- Cubadisco 2013 is Here
- Galería de imágenes: Celebran en Nuevitas concurso municipal “Ya sé Leer, Escribir y Calcular”
- The Last Words
- Songs to Nourish Faith
- Ministerial Meeting of the ALBA-TCP Social Council
- Raul Received the President of the Council of the Russian Federation
- Raul Castro Meets President of Council of Russian Federation
- Crocodiles Flick their Tail
- A Dream of the Liberators
- Cubans Farmers Mark their National Day with Commitment to Food Production
- Cuba Wins Four Medals in Brazilian Athletics Circuit
- Cubans to Soon Enjoy Chinese Acrobatic Art
- International Organization Extols Cuban Transplant Program
- Tailandia vence a Cuba en torneo internacional de voleibol (f)
- Local farmers celebrate their day with achievements on productive activity
- An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.
Cuba Verdad
Cuban Diary XIX: What the UN Rapporteur Should See / Angel Santiesteban
Posted on May 19, 2013
If the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva saw through a crack the
horrors that occur in Cuban prisons, surely it would do two things:
1 – Expel Cuba from the United Nations.
2 – Knowing the alleged violations that are occurring in the prison of
Guantanamo Bay, according to accusations from the Castro government,
they could send the directors who lead the prisons in Cuba — true
concentration camps — to pass a course at Guantanamo, in order to
improve their behavior.
The dictatorship, always obsessed with attacking the United States,
transmits TV images denigrating what is allegedly happening in
Guantanamo Bay.
It's not my job to defend it or make value judgments about it, this is
the role of the American people; my obligation as a Cuban and
intellectual is to denounce the terrible tortures that take place in the
prison where I have been held and of which I am not a witness.
At present, in the cell, there is a young man with his mouth sewn shut
with wire. Today he passed through the prison before the frightened
looks from the other inmates.
There are daily fights between prisoners and between them and the
guards. I guess this is common in any prison in the world but I am not a
specialist to confirm that. But here, when the guards confront a
prisoner, the ratio is ten to one, along with their batons and pepper
sprays.
The food they serve is a tiny amount and badly prepared. It consists of
a few grams o rice, a boiled egg, and a colorless and odorless but
always disgusting soup.
The barracks are populated by prisoners who have completed their
sentences, and who, because of bureaucratic problems, remained locked up
without any consideration. The constant beatings and dungeons are
increasing their sentences along with the blackmail to not demand their
"rights."
Silence is the only ally of the Cuban prisoner; talking could lead to a
new condemnatory charge in the most arbitrary of decisions.
They wait and resign themselves. They have no alternatives.
That is the stark reality of the Cuban prisoner, who lives without
guarantees of his rights or the chance to make demands. Even without
reviewing the records of those processed in light of international
guarantees applied to the condemned, I can say without any fear of being
mistaken that if that were to happen half of the prison population would
be freed.
A court that has before it a young man without hope, who, unfortunately,
is a part of the children nobody wanted, who has left school and has no
place to be nor can he be offered a reliable life project that invites
him to get on track that isn't emigration, the place he can best be held
is in jail.
A great part of Cuban youth that has not found a way to go into exile is
in prison; and I say this with total confidence, they are following
there a criminal course for their future as thugs.
Hopefully the Rapporteur who is sent to Cuba will be able to meet with
the people who so greatly suffer the need for him.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats
Prison 1580
May 2013
18 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-diary-xix-what-the-un-rapporteur-should-see-angel-santiesteban/ Continue reading
Posted on May 19, 2013
If the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva saw through a crack the
horrors that occur in Cuban prisons, surely it would do two things:
1 – Expel Cuba from the United Nations.
2 – Knowing the alleged violations that are occurring in the prison of
Guantanamo Bay, according to accusations from the Castro government,
they could send the directors who lead the prisons in Cuba — true
concentration camps — to pass a course at Guantanamo, in order to
improve their behavior.
The dictatorship, always obsessed with attacking the United States,
transmits TV images denigrating what is allegedly happening in
Guantanamo Bay.
It's not my job to defend it or make value judgments about it, this is
the role of the American people; my obligation as a Cuban and
intellectual is to denounce the terrible tortures that take place in the
prison where I have been held and of which I am not a witness.
At present, in the cell, there is a young man with his mouth sewn shut
with wire. Today he passed through the prison before the frightened
looks from the other inmates.
There are daily fights between prisoners and between them and the
guards. I guess this is common in any prison in the world but I am not a
specialist to confirm that. But here, when the guards confront a
prisoner, the ratio is ten to one, along with their batons and pepper
sprays.
