I could have come here as a friend of Elena Mederos, for I was honored by her friendship. I could have come here as one of her disciples, for I learned much from her wisdom. I would be here, thus, in sorrow to lament her absence and to express the void that her friends and followers feel. Instead, I am here only as a Cuban, because her country cannot honor her now as it surely will when its people are free again. The voice is humble, but my love for Elena will, I hope, raise it to the task.

The greatest virtues of a country are often embodied in a handful of its citizens —the virtues that have passed history’s test and others still latent, virtues that may still shape future events. Those few individuals seem the harbingers of a world of justice and dignity, a shelter in troubled times for their country’s highest aspirations. We ordinary people cannot always fathom their faith or share their courage; we are moved, nevertheless, by the relish with which they pursue their ideals, and by the promise that they bespeak.

Elena Mederos belonged to such a select group. Throughout her life she stood on the side of noble causes, endeavors to redeem society. Although she enjoyed a prosperous, healthy and privileged life, she felt the burdens of the poor, the suffering of the infirm, and the sorrow of the illiterate. Read the record of her activities, and you will find the words “aid” and “protection” time and time again, and each time, in connection with the most needy.

But Elena Mederos’ caring for the needy and the oppressed was never the product of blind charity, the simple response of a generous heart. Her concern was prompted too by the dictates of reason. She headed a women’s movement that combined encouragement of intellectual pursuits with its programs of social reform. Elena knew that when intellectual activity is divorced from the realities of daily life, it can become an exercise in selfishness, and perhaps a very dangerous one, if the underprivileged begin to identify the intellectual with the causes of their misery. And she knew that the dangers, although different, are equally to be feared, if the drive for social reform becomes oblivious to the needs of the spirit; ignorant or intolerant of those needs, the zealous reformer is bound to betray his goal of justice.

After the ouster of the dictatorship under which Cuba lived 20 odd years ago, it seemed as if Elena Mederos’ hopes might soon be realized. She accepted a post in the new government from which she thought she might implement the social programs she had been planning for years. But there was no room for the compromise between economic and civil rights that seemed fundamental to her democratic mind; she was compelled to break away by the abuses of that govern­ment, which was leading the country towards totalitarianism.

She left Cuba, but Cuba was always present in her. It was her cushion, she spoke with its voice, it pervaded her every act.

Once again she turned her energies to those most in need of help; she devoted herself to denouncing the plight of Cuba’s political prisoners. She traveled and worked with strength and persistence that belied her years, calling on in­ternational organizations and governments that were not always ready to hear her terrible truths. Through Of Human Rights Elena Mederos succeeded in exposing broadcast the horrors of Cuba’s prisons. That publication led many at least to question the credibility of the propaganda about Cuban life that international communism has been so adept at spreading.

It is only natural that we should praise Elena Mederos’ extraordinary character, honesty, and perseverance. But her admirable traits are not really the reasons for her true importance; if they were all, we should see her as something of a statue only to be revered. Her greatness, like that of all exceptional human beings, stems from her ennobling influence on other lives, on people who might not have joined in gener­ous endeavors had they not known Elena Mederos. She, like others who embody their countries’ best, will go on living in those whom her labors have inspired. Elena Mederos will be part of every Cuban’s efforts to regain the freedom of his country.

It is a difficult time, and we may find ourselves alone in the struggle, but times were not easy for Elena Mederos, yet she always taught us to hold onto our faith. The best tribute to her memory that her country and compatriots can offer in their gratitude is to grow in spirit and will, upholding her commitment to liberty and justice.