Translating Cuba

A ghost runs around Cuba: the Internet ghost. A month after the arrival of fiber optics from Venezuela to create a much faster information and telecommunications highway — some media outlets are predicting speeds three thousand percent faster — the government seems to be looking for excuses to justify why, once again, it will continue violating our most basic rights, preventing us from freely accessing information from our homes through Internet.

Until recently the government alleged it couldn’t open up Internet to the “entire population” because, as a result of the US Embargo, Cuba was accessing Internet via satellite (Wi-Fi), slowing down connection speeds. This argument has been heavily debated in diverse sectors who, in spite of not being experts, question why the country didn’t expand its contract with satellite providers and installed additional servers to diversify the possibilities and provide and widen the service offering to a larger number of users. Also, if connections are truly that slow, why not give us the possibility, just like foreigners living in the country, to pay for access in spite of its slowness? Why marginalize fellow compatriots?

It seems that the rationale of this elite — mostly “angry” (irritated and tense) — which prevents us from browsing the Web is to continue discriminating and dividing our society with its repeated practice of extortion and influence; and they use the access to the net as one of the perks they usually give grant to their hardcore followers who are employed in key positions or positions of interest for the power elite.

I share the idea of ending the U.S. “blockade” or embargo against Cuba, but I also want to end the mental blockade of those in power, who pretend to be more interested in “breaking the blockade” of independents — who dare to use our freedom of expression with “fists and pens” — and in violating the right to information of the Cuban people. Working so everyone enjoy the technological advances they enjoy and defending the access to these sources of information that is also part of our rights, as it is part of our culture and general knowledge, and enriches, complements, and consolidates the cognitive universe.

Since the announcement that we would be able to access broadband Internet, people on different television shows were optimistic about the possibility of providing the masses with that tool that frees them. They begun to expound on the importance of Internet in culture, as a research tool to find all sorts of information, as a tool for the development and diversification of economic projects, etc.

At the XIV Convention and International Fair of Informatics 2011 hosted this past February in Havana there was evidence of the natural social appetite, but apparently protests in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries have sparked fear in the authoritarian Cuban oligarchy, and again, freedom was sentenced to death by shooting.

This is why it is becoming harder for them to support the argument of the benefits and justice of the Cuban political model, the respect of Cubans’ rights, and find themselves forced to put together television programs with the same old and abused arguments.

If the Internet is a poison, the best antidote against it is democracy, and the best antivirus to detect and discern any malicious code is culture, education, and freedom. Hence, the reiterated public assertion of government leaders stating that Cuba is the most educated and cultivated country in the world is a clear contradiction that no one understands.

If we are so smart, why can’t we access alternative information sources separate from the central state? Education and culture, to be true and not just propaganda, must be divorced from censure. Many of us wonder how can some have so much power and so much fear at the same time.

We know the government erected its flags over the pillars of health and education — both things currently in crisis — in the militarization of society and excessive and efficient (for them) control. It has been an easy feat without political parties, real unions — ones that answer to the needs of workers rather than administrators or the only political party — or an organized civil society looking for real solutions to their problems and capable of organizing and facing its challenges.

It has been a model disloyal to all ethical standards of governability. How easy it was ruling without alternatives to elect, more attractive political agendas to support, or even other points of view to listen to! How angry they must be for not being able to control the Internet they way they controlled the printed press, the radio, and the TV in the 60s! But modernity and technological advances are winning the battle, and every time they repeal any of the civil rights they, they become violators in the eyes of their own fellow countrymen.

There is no need for anyone to point at the facts: they are their own defense lawyers, but also their own prosecutors. The fact of the matter is that, as usual, they need to create the illusion of a plaza under siege to justify to their followers the reasons behind a new act of injustice. It is likely that the purpose is to condemn the Internet to life in prison without right to appeal. I hope I am wrong! but if the Cuban government is attempting to switch that light off, they might get away with it for some time, but I doubt they will be able to keep censorship forever.

March 21 2011

At a gathering last February with young people interested in the political history of Cuba, on my referring to the protest of Thirteen, one of those present threw out the question: Why do these events do not occur today? I reproduce here my response in honor of the 88th anniversary of that memorable event and to share it with readers of el Diario de Cuba.

