Some stories cry out to be told, even if they may not be told fully.
Imagine sitting in a cell, shackled by a totalitarian regime because your political beliefs are strong enough to pose a real threat. The food is nothing to write home about – but the intellectual fodder is another story.
Your mind still roams free of the strictures the government would impose, and amazingly, through the underground networks that only fellow activists know and none would betray, you receive a magazine published for reformers like yourself. Smuggled in, it brings stimulating stories of current political and economic policy trends around the world and the impact that other reformers have had in achieving policy changes.
CIPE recently received word of just such a prisoner. After reading about the work of CIPE’s partners and devouring news of neighboring countries’ advocacy efforts in a CIPE-sponsored publication that miraculously found its way to him, this prisoner managed another smuggling feat: a message to the outside.
He expressed heartfelt appreciation and encouragement of the work. “Just because I am locked up,” he said, “I have not forgotten you.” His message was forwarded to CIPE.
Though we dare not call his name, we will not forget him either. Activists like him risk what little freedom they have for the sometimes elusive hope of greater freedoms to come. At every turn, they face government strangulation of dissent and honest policy debate that could improve the lives of its citizens. We are inspired by their heroism, which manifests not in one glorious swoop but through years of sacrifice and perseverance in unheralded but crucial daily labors. Our mission is to support their efforts, shine a light on their successes, and spread the hope that they embody. Ultimately, however, it is they who bear the risk of resistance and share the successes of progress, which is why truly viable reform comes from within – something else we would all do well not to forget.
Published Date: February 21, 2006