International Issues

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Union Activists Jailed in Colombia Awarded Rights Prize in Berlin to Keep Them in Public Eye

Berlin (July 26) – Raquel Castro and Samuel Morales weren't present in Berlin when 1,700 educators from around the world celebrated them as human and trade union heroes at Education International's World Congress this past July.

Castro remains jailed in the political wing of the Bogotá Women's Prison in Colombia, where she has been incarcerated since August 2004 after witnessing the assassination of three trade union colleagues. Morales, jailed at the same time, was recently released but was denied an exit visa by the Colombian government. Both teacher activists, members of Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), had been involved in a peaceful campaign around union activities and protecting the rights of the indigenous and poor in Arauca.

"In the United States, we have the right to speak out and organize," said NEA Secretary-Treasurer Lily Eskelsen from Berlin. "In Colombia, it's a crime."

Castro and Morales are the recipients of the Mary Hatwood Futrell Human and Trade Union Rights Award. Named after one of NEA's past presidents and the founding president of Education International, the award recognizes activists who exhibit exemplary courage to promote human and civil rights.

At an awards dinner at EI's World Congress, Amanda Rincón Suárez of Colombia's FECODE (Federación Colombiana de Educadores) accepted the awards on behalf of Castro and Morales.

Education International, which includes NEA as a member organization, has called for Morales' release from prison.

Keeping Castro and Morales in a public spotlight, one presenter noted, improves the odds that they will not "disappear" in a country where dissent isn't greatly tolerated. And it gives them a voice despite enormous attempts of their governments to keep them silent. "Together we can do what none of us can do alone," says Eskelsen.