Prison Diary IX: A People Who Avoid Their Government / Angel Santiesteban

The prisons barracks are overcrowded with prisoners who, for the most part, have committed the crime of “embezzlement.” They have stolen State assets, which according to “socialist legality” belong to the people, public good managed by the Castro brothers for more than fifty years, plunging the country into poverty.

A contradiction: if the goods belong to the people, and they, due to hunger, take an infinitesimal part of their property, they commit no offense and therefore they should not be punished.

In any event, this is only in theory; in practice they are serving time for it, while complaining about the impossibility of surviving on the wages of their work.

“If I don’t take what I consider I’ve earned by my efforts, I can’t feed my family. In my case I did it because I wanted to buy a pair of shoes for my daughter for her fifteenth birthday,” a man with teary eyes told me. Another approached to tell me that he is in prison for selling at satellite dish, the dish only, not the receiver, eyes wide as if looking into the abyss. “They exaggerated in the search they made of my home. When they searched a neighbor, looking for drugs, it wasn’t so exhaustive; in my case, because of the lack of information, they are worried about people seeing images of freedom.”

A great part of this mass of “embezzlers” are directors of companies, buyers, warehouse managers… anyone who has within their reach some item that can sell, buy, rent, and profit from that will then serve to acquire the elements vital to the lives of their children.

In a corroded, worn-out society, where young people, the children nobody wanted, only think about leaving the country or stealing to survive, it’s logical to think that the prisons are overcrowded with the worst fed.

The dictatorship ignores the demands of a society to have, in the political and economic order it offers its citizens, most of all its young people, a reality that guarantees present and future prosperity.

Ángel Santiesteban-Prats

La Lima Prison, March 2013

3 April 2013

Cuba: Before and After Noah’s Ark / Juan Juan Almeida

Following the tradition of ancient Roman warriors, the Cuba soldiers, after finishing their missions and/or conflicts in foreign territories, return to the fatherland carrying some live trophy.

Some chose to bring adopted children (whom they later abandon), others import women of unusual physiques that, not willing to put up with certain treatment, end up returning to their origins.

The most bizarre are brought as souvenirs, chimpanzees, macaws, giant tortoises, meerkats, and something more than anecdotes to show and remember.

And for mere competition, the current Cuban emperor assembled a hunting paradise hidden among the rugged beauty Cayo Saetia; an island located in the southeast of Holguin between Nipe Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Where they can shoot buffalo, bulls, eland antelope, warthogs, zebras, camels, ostriches, fancy reptiles and other animals from distant latitudes.

Lovers of the natural (not nature), and like Nero, in this effort to give the people bread and circuses, in 2011 accepted a donation of African animals that traveled from the Etosha National Park in Namibia, to the National Zoo in Havana.

The humanitarian operation was called “Noah’s Ark II”, and eventually raised questions from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which issued statements expressing concern that these animals caught in the wild, would have to endure a long and tiring flight to a new destination, and it was not known whether any animal welfare organization had reviewed the Cuban facilities, its standards of care and insertion into social animal life.

The reality is that the imported specimens, like any foreign tourist, can count on close attention; the problems were more adaptive.

The black-backed jackal suffered severe depression upon discovering that the lack of fur on his Cuban counterpart is not a typical Caribbean hairstyle but is the result of a severe scabies. The  foreign ungulates had a similar reaction on finding that their island equivalents didn’t need hooves, the veterinarians removed them and sold them at very good price on the black market for hand crafted barrettes.

In the carnivores’ area passivity reigns. Cheetahs, spotted and brown hyenas have seen their share of food decline considerably but they live convinced that this reduction is a global campaign against obesity. Due to the lack of water a small sedition in the hippo’s ponds was organized; but everything was sorted out, after a long chat, the artiodactyla — the cloven-hooved — came to understand that Cuba is a “blockaded” country.

Serious trauma, that of a lion that traveled to breed and seeing the Cuban lionesses feeding on bananas and fish heads, none will meet and they have a bad character.

For the rest, everything’s normal. The National Zoo is ready, waiting on the 26th.

2 April 2013

The Resignation / Rafael León Rodríguez

From “es.paperblog.com”

This past February 2013 the world was universally surprised by the resignation of His Holiness Benedict XVI from the papacy, an event that hasn’t happened for six centuries. Joseph Ratzinger, the successor of John Paul II in 2005, will retire in Castell Gandolfo with the aim not interfering while the process of a conclave to elect the new successor of Peter goes forward..

