English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana, May 19, 2020 — A lone motorcycle makes its way along Cerro Road in Havana. Behind the driver is a brightly colored box displaying the logo of a home delivery service, one of the few private businesses that seems to be thriving in a city paralyzed by COVID-19. Classified ad sites … Continue reading “In Cuba the Pandemic Spawns Home Delivery Businesses”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 18 May 2020 – Since the Covid-19 crisis has been unleashed in Cuba, the days and nights have passed with a cleaner sky due to the few vehicles that circulate on the streets and the closing of polluting industries. Except in Havana, unfortunately, because of the dirty column of smoke that … Continue reading “The Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba, Days 56 to 58: Our Sputnik Runs on Coal”
14ymedio, Pedro Acosta, Havana, May 6, 2020 — Edelmiro Marrero is 62 and has worked as a gardener since he was 24 years old. “I have 12 steady clients and two or three possible ones, and I work a few days a week. Normally I begin at 6:00 in the morning and work five or … Continue reading “The Cuban Private Sector Remains Unemployed and Stranded by the Pandemic”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernández, Havana, 13 May 2020 — “Without the ration card they won’t give me the card,” Osmany laments outside a store on Calle Neptuno, in Central Havana. This 39-year-old electrician, originally from the province of Guantánamo, has no legal residence in the capital and, with the coronavirus crisis, he can no longer buy in state … Continue reading “Two Cans of Sardines in Exchange for Use of the Covid-19 Card”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 May 2020 — The number of private sector workers who suspended their licenses (so as not to have to pay the taxes) is growing at an unbridled rate, 60% in a few weeks, from 139,000 to 222,723 affected, according to official data. In mid-April, 22% of self-employed workers had lost their source … Continue reading “35% of Cuba’s Private Sector is Out of Work Due to the Covid-19 Crisis”
Testing positive for Covid-19, missing a line to buy chicken or misplacing the ration book are some of the worst situations that can be experienced these days in Cuba. Amid the crisis, some products that until recently could be bought on the liberated, or open, market are once again controlled by the booklet with gridded pages that … Continue reading “The Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba Days 48 to 51: The Ration Book Gains Prominence”
14ymedio Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 7 May 2020 — Just outside the Havana cafe which, until a month ago, was open on Tulipán street, a stray dog waits patiently. He doesn’t know why the place where some customers used to throw him bones is now empty and doesn’t even smell like food. In the midst of the pandemic … Continue reading “The Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba, Days 45-47: Animal Insults and Verbal Poverty”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 5 May 2020 — I remember that one of the first signs of the Special Period was the difficulty in buying bread. In those years in the 1990s I lived in the Havana neighborhood of San Leopoldo and near my house there was a bakery that sold unrationed goods until, little by little, … Continue reading “The Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba, Days 42-44: Without Bread There is No Country”
14ymedio, Havana, 4 May 2020 — With the arrival of the coronavirus, Cuba has entered a phase of great difficulties that affect the tourist industry, imports and families’ standard of living. Experts agree on this, trying to predict the impact of the pandemic on an economy weakened over many years. “One internal factor and three … Continue reading “The Impact of the Pandemic Will be Devastating for Cuba, Economists Warn”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 1 May 2020 — It was drizzling when dawn broke. On this morning of May 1st, the famous lucky downpour – something that people expect as a good thing as soon as the fifth month of the year begins – had not yet fallen. Nor was the traditional noise heard at … Continue reading “Day 41 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: The Empty Square”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 30 April 2020 — These are days of risk to health and freedom. The Cuban government is taking advantage of the Covid-19 emergency situation to further curtail the right to free expression, but also to hold “show” trials that are more circus than justice. At the center of this attack is … Continue reading “Days 38 to 40 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: Under the Bed”
14ymedio, Elías Amor, Valencia, 29 April 2020 — In the midst of the serious crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, unfortunately, is starting to wreak havoc, not only in health but also in economic terms, the State newspaper Granma presents us on the cover with information that, of course, will go down in the history of … Continue reading “Cuba’s Demographic "Winter" in the Times of the Pandemic”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 27 April 2020 — Life does not stop. We may be in a health emergency or quarantine, but children continue to be born, couples separate and the pipes break. We know about this last thing in our house, where we spent several days trying to repair a leak that made our already complicated … Continue reading “Day 33 to 38 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: There is Always an Eye That Sees You”
International Foundation For Freedom (via 14ymedio), Madrid, 23 April 2020 — We, the undersigned, share the concern about the Covid-19 pandemic that has caused a large number of infections and death throughout the world, and we extend our solidarity to the families in mourning. While public and private healthcare employees fight the coronavirus valiantly, many governments … Continue reading “Don’t Let the Pandemic be a Pretext for Authoritarianism”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 20 April 2020 you’re — Time is deformed in quarantine. It seems like an eternity has passed since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Cuba, and yet, it was just a few weeks ago that they announced on official television that three travelers had symptoms when they arrived on … Continue reading “Day 31 of the Covid-19 Emergency in Cuba: Guesser, Seer”
