Cuba’s independent libraries are often criticized as having very small collections.  
One reason for the small size of these collections is their experience of police raids and confiscations.

The numbers below were taken from reports of visits by Pax Christi members to the independent libraries indicated.  The Pax Christi reports below were translated by Steve Marquardt. The original Dutch language reports for all libraries visited by Pax Christi visitors are accessible at http://www.boekenvoorcuba.nl/.

Not all of the dozens of libraries visited reported confiscations.  When library owners did report them, they are tallied here.  When the report stated a range of volumes, the midpoint of that range has been entered below.

                                                   On  shelf        Previously
Library                                      when visited    Confiscated
28 Enero                                          500                 60
Ambrioso René Oñate                        ?               “many”
Amigos de La Libertad                     200               200
Andrei Sajarov                                 460                 60
Centenario de la República               ?               “many”
Dr. Robert Avalos                            400                600
Enrique José Varona                       400              2600
Ignacio Agramante                          500                350
Jóvenes de Jagua                             ?              “several”
José Martí                                       300                200
Mártires de Hermanos al Rescate  100?              150?

TOTALS                                        2,860              4,220

Average confiscation total from library owners who gave an estimated number: 527 volumes.

Additional losses from the independent library collections occurred during the crackdown of March 2003, in the course of which an unknown number of collections and volumes were burned or otherwise destroyed.

You can help rebuild these independent citizen-built collections by clicking HERE to make a contribution to Pax Christi Netherlands for this purpose.

Here are the LIBRARIES THAT HAVE REPORTED CONFISCATIONS to Pax Christi travelers:

“Ambrioso René Oñate”
Pinar del Rio, Pinar del Río province
Librarian: Rene Oñate

René Oñate was arrested March 18, 2003. At least, he should have been arrested, but his jaw was badly inflamed. He spent three days at home with great excitement, waiting for the state to detain him.  He was fortunate in that they only took many of his books, which he now tries to get back.

“Diversity is exactly what a library is. I have a lot more books than only Lenin. We are working on a democracy through which many will be read. The resistance felt by Cubans needs to be expressed. It is very important that they have information. In that sense, libraries play an important role. I borrow books that many people do not know about. A library with a limited number of themes in this world of information I see as not as an authentic library.”


“Amigos de la Libertad”
Pinar del Rio, Pinar del Río province
Librarian: Berta Peraza

Berta Peraza had until recently a private library in Pinar del Río. However, soon she will leave for the United States with her husband and her three children. Berta has already sold her house and the books of the library were transferred to her sister, she is waiting only for a visa to leave. Her sister lives in a rural area, about half an hour from Pinar del Río itself. In the house in the country, the books have their final destination, in the bedroom on a long shelf.

There are about 200 books, which remain from the 400 books that they previously had. The rest of the books were seized by the regime. The books are not sorted. So arranged, the controversial books are less at risk during an eventual visit by the police.

Most books they received from the U.S. representative in Havana, but that official may no longer travel outside the province of Havana. Now she must pick up books in Havana. This is also a problem for libraries outside Havana. “The libraries in Havana near the U.S. representation can easily come to get books, but libraries in other areas do not and often lack money to get to Havana. So many libraries have fewer books at their disposal.”


“Andrei Sajarov”
San Jose de las Lajas, Havana province
Librarian: Marina Barcelo

Marina is also a human rights activist. She was very concerned with the fate of political prisoners and does a lot for them. She talks of her work with much passion. She makes sure that the prisoners have materials such as pens, stationery and stamps and she is in contact with the families of the prisoners.

The library was established on May 20, 2003. Marina wanted people to come to know the reality and how Fidel Castro is. Her family has always been anti-Castro. “I do love my country but not its government.”

She has about 400 books. Many requested titles are those by the authors Matos and Montaner. People are not interested in history. Her husband is trying to travel to Havana every three months, but often cannot. They would like to have the book Secretos del Estado. “We need this book, there are many speculations in it,” says Marina.

People come morning or afternoon to the library. There are always three or four people waiting to read and they receive about four to five visitors per day. There was also a visit from man retired from the State Security. To verify whether someone is a confidant, she says: “We tell that person a white lie, for example, when my husband travels to Havana. If something happens, for example, that security people appear on the sidewalk, then we know that that person has informed.”

In early February, they had a raid, with about 60 books seized. It is not only Marina who is affected by the library’s activities. Her son was recently beaten up and her daughter has difficulty at school, and others cannot deal with her. “I am afraid, but someone must do something.”