February, februarius in Latin, was regarded in ancient times by the Romans as the month of purification and also of the dead. In Cuba could be considered the month of resuscitation. And, along with the visit of Russian President Medvedev the last week of that month, the issue of debt to the former Soviet Union returns. It seems that an agreement was finally reached between the two governments: Cuba will pay a part of this and Russia will write off the rest. The figures discussed are thirty billion dollars owed by the island. Something like what people say is the famous Cuban debt to Paris Club: $ 30.471 million. And one wonders, well, what where has all that money gone, where are the economic results of these loans? Will we Cubans know someday how this national economic disaster was funded?

It must be because of this, among many other questions, that the news of the public ratification, during the meeting of the new National Assembly and the new Council of State, of General President Raul Castro’s agreeing to reside over the dictatorial regime for only five more years. As if half a century was too little time, to prepare a transfer.

The outgoing vice-president relinquished his post; the Minister of the Interior seconded it. Thus the permanents succession within the spheres of power is ensured and set a precedent. Nothing but resignations and… resignations.

5 March 2013

To Redress a Wrong / Luis Felipe Rojas

Rafael Alcides

A couple of weeks ago my friend, the poet Rafael Alcides, published a text… as a way to air the case of Ángel Santiesteban Prats. I responded to him immediately, “You are wrong, Master…”  Alcides sent me this text that I want to share with you about the opportunistic response of eight Cuban writers, affiliated with UNEAC (Writers and Artists Union of Cuba), on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Here is the complete text:

Dear Luis Felipe: Alcides gave me this charge, but there is no visible email address for you to receive the letter, so I leave it here. In my blog today I posted about Angel. Hugs, Regina (Coyula)

Havana, 2 March 2013

From Rafael Alcides / To Luis Felipe Rojas

My Friend Luis Felipe:

Regarding your calling me “teacher” in replying to my opinions about the recently massacred Ángel Santiesteban, I will answer as Nicolás Guillén would with his usual mischievousness: “The teacher, in fact, will be you.” And as for the reply itself, it has left me confused. Either I didn’t know how to express myself or you read me with too much haste. Let’s see.

I said that from the beginning this is not a political case, adding slyly an “I’ve heard” that could not fail to be considered, and continuing on to demonstrate that it is, in fact, a political case, but to prove it without editorializing, in conformance with the method of poets from time immemorial: to leave this I said without saying it explicitly, so that it doesn’t take hold without being read at least once more, what Hemingway used to define with the seriousness of someone who was claiming the rights of discovery, “Iceberg theory.”

But truthfully, I talk about disagreements in the life a couple magnified to the extreme of sentencing our friend and the excellent writer Ángel Santiesteban to five years in prison, in its origin situations typical of that long list of things and cases of the home that nurtured the jokes of our grandparents, and then I stop to consider what the government could do now to back off.

To shoot blanks, by mistake, at the execution or for reasons of state usually happens with later governments, those that come after the fallen government, never from the government that commits the executions. Conscious of this important lesson in history, I mention possible solutions for the government, withdrawals where we both win. We get our Angel back, and the government, whatever it’s going to do, reserves for itself the romantic role of knight in shining armor who comes out to defend the honor of the lady.

You have to play the hand you were dealt, Luis Felipe. Unfortunately, Angel’s case is much more delicate than that of the 75 from the Black Spring early in the century. Then it was all very clear, then the accuser was the government; this time, unfortunately — I insist, unfortunately — the accuser is Angel’s ex-wife, the mother of his son — a son who is now fifteen years old — and this woman, this mother lied, yes, that woman, manipulated from the beginning or not, sought out false witnesses, simulated the marks of a beating on her face with leaves from a guao tree, she spoke of death threats, arson, finally, my friend Luis Felipe, this woman so in love that she would rather see her ex-husband burning at the stake than with another woman,set the table for these people and they, of course, eager, greedy, as is usual in these cases that fall out of the sky when least expected, quickly sat down to eat.

These are the facts. Not even God could change them move.  To move heaven and earth to get Angel our is what we can do now, going to talk to God if necessary (and I believe it is), continuing to insist, of course, each in his own language, that our friend is innocent, that the case was fabricated, but knowing that as long as the ex-wife doesn’t retract, they, the jailers, will be the good guys and Angel will be the bad guy. That’s the situation.

Finally, Luis Felipe, I do not usually discuss with the reader, I respect your turn, but you are not a reader, to come out in defense of Angel with the passion with which you replied to me, makes you a part of me, since I too am Angel, in this moment when we are all trying to get Angel out of prison we are Angel, so I’m explaining to you without admitting that yes, perhaps, I didn’t make myself clear to you.

For your exception and unique character this is first, a private letter, but also first, we are talking about a tribute to your person, so you are authorized to publish it in your blog or wherever you think it would be appropriate, that is, useful to Angel.

I am among those who think that honest men do not have one discourse for coming and another for going. They have one, in my case, it now remains the discourse you replied to yesterday when I only showed the tips of the icy crests in the immensity of the sea.

I embrace you, and thank you again for wanting to do for Angel what you are doing.

Rafael Alcides

16 March 2013

Korea vs. Korea / Rafael Leon Rodriguez

Image from Wikipedia Kiwix (offline)

Historical documentation depends on both the perspective and the interests of the writer, and the interpretative convenience of the reader. The last war on the Korean peninsula is no exception to this thesis. From the left they say: The Yankee imperialists invaded the north to take the entire peninsula and pressure the People’s Republic of China.

From the right the story is that: The Chinese Communist army, after its victory over the Kuomintang, invaded the south, to control the entire territory.

The fact is that as a result of the Second World War, first, and the Cold War, later, the Korean Peninsula remains divided into two antagonistic states, one south of the 38th parallel and the other north.

South Korea, after the 1953 armistice that ended the fighting but not the war, became the thirteenth largest economy in the world, a world leader in the shipbuilding industry, production of electronics and telephones, the country with the third highest number of broadband internet users per capita, in short: the fourth largest economy in Asia.

North Korea, meanwhile, created the fourth largest army in the world: 45 soldiers per 1,000 inhabitants and armed itself with nuclear weapons. The south is now a democratic country. The north an oppressive family dynasty now headed by the government of the grandson of Kim Il Sung, founder of the North Korean state.

The continuing tensions between the two Koreas; between the north and neighboring Japan; between Korea and the United Nations on nuclear proliferation; have marked the last 60 years since the signing of the armistice. Lately it seems that the new dictator is proving to his people their willingness and ability for conflict and and has put the world in a dangerous situation of nuclear war.

This is not the first time this has happened; the first fruits of that nonsense that corresponded to the Cuban dictatorship during the so-called Caribbean Crisis, in October 1962. Let us trust, once again, that the objectivity and prudence of governments of the countries involved, meeting at the United Nations, will manage to deter this new bellicose challenge that nobody in their right mind wants.

2 April 2013

The 3rd World Baseball Classic / Rafael Leon Rodriguez

From http://deportes.terra.com.mx

The Dominican Republic team will lead off this Tuesday, March 19, in the Baseball World Championship against Puerto Rico, as the favorite to win. The AT&T Park in San Francisco, California, will host the game. This time the champion will be a Caribbean country.

Cuba failed to advance to semifinals. Despite being first class, the Cuban team was tense, visibly playing under pressure and sometimes misguided. Contributing to this was a technical direction that, instead of calming the players, increased the tension, using expressive forms altered during the conduct of the games.

To this we must add the political charge, with all this implies in the milieu where our athletes perform. To participate in an event of this category is, for Cuban athletes, like marching into battle, a military confrontation. They are the torch-bearers in the Plaza of the Revolution, before the Jose Marti monument. Judges individually and as a team they struggle to fight for the victory and to perform at the level this implies.  Which means, also, they will return to the fatherland, with the shield or without the shield; only that is missing.

To our players we must recognize them, first, as victims of discrimination victims that prevents their playing in professional leagues, as players from all the other countries of the area are able to do, regardless of ideologies of their governments.

The lack of suitable terrain in our backyard to develop their athletic skills and many other unresolved material needs. But, the most significant thing to begin to reverse this situation is; Separating sports and politics, let each of them play in their separate arenas. Then we can aspire to be champions again.

21 March 2013

Attention, Cubans! They’re Making USB Flash Drives From Paper! / Luis Felipe Rojas

Through the work of my friend Falco, this wondrous technology comes to us, I reproduce it as I found it, if I dare to comment on it, there is only this to say:

The American technology company IntelliPaper® based in Spokane, Washington, has created and offered for sale USB flash drives made out of paper.

These devices, in addition to being disposable, cheap and ecological, have the advantage of weighing very little and the ability to be sent through regular mail like you would send an ordinary plain paper letter. The technology allows any paper product, for example business cards and fliers, to include a disposable digital flash memory.

For now, the main application is in the greeting card industry, but as soon as the capacity is increased (currently from 18-32 megabytes) and they become more common, they could become one of the most useful, cheap and creative ways to share information.

The nightmare of totalitarian dictators.

USB flash memories have become a nightmare for totalitarian dictators who depend on total control to survive. Distributing information impossible to censor through these drives will be easy for the masses do to their small size and their prices affordable even in the poorest countries. Through them, for example, Web Packages can be distributed very effectively, safely and cheaply, so that we can make available to our readers, weekly, books, manuals and audiovisual materials.

This new technology fills a cup that is about to overflow. The Uniqueness of Totalitarianism is closer every day!

4 April 2013

Everyone / Regina Coyula

Times are changing in Cuba.  A simple comparison to five years ago will sustain this statement. One of the expressions of this change is the proposal brought forth by a heterogeneous group of citizens (I have grown fond of the term) at Laboratorio Casa Cuba* to discuss a topic of interest to all of us, including those who do not know about the existence of such proposal.

It should not surprise me, but it does surprise me, to see how from the fringes of the political spectrum, Cuba Soñada** (Cuba Dreams)…receives arrows; from each one according to their position and comprehension: each one of them absolute owners of the truth, each one from the meta-reading, each one disqualifying*** (surreptitiously or not) the project.

Now that is fashionable to defend homosexuals, blacks, women, the disabled and any other socially excluded group, a little bit of respect for politically different ways of thinking would not be bad; and, in this, Laboratorio Casa Cuba is ahead of everyone else: laypersons, Catholics, anarchists and communists have taken equal places around the same table. The document may seem scandalous to many –better controversial than anodyne- but they will not be able to attack it for being offensive toward other schools of thought. Cuba Soñada…gives us the opportunity to discuss.  And, I say this to the orthodox within the one (legally allowed) political party and to those who plan agendas for the transition, in and outside of Cuba, and of course, to everyone else.

Translator’s notes:

*Laboratorio Casa Cuba is an initiative born from the Cuban Catholic publication Espacio Laical that has stated its mission as “to study the Cuban institutional framework” and to promote “research, suggestions for change, reflection and respectful dialog.”  It is integrated so far by communists, democratic socialists, anarchists and Catholics.

**The full title of this document, from the Archdiocese of Havana, is “Cuba dreams – Cuba possible – Cuba future: proposals for our immediate future.”

***”Disqualify” is a term used by the regime towards any expression of dissent as a way of dismissing the source. That is, the speaker/actor is told, essentially, “You are not qualified to speak or act because we — the powers-that-be — say so.” Yoani Sanchez described this in a blog post about a meeting with State Security.

Translated by: Ernesto Ariel Suarez

3 April 2013

The Oldest Profession / Ignacio Estrada

by Ignacio Estrada

Havana, Cuba. The oldest profession has returned to Cuban streets and provides a stable source of income for a vast number of mostly young Cubans.

Regardless of time or weather, there are no shortages of sex workers in Havana to satisfy a sexual appetite. The revolution of 1959 promised equality for all but the largest share of its benefits went to those in positions of power, their cronies or closest relatives. In its wake and in spite of shutting down the old nightclubs and brothels, prostitution has returned as one of the best paid professions today.

The trade is practiced by those we least suspect — coworkers, neighbors or even classmates. Large numbers of people in recent years have changed their morals like chameleons change colors and lead double lives.

I have nothing against those who choose to become prostitutes. Quite the opposite. I believe that it’s time that the Cuban government legalize the practice, unionize the workers and allow them, as is done in other countries, to be licensed as legitimate Sex Workers.

Male and female prostitution is not only practiced in the Capital but it extends to every territory. There are known brothels, escort services and red zones, the last which are prone to violence and crime. Charges are different for citizens and  foreigners and are even higher when part of the profits go to a broker or a pimp.

Without sanitary practices and health screenings, prostitution has caused an increase in the spread of veneral diseases. The rate of HIV/STDs is now higher than it has ever been in the nation’s history.

There needs to be a call to action to demand that all who provide or use these services follow safe sexual practices.

While some parents are proud because their children bring home new clothes, perfumes, gifts or other items, others mourn the loss of a son or daughter to violence, to abuse or to illnesses such as HIV. There are also those who are happy that their children have managed to leave Cuba to live elsewhere and can return to visit them carrying gifts.

As a nation, we need to put an end to injustice and legitimize this line of work so it’s treated the same way as any other profession. Legalization would provide protection under the law as well as protection from officers of the law who abuse their power to extort and harass the sex workers.

It is important that parents, family and citizens safeguard children, supervise their activities, know where they are at all times and ensure that they are not exploited or misled, especially for sexual purposes.

While I have nothing against prostitution, I condemn those who take advantage of minors for sexual favors in exchange for gifts or money. The foreign press and other outlets report that child prostitution exists. I am unaware of any such case as a reporter but if I learned of one I would have no problem denouncing it in an article.

Legalization of sex workers does not condone civil disobedience. We need to find a way to keep our streets and neighborhoods clean and safe, to protect the workers and the customers from disease and to regulate and legitimize a commonly practiced trade.

Translated by: Vivian S. Bedoya

25 March 2013