MIAMI, United States. — Cuban poet Amaury Pacheco, a member of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), declined to attend the Documenta art exhibition, based in Kassel, Germany, for fear that the Cuban regime will not allow him to return to the country, as has happened with other activists.
In a publication Posted on his Facebook profile, Pacheco explained that he had been invited to Germany by the Hannah Arendt Institute of Artivism (INSTAR). The event in which he would participate had among his activities a tribute to the Omni Zonafranca group, of which Pacheco was a member.
“The probability that when I travel to Germany they will not let me return to Cuba is very great and I will not leave my children alone, that is not an option,” the activist said in his statement.
Pacheco recalled that he has been in his home since July 11, 2021 “under charges of public disorder and instigation to commit a crime” and that his family, especially his children, have been victims of police siege for more than six months.
The artist made it clear that the possibility that upon his return the regime would not allow him to enter the Island not only conditions his rights as a citizen, but also harms his work and the dissemination of his work.
“I make this decision public to bear witness to the damage caused by this dictatorship to individuals, families, labor unions and artists and denounce the violation of my right to participate and choose work, my right as a creator to spread my works, my right to mobility, the right of my children to enjoy the benefits of their father’s work, to denounce discrimination based on political thought and expression, to not have guarantees of due process or protection of any of the international norms , for living in a dictatorship,” said Pacheco.
The artist Tania Bruguera, director of INSTAR, denounced in social networks harassment and harassment suffered by the member of the MSI. Likewise, he made it clear that Documenta would not miss the opportunity to honor him.
“This is a great injustice, one of those that are experienced in authoritarian dictatorships. We will not cancel the space or the tribute that we have planned to the trajectory of OMNI, let’s find a way for Amaury’s work to be present, even if we do not have him physically in Kassel”, said the artivist.
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