It’s a real jewel of journalism, worthy of being stored in any historical archive. It appeared on the “Personal Issues” section of the classified ads of the weekly Ahora newspaper, published in the province of Holguin. Out of the three ads which appeared last Saturday, June 2nd, these two caught my attention:
“The Clinical-Surgical Lucia Iniguez Hospital offers positions of Security Agents and protection. Prequisites: have a mid-superior level or have passed twelfth grade, having had taken rehabilitation courses and having adequate experience, must be physically and mentally fit, have political, moral, and social conduct in accordance with the revolutionary process. Salary: 283 pesos and additional salary payment of up to $84.90. Visit the Department of Human Resources and speak with Santiago Dominguez Fajardo”
“The Meat Company of Holguin seeks a Chief of Quality Control. Salary: $425.00 plus additional payment of $200.00. Prerequisites: graduate from related superior level with specialty in Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, of possessing License of Dietary Sciences. The company follows the system of payment for the completion of the job in a certain time, and 4 kilos of bones and a set of personal hygiene products are given monthly, work clothes annually, in addition to personal transportation. Call 42-2705, extensions 121 and 118.″
The first outlined phrase refers to the political apartheid which thousands of Cubans who have no communist affiliation suffer…but for such plentiful earnings! In that sense, anyone can keep a moral conduct “in accordance with the revolutionary principles”. The second bold phrase is quite frightening. With so much hunger in certain African countries and we still use a surplus of food to as an incentive for Security Agents! There is no such case. There is no doubt that the suggestions are unique, there surely will be better ones, but these could not have gone by unmentioned and I wanted to share it with you all. The section is in charge of someone who is said to be called Graciela Guerra B and her email is chela@ahora.cu.
Note:I have published this through my phone, I send it to a friend (as an image) who has internet access, he sends it through email to another friend outside of Cuba who receives it, converts it to a Word document, and later publishes it on my blog with the photos I have also sent from my cell phone.
Today, I asked those who help me to do so in this way. So that those who follow and read me know that on this side, from within the barbed wires, connecting to the internet continues to be a fantasy, regardless if there is a cable or not.
That’s why I spend many days without publishing anything and I can never directly respond to messages sent to me, to those emails which saturate my electronic mailbox, and the hundreds of friend requests I have on Facebook which a friend of mine updates once a month. This is yet another way of accessing the internet, without internet.
Translated by Raul G.
11 June 2012