Once again, the dictator Raul Castro and his minions had to watch, irritated and helpless, as the more they try to silence Angel Santiesteban-Prats, unjustly imprisoning him, the civilized and free world works to restore his voice and his “freedom.”
This time, at the hands of Gaétane Dufour, historian and writer, the event “Books Like Air” visited Montreal, Canada. This was a tribute to Angel along with other writers also persecuted and imprisoned for speaking freely, in other countries governed by regimes that, like that of the Castros, violate rights and freedoms with the same audacity and cruelty: Cameroon, China, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Tibet, Azerbaijan, Thailand, Vietnam and Qatar.
There were ten of Quebec writers in solidarity with ten writers imprisoned or persecuted in their countries and they expressed their solidarity during the 14th edition of the event “Books “Like Air,” held at the Montreal Book Fair from 20 to 25 November 2013.
Amnesty International, International PEN Quebec and the Quebec Writers Union (UNEQ) joined their voices to denounce these abuses and to commemorate the International Day of imprisoned writers held annually on November 15.
The ten imprisoned writers honored and the ten Canadian writers representing them were:
Marie-Célie Agnant with Dieudonné Enoh Meyomesse (CAMEROON)
Germaine Beaulieu with Li Bifeng (CHINA)
Jean-Paul Daoust with Jabeur Mejri (TUNISIA)
Jean-Pierre Davidts with Raif Badawi (SAUDI ARABIA)
Gaétane Dufour with Angel Santiesteban-Prats (CUBA)
Karoline Georges with Dolma Kyab (TIBET)
Pierre Ouellet with Akram Aylisli (AZERBAIJAN) Invité d’honneur du Salon du livre de Montréal et porte-parole de Livres comme l’Air
André Roy with Somyot Prueksakasemsuk (THAILAND)
Neil Smith with Vo Minh Tri and Tran Vu Anh Binh (VIETNAM)
Kim Thuy with Mohammed Al Ajami (QATAR)
From left to write and top to bottom: Akram Aylisli, Dolma Kyab, Dieudonné Enoh Meyomesse, Jabeur Mejri, Li Bifeng, Mohammed Al Ajami, Raif Badawi, Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, Tran Vu Anh Binh, Angel Santiesteban-Prats y Vo Minh Tri.
Gaétane Dufour dedicated to Ángel Santiesteban-Prats a copy of her book LA MODERNITE DEVIENT PATRIMOINE:
The Editor
5 December 2013
