Search results for: "of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba"

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 1 May 2020 — It was drizzling when dawn broke. On this morning of May 1st, the famous lucky downpour – something that people expect as a good thing as soon as the fifth month of the year begins – had not yet fallen. Nor was the traditional noise heard at … Continue reading “Day 41 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: The Empty Square”

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 30 April 2020 — These are days of risk to health and freedom. The Cuban government is taking advantage of the Covid-19 emergency situation to further curtail the right to free expression, but also to hold “show” trials that are more circus than justice. At the center of this attack is … Continue reading “Days 38 to 40 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: Under the Bed”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 27 April 2020 — Life does not stop. We may be in a health emergency or quarantine, but children continue to be born, couples separate and the pipes break. We know about this last thing in our house, where we spent several days trying to repair a leak that made our already complicated … Continue reading “Day 33 to 38 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: There is Always an Eye That Sees You”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 21 April 2020 — This Tuesday was complicated from the beginning. A pipe in our apartment broke and with all the plumbers in quarantine we had to appeal to our knowledge as engineers-without-diplomas to resolve the problem. Reinaldo managed to patch the break with the old trick of a plastic bag, … Continue reading “Day 32 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: Engineers Without Diplomas”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 20 April 2020 you’re — Time is deformed in quarantine. It seems like an eternity has passed since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Cuba, and yet, it was just a few weeks ago that they announced on official television that three travelers had symptoms when they arrived on … Continue reading “Day 31 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: Guesser, Seer”

14ymedio Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 14 April 2020 – For days, Reinaldo had been planning an excursion to the store on the corner of 26th and 51st, near our house. At the first attempt, a neighbor warned us that the line stretched for several blocks; the second time we had to stay home because the water was turned … Continue reading “Day 25 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: the Epicenter of Contagion Around the Corner”

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 11 April 2020 – Life goes on, for many of my neighbors, on the balconies, especially for the elderly who have family that guarantees their care, while avoiding their getting infected by Covid-19. They spend their hours on the terraces, from where they greet their loved ones, hang out the masks … Continue reading “Days 20 to 22 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: White Face Masks Hanging on the Balconies”

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 8 April 2020 — Glued to the screen all day, that’s how a neighbor of my building has decided to spend the quarantine. With face-to-face classes suspended, the young university student fulfills the old dream of doing nothing but watching TV series and enjoying video games. The family lets him be at ease, … Continue reading “Day 19 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: ‘Weekly Packet’, Video Games and Movies as a Refuge in Quarantine”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 7 April 2020 – Years ago in my neighborhood they built a hotel to house patients from the so-called Miracle Mission, but today it houses suspected cases of Covid-19. The building, built in the years of the Venezuelan oil subsidy, had become a place to receive Parliamentary deputies and the athletes of … Continue reading “Day 18 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: In Quarantine and Playing Soccer”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 6 April 2020 — The shouts of a neighbor brought me out of my midmorning stupor, provoked after trying for a whole hour to call one of those customer service phones that rings and rings but nobody answers. “You have to go with your son and husband, because they are giving … Continue reading “Day 17 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: Whole Families In The Lines To Buy More Products”

Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 5 April 2020 — I’m annoyed. Anger rises in my throat. Today I have learned that the coronavirus knocked on the door of another friend, this time a Cuban poet living in Madrid. After years of experiencing repression and censorship within the Island, Spain has been for her a terrain where she no longer had … Continue reading “Day 16 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: Homeopathy Will Not Save Us, Even If Official Television Says So”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 3 April 2020 — The Covid-19 emergency in Cuba has its own sound or rather its “no sound.” If, before, from our house we heard the constant roar of the nearby Rancho Boyeros Avenue, now there is a rare stillness that fills everything. A “collateral benefit” of the drama we are experiencing with … Continue reading “Day 14 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 2 April 2020 – A mask can be a protection and a shield. When part of the face is covered, it is easy to outwit the police. Something that shouldn’t normally matter, but that in Cuba can be vital. Now, when I blend into the crowd with my mask, I manage … Continue reading “Day 13 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: The Daily Fight for Food”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 1 April 2020 — It was known, but on this Island the rumors are weeks ahead of the official announcements. Sometimes, many times, the so-called Radio Bemba [gossip] knows in advance what, in time, the national press will publish as news. Days ago it was clear that the parade on May … Continue reading “Day 12 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba”

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 31 March 2020 – Two hours of lining up and it was only possible to buy two of each product. This morning we had to go out looking for some food because our reserves were depleted. We decided to go to a market on the corner of Boyeros and Camagüey that … Continue reading “Day 11 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba”