{"id":9260,"date":"2016-07-13T08:51:50","date_gmt":"2016-07-13T07:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=9260"},"modified":"2016-07-13T17:14:09","modified_gmt":"2016-07-13T16:14:09","slug":"miracle-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=9260","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Miracle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Two of the Miami Five \u00e2\u20ac\u201c anti-terrorism campaigners who were wrongly accused of espionage and spent nearly two decades in a US prison \u00e2\u20ac\u201c received an emotional standing ovation at Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s policy conference on July 12.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rene Gonzales and Gerardo Hern\u0102\u02c7ndez, freed in 2011 and 2014 respectively following a global campaign in which Unite played a pivotal role, thanked Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leaders and members for their tireless support.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Incredibly proud\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Introducing Gonzales and Hern\u0102\u02c7ndez, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said he was \u00e2\u20ac\u015bincredibly proud\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaigning. He explained how Unite reached out to its sister unions in the US including the USW, the SEIU, the Teamsters and others, to organise meetings with the Five\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s families as well as ensuring their plight was raised at each of the unions\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 conventions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McCluskey paid tribute to Tony Woodley, former Unite joint-general secretary, who he said drove the campaign to the free the Five with \u00e2\u20ac\u015bincredible energy and determination\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and often visited the prisoners.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He also hailed the many Unite members who participated in the campaign, by writing to the Five while they were imprisoned with messages of support and encouragement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTheir release was a victory for everyone who had fought of their freedom,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd what a fight it was.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But he noted that the fight was not yet over and said Unite was committed in its support for the Cuban people to end America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s illegal blockade of their country.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McCluskey also praised the Miami Five\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s families.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOne of the most moving things I ever heard, was what\u00c2\u00a0[Hern\u0102\u02c7ndez\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wife] Adriana said that she missed most about not being able to be with Gerardo,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he recounted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bShe said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Every single morning when I come down to the dining table and look at empty chairs where my husband and children should be\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gonzales called the opportunity to come speak at the Unite policy conference a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bmiracle\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, considering not only the struggle they faced in securing their freedom but also in securing visas to come to the UK \u00e2\u20ac\u201d their applications were originally denied by the Home Office.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFighting against such hatred takes a lot of strength,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Gonzales said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bA great deal of that strength came from Britain from Cubans living here and abroad and the British unions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which started with Unite.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe way you took our case has made us humble and increases our faith in the belief that humanity can have a better future,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hernandez gave an especial thanks to Tony Woodley. He recalled Woodley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s many prison visits.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat man used to tell me to keep the strength, keep fighting,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe explained what Unite was, how many members you have. Despite all your struggles, you still decided to support us. Without you we wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be here today.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not every day that we can celebrate a victory,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Hernandez added, noting that today we can celebrate many victories, including the Five\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s release from prison and also their success in securing visas.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut Cuba still needs your support to celebrate the day we win with the end of the blockade and when the US gives back the territory of Guantanamo Bay.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou can count on the Cuban people as well,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take our flags down no matter what. Count on us and we will be counting on you.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In addition to having an 18-month-old daughter, Gemma, who was brought on stage to cheers from delegates, Hernandez and his wife Adriana are also now expecting twins.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two of the Miami Five \u00e2\u20ac\u201c anti-terrorism campaigners who were wrongly accused of espionage and spent nearly two decades in a US prison \u00e2\u20ac\u201c received an emotional standing ovation at Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s policy conference on July 12.   Rene Gonzales and Gerardo Hern\u0102\u02c7ndez, freed in 2011 and 2014 respectively following a global campaign in which Unite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9262,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[87,545],"wps_subtitle":"Two of Miami Five address conference","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9260"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9260"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9261,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9260\/revisions\/9261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}