Youth with Unfathomable Courage

ONE day toward the end of last year, Liannis Meriño Aguilera took her mom to the hospital. And it seemed to State Security a good time to seize Liannis and threaten her. They took her to the psychiatric ward, telling her to cease her reports on the country’s health-care system, or face awful consequences. A psychologist warned her that she could be labeled mentally ill-adding that people who tell the truth about the country simply have to be crazy.

Liannis will not quite concede this point. “No,” she says, “those of us who denounce the government and tell the truth are very clear in our thoughts. We want human rights to be upheld, and we want democratic change.”

About the Author

Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger was a senior editor of National Review and a book fellow at National Review Institute.

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ONE day toward the end of last year, Liannis Meriño Aguilera took her mom to the hospital. And it seemed to State Security a good time to seize Liannis and threaten her. They took her to the psychiatric ward, telling her to cease her reports on the country’s health-care system, or face awful consequences. A psychologist warned her that she could be labeled mentally ill-adding that people who tell the truth about the country simply have to be crazy.

Liannis will not quite concede this point. “No,” she says, “those of us who denounce the government and tell the truth are very clear in our thoughts. We want human rights to be upheld, and we want democratic change.”