The event occurred during a tribute of the Cuban Women’s Club for the Uruguayan writer Paulina Luisi, on March 18, 1923 at the Academy of Sciences, and consisted of a group of young people staging an act of civics and national dignity that contains valuable lessons for Cubans today.

Dr. Alfredo Zayas Alfonso, who held the presidency, was the first leader in three decades who was not an officer during the War of Independence. Politician and lawyer, he was popularly known by the nicknames “The Chinaman Zayas,” and “The Stingy One.” After occupying various political responsibilities, he left the job of Vice President of the Republic in 1913, and appointed himself Official Historian of Cuba with a salary of 500 pesos a month. During his presidential term he won — “purely by chance” — the first prize in the National Lottery twice, erected a statue to himself while alive and gave free rein to the game, and so ended his term with a personal fortune of several million pesos.

Parallel to these activities, the first railroads spread across the country, the cities were notable for electric lighting and urban trams, the first journey by air from Havana to Santiago de Cuba was made, and radio burst forth in Cuban homes. Meanwhile political and administrative corruption reached worrying levels. One such example happened to the Old Convent of Santa Clara where, during the inflationary period, known as the “Dance of the Millions,” a private business bought the Catholic Church for less than a million pesos, and then, when the country entered the crisis know as the “Lean Years,” at a time when prices had fallen, Alfredo Zayas bought it for 2.3 million, more than double the initial price paid.

Several members of Zayas’s cabinet objected that the purchase was approved by law, among them the Finance Minister who refused to endorse the deal, forcing the President to replace his signature with that of the Secretary of Justice, Dr. Regüeiferos Erasmus, who had been invited to deliver a speech at the Women’s Club tribute to Paulina Luisi.

At the moment when he was about to begin speaking, 15 youths rose in protest and one of them, the young lawyer and poet Rubén Martínez Villena, apologized to the president and announced the group’s decision to leave the room in protest against the Minister of Justice, who had signed the deal for the purchase of the Convent.

The next day, The Herald published a manifesto known as the Protest of 13, as two of the original 15 participants abstained from signing. The document said they felt honored and pleased to start a movement against the immorality that debased the country and announced hereafter that they would be willing to adopt the same attitude of protest toward any act in which a person was stained by lack of patriotism or citizenship.

The arguments used to answer the question of why such events do not occur now were as follows: First, because parallel to the moral decay of the ruling elite, the civic virtues of citizens, which never disappear entirely, were re-emerging in various social sectors of the country at that time. Second, because the institutionalization of democracy endorsed in the 1901 Constitution — including the separation of public powers, the recognition of freedom of expression, religious freedom, freedom of assembly, association and movement in and out of the country, habeas corpus and the inviolability of the home — allow this type of civic demonstration.

The trade union movement, starting at the time of the Strike of Apprentices in 1902, spread across the country and influenced the passage of several laws favorable to workers. The university students demonstrated in 1921 against granting the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa to General Leonard Wood and Enoch H. Crowder, and in December 1922 the University Students Federation called for autonomy.

After the Protest of the Thirteen, the Cuban Action Falange was created, as were the Retail Group and the Veterans and Patriots Movement. In 1918 the Socialist Group was created in Havana, which led to the founding of the Communist Party in 1925, and the Cuban Junta of National Renovation, in 1923, published the Manifesto to Cubans, to name but a few isolated examples.

The absence of these freedoms and spaces that served as support for citizen expression disappeared. Now, when it’s not about political and administrative corruption but rather a profound structural crisis that affects everything and everyone, attempts to engage in civic conduct are denigrated by the State which possesses a monopoly on the communication media and has a numerous and efficient police apparatus dedicated to repression.

Comparing the scenario that produced the Protest of the Thirteen with the present, one can understand the magnitude of the setback suffered by Cubans in the area of civil and political rights, to the point that the government praises the behavior of the authors of that Protests at the same time they repress anyone who follows their example.

However, as virtues never disappear entirely, the citizenship behaviors are reemerging, Cubans begin to become citizens, a process that needs to be accompanied by educational actions from the existing core of civility, to form a culture of rights as a necessary premise for the participation of Cubans in their own national destiny.

