English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 22 February 2020 — The phone rang with a distant sound, as if it were at the end of a long hallway. I responded and the voice on the other end spoke of death, a hunger strike, and prison and mentioned a name I had never heard. On February 23, 2010, Orlando Zapata … Continue reading “The Death That Changed Our Lives”
Agencies, via 14ymedio, Havana, November 7, 2019 — Martha Beatríz Ferrer Cantillo and Ana Belkis Ferrer García, the sister and daughter of the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), José Daniel Ferrer, have sent a letter in which they demand from Miguel Díaz-Canel, and his predecessor in the position, Raúl Castro, the “immediate release” of the … Continue reading “Ferrer’s Sister And Daughter Demand His Immediate Release In Letter To Diaz-Canel”
14ymedio, Havana, August 27, 2019 — The London-based human rights organization Amnesty International has declared five currently detained Cuban activists to be prisoners of conscience. This world famous organization denounced the dissidents’ imprisonment for crimes that are not internationally recognized and which have been used for decades to silence voices critical of the Cuban regime. … Continue reading “Amnesty Internation Declares Five Cuban Activists to Be Prisoners of Conscience”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 August 2019 — One of the most controversial and anticipated figures on repression in Cuba has been updated by Cuban Prisoners Defenders (CPD). The independent organization states that on the Island there are 127 political prisoners and demands that foreign diplomats to call for their release. In a report published on August 1, CPD … Continue reading “Cuban Prisoners Defenders IDs 127 Political Prisoners on the Island”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 April 2019 — The month of March ended with 185 arbitrary arrests of activists, according to the latest report of the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN), released Monday. The independent organization warns that “the regime continues to choose ‘low intensity’ political repression.” The CCDHR reports that “there were … Continue reading “Cuban Regime Continues to Choose "Low Intensity" Repression, According to CCDHRN”
Iván García, 7 January 2019 — Although Magela and her boyfriend Damián were dressed in black to a salsa dance with Haila and Isaac Delgado, on January 1 at Red Square in La Víbora, south of Havana, they were unaware of the campaign that Cuban dissident activists are carrying out in social networks with the label … Continue reading “"Not One More": A Trending Topic, or One More Dissident Campaign? / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 December 2018 — Every December 10, International Human Rights Day, demands an annual review of the situation in Cuba. It is a day to audit, take stock and see where the inhabitants of this island are with regards to recovering their spaces and civic capacities. The obligatory question on this date is whether the … Continue reading “A People Tamed by a Prolonged Repression”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 December 2018 — The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) reported that there were “at least 247 arbitrary arrests of peaceful opponents for purely political reasons” in November, according to its latest report released Monday. The independent organization suggests that the figure may be higher due to “the opacity with which … Continue reading “Arrests of Cuban Activists "Notoriously Greater" in November”
14ymedio, Havana, 21 September 2018 — The United Antitotalitarian Forum (FANTU) together with the National Front of Civic Resistance “Orlando Zapata Tamayo” (FNRC-OZT) and the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) describe the referendum on constitutional reform as a “huge electoral and media fraud” in a joint statement that the three opposition organizations have launched to … Continue reading “Three Opposition Organizations Describe the Referendum on Constitutional Reform as "Enormous Fraud"”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 September 2018 — The two main human rights organizations in Cuba published Monday their reports about repression during August. The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN), with headquarters in Cuba, puts the number of arbitrary political arrests at 219 in August. For the CCDHRN the most serious event last … Continue reading “Repression Does Not Rest in Summer”
14ymedio, Madrid, 4 June 2018 — The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH), based in Madrid, counts 132 arbitrary detentions on the island in May, the first month of President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s presidency. Those arrested for political reasons this month belonged mostly to the Ladies in White, the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), Youth Awakens, … Continue reading “In the First Month of Diaz-Canel’s Government There Were 132 Arbitrary Arrests”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 6 April 2018 — In 2010, then Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva provoked a bitter controversy when he compared Cuban dissidents to common criminals. Those words, said a week after the death of the opponent Orlando Zapata Tamayo, take on a new meaning today, a few hours before the Brazilian … Continue reading “Which One Is The Criminal?”
Ivan Garcia, 5 November 2016 — When I began writing in 1996 as an independent journalist for Cuba Press, Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique was no longer working as an economist for Cuba’s Central Planning Agency (JUCEPLAN ) and had already become an opponent of the Castro regime. In 1991, together with another economist, friend and colleague, … Continue reading “Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique: Farewell to an Exemplary Dissident / Iván García”
EFE (via 14ymedio), 29 September 2016 — The dissident and leader of the Cuban punk-rock band Porno para Ricardo, Gorki Águila, said in Miami on Thursday that the “plan” of the Cuban regime is “to mutate into a perfect tyranny” with an “image much more whitewashed before the world. ” The government of “the Castros … Continue reading “Gorki Águila: “The Castro Regime Wants To Mutate Into A Perfect Tyranny” / EFE – 14ymedio”
Guillermo Fariñas, UNPACU Activist: “With this [hunger strike] I am giving the Castro regime leaders to decide if they want to assassinate me publicly.” Eliécer Ávila, President of Somos+ (We Are More): “I don’t see how the death of leaders who should motivate people and push changes can be helpful.” 14ymedio, 10 August 2016 – … Continue reading “Do Hunger Strikes Work as a Strategy to Pressure the Cuban Government? / 14ymedio”