The food they serve is a tiny amount and badly prepared. It consists of
a few grams o rice, a boiled egg, and a colorless and odorless but
always disgusting soup.
The barracks are populated by prisoners who have completed their
sentences, and who, because of bureaucratic problems, remained locked up
without any consideration. The constant beatings and dungeons are
increasing their sentences along with the blackmail to not demand their
"rights."
Silence is the only ally of the Cuban prisoner; talking could lead to a
new condemnatory charge in the most arbitrary of decisions.
They wait and resign themselves. They have no alternatives.
That is the stark reality of the Cuban prisoner, who lives without
guarantees of his rights or the chance to make demands. Even without
reviewing the records of those processed in light of international
guarantees applied to the condemned, I can say without any fear of being
mistaken that if that were to happen half of the prison population would
be freed.
A court that has before it a young man without hope, who, unfortunately,
is a part of the children nobody wanted, who has left school and has no
place to be nor can he be offered a reliable life project that invites
him to get on track that isn't emigration, the place he can best be held
is in jail.
A great part of Cuban youth that has not found a way to go into exile is
in prison; and I say this with total confidence, they are following
there a criminal course for their future as thugs.
Hopefully the Rapporteur who is sent to Cuba will be able to meet with
the people who so greatly suffer the need for him.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats
Prison 1580
May 2013
18 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-diary-xix-what-the-un-rapporteur-should-see-angel-santiesteban/ Continue reading
Cuba: Sex, Taking All Comers / Ivan Garcia
Posted on May 19, 2013
There is still the ration book. Potatoes are scarce, the price of fruit
is going through the roof, and drinking a natural orange juice is a
luxury. Sanitary pads are only distributed every two months — a package
of ten to menstruating women. And connecting to the Internet is still a
science fiction story for a large part of the population.
However, sex is liberated. A national sport. According to some, the
infidelity between couples is a gene human beings carry. If those verse
in it give a tour of Cuba, we can confirm their strange theories.
And they confirm that teenagers of 12 and 13 are "experts" in the field.
Unaware that Australian is a continent, or that Henry Lee was in
independence fighter in the American Revolution and not the creator of
Lee jeans. But when it comes to sex, they have countless stories to
tell. For many boys, their fathers teach them from the time they're
small, that the more women they have the more macho they are.
It's the ABCs of a Cuban father to his son; life is dick. Men don't cry.
And the boss of the house is the one with balls. If in the 19th and 20th
century fathers paid prostitutes to de-flower their sons, today it's not
necessary.
Most children are more up-to-date and more promiscuous than their
parents. Having a "honey" or a lover is synonymous with masculinity. An
athlete of sex. A son of a bitch of the street.
The more lovers, the more drinks friends pay for. In the bars they offer
"wise" council about how to get into an impossible female. For hours,
they tell sex anecdotes without ceasing to drink like Cossacks, beer and
cheap rum.
Sex in Cuba is messy, but it has its hierarchies. Not like the
neighborhood pimp that manages a five-star hotel. A capital that's a
general. A boring and monotonous deputy to parliament that's a mandarin.
The "honeys" of the superiors respect them. Secretly they look at their
breasts or butt, but desist from the rude compliment or indecent
proposal. A boss can fire you or make your life impossible if he finds
you prowling around his woman.
Meanwhile, the more stars on your epaulette or if your photo appears
among the members of the Central Committee, the more chances you have to
give major luxuries to your lovers. You can even choose: blondes
brunettes, mulatto or black. Or have a collection with one of each. As
all are stunning, with pride and discretion we see you on the weekend in
exclusive recreational villas for senior officers, or at parties their
wives don't attend.
Being the "honey" of a major character in Cuba, is synonymous with
social status. As if rocket-propelled, you climb the ladder at work. All
over Havana everyone is talking about the meteoric rise of a famous
television report, who is both beautiful and talented. According to the
rumors, the lucky guy who sleeps with her is the "boss of the bosses."
It's still remembered that in the 90s, when Carlos Aldana was the third
strong man on the island, in charge of the ideological sector of the
Communist Party, came to have three "darling" journalists, the three
well-known.
Even Fidel Castro, between sips of Jack's Daniel, liked to talk in
private about his sexual exploits, like the affair he had with the
German Marita Lorenz and she told about it in a book. In a
macho-Fidelista Revolution like the Cuban one, having amorous adventures
in bulk sets you apart from the pack. A rogue, a pimp. A hallmark of
virility that makes the difference.
