English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
EFE (via 14ymedio), Geneva, 17 January 2023 — At least 36 migrants died in 2022 when they tried to cross the Darien jungle, on the border between Panama and Colombia, one of the most dangerous routes in the world, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday. The figure, derived from data from the … Continue reading “At Least 36 Migrants Died Trying to Cross the Darien Jungle in 2022”
14ymedio, Havana, 23 December 2022 — Yailén Insúa Alarcón, former director of the Cuban Television Information System and the morning program Buenos Días, arrived in the United States on December 19 after a complicated journey through the Darién jungle, and after being scammed and detained in Mexico. “I arrived in the land of liberty on … Continue reading “For Cuban Newswoman Yailen Insua, Crossing the Darien Jungle was Less Dangerous than the Mexican Mafia”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 June 2022 — Dr. Alexander Jesús Figueredo Izaguirre, who lost his job due to his stance against the Cuban government and after being systematically harassed left the island, shared part of his journey to the United States on his social networks. “A part of me died in the Darién jungle seeing lost … Continue reading “‘A Part of Me Died in the Darien Jungle’ says Dr. Figueredo on His Crossing to the United States”
Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 17 June 2019 — Several weeks ago we received the news of the tragedy of the Armila River, in shock. On the night of April 23rd, dozens of Cuban families were mourning when more than fifty young people, who traveled north into Panamanian jungle, died dragged by a sudden flood. Despite its obvious … Continue reading “Tragedy in the Darien Jungle: a Warning to the Returnee / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Necoclí, Colombia, 8 October 2022 — In the Colombian town of Necoclí they are already used to hundreds of people camping on their beaches every day to wait for boats that will take them to the border with Panama, on a migration to the United States that is constantly growing and threatens … Continue reading “In 2021, 133,726 Migrants Passed Through the Darien Gap, One of the Most Dangerous Border Crossings”
EFE/14ymedio, Panama, 24 September 2022 — A total of 134,178 migrants in transit to North America have arrived in Panama this year after crossing the Darién, the dangerous border jungle with Colombia, above the historic figure of 133,726 in 2021, the Government reported on Friday. “Panama is strengthening its humanitarian and security teams that work … Continue reading “More Migrants Have Now Crossed the Panamanian Darién Than in All of 2021”
14ymedio, Mario J. Penton, Panama City, 2 July 2017 – They managed to escape Cuba to leave behind traces of corruption and negligence that, according to Yudenny Sao Labrado and her husband Yoendry Batista, reflect the prevailing system on the island. From a neighborhood on the outskirts of Panama City, the couple relates the story … Continue reading “Cuban Couple Prefers to Face the Jungle Rather Than the Law in Cuba”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Panama, 23 October 2016 — If anything deserves to be called “tropical” it is the Darien jungle in the south of Panama. Humidity, mosquitoes and heat makes moving within the dense vegetation of the area a superhuman task. Through the dense jungle extends one of the most dangerous migratory routes of the world. A Mediterranean … Continue reading “Panama’s Darien Gap, a Mediterranean Without Boats or Headlines / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
14ymedio, Yankiel Gutiérrez Faife, Camajuaní, 8 January 2023 — Nearly all their friends have left, but Javier and Érica, two young people from Santa Clara, are still in Cuba. Leaving will be almost inevitable. With the Island’s economic situation, having children isn’t an option. Besides, at twenty-five years of age, where are they going to … Continue reading “No Dreams, No Entertainment, No Work, This is How the Young Live in Villa Clara, Cuba”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 29 December 2022 — To end this year, and together with several journalist colleagues, we prepared a list of the people and projects that had set the tone in Cuba during 2022 . The list of names was also a journey through the most important moments of these twelve months and … Continue reading “Could 2023 Be a Better Year for Cuba?”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 22 December 2022 — He is 15 years old and in a few days he will begin a seven-month course to train as a chemistry teacher, a job that will take him back to junior high school, from where he has just graduated. This time he will be in front of … Continue reading “Teacher’s Day in Cuba: Between Exodus and Crisis”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Mexico City, 5 December 2022 — He has been in Miami for half a year, has two jobs and a suitcase full of fears. “Don’t quote me or publish any photo where you can see my face,” he says emphatically when an independent Cuban media outlet approaches him to take his testimony. He had … Continue reading “‘Don’t Quote Me or Publish My Face’, the Fear of Cuban Migrants”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Jorge I. Pérez, Miami, 9 September 2022 — More than 177,000 Cubans have arrived by land in the United States and more than 5,000 by sea since October 2021, in a new wave of migration from the Island to the North, which already exceeds that of the Mariel Boatlift and is “widening … Continue reading “The Cuban Migratory Wave is Leaving a ‘Generation Gap’ on the Island”
14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 4 July 2022 — A few days before the first anniversary of the July 11 (11J) protests, doctor Alexander Pupo Casas, who suffered from harassment and lost his job due to his outspoken stance against the Cuban regime, tells 14ymedio: “As I see it, there won’t be another one because that 11J, … Continue reading “The Next Demonstration in Cuba: ‘I Don’t Think it Will be Peaceful or Civic,’ Says Alexander Pupo”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 June 2022 — Daniel Llorente’s life has changed in the last 48 hours. At least a little, and enough. An American who read the story about him in the Tampa Bay Times has offered him a roof where he can stay for a while, at least while he sells the house he has offered to … Continue reading “The Cuban ‘Man With the Flag’ Gets a House in Tampa Thanks to Solidarity”