“Centenario de la República”
Calle San Carlos # 257, entre San Pedro y Felix Pena, Center Santiago de Cuba, province of Santiago de Cuba
Librarian: Antonio Rodriguez & Haydee Beatriz Rodriguez

After much searching and questions, we finally found the house of Haydee Beatriz Rodríguez. We are warmly welcomed with genuine Cuban coffee (super strong and sweet) and many stories.

Haydee is already 72, but she is still full of life and is very active. She is another independent journalist and coordinator of the independent libraries in the province of Santiago de Cuba. She tells how many of the books were seized by the government. “Even the plastic tulips, which I had received my Dutch girlfriend,” are seized, she [said]. Currently Haydee thinks about going back to Spain. She is of Spanish origin and has still her Spanish passport. According to Haydee Cuba is unsafe for her.

Haydee is very pleased with the books we have brought. We may take a look at her library. It is located in a small stuffy room at the back of the house. It is a huge collection and I cannot imagine that people can make a proper choice of a good book. But Haydee tells us that a group of thirty people regularly borrow books from its library.

However, during my trip I noticed that many Cubans are unaware of the independent libraries. The hostess of the casa particular where we stayed in Santiago de Cuba was delighted to hear that close to her house as a library. They immediately decided to borrow. “I love to read but the books here in the state libraries are only about the revolution. Well, I know that very well by heart,” she tells me, somewhat frustrated. I think in that regard I discover my most beautiful experience in Cuba: this woman was so appallingly happy with the fact that she could read books again. That has really touched me.


“Dr. Roberto Avalos”
Santa Clara, Villa Clara province
Librarian: Guillermo Fariñas Hernández

Guillermo enters a few minutes after our arrival, supported by two relatives. He has a swollen right eye, walks with difficulty and has a sore arm. Yesterday, he and 22 others were beaten up by a group of 500 “fascist paramilitary groups composed of officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, armed forces, members of the Committees for Defense of the Revolution and the political police.” The ordinary police, who looked on, did not stop it. “They are in the service of the party and not the people,” says Guillermo.

Roberto Avalos [library] has 400 books. Previously there were more than 1000. On average it lends some eleven books per day. The name of the library refers to a Cuban-American psychologist who in the'60s as a child went to the U.S. In addition, this librarian is a reporter for Cubanacán Press, a news agency of independent journalists in Santa Clara. He leads an alliance of independent news agencies, which mainly publishes on the site www.cubanet.org.  The space behind the kitchen is their editorial office.


“Enrique José Varona”
Camajuaní, province of Villa Clara
Librarian: Joaquín Cabezas de León

The Camajuaní library, according to Joaquin, is no longer in business. The library is located in the house of the political prisoner Librado Ricardo Linares García and his wife Magaly.

In March 2003 Librado was arrested, and also a large part of the books was seized. All new books and records were removed. Only the old books and cards remained. Now there are about 400 books.

Before the books were confiscated, Joaquín had about 3000 books and the library was “one of the best performing of the country.” Since then, Joaquín obtained new books, but the collection is still much smaller than it has ever been. He will start again, but lacks a good location to do this.

Yet there are still books being lent.


“Ignacio Agramante”
Ciego de Avila, province of Ciego de Ávila
Librarian: Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva is the owner of the library Ignacio Agramante.

Juan Carlos is honored by the name of his residence, Ciego de Ávila: he is blind (Ciego is Spanish for blind). On his desk are a fax machine and a Braille typewriter. Also present are his wife and two other independent librarians. All are active in a human rights movement, which collects and tries to make available reports of all violations.

Juan is the provincial coordinator of the library project. Unfortunately, since 24 April 2004 he was on parole and may not leave the province. This makes it very difficult for him to acquire new books, because they only can be found in Havana.

He has about 500 books. When he was arrested in 2002 some 300 to 400 of his best new books were seized. He now has old pulp. He had also written to the Italian, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian and perhaps the Dutch embassies. But they focused on tourism and folkloric tinted brochures, magazines similar to the airlines - so completely apolitical. At this time, he is focused on using political and Christian books.

Despite the wave of repression, there are still about 30 to 40 people per month who borrow books. However, the only people who still dare to come home in its human rights activists and other dissidents. Of course he would prefer “those whose eyes are not yet opened.”


“Jóvenes de Jagua”
Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos province
Librarian: Pablo González Villa

In total, this independent library now holds 327 books, especially literary, political and religious books.

Since 2002 Pablo is in the opposition. He became a member of an organization. “I saw the need of this people to other literature, beyond what is distributed by the state.” Pablo began operating his library two and a half years ago. He is the coordinator of the province of Cienfuegos, where a total of five libraries are located. In January 2006, people from the government were in his house, threatening him and confiscating books.  He had almost all of the 25 issues of the magazine La Vitral [later suppressed; see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117849388892293903.html]. Now he has only a few left.

On 7 February 2006 an act of repudiation was organized against him. He was threatened; people were at the door and screamed ugly things. Prior to that, 25-30 people came along to borrow books. But now there are only 20, because they became scared. Even his Cuban flag was taken, according to him that was because people said that he was unwanted because of his Cuban subversive activities.

The literature is dangerous and subversive, he said.  He even hides political books outdoors. “Everything you do not in line with the government, it is counter-revolutionary. A library is by definition against the government. It is a psychological war,” said Pablo.

His words are becoming ever less careful. He does not know how they pass on the information, how the system fits together. The worst thing that can overcome him is that he is taken prisoner. Nevertheless, he continues. He lives in fear, like everyone else, because he never knows what will happen.

Pablo received books from the U.S. representation in Havana. Cubans in exile send books through that office. Every three months he went to Havana to fetch books, but the trip to Havana is expensive and dangerous. Several times the books he held were confiscated.

[Another] Traveler Response
Pablo was very surprised to see us. We had not announced our arrival. He was very happy with the books, because this year all the political books had been confiscated. He said that it was no longer possible for him to travel, because he could not leave town. It was a short visit.


“José Martí” Library -- Nuevitas, Camagüey province
Librarian: Doris Alvarez Peña

Doris lives alone. She is separated from her husband and has no children. She has no job, no phone and no radio. She has three brothers, who live in Orlando in America.

Doris established her library on September 9, 2001. Until last year there was a van from the Havana representative of the American book market, which is now prohibited.* Her original collection was 500 books, but during a raid some 200 books were seized. The current collection includes approximately 300 books, which they keep hidden from friends of the CDR so as not to be monitored.

She has books of various themes, including the history of Cuba and children’s literature. In addition, also political, economic books and books on sport are in the closet. She has a lot of literature on dissidents and is also in possession of Revista disidente.

There is much demand by children.  She has few books for them, because she gives them to the children of dissidents.

Visitors come with fear and especially at night when it is dark, because it is safer than during the day. There is a lot of interest; people like to read. They also have visits by foreigners.

Doris heard about the project from the coordinator, Gisela Delgado, in June 2001 when she was in Havana for a group meeting. She came up the idea of a library then and there.

She came to the point of giving up on the library, because she is very afraid. Eventually she did not, because she did not want to give up the fight. But she says that she has many friends whom she lost. She has had several acts of repudiation. She has had to replace her door twice because people threw stones. Doris spent 21 days in prison in February 2003. Therefore she is also constantly monitored and can travel only to Camagüey. 


“Mártires del Hermanos al Rescate” -- Santiago de Cuba
Librarian: Roberto Perera Gómez is the owner of the library Mártires the Hermanos al Rescate (Martyrs of the Brothers to the Rescue) in Santiago de Cuba.

After extensive queries and good luck, knocking on unnumbered houses of the Poblado barrio Cuabitas – a suburb of Santiago de Cuba – we face a wooden shed. This should be the home of Roberto Perera Gómez. No doorbell. What now? There is a derelict wooden chair next to the door. I hope that it will hold me when I go and stand on it: “Mr. Roberto, visitors,” I call over the fence.

That helps. From behind a door, a face of a man somewhere in his forties. He quickly disappears again. Then the door opens. We see a friendly face that directs us to enter.  Inside it is so dark, that our eyes need time to see where we ended up.

Above a bookcase with a meager ramshackle collection of old books is the sign “Biblioteca Independiente Mártires del Hermanos al Rescate.” Roberto apologized for his small bookcase: “Before I had a much larger collection of more than 200 books, but all the main books were seized.” Roberto also has been locked up for longer periods as well.

His brother served five years in prison because he had made an attempt to flee Cuba. “It does not matter at all,” says Roberto. “I will never stop talking to others about what needs to change in this country.”

Roberto’s wish list includes books by Carlos Alberto Montaner and biographies of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.