In a note from Juan Juan Almeida published in Marti News, told about the
debauchery of Cuban officials in Angola. He gave a figure, taking from
the Ministry of the Armed Forces: 40% of the woman who were on the
mission in Angola were harassed or raped. That figure has never appeared
in the newspaper Granma. For me, Almeida Jr. is a highly credible
source. He lived among the creme de la creme of the Cuban hierarchy. His
father, a great person in the opinion of his relatives, took to his bed
every woman who stirred his pleasure.
And I pardon their children and wives. The great difference between
being the "honey" of a leader and dying of hunger, are luxuries and
comforts. The guy with few resources invites you to a movie and buys you
popcorn or peanuts. The "bigwig" puts a roof over your head. And if you
really satisfy him he buys you a car. And in addition, you climb the
ladder in your profession.
There are women who live off their lovers, like the pimps off their
prostitutes. And sometimes they have more than one "girlfriend," they
compete to see who gets more and remains preferred. Recently I heard an
argument between two hookers. One said to the other, "Yeah, I'm a
monster, I bought my boyfriend a motorcycle and three gold chains. The
others just give him shirts and sneakers."
You can live in tile house in Carraguao, or a residence in Miramar. But
if you were raised to it, you have to have a "honey." In a conversation
between "tough men," if you don't talk about the "girlfriends," "honeys"
or lovers you have, they might label you Catholic or retarded. A bore
who doesn't know how to use the penis God gave you. That is, taking care
not to mention or even look at the boss's lover.
Ivan Garcia
16 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/cuba-sex-taking-all-comers-ivan-garcia/ Continue reading
Posted on May 19, 2013
There is still the ration book. Potatoes are scarce, the price of fruit
is going through the roof, and drinking a natural orange juice is a
luxury. Sanitary pads are only distributed every two months — a package
of ten to menstruating women. And connecting to the Internet is still a
science fiction story for a large part of the population.
However, sex is liberated. A national sport. According to some, the
infidelity between couples is a gene human beings carry. If those verse
in it give a tour of Cuba, we can confirm their strange theories.
And they confirm that teenagers of 12 and 13 are "experts" in the field.
Unaware that Australian is a continent, or that Henry Lee was in
independence fighter in the American Revolution and not the creator of
Lee jeans. But when it comes to sex, they have countless stories to
tell. For many boys, their fathers teach them from the time they're
small, that the more women they have the more macho they are.
It's the ABCs of a Cuban father to his son; life is dick. Men don't cry.
And the boss of the house is the one with balls. If in the 19th and 20th
century fathers paid prostitutes to de-flower their sons, today it's not
necessary.
Most children are more up-to-date and more promiscuous than their
parents. Having a "honey" or a lover is synonymous with masculinity. An
athlete of sex. A son of a bitch of the street.
The more lovers, the more drinks friends pay for. In the bars they offer
"wise" council about how to get into an impossible female. For hours,
they tell sex anecdotes without ceasing to drink like Cossacks, beer and
cheap rum.
Sex in Cuba is messy, but it has its hierarchies. Not like the
neighborhood pimp that manages a five-star hotel. A capital that's a
general. A boring and monotonous deputy to parliament that's a mandarin.
The "honeys" of the superiors respect them. Secretly they look at their
breasts or butt, but desist from the rude compliment or indecent
proposal. A boss can fire you or make your life impossible if he finds
you prowling around his woman.
Meanwhile, the more stars on your epaulette or if your photo appears
among the members of the Central Committee, the more chances you have to
give major luxuries to your lovers. You can even choose: blondes
brunettes, mulatto or black. Or have a collection with one of each. As
all are stunning, with pride and discretion we see you on the weekend in
exclusive recreational villas for senior officers, or at parties their
wives don't attend.
Being the "honey" of a major character in Cuba, is synonymous with
social status. As if rocket-propelled, you climb the ladder at work. All
over Havana everyone is talking about the meteoric rise of a famous
television report, who is both beautiful and talented. According to the
rumors, the lucky guy who sleeps with her is the "boss of the bosses."
It's still remembered that in the 90s, when Carlos Aldana was the third
strong man on the island, in charge of the ideological sector of the
Communist Party, came to have three "darling" journalists, the three
well-known.
Even Fidel Castro, between sips of Jack's Daniel, liked to talk in
private about his sexual exploits, like the affair he had with the
German Marita Lorenz and she told about it in a book. In a
macho-Fidelista Revolution like the Cuban one, having amorous adventures
in bulk sets you apart from the pack. A rogue, a pimp. A hallmark of
virility that makes the difference.
In a note from Juan Juan Almeida published in Marti News, told about the
debauchery of Cuban officials in Angola. He gave a figure, taking from
the Ministry of the Armed Forces: 40% of the woman who were on the
mission in Angola were harassed or raped. That figure has never appeared
in the newspaper Granma. For me, Almeida Jr. is a highly credible
source. He lived among the creme de la creme of the Cuban hierarchy. His
father, a great person in the opinion of his relatives, took to his bed
every woman who stirred his pleasure.
And I pardon their children and wives. The great difference between
being the "honey" of a leader and dying of hunger, are luxuries and
comforts. The guy with few resources invites you to a movie and buys you
popcorn or peanuts. The "bigwig" puts a roof over your head. And if you
really satisfy him he buys you a car. And in addition, you climb the
ladder in your profession.
There are women who live off their lovers, like the pimps off their
prostitutes. And sometimes they have more than one "girlfriend," they
compete to see who gets more and remains preferred. Recently I heard an
argument between two hookers. One said to the other, "Yeah, I'm a
monster, I bought my boyfriend a motorcycle and three gold chains. The
others just give him shirts and sneakers."
You can live in tile house in Carraguao, or a residence in Miramar. But
if you were raised to it, you have to have a "honey." In a conversation
between "tough men," if you don't talk about the "girlfriends," "honeys"
or lovers you have, they might label you Catholic or retarded. A bore
who doesn't know how to use the penis God gave you. That is, taking care
not to mention or even look at the boss's lover.
Ivan Garcia
16 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/cuba-sex-taking-all-comers-ivan-garcia/ Continue reading
Yoani Sanchez - Award-winning Cuban blogger
Cuba's New Real Estate Market, Betting on the Future, Wary of the Past
Posted: 05/18/2013 5:19 pm
Placing zeros to the right seems to be the preferred sport of those who
put a price on the homes they sell in Cuba today. A captive market at
the end of the day, the buyer could find a lot of surprises in the wide
range of classified ads. From owners who ask astronomical sums for their
houses, sums that have nothing to do with the reality of demand, to real
bargains that make you feel sorry for the naiveté of the negotiator.
Many are pressured to sell, some by those with the smarts to realize
that this is the time to buy a house on the Island. It is a bet on the
future, if it goes wrong they lose almost everything, but if it goes
well they position themselves -- in advance -- for tomorrow. The slow
hurry up and the fast run at the speed of light. These are times to make
haste, the end of an era could be close... say the smartest.
It's surprising to see, with barely any notion of real estate, how
Cubans launch themselves into the marketing of square meters. They talk
about their space, usually with an over abundance of adjectives that
make you laugh or scare you. So when you read "one bedroom apartment in
central Havana with mezzanine bedroom," you should understand "room in a
Central Havana apartment with wooden platform." If they talk about a
garden, it's best to imagine a bed with soil and plants at the entrance;
and even five-bedroom residences, after a visit, are reduced to two
bedrooms partitioned with cardboard. The same mistrust with which people
view the photos on the social networks where young people look for
partners, should be applied to housing ads here. However, you can also
find real pearls in the midst of the exaggeration.
Right now there are at least three parameters that determine the final
cost of a home: location, physical state of construction, and pedigree.
The neighborhood has a great influence on the final value of the
property. In Havana, the most prized areas are Vedado, Miramar, Central
Havana, Víbora and Cerro, for their central character. The least wanted
are Alamar, Reparto Eléctrico, San Miguel del Padrón and La Lisa. The
poor state of public transport significantly influences people's
preference for houses that are near major commercial centers with
abundant spaces for entertainment. If there is a farmers market in the
vicinity, the asking price goes up; if it is near the Malecon it also
goes up. People shy away from the periphery, although among the "new
rich," those who have accumulated a little more capital whether by legal
or illegal means, the trend of looking for homes in the outskirts has
begun. It is still too early, however, to speak about a trend to locate
in greener and less polluted areas. For now, the main premise can be
summarized as the more central the better.
The physical state is one of the other elements that defines what a home
will cost. If the ceiling is beam and slab, the numbers fall; meanwhile
constructions from the 1940s and '50s enjoy a very good reputation and
appeal. The lowest values are for the so-called "microbrigade works"
with their ugly concrete buildings and their little Eastern European
style apartments. If the roofing is light -- tiles, zinc, wood, ceiling
paper -- the seller will get less. The state of the bathroom and kitchen
are another point that directly influences the marketability of the
property. The quality of the floors, if the windows are barred and the
door is new -- of glass and metal -- these are points in its favor. If
there are no neighbors overhead, then the seller can rest easy. Also
very valuable are houses with two entrances, designed for a large family
seeking to split up and live independently. Everything counts, anything
goes.
So far it resembles a real estate market like any other anywhere in the
world. However, there is a situation that defines, in a very particular
way, the value of homes for sale. This is their pedigree. This refers to
whether the house has belonged to the family for forever, or if it was
confiscated in one of the waves of expropriations in Cuba. If the
previous owner left during the Rafter Crisis of 1994 and the State
handed the property over to someone new, the price is lower. The same
thing happens if it was taken during the Mariel Boatlift in 1980, a time
when property was awarded to others after the emigration of those who
had lived there up until that time. But where the prices hit rock bottom
is with those homes confiscated between 1959 and 1963, when great
numbers left for exile. Few want to take on the problem of acquiring a
site that later may go into litigation. Although there are some who are
taking advantage of this situation to buy real mansions in the most
central neighborhoods at bargain prices.
In order to check the location, the state of construction, as well as
the legal past of the house, potential buyers are aided by their own
experience, a good architect and even a lawyer to dig through the
details of the property. Each element adds or removes a cipher, one zero
or one hundred to the total price people are willing to pay. In a
captive market anything is possible; it's as if knowledge of real estate
has only been sleeping, lethargic, and now returns with amazing force.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/cubas-new-real-estate-mar_b_3299636.html Continue reading
Cuba's New Real Estate Market, Betting on the Future, Wary of the Past
Posted: 05/18/2013 5:19 pm
Placing zeros to the right seems to be the preferred sport of those who
put a price on the homes they sell in Cuba today. A captive market at
the end of the day, the buyer could find a lot of surprises in the wide
range of classified ads. From owners who ask astronomical sums for their
houses, sums that have nothing to do with the reality of demand, to real
bargains that make you feel sorry for the naiveté of the negotiator.
Many are pressured to sell, some by those with the smarts to realize
that this is the time to buy a house on the Island. It is a bet on the
future, if it goes wrong they lose almost everything, but if it goes
well they position themselves -- in advance -- for tomorrow. The slow
hurry up and the fast run at the speed of light. These are times to make
haste, the end of an era could be close... say the smartest.
It's surprising to see, with barely any notion of real estate, how
Cubans launch themselves into the marketing of square meters. They talk
about their space, usually with an over abundance of adjectives that
make you laugh or scare you. So when you read "one bedroom apartment in
central Havana with mezzanine bedroom," you should understand "room in a
Central Havana apartment with wooden platform." If they talk about a
garden, it's best to imagine a bed with soil and plants at the entrance;
and even five-bedroom residences, after a visit, are reduced to two
bedrooms partitioned with cardboard. The same mistrust with which people
view the photos on the social networks where young people look for
partners, should be applied to housing ads here. However, you can also
find real pearls in the midst of the exaggeration.
Right now there are at least three parameters that determine the final
cost of a home: location, physical state of construction, and pedigree.
The neighborhood has a great influence on the final value of the
property. In Havana, the most prized areas are Vedado, Miramar, Central
Havana, Víbora and Cerro, for their central character. The least wanted
are Alamar, Reparto Eléctrico, San Miguel del Padrón and La Lisa. The
poor state of public transport significantly influences people's
preference for houses that are near major commercial centers with
abundant spaces for entertainment. If there is a farmers market in the
vicinity, the asking price goes up; if it is near the Malecon it also
goes up. People shy away from the periphery, although among the "new
rich," those who have accumulated a little more capital whether by legal
or illegal means, the trend of looking for homes in the outskirts has
begun. It is still too early, however, to speak about a trend to locate
in greener and less polluted areas. For now, the main premise can be
summarized as the more central the better.
The physical state is one of the other elements that defines what a home
will cost. If the ceiling is beam and slab, the numbers fall; meanwhile
constructions from the 1940s and '50s enjoy a very good reputation and
appeal. The lowest values are for the so-called "microbrigade works"
with their ugly concrete buildings and their little Eastern European
style apartments. If the roofing is light -- tiles, zinc, wood, ceiling
paper -- the seller will get less. The state of the bathroom and kitchen
are another point that directly influences the marketability of the
property. The quality of the floors, if the windows are barred and the
door is new -- of glass and metal -- these are points in its favor. If
there are no neighbors overhead, then the seller can rest easy. Also
very valuable are houses with two entrances, designed for a large family
seeking to split up and live independently. Everything counts, anything
goes.
So far it resembles a real estate market like any other anywhere in the
world. However, there is a situation that defines, in a very particular
way, the value of homes for sale. This is their pedigree. This refers to
whether the house has belonged to the family for forever, or if it was
confiscated in one of the waves of expropriations in Cuba. If the
previous owner left during the Rafter Crisis of 1994 and the State
handed the property over to someone new, the price is lower. The same
thing happens if it was taken during the Mariel Boatlift in 1980, a time
when property was awarded to others after the emigration of those who
had lived there up until that time. But where the prices hit rock bottom
is with those homes confiscated between 1959 and 1963, when great
numbers left for exile. Few want to take on the problem of acquiring a
site that later may go into litigation. Although there are some who are
taking advantage of this situation to buy real mansions in the most
central neighborhoods at bargain prices.
In order to check the location, the state of construction, as well as
the legal past of the house, potential buyers are aided by their own
experience, a good architect and even a lawyer to dig through the
details of the property. Each element adds or removes a cipher, one zero
or one hundred to the total price people are willing to pay. In a
captive market anything is possible; it's as if knowledge of real estate
has only been sleeping, lethargic, and now returns with amazing force.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/cubas-new-real-estate-mar_b_3299636.html Continue reading
Posted on Saturday, 05.18.13
U.S. Foreign Policy
U.S. foreign aid chief talks about region's future
BY JIM WYSS
jwyss@MiamiHerald
SINCELEJO, Colombia -- Rajiv Shah is the head of the U.S. Administration
for International Development, one of the world's largest aid agencies.
During a recent trip to Colombia, Shah attended an event where a dozen
rural families were given titles to some 1,483 acres of land they had
been forced off of by this nation's civil conflict.
USAID has been supporting Colombia's land restitution efforts, which are
seen as key to ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and
the FARC guerrillas. The agency recently submitted its fiscal year 2014
budget of $20.4 billion, which represents a 6 percent cut from FY2012.
Shah, 40, talked to The Miami Herald about budget constraints, USAID's
role in a post-conflict Colombia and working in a region often
suspicious of U.S. aid.
Q: In a world of sequestration and budget cuts is development aid a hard
sell on Capitol Hill, particularly to countries like Colombia or Peru
that have growth rates the U.S. would be envious of?
A: There's actually strong support for our development investments in
U.S. Congress here in South America. Members of congress recognize that
when we make these investments and they deliver results that we are
helping reduce pressures on the United States. We are helping reduce
drug related gangs and crime. We are helping create economic
opportunities through trade and investment, and we are helping our own
security and border security.
Q: With the budget cuts is USAID pulling out of any countries in Latin
America?
A: We are reducing our presence in 14 countries around the world, based
on a very specific set of criteria that have to do with countries that
have approached middle-income status. We closed our Panama mission [last
year], we've transitioned out of Guyana. Over the next five years there
will be additional transitions in this region...That doesn't mean that
we won't have any partnerships. We might very well have strong
public-private partnerships…like we have in Brazil, where we are helping
to bring Brazilian technology to Africa and other parts of the world.
Q: How do you see USAID's role in countries that are hostile to your
mission like Cuba, Bolivia or Venezuela? [The day after the interview,
Bolivia announced it was kicking USAID out.]
A: We are obviously not going to support those governments directly but
we also have a commitment to people in those countries and in particular
those individuals and organizations that are trying to maintain some
degree of open space for civil society, for freedom of the press where
that's possible, for communications and access to information, and for
respect for human and minority rights. In all of those countries we have
those kind of civil society programs. Sometimes they can be
controversial, but as America we want to stand up for a certain set of
basic values.
Q: But those are the exact programs causing the problems. I'm sure many
nations would love the development aid if it could be separated from the
"democracy building" programs.
A: President Obama has said this repeatedly: Democracy and development
go hand in hand...We continue to advocate for all of those things [free
speech, human rights] in the ALBA countries [Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia,
etc.] and we continue to make these civil society investments that are
modest but play a unique role in establishing and retaining some space
for those civil society groups...All around the world, countries often
will try to limit or very, very tightly scrutinize and manage
investments in civil society, freedom of the press, journalist
activities and training, and building basic connectivity. Ultimately I
think democracy and development are very tightly linked and America will
continue to represent both in an integrated way.
Q: What were your impressions about today's event in Colombia and what's
USAID's role in the country if peace is achieved?
A: I think hearing from the people who got title to their land for the
first time in almost two decades was just extraordinary. Women described
being forced off their farms 16 years or 19 years ago because of the
conflict – essentially given no choice, threatened and forced to leave.
Today, getting their land title back, allows them to return to their
community and they're planning on clearing the land and planting and
growing food and restarting their agricultural livelihood and that's
really the basis of growth for so many people in this country and it's
going to be so important to the peace process itself…We look forward to
helping this country rebuild after what we hope is the successful
conclusion of that process. We can help rural development and
agriculture improve so that people have economic livelihoods. We are
hoping to reintegrate tens of thousands of former fighters in Colombian
society in a manner that gives them hope and opportunity.
Q: Since taking the helm of USAID you have spent a lot of time talking
about the role of innovation in development.
A: For the first time in the State of the Union this past February
President Obama laid out a goal for the international community, which
is to eradicate extreme poverty within two decades…The way we believe
you do that is actually not through massive new public investment but by
leveraging technological innovation and partnership to achieve those
results...We've invested in developing innovation labs across the United
States and other continents. Those laboratories are creating new
technology that, for example, can diagnose malaria without requiring
laboratory visits for patients or a blood sample. That way we can
dramatically reduce the cost structure of treating the disease and help
us eradicate malaria…We are investing in creating new energy technology
that can provide clean off-gird energy to rural communities that will
not be connected to the standard grid, and we think that can help bring
light and illumination to 700 million to 800 million people over time.
Q: What do you hope your leadership is remembered for?
A: USAID is the world's premier development organization, bringing
science, technology and innovation to the task of ending extreme
poverty. And if you measure the impacts of American tax payers dollars
against that vision: Reaching 7 million foreign households around the
world and helping them escape poverty through increased production, or
helping 12 million children escape hunger and malnutrition, or saving
22,000 kids under the age of five from malaria every year. That would be
something to be very proud of and we are starting to put forward those
types of results.
Questions and answers were edited for clarity and brevity.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/18/v-fullstory/3405054/us-foreign-aid-chief-talks-about.html Continue reading
U.S. Foreign Policy
U.S. foreign aid chief talks about region's future
BY JIM WYSS
jwyss@MiamiHerald
SINCELEJO, Colombia -- Rajiv Shah is the head of the U.S. Administration
for International Development, one of the world's largest aid agencies.
During a recent trip to Colombia, Shah attended an event where a dozen
rural families were given titles to some 1,483 acres of land they had
been forced off of by this nation's civil conflict.
USAID has been supporting Colombia's land restitution efforts, which are
seen as key to ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and
the FARC guerrillas. The agency recently submitted its fiscal year 2014
budget of $20.4 billion, which represents a 6 percent cut from FY2012.
Shah, 40, talked to The Miami Herald about budget constraints, USAID's
role in a post-conflict Colombia and working in a region often
suspicious of U.S. aid.
Q: In a world of sequestration and budget cuts is development aid a hard
sell on Capitol Hill, particularly to countries like Colombia or Peru
that have growth rates the U.S. would be envious of?
A: There's actually strong support for our development investments in
U.S. Congress here in South America. Members of congress recognize that
when we make these investments and they deliver results that we are
helping reduce pressures on the United States. We are helping reduce
drug related gangs and crime. We are helping create economic
opportunities through trade and investment, and we are helping our own
security and border security.
Q: With the budget cuts is USAID pulling out of any countries in Latin
America?
A: We are reducing our presence in 14 countries around the world, based
on a very specific set of criteria that have to do with countries that
have approached middle-income status. We closed our Panama mission [last
year], we've transitioned out of Guyana. Over the next five years there
will be additional transitions in this region...That doesn't mean that
we won't have any partnerships. We might very well have strong
public-private partnerships…like we have in Brazil, where we are helping
to bring Brazilian technology to Africa and other parts of the world.
Q: How do you see USAID's role in countries that are hostile to your
mission like Cuba, Bolivia or Venezuela? [The day after the interview,
Bolivia announced it was kicking USAID out.]
A: We are obviously not going to support those governments directly but
we also have a commitment to people in those countries and in particular
those individuals and organizations that are trying to maintain some
degree of open space for civil society, for freedom of the press where
that's possible, for communications and access to information, and for
respect for human and minority rights. In all of those countries we have
those kind of civil society programs. Sometimes they can be
controversial, but as America we want to stand up for a certain set of
basic values.
Q: But those are the exact programs causing the problems. I'm sure many
nations would love the development aid if it could be separated from the
"democracy building" programs.
A: President Obama has said this repeatedly: Democracy and development
go hand in hand...We continue to advocate for all of those things [free
speech, human rights] in the ALBA countries [Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia,
etc.] and we continue to make these civil society investments that are
modest but play a unique role in establishing and retaining some space
for those civil society groups...All around the world, countries often
will try to limit or very, very tightly scrutinize and manage
investments in civil society, freedom of the press, journalist
activities and training, and building basic connectivity. Ultimately I
think democracy and development are very tightly linked and America will
continue to represent both in an integrated way.
