English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Photos: Luis Felipe Rojas And here is the report on human rights (derechos humanos) presented by the Eastern Democratic Alliance. Within a six month period in this Cuban region there have been reported 128 arbitrary detentions, 32 police citations without proper official warrants by the political police, 4 evictions, 49 beatings, 6 fines levied on … Continue reading “Horror Report / Luis Felipe Rojas”
Reina Luisa Tamayo and her daughter. Photo by: Claudio Fuentes Madan There are things I’ve thrown in the trunk of the “incomprehensible.” I would say I won, they defeated me, I couldn’t bear it, they beat me. I refuse to exhaust my brain one more instant in trying to find some logic, some, even minimal, … Continue reading “Inconceivable / Claudia Cadelo”
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”
It happened on Wednesday night, they told me yesterday, June 22nd, and I give this alert because I do not know what other incident might happen today, which marks five months since the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo. It started when Caridad Caballero Batista and Mariblanca Avila were in a car headed for Banes to … Continue reading “They Order Punches in Response to Solidarity with @reinaozt”
The calendar displays May 20, 2010. It’s half past ten in the morning. In my hometown of Bayamo it’s another hot muggy day that makes foreheads sweat and engenders moods very close to irritation. But that’s outside, in the unsheltered streets. In this office with its inlaid walls where I am now, an air conditioner … Continue reading “The Happiness of the Long Distance Runner”
Juan, a commentator, told me he had sent a “Down with Fidel” email to the newspaper Granma, knowing that it is a crime in Cuba. He asked me what sanction they would impose if they found out who he is. First, I don’t believe that the Cuban authorities are going to pursue him for sending … Continue reading “Criticism Can Be a Crime (II)”
Sometimes I lose interest in denouncing the violations committed by the Castro regime because they are repeated time and time again. It wears me out and it wears my readers out, too. Once again there are house arrests without any official notification because such a legal argument does not exist in the constitution. How does … Continue reading “The Impunity of the Police”
It’s as if all the clocks had been stopped. In unison, the same day at the same time. The unease is widespread around the Cuban political prisoners and their families. Despite the official announcement that 52 opponents of the Group of 75 will be released, they still don’t know exactly when those releases will occur. … Continue reading “Time Stopped”
Saint Fermin, the patron saint of Pamplona, is not a saint of devotion in Cuba. But this July 7, 2010, the 52 political prisoners of the Black Spring of 2003 and their relatives will never forget him. After many days of prayers and uncertainties, today something has happened. A statement by Raul Castro himself has … Continue reading “Saint Fermin Whom the Cuban Political Prisoners Will Not Forget”
Imagen: La redención de Horus, por Luís Trápaga Taken from the blog Hunger Strike Request from Guillermo Fariñas Hernández with regards to the interview by Deisy Francis Mexidor, of the newspaper Granma, Saturday, July 3, 2010, with the Chief of Intensive Care at the University of Arnaldo Milián Castro Hospital. The request was dictated by … Continue reading “Request from Guillermo Fariñas Hernández to the Newspaper Granma”
Request from Guillermo Fariñas Hernández with regards to the interview by Deisy Francis Mexidor, of the newspaper Granma, Saturday, July 3, 2010, with the Chief of Intensive Care at the University of Arnaldo Milián Castro Hospital. The request was dictated by phone by Guillermo Fariñas to Licet Zamora Carrandi The journalist Deisy Francis Mexidor intentionally … Continue reading “Request from Guillermo Fariñas Hernández to the Newspaper Granma”
A tragic fashion. Objectionable to many. The only option the opponents have. They believe that in this way they can force the regime. It is their war cry. But it is not a new weapon. Already in 1972 a 53-day hunger strike took the life of opponent Pedro Luis Boitel. It was before the era … Continue reading “Hunger Strikes, Weapon of Cuban Dissidents”
A door has opened. Slightly, but there are signs that something is moving. The government of the Castro brothers asked for help in a very low voice. And they decided to ask the Cuban Catholic Church. The calculated strategy has its logic. They had to look for a solution to the 21 years of lethal … Continue reading “The Transition of the Castros”
It’s the maximum security prison in Cuba. It’s located at Kilometer 13 and a half on the Monumental Highway, some ten kilometers from the center of Havana. At the entrance, a sign in English warns that it is forbidden to take photos. On visiting days, families arrive in droves at the entrance, loaded down with … Continue reading “El Combinado del Este Prison”