Rubén Martínez Villena 1 was born on December 20, 1899 in Alquízar, Havana province. He obtained his BA in 1916 and the law in 1922. He joined the Communist Party of Cuba in 1927 and died on January 16, 1934 in a sanatorium in Havana.

(Taken from the Diario de Cuba (www.ddcuba.com, el 17 de marzo de 2011)

March 21 2011

In the Arab world new generations have made an appearance, demanding an end to autocratic governments entrenched in power for twenty, thirty, forty and more years, and democratic changes in keeping with the era of globalization and information without borders in which we live. From this side of the Atlantic, some governments are worried about the strongholds of apparent calm under the palm trees.

One symptom of this is the massive campaign just launched, calling on young people to participate in the activities of this April 16th (military parades, youth marches and the beginning of the many-times postponed Sixth Party Congress), because these mobilizations are always organized under strict control, where the workplaces and schools are assigned a number of participants, and meeting that number reflects on their respective administrators and principals (establishing meeting places, arranging transport, assigning places in the demonstration, meet-up points for the return trip, all well controlled through lists and names of the participants).

It’s true that no one puts a real pistol to your head to make you attend, but they utilize subtle pistols, such as: If you do not attend you may have problems at work or school, getting authorization to travel, and so on. We all know that spontaneity is conspicuous by its absence. In addition, for many of the happy fired-up participants their aspiration is to grab a trip abroad where they can stay and lead their lives in a more favorable environment.

This practice is nothing new: it has been utilized over the years by every totalitarian regime, be they of the right or the left. The difference with democratic regimes, is that the approval or disapproval of government management is determined at the ballot box and through the work of the executive, legislative and judicial powers. Here it is necessary from time to time to have an reaffirming event to demonstrate to the world that people support the current status.

If the call, rather than to march saluting the old leaders, were place the youngest people on the platform (reshuffling the generations), it would be a signal that something is changing. I’ve never understood why some leaders don’t have a retirement age, when it is established by law for all citizens. They could, in this way, rest from the arduous sacrifice of so many years dedicated to serving their country.

José Martí, the most intelligent of all Cubans, wrote: “All power, exercised broadly and over a long period of time, degenerates into caste. With caste come the interests, the high positions, the fear of losing them, the intrigues to sustain them.”

It would be appropriate for our leaders to pause at these wise words and review them. It is not with smokescreens but with effective measures that they must respond to the aspirations of citizens, including those of the youngest.

March 21 2011

On Friday my son had an assembly about the awarding of the guarantee of suitability for admission to higher education, a very important step because the university is for the Revolutionaries. Taking advantage of the presence of all the students, the Principal and Deputy Principal of the school explained the honor of participating in the march for the fiftieth anniversary of the Bay of Pigs victory and the proclamation of the Socialist Character of the Revolution, emphasizing that the upcoming Sixth Communist Party Congress would be the last one with the “historic” leaders.*

They asked the students if they believed that young people were prepared to assume their responsibilities to preserve socialism, because in 10-15 years they would be making the decisions and could not make a mistake, at the risk of turning the country into another Eastern Europe. Inside and outside Cuba the young people would be being watched, with much hanging on the unity that they must preserve, the unity that, in 2005, made socialism eternal, something that is non-negotiable, based on 97% of the votes.

The support of young people would tell the world that the unity surrounding the government continues. If this unity didn’t exist, it would lead to conditions for a new military aggression.

The students gave the expected responses, the principal and deputy principal retired, a student read the list of repeat offenders — two students — and the others were approved for the University, and the meeting ended. None of the kids seemed to interest themselves in the importance of the march explained by the school authorities, and as soon as they got out of there they forgot all about that without unity there would danger of war; the memorable conclusion they took away from the meeting was that if they already had the guarantee for higher education, they didn’t have to go on the march.

Translator’s note:
The original revolutionaries who are still living and are still in power are referred to as the “historic” leaders.

March 22 2011

Glaring spelling and grammatical errors are common on my planet today. I think it’s cause, among other things, is the haste with which they have created teachers who, in most cases, have no vocation and see this as the only solution to their situation. They choose this option in part because they haven’t made good enough grades to go into other careers.

