night: 'Cowards!' After that, a single shot-- and then silence for a moment." "Another time, the sound of the machine guns was followed by a sound that I cannot forget. It was a long cry of pain and agony. Then somebody had the kindness to fire a single pistol shot, and the cry ceased." "The next morning they took us out of the cell in groups of 10 to the toilet. They then made us walk in front of the wall and look at the blood of the patriots who had died there. At seven o'clock that morning I was transferred to a different prison. this one is an old castle called Castillo de Principe, located on a hill. We went on buses driven by militiamen through empty streets." "In this prison 7,000 women were crowded into five cells. I was put in a cell with 105 women. This cell was larger and better ventilated than the one before. It had one toilet, one wash basin, and tiers of canvas bunks for half the number of women who were imprisoned there. Some of the window looked out on a small interior patio of the prison. During the night, hardened prisoners were herded onto the patio by the guards and induced to take off their trousers and expose themselves before the windows." "Next the militiamen put up a machine gun on the patio. The attempted invasion of Castro's Cuba had begun. We were told that we were hostages and that if the invasion appeared likely to succeed, all of us would be shot." "On another floor of the prison there were many priest. They prayed the rosary in loud voices. We cried answering prayers so the priest could hear us. The militiamen came to the windows and told us: "Pray to your God and see if he is able to take you out of here.' Later they completely prohibited our pray aloud." "All that day we heard automobile horns from the street. They seem to be signals. We got the idea that perhaps our families were trying to find out whether we had been brought here. That was the case, as we learned later. As a return signal, someone had the idea to begin singing the national anthem sung by the 7000 women of the prison. " '.. Your country is looking at you with pride. Do not be afraid of glorious death.... To die for you country is to live... The militia told us to be quiet. But we sang louder than ever. One of the militiamen fired at the floor to frighten us. Other militiamen with rifles and bayonets came and stood in front of the cell. We quit singing, but our voices had been heard." "During all the time I was at this prison, our cell was cleaned only three times." "At mealtimes we were given green bean soup, sweet potatoes, rotted salt meat. The meat was brought to the cell in large drums and served in metal containers. There were no knives or forks or spoons." "I was given freedom at midnight of the 23rd day. I lost 13 pounds. The Communists released me without giving me a single penny or returning my personal belongings. They threatened me not to tell what had happened in prison. If I talked, they said, the least thing that could happen to me would be my return to prison. I'm in a free country now. But after such experiences, the mind is never free of a bad memory." "Even now I awake in the middle of the night shaking with terror. That is what Castro's and Communism have done for me."

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