English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Enrique Colina, 30 October 2015 – The artistic censorship practiced in Cuba during these 56 years, against works and creators, from a culture in favor of a supposed defense of the Revolution, has paradoxically resulted in a backlash against the political prestige of the Revolutionary Process, the same one that encouraged and developed from … Continue reading “On Censorship And Its Demons / 14ymedio, Enrique Colina”
Somos+, Javier Martinez, 9 November 2015 — According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, from its Facebook page, “The Garage of Those Not Going Anywhere,” 94,000 Syrians are on migratory routes to Europe. They are trying to flee the worst civil war that has plagued this Middle Eastern nation. UN estimates show a quarter of a … Continue reading “Refugees / Somos+, Javier Martinez”
14ymedio, Orlando Palma, Havana, 23 October 2015 — The National Funeral Home, nine at night. In one of the rooms only one person is found. A woman is rocking in the chair furthest from the coffin. She’s filing her nails. “Who was the deceased?” asks someone from the doorway. “I don’t know; I’m here waiting … Continue reading “Any Day Is A Bad Day To Die Alone / 14ymedio, Orlando Palma”
Somos+, Pedro Lago Segura, 8 October 2015 — If you believe you can change me from your position of power, you don’t know where the real power lies. And if you think that with that sabre-rattling you prevent my voice from being heard by others or me from hearing others’ voices, you are not free in spirit … Continue reading “A Message From my Faith to the State Security Authority / Somos+”
Those of us who lived through the repressive crackdown that took place in Cuba in 2012 during the visit of Benedict XVI have never received a response from the Vatican, although it was informed of the facts. Jose Conrado—the priest who is a maverick within the Catholic Church in Cuba, like a modern-day Father Bartolome … Continue reading “Quo Vadis* Francis? / Mario Lleonart”
Danilo Maldonado Machado, also known as “El Sexto” (The Sixth) is a graffiti artist in Cuba, imprisoned since December 25, 2014 for attempting to perform an artistic action in a public space. Danilo has spent 9 months in the Valle Grande prison, charged with the crime of Contempt, and is waiting for a judicial process, … Continue reading “Distribute and Act on to Save the Live of El Sexto / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Mexico City, 19 September 2015 – The first reactions from the Cuban government to the recent relaxations of the embargo decreed by Obama concentrate mainly on protesting the underlying condition that, in order to receive the benefits, the Government will have to modify “the internal order,” a euphemism that can be translated … Continue reading “The “Blockade” Will End Only With a Change in the Internal Order / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
Final Declaration of the Second National Conference of the Somos+ Movement – Havana, Cuba, 13 September 2015 We find it unacceptable and offensive that the police tried to thwart this meeting. As distinguished, responsible, Cuban adults, who have not broken the law or caused anyone harm, we demand respect for our organization, movement, and freedom … Continue reading “Final Declaration of the Second National Conference of the Somos+ Movement / Somos+”
Dimas Castellenos, Mexico City, 1 September 2015 — In Cuba, the concurrence among the failure of its totalitarian model, the aging of its leaders and the society. For this impact to be a positive one requires the presence of a missing factor: the citizen. If this thesis begs the question of how it is possible … Continue reading “The New Scenario and the Absence of the Citizen / Dimas Castellano”
Fernando Damaso, 11 September 2015 — A few days ago the Cuban Ministry of Public Health published an extensive article under the headline “Health Services to Our People Are Guaranteed and Improving.” But it only told about half the story, ignoring everything else. The article mentions the participation of the Cuban Medical Brigade in the … Continue reading “Only Half the Story / Fernando Damaso”
Hablemos Press, Oscar Sánchez Madan, Matanzas, 2 September 2015 – The principal difficulty that Cubans have faced for the past five decades is the absence of basic freedoms. They have had to live under a one-party police regime whose functionaries act like they own people’s lives. The almost 200 arrests of peaceful dissidents that took … Continue reading “The Absence of Freedoms: The Gravest Conflict in Cuba / Hablemos Press, Oscar Sanchez Madan”
EFE / 14ymedio, Bogota, 22 August 2015 – Around fifty Cubans who deserted from Cuban “medical missions”* in Venezuela, gathered this Saturday in Bogota to denounce the “legal limbo” of nearly 500 of them who continue to wait for a visa to the United States and have exhausted the time of their stay in Colombia. … Continue reading “Cuban Doctors in Bogota Demand US Visas After Defecting In Venezuela / 14ymedio”
Dimas Castellanos, 3 July 2015 — The leaders of Cuba and the United States have just announced the first and most important result of the process of normalizing relations between the two countries: the reopening of their embassies in Washington and Havana. The 196 days elapsed between 17 December 2014 and 1 July 2015 is 100 … Continue reading “Cuba Will Change To the Degree That We Cubans Change / Dimas Castellanos”
Raul Castro with his grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro Juan Juan Almeida, 18 August 2015 — Esteban Navarro Carvajal Hernández is a serious, respectable Spanish entrepreneur, who has done business in Cuba for twenty years. He has a trading firm, legally registered with the Chamber of Commerce, and a Cuban family. He lives on 30th … Continue reading “Raul Castro’s Grandson Expels a Spanish Businessman from Cuba / Juan Juan Almeida”
14ymedio, Regina Coyula, Havana. 2 August 2015 — In light of the government’s refusal to dialog with the nonviolent opposition, the latter should start a discussion within itself, an exercise unfamiliar to Cubans. Instead, we are accustomed to extremes ranging from the consistent unanimity of our parliamentary sessions, to the commotion of a “disqualifying”* act … Continue reading “The Government We Need / 14ymedio, Regina Coyula”
