English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
The picture illustrating this post, which I downloaded from an official site, relates to one of many that exist on the intervention of Cuban doctors in Haiti after the earthquake that struck that country in 2010, and also about the cholera epidemic. Interestingly, on this December 3rd, Latin American Medicine Day, I failed to find … Continue reading “December 3rd: Requiem for Cuban Medicine? / Miriam Celaya”
The Institute of Basic Sciences and Preclinics of Havana, renewed all its teaching activities last Monday, October 15, after several weeks. According to information not published in the official media, the student body and professors of this institution focused on higher education are back in the classroom, after several weeks of being relocated to carry … Continue reading “Renewal of Teaching Activities at the University of Medical Sciences / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”
Since yesterday, November 7, 2012, there have been numerous arbitrary arrests, which continue to today. The number arrested at this time is impossible to determine because, as on previous occasions, the mobile and fixed phones of those involved have been interrupted and cut off. Among the arrested are Antonio Rodiles and Yoani Sanchez. The trigger … Continue reading “Declaration No. 1 of Thursday November 8, 2012, About the Arbitrary Arrests Happening in the Last Hours / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
How You Can Help Hurricane Sandy has devastated the city of Santiago de Cuba and caused severe damage in several towns in the east of the country. The images of destruction speak for themselves, but the cameras barely manage to capture a share of the drams. The great tragedy runs on a plane difficult to … Continue reading “Cubans Need Help Recovering From Hurricane Sandy / Yoani Sanchez”
Thursday morning will never be forgotten by thousands of people in Eastern Cuba. The wind, flying roofs, heavy rains and trees falling on streets and houses, will remain as permanent memories of Hurricane Sandy. Nor will they be able to get out of their heads that first night after the disaster in which, from their … Continue reading “Seven Proposals After Hurricane Sandy / Yoani Sanchez”
Without having been able to go and join the Ladies in White, I didn’t feel like publishing anything today. Until I found out that my experience also needed to be told: Why, if the Cuban opposition is peaceful and I haven’t seen any Ladies expressing themselves in a way not suitable for the ears of children, … Continue reading “The Tokonoma in the Wall / Lilianne Ruiz”
The constant appearance of micro trash dumps on Havana’s streets is one of the reasons the Aedes Aegypti mosquito — carrier of dengue fever — cannot be eradicated. Despite the fickle efforts of the Ministry of Public Health and the authorities of the Municipalities in the capital of the country. The eradication of micro trash … Continue reading “Havana Remains the Trash Capital / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”
For the second week in a row all institutes devoted to medical education and health technology in Havana have suspended classes. Students were taken from their classrooms in order to screen people in Havana who are suffering from fevers, and to supervise the control of the Aedes aegypti mosquito in different municipalities. The suspension of … Continue reading “Students at the University of Medical Sciences Continue Without Classes / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada”
Cuba boasts of its public health system, and its hospitals are overflowing with cases of viral dengue fever. This outbreak is caused by this country’s poor performance in supplying water to homes, especially in the capital province. The township Arroyo Naranjo was one of the most affected by dengue in 2012, after which the measure was … Continue reading “Cuban Public Health System and "Quality" / Anddy Sierra Alvarez”
This week, the official press published a lengthy press release that stated that the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) considered what they referred to as “the outbreak of intestinal infection caused by water pollution” had ended. It lasted for two months in eastern Cuba, leaving three dead and fewer than 500 patients, according to official … Continue reading “Among Conspiracies and Euphemisms… / Miriam Celaya”
Cuban society is the crazy punching bag on which the Cuban leaders and the national media train, and sometimes beat up. If there is an epidemic of dengue fever or some other illness it’s the people’s fault because they don’t maintain adequate hygiene in their home and in the city; as if we were responsible … Continue reading “Punching Bag / Rosa Maria Rodriguez Torrado”
The question of the title was inspired by Fidel Castro himself when, on March 28 of this year, he asked Benedict XVI, “What does a Pope do?” Beyond the childishness of the question, it made me reflect on what any president would say if we inquired about his agenda, how a dignitary would narrate his … Continue reading “What Does a President Do? / Yoani Sanchez”
I’m not going to analyze the ethical and journalistic implications of Julian Assange’s work. I confess that I sympathize in part with his ideology, at least the part that proclaims the need for transparency in diplomatic and government affairs. But in Cuba all the cables brought to light by Wikileaks have not been published; they’ve … Continue reading “The Impossible Cuban Existence of Julian Assange / Yoani Sanchez”
Once again, in spite of the serious national crisis, the endemic dengue fever and a cholera epidemic afflicted by secrecy and swept under the national rug, the boring topic of general elections, convened to elect (the word applied to them) the delegates to the municipal assemblies of Popular Power in the month of October and, … Continue reading “General Elections Again? / Fernando Dámaso”
A few days from the announced celebration of that mournful date, July 26th, in the province of Guantánamo, rumors continue to be increasingly stronger that there are several cases of cholera in eastern Cuba, plus it is even being said that there have been several deaths due to the disease. Since the situation was reported … Continue reading “Mounting Cholera? / Miriam Celaya”
