English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Cubanet, Jorge Olivera Castillo, 3 December 2015 – We Cubans do not understand closed borders or other measures that try to keep us from arriving at the border between the United States and Mexico with the intention of crossing it and taking advantage of the Cuban Adjustment Act. Without any doubt we prefer to risk … Continue reading “Despite The Obstacles, The Point Is To Leave / Cubanet, Jorge Olivera Castillo”
Diario de Cuba, Jorge Olivera Castillo, Havana, 23 April 2015 — According to a close friend, no fewer than half of the graduates of Cuban universities during the last 50 years, have been graduated in vain.” Such an assertion might be considered distorted and extremist, but the reality outweighs the data that continue to have … Continue reading “The Revolution and its Functional Illiterates / Diario de Cuba, Jorge Olivera Castillo”
Cubanet, Jorge Olivera Castillo, Havana – The sensation that the Cuban regime is counting on a kind of blank check to carry out its abuses is increasingly apparent. The monthly reports of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN), which expose to the world the repressive actions of the political police against … Continue reading “The Ordeal of the Independent Journalist / Cubanet, Jorge Olivera Castillo”
Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, Spanish Foreign Minister, believes that the European Common Position towards Cuba is correct, but can be more flexible HAVANA, Cuba, March — Latin America and now the European Union approach the Cuban dictatorship without great demands. Respect for fundamental rights, as a requisite for closer relations with Havana passes to a more … Continue reading “Transition to Dictatorship Rhythm / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
“If I die from drowning, I don’t care, if here I’m dead in life.” HAVANA, Cuba — Although it is increasingly risky, crossing 90 miles on a raft continues to be the dream of the young people. My neighbor Alfredo confessed to me his determination to undertake a journey that could cost him his life. … Continue reading “To Dream in Cuba is to Dream of Escape / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
HAVANA, CUBA – In Cuba, every year hundreds of people die from alcoholism. A recently published study on the issue of alcoholism in the Americas, in the magazine “Addiction,” says that the mortality indices affect mainly Cubans between 50 and 69 years of age. The information, gathered by the Pan American Health Organization and the … Continue reading ““Getting Drunk is the Only Way You Can Endure the Problems” / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
HAVANA, Cuba – Around 9:00 last night two officials from State Security’s Department 21 presented themselves at my house to warn me that the Second Democratic Forum on International Relations and Human Rights (independent) would not be allowed to be held in Havana this coming 28 January. The opposition forum is scheduled parallel to the … Continue reading “Independent Forum Parallel to CELAC is Being Blocked by State Security / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
HAVANA, Cuba, December, www.cubanet.org — The Bastion 2013 Strategic Exercises recently concluded with the so-called National Days of Defense. Headlines such as “The Heart of the Country Is Invulnerable,” “The Enemy Will Have No Peace,” “An Unbreakable Coastline” and others equally ridiculous could be read in the November 25 edition of the weekly Trabajadores. They have … Continue reading “Bastion 2013, A Little Game in a Make-Believe War / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
Havana, Cuba, November, www.cubanet.org — The details of the corrupt practices detected in the Carlos III Complex of stores and in a municipal entity in the business of community services reinforce opinions about the incapacity of the government to stop a phenomenon that has metastasized in Cuban society. As on previous occasions, people have counted … Continue reading ““The Prices In The All Stores Are Fined” /Jorge Olivera Castillo”
HAVANA, Cuba, November www.cubanet.org – The Cuban government’s recent ruling outlawing the sale of imported clothing and shoes, as well as private rooms exhibiting 3D films and offering video games, will not cause mass protests or anything like it. The 20,000 people who dedicated themselves to this business will comply with the measure, grumbling or … Continue reading “With a Double Standard Everything is Easier / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
HAVANA, Cuba , October, www.cubanet.org – I have heard more than once that the opposition is nothing more than a symbolic “testimonial,” which will fail to turn itself into an important political reference in the short and medium term. Most significant are not so much the affirmations, as the people (Cubans and foreigners) who make … Continue reading “The Opposition Needs Something More Than Courage / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
HAVANA, Cuba , October, www.cubanet.org – In the program “Passage to the Unknown” — Sunday nights on Cubavision — they aired a documentary that showed that young Cubans are last in line in the digital world. Among surprised and crazy faces, the segment showed a young woman on the street gathering opinions about Facebook, a … Continue reading “Facebook: Unknown to Most Cubans / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
HAVANA, Cuba , September, www.cubanet.org – Independent economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, according to the latest information received, has just died in Madrid. A former liver disease was the trigger for his vital signs to irreversibly decline. The trip to the Spanish capital in search of better medical care would not alter the outcome marked by … Continue reading “Farewell, My Friend / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
HAVANA, Cuba , September www.cubanet.org – The musician Robertico Carcassés crossed the line. According to his detractors, he chose the least appropriate time and place to ask for — in addition the release of the four Cuban spies and the end of the “blockade,” as dictated by the script of the show — free access … Continue reading “Sacrilege at the Protestdrome / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
HAVANA, Cuba , September, www.cubanet.org – Raul Castro and those accompanying him in the exercise of power don’t give a damn about the unstoppable population decrease in Cuba. Faced with this unfortunate prediction, revealed by National Bureau of Statistics and Information (ONEI), we confirm once again that the government has no sense of the nation … Continue reading “We Are Fewer But With More Problems / Jorge Olivera Castillo”