One of the most common grammatical errors is the misuse of prepositions. For example, when you say “the war OF all the people,” in reality what you want to say is “the war AGAINST all the people.” As you can see, this changes the meaning entirely.

We could mention many more examples, but the list would be endless.

A friend told me that her granddaughter, a studious girl from a family of professionals, told her sixth grade teacher that she had written on the blackboard the “revel” army, instead of the “rebel” army. The girl, exercising great prudence, asked permission to approach the teacher and whispered in her ear: “Ma’am, excuse me but “rebel” is spelled with a “B.” The student returned to her seat and at that moment the teacher, raising her voice, addressed the rest of the students saying, “Good grief, Taimí says that rebel is spelled with a b. It is written with the V of velde, “I love you velde,” like that Spanish poet.

The young girl in question was as red as a beet, and the rest of the students, right at the teacher’s face, broke into gales of laughter that cracked the walls of the neglected classroom.

Translator’s note: “velde” is not a word.

March 21 2011

A television program, in order to be classified as such, needs to be broadcast through a channel and aired on television. For now, we Cuban citizens disconnected from the State institutions lack the necessary resources to produce a program completely within the law. We have to content ourselves recording from an amateur cameraman or two, and then try to edit a version on the computer. Then, if the file isn’t too big, we will upload it to the Internet and interested people will find the URL to download it. Some will copy it onto a CD or a DVD or a flash memory and pass it onto someone else who will play it who will also reproduce it and pass it on to someone else as if it were the flu.

This is the experience we recently shared with a group of friends. Dagoberto Valdés, Miriam Celaya, Dimas Castellanos, Yoani Wilfredo Sánchez Vallin and this writer. For half an hour we talked about a very general theme: The capacity of Cuban citizens to be citizens, independently of the official institutions. The result: An audiovisual titled “Citizen Reasons.”

In this space we offer no revelations, nor do we call anyone to action. In a respectful way we address a topic about which participants express themselves freely. If conditions were favorable and if we agree that the effort makes sense, we will repeat the experience as often as we can, to touch on other aspects of our reality. There will be other guests.

Click on the link to see the video: Citizen Reasons

Natural Born Cubans, originally uploaded by orlandoluispardolazo.

Havana today…

March 21 2011

A Cuban independent journalist shouldn’t have grand pretensions. It’s always healthy to flirt with the idea of wielding a “newspaper club” or an exclusive.

But those fantasies need to be set aside. What you can write from Cuba are small stories at the margin. Opinion articles. And some other news, analysis and chronicles. Perhaps an interview, no more.

Then, the best thing is to continue reading the sharp interviews conducted by Oriana Fallaci. Submerge yourself in the great reporting of Bob Woodward. Learn from the real-time lessons of the best chroniclers in the Spanish language like Gabriel García Márquez, Alma Guillermo Prieto or Rosa Montero.

It’s difficult to apply it on the island, but you can always learn something from the great pens. The problem is when it comes time to collect data, figures and governmental declarations. That when you understand that all that is left is the raw stories.

Cuba is not practical territory to practice journalism according to the rules and methods of western universities. Here a nose for news and intuition substitute for statistics and information that the authorities hide with care.

Where there’s a wide enough field to write stories is precisely in the streets and neighborhoods of Havana. In the neighborhoods that are mixed, dingy, noisy and poor of San Leopoldo, Belén or Jesús María.

It’s precisely here that one can polish the stories and testimonies of thieves, beggars, prostitutes and corrupt officials. A portion of Cuba that the regime tries to ignore. Precisely what the alternative communicators show on blogs and websites.

For a Latin American journalist, these marginal stories are the daily life of their countries. It’s true. The difference is the Cuban government wants to sweep the shit under the rug.

This is what I propose. Write about themes that the official media ignore and consider taboo. I don’t get excited by the intention to disparage my country. Tell what happens. Cuba is no better nor worse than other countries of the continent with regards to marginality and prostitution. It’s the same everywhere.

In any event, it never hurts to be optimistic and think that some day you can come across a good story. but the most sensible thing is to leave aside the modern journalism textbooks and the books from García Márquez, Fallaci and Woodward that delude us. And write little stories at the margin.

March 14 2011