English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Convivencia, Pinar del Rio, 20 November 2015 — December 17, 2014 opened, without a doubt, a new stage, a new phase in the recent history of Cuba: it was the announcement of the process of restoration of diplomatic relations between the governments of Cuba and the United States. Both leaders welcomed the mediation of Pope … Continue reading “December 17th, One Year On: Balance and Responsibility / Convivencia”
Somos+, Jose M. Presol, 18 November 2015 — Why Paris? It’s not by chance. By 1814 and 1815 the wars between France and — I think we can say — the rest of Europe, finally came to an end. Everyone had tried to invade and control the city. By 1789 it had become not just … Continue reading “Paris, Eternally Paris! / Somos+”
14ymedio, Orlando Palma, Havana, 25 November 2015 — After forty years together, Roberto’s partner died this year from a respiratory condition, but he will not collect a penny of the widow’s pension because in Cuba same-sex unions are not legally recognized or protected. Situations like this are in the sights of several independent organizations that demand rights … Continue reading “A New Campaign For Marriage Equality Announced / 14ymedio, Orlando Palma”
14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 12 November 2015 — Value judgement comments are very often made abroad about what – more or less – some have taken to calling “an internal dissidence crisis in Cuba,” implying an epitaph, and with premature and unjustified gloating, when we consider that frustration and dissatisfaction – the primeval basis on … Continue reading “Double-bladed Scissors / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya”
Ivan Garcia, 5 November 201 5 — Daniela Sarmiento, 61, has exhausted all the legal options with State institutions to complete the process for a new home She lives with her three children in a house cracked because of a partial collapse or roofs and walls, putting their lives in danger. “Since 1988, following the … Continue reading “Why the Dissidence is Irrelevant for Ordinary Cubans / Ivan Garcia”
1898: the United States declares war on Spain after accusing it of the sinking of the battleship “Maine” in Havana harbor. The United States wins and Spain has to give up Cuba. 1901: On June 12, the United States imposes the Platt Amendment which will be incorporated into the first Constitution of Cuba and limits the sovereignty … Continue reading “A Century Of Tumultuous Relations / 14ymedio”
Dimas Castellano, 25 May 2015 — The goal was to match the results obtained in 1912. Failure to meet this target is nothing new, nor are the reasons why. At the closing session of the XI Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) on May 17, the second secretary of the Communist Party of … Continue reading “More But Still Falling Short / Dimas Castellano”
Cubanet.org, Ernesto Perez Chang, Havana, 28 July 2015 – Between the years 2004 and 2007, 65 children from the Los Sitios neighborhood in Central Havana, 7 to 10 years of age, underwent testing in order to determine their degree of lead poisoning. The research, conducted by a team of researchers from the Cuban National Institute … Continue reading “Cancer from High Levels of Metals in Reservoirs? (II) / Cubanet, Ernesto Perez Chang”
14ymedio, José Gabriel Barrenechea, Santa Clara, 17 May 2015 – From the interpretation of a significant event in the history of a nation, the interpreters’ political orientation can be very well surmised. Here we have this date, 24 February 1895 – the day on which our ancestors departed for the last time to the scrubland, … Continue reading “Marti and His Myth / 14ymedio, Jose Gabriel Barrenechea”
14ymedio, Martha Beatriz Roque, Havana, 11 July 2015 — What classifies as a political prisoner is a cause for disagreement among the Cuban opposition. There are varying opinions about who has been jailed for political reasons or not, despite the criteria established by the United Nations and other organizations that concern themselves with these matters. … Continue reading “A List of Cuban Political Prisoners / 14ymedio, Martha Beatriz Roque”
14ymedio, Rosa Lopez, Havana 6 February 2015 — Discreet and elusive, donning gray habits and cross-adorned veils, they attend mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Pinar del Río. The three nuns, originally from India, belong to the Order of the Most Holy Savior of Saint Bridget headed by the Italian religious … Continue reading “The Bridgettines, in the Shadows of Power / 14ymedio, Rosa Lopez”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 18 March 2015 — Twelve years after the Black Spring, 14ymedio chats with some of the former political prisoners currently living on the Island. Two questions have been posed to those activists condemned in March 2003: one about their decision to stay in Cuba, and the other about how they see … Continue reading ““No matter where I live, I will keep working for the freedom of Cuba” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 December 2014 — On the afternoon of Tuesday, 9 December, Sonia Garro, Ramón Alejandro Muñoz and Eugenio Hernández were released from prison and are now in their respective homes. In a clear political gesture, Raul Castro’s government has given way before national and international pressure demanding the immediate release of the Lady … Continue reading “Lady in White Sonia Garro and two other activists released / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Bertrand de la Grange, Madrid/November 8, 2014 — Prensa Latina devoted only ten lines to news that stunned the world. Below a detached title – “The GDR Announces the Opening of its Borders” – the Cuban agency related on November 9, 1989, that the German Democratic Republic had just made an administrative “ruling” by … Continue reading “Orphans of the Wall / 14ymedio, Bernard de la Grange”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, 7 November 2014 – Of all the faces that circulate on the illegal information networks, there is a very serene and well-known one that has been with us for decades. This well-spoken man who never seems to get upset has received the worst insults in the official media and the stealthy applause … Continue reading ““We journalists are the witnesses to history” / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
