English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Introduction The exhaustion of the “model”, united with the interaction of a mixture of internal and external factors, has formed a box which — paraphrasing Lenin — is a result that those from below don’t want and those from above can’t follow indefinitely. In that context, the death of the political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, … Continue reading “The Challenges of the New Cuban Scenario / Dimas Castellanos”
Last weekend I conducted an interview with Guillermo Fariñas, which can be read shortly in the journal Coexistence. Among the questions that might become old news by the time the conversation is published, is this one which I am putting here on my blog. I share Fariñas’ optimism and apprehensions on this subject, and consider … Continue reading “Countdown to Freedom / Reinaldo Escobar”
The blog, “Voices Behind the Bars” would like to welcome Miguel Galban Gutierrez, one of the independent journalists imprisoned during the Black Spring 2003, and who is now exiled in Spain. Miguel Galban has written the following entry as an appreciation for being granted the “Freedom of Expression Award 2011″. ___________________________________________________________ Covadonga Porrúa, I would … Continue reading “Miguel Galban Gutiérrez: Gratitude for Freedom of Expression Award 2011 / Voices Behind The Bars”
Europe shouldn’t normalize relations with the Castro regime until it transitions toward real democracy. By JUAN ADOLFO FERNÁNDEZ SAINZ The Spanish government believes that by releasing a few political prisoners, Cuba has now made enough advances in human rights and democracy to allow the European Union to normalize relations with the island. Madrid couldn’t be … Continue reading “Free Cuba / JUAN ADOLFO FERNÁNDEZ SAINZ”
It’s difficult to imagine that inside the frail body of Guillermo Fariñas, behind his face without eyebrows, is a willingness to confront discouragement. It is also surprising that at the times when his health was most critical, he never stopped caring about the problems and difficulties of those around him. Even now, with his gallbladder … Continue reading “Tropical Sakharov / Yoani Sánchez”
It had already been leaked to Cuban dissidents that the journalist and psychologist Guillermo Fariñas enjoyed a big lead in the voting for the 2010 Sakharov Prize. Among the local opposition the distinction has received more applause than criticism. Still, ‘Coco’ — as we call him — was surprised and the phone in his house … Continue reading “Expected Prize / Iván García”
The dialogue between the government of General Raúl Castro and the top hierarchy of the Catholic Church continues to generate discussions between different opposition groups and the independent civil society sectors. It was expected that half a century of stagnation would bring, as its first consequence, the creaking of rusty hinges when trying to turn … Continue reading “The Cuban Catholic Church and the Opposition: An Unnecessary Conflict / Miriam Celaya”
The day that Juan Juan Almeida announced the start of his hunger strike was like reliving the nightmare we’d experienced with the long fast of Guillermo Fariñas. “This is the worst of all decisions,” we, his friends who love him, told him, sure that he would not withstand the rigors of starvation, nor that the … Continue reading “He Did It / Yoani Sánchez”
The Limits of Immobility By Dimas Castellanos The multiple factors that made possible the paralysis of our history in recent decades, while interacting on a different stage, have placed the limits of immobility on the daily agenda. The attempts to convert citizens by the masses, to ignore the vital function of rights and liberties, and to … Continue reading “Essay from Voices 1 by Dimas Castellanos / Posted in: Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
God created the world in six days, on the 7th, he tweeted. Last month, Yoani Sanchez, the creator of Generation Y, invited some of her friends to contribute to the diffusion of micro-blogging through the group known as “The First Tweet-up on the Island.” In regards to such a meeting, I asked when and where. … Continue reading “Twitterers in Cuba? / Miguel Iturria Savón”
An acquaintance of my mother, who lives very near to a Lady in White, told her that they are under orders not to assault these women in light clothing with gladioli in their hands. The same lady, who until recently wore a sneer of disgust when talking about the masses at Santa Rita and the … Continue reading “Waiting for Orders”
Photo: Luis Orlando On this island where even the news circulates of contraband, we have been witnessing a kind of spiritual mass that has brought back to the public sphere the political specter of the ex-president, Mr. F. It is no coincidence that so many public appearances have taken place following the start of the … Continue reading “Legitimate Doubts”
For the first time in a half-century of totalitarian oppression, the Castro regime in Cuba has given in to pressure from its victims. For the first time a release of political prisoners was achieved by actors from within, the internal resistance, even though the church hierarchy wants to minimize the strength of an opposition which, … Continue reading “A Victory for the Cuban Resistance”
The gods do not descend from the ecstasy of the clouds, nor do psychopaths apologize for the consequences of their actions. Sometimes, however, they need to show signs of life, like people who, in an extreme situation, go to the notary to prove their existence in a public way. Something like this happened with Fidel Castro … Continue reading “Proof of Life”
Placetas, July 19th 2010. When, in April 2007, I was released after 17 very long and difficult years of captivity, I did not know that I was to face a much more difficult battle than the one I was in before. Assimilating into civil protest would mean dealing with numerous different personalities, temperaments, points of … Continue reading “The Same People as Always and With Identical Methods”