THE MIAMI
TIMES
8A Thursday. November 23, 1995
By LASHUNDA
WILSON
Times Intern Writer
The tactic of non-violence, developed by Mohandas Gandhi, forced the departure of the powerful British colonial power from India and, a world away, undermined the evil system of racial segregation in America.
Can It work now to bring down a 35- year-old entrenched communist dictatorship?
A group of Cuban Americans thinks it will work and has taken the first step in that direction when Brothers to the Rescue sat for two days of lessons in peaceful civil disobedience last week at the Florida Martin Luther King Jr. Institute For Nonviolence.
It could even do more, such as helping to bridge the Black and Latino communities.
Members of the non-profit organization dedicated to saving Cuban rafters on their way from the island fly planes to spot rafts and radio that information to their counterparts in boats.
Monday and Tuesday last week, they parked their planes and turned up at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Miami for a workshop which exposed them many for the first time to King's non-violence philosophy.
They were there, they said, because they believed that what King's philosophy has to offer can be beneficial to Cubans in Miami and those in their homeland who are resisting the regime of President Fidel Castro.
Understanding of each other's pain and education could be the glue that would bring the two communities together, Iglesias says.
"I was so misguided about Dr. King," he admitted. "We need to educate Cuban exiles on this issue and pass it on to our brothers on the island.
"I don't believe I was the only one in the exile community who had misconceptions about King. I would like to get more people into these seminars. They are missing out on something that is very commendable."
"I was very enlightened. I didn't know enough about King's philosophy," said Arnaldo Iglesias, secretary of Brothers to the Rescue.
He said Kingian nonviolence, as the philosophy is called by the institute, is exactly what Cubans on and off the island need to know.
The times don't call for violence anymore," Iglesias said. "Castro doesn't know how to fight against non-violence. He doesn't know how to react. For you to be violent is what he wants; then he can respond violently. King's philosophy Is phenomenal. There are great similarities between the plight of Cubans on the island and African Americans in the States."
Iglesias said he was surprised to learn of the sacrifices King made during the civil-rights era.
"To be honest, I never fully understood what sacrifices were made to bring African Americans to where they are today. I thought it was just a matter of the times changing. I realize now it was due to the sacrifices of Dr. King and others," he said.
Iglesias believes King's philosophy could go a long way in bringing Blacks and Cubans closer. Communication, he says, is one of the components most needed.
"King's message was not a color issue, It was a humanitarian issue," he said. 'I want to build bridges between our communities. We have nothing to lose if we communicate. The principle of our battle is the same."