Q: What were your impressions about today's event in Colombia and what's
USAID's role in the country if peace is achieved?
A: I think hearing from the people who got title to their land for the
first time in almost two decades was just extraordinary. Women described
being forced off their farms 16 years or 19 years ago because of the
conflict – essentially given no choice, threatened and forced to leave.
Today, getting their land title back, allows them to return to their
community and they're planning on clearing the land and planting and
growing food and restarting their agricultural livelihood and that's
really the basis of growth for so many people in this country and it's
going to be so important to the peace process itself…We look forward to
helping this country rebuild after what we hope is the successful
conclusion of that process. We can help rural development and
agriculture improve so that people have economic livelihoods. We are
hoping to reintegrate tens of thousands of former fighters in Colombian
society in a manner that gives them hope and opportunity.
Q: Since taking the helm of USAID you have spent a lot of time talking
about the role of innovation in development.
A: For the first time in the State of the Union this past February
President Obama laid out a goal for the international community, which
is to eradicate extreme poverty within two decades…The way we believe
you do that is actually not through massive new public investment but by
leveraging technological innovation and partnership to achieve those
results...We've invested in developing innovation labs across the United
States and other continents. Those laboratories are creating new
technology that, for example, can diagnose malaria without requiring
laboratory visits for patients or a blood sample. That way we can
dramatically reduce the cost structure of treating the disease and help
us eradicate malaria…We are investing in creating new energy technology
that can provide clean off-gird energy to rural communities that will
not be connected to the standard grid, and we think that can help bring
light and illumination to 700 million to 800 million people over time.
Q: What do you hope your leadership is remembered for?
A: USAID is the world's premier development organization, bringing
science, technology and innovation to the task of ending extreme
poverty. And if you measure the impacts of American tax payers dollars
against that vision: Reaching 7 million foreign households around the
world and helping them escape poverty through increased production, or
helping 12 million children escape hunger and malnutrition, or saving
22,000 kids under the age of five from malaria every year. That would be
something to be very proud of and we are starting to put forward those
types of results.
Questions and answers were edited for clarity and brevity.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/18/v-fullstory/3405054/us-foreign-aid-chief-talks-about.html Continue reading
Of UMAP* and Other Demons / Henry Constantin
Posted on May 18, 2013
UMAP: Citizens' force used for the good of society. Brilliant idea of
UMAP: Citizens' force used for the good of society. Brilliant initiative
of military cadres.
A common school, half in ruins, half with children in uniform, with its
Cuban flag and signs on the walls. The boys talk among themselves, then
look with curiosity at the stranger, who takes photos of enormous
homeless sites behind the surviving classrooms. Everything seems normal
in that country schoolhouse. But there is a shadow. The stranger quickly
quits with the photos. The last: some cement squares next to the door,
"like a booth in a military unit," he thought. He crosses the potholes
of the road and approaches the wooden houses. They welcome him, give him
water, talk about the sunshine and the plums. The stranger, who has
already been introduced, happily drinks the coffee they also offer him,
smiles, and thanks the lady and shuts up. It's that there is a shadow.
Then, he asks the man of the house, an old man with a mustache, "Is it
true that the elementary school, a long time ago, was a UMAP*?" He
points at the half-boarding Batalla de Guisa school, whose kids have no
idea what was suffered there forty-some years ago. The farmer stops
smiling. He hesitates, stutters, speaks softly, looks at the floor.
"Yes, yes… but no. I'm not looking for problems." Someone says, "They
took the people there to some banana groves to work."
Other visits to the farmers around then, other evasions, "Yes, yes, some
of that happened. One guy set himself on fire and the screams could be
heard for miles. But I do not know anything else. "
One lady says, "There was a lot of damage. There were dungeons, there at
the end."
So I ask, in other houses, people who lived there, in the hamlet of
Manolin, ten kilometers from the southern town of Cuatro Caminos,
Camagüey, in the sixties, that time of so much luminous Revolution, and
so many prison cells and firing squads — more than any time in the
history of Cuba.
Those who respond say yes and open their eyes as if amazed at what
they've just be reminded of. They know more or less that the collapsed
schoolhouse was a UMAP camp, run by officers of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces, and serious things happened to those interned there.
"What things?" and then they hesitated, "Better ask so-and-so, who lived
closer." And the faces of mystery, the silence, the evasions in the
faces of the interviewed farmers tell me more