English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 29 February 2016 – A Mass in memory of the 64th anniversary of Oswaldo Payá’s birth was held Monday afternoon in the parish of El Salvador del Mundo in the Havana neighborhood of Cerro. Celebrating the Mass was the Auxiliary Bishop of Havana, Monsignor Alfredo Petit Vergel. The ceremony was attended by the daughter … Continue reading “Oswaldo Payá Remembered On The Anniversary Of His Birth / 14ymedio”
Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy Tuesday February 23rd, 2016 Rosa María Payá, Christian Liberation Movement of Cuba and Latin American Youth Network for Democracy Thank you for this opportunity to spread the voice of the Cuban people. Cubans have lived for nearly 60 years without the freedom to express our own voice. The Revolution of … Continue reading “Rosa Maria Paya at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy”
Diario Las Americas, Leonel Luis Leon, 5 December 2015 — Rosa María Payá, daughter of the deceased Cuban opposition leader Oswaldo Payá – who received the Andrei Sakharov Human Rights Prize from the European Parliament and founded the Varela Project for a citizen plebiscite in Cuba – received a major recognition of her civic activism on being … Continue reading “Rosa María Paya: Totalitarianism Does Not Tolerate Participation / Leonel Luis Leon”
Diario de Cuba, Rosa Maria Paya Acevedo, 15 November 2015 — Two years ago in Paris, at exactly this time, I had the satisfaction of meeting in person a renowned Cuban writer who lives there. I was there only a few days and travelled little around the city. They were days of work, meetings and … Continue reading “Je Suis Cuba / Rosa Maria Paya Acevedo”
Diario de Cuba, Angel Moya, Havana, 26 July 2015 – Some 60 activists were arrested this past Sunday in Havana following the customary Sunday march of the Ladies in White, reported government opponents on social media. The arrests took place within the context of an act of repudiation described by the opponents as “violent,” and … Continue reading “Dozens of Activists Detained in Havana Following the Ladies in White March / Diario de Cuba, Angel Moya”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 July 2015 – The human rights defense organization Human Rights Foundation (HRF) thinks that the Cuban government has “direct responsibility” in the deaths of dissidents Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero, according to the conclusion of an 88-page report presented this Wednesday at the University of Georgetown (Washington), on the third anniversary of … Continue reading “Human Rights Foundation suggests “Direct Responsibility of the Cuban Regime” in the death of Paya / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 July 2015 — Three years after the death of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero, 14ymedio has collected the opinions of some Cuban activists who knew the leader of the Christian Liberation Movement. They is people who shared with him projects and risks, who admired or were inspired by his civic labor. Let these seven testimonies serve … Continue reading ““Paya Was An Example Of Dedication And Persistence” / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Havana, 21 July 2015 — The activist Rosa María Payá tried to deliver a letter to the newly inaugurated Cuban embassy in Washington on Tuesday. The daughter of the late Oswaldo Payá, however, denounced through her Twitter account that the officials would not open the door and sent a police car. The letter, from … Continue reading “Cuban Embassy In The US Refuses To Receive A Letter From Activist Rosa María Payá / 14ymedio”
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats, 17 May 2015 — Any good Cuban should visit the tomb of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, one of the greatest defenders of liberty and justice in the history of Cuba. His name is inscribed, in its own right, in the pantheon of Cuban heroes. I even heard the national intellectuals mention his name with respect, … Continue reading “Homage to Oswaldo Paya / Angel Santiesteban”
Harold Cepero and Oswaldo Paya Laura Pollan God forbid that another death is necessary in order to understand the abusive attitude of the Cuban government against dissidents. I learned by telephone that last Sunday the government authorized the political police to use teams of athletes—judokas and boxers, among others—in combat mode, in another desperate attempt … Continue reading “When the victim’s time comes / Angel Santiesteban”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 17 May 2012 — In the summer of 2012, Rosa María Payá had just started out in the political arena. She moved among the young people who animated the Varela Project, El Camino del Pueblo (The Path of the People) and the Heredia Project, initiated by the Christian Liberation Movement founded by her … Continue reading ““The Cuban people must get their voice back to begin the transition” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Rosa Maria Paya”
ROSA MARIA AND DEATH Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, 11 May 2015 Since she was a little girl, death was a guest in her home. A guest no one invited in the midst of the family happiness, rather an intruder imposed by a fascist State called Revolution. A totalitarian state that began killing before the assault on … Continue reading “Rosa Maria Returns to the Revolution of Death / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
PanAm Post, Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, 8 April 2015 — A ghost ship haunts the halls of this week’s Summit of the Americas in Panama: the Chong Chon Gang. The vessel, seized in the Panama Canal in July 2013, contained a deadly cargo hidden under 250,000 bags of sugar. The contraband ammunition and weapons on … Continue reading “The Specter of Castro Haunts Panama Summit / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
The potential complications of the renewed diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba. Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo It was about time. Uber taxi drives agree. Academics agree. Minority leaders agree. American social activists agree. Radio, TV and press editors agree. Even comedians agree. It’s the only point of consensus in the polarized US politics. No need … Continue reading “Diplomacy, yes. Democracy, what for? / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
No blogger, no cry. Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo 1 In the beginning was the Blog. 2 But blogs were formless and empty. 3 Repression was all over the blogosphere. 4 And the citizens saw the blogs were good. 5 So that lacking other channels of expression, the Cuban civil society occupied blogosphere as a tool for … Continue reading “No blogger, no Obama / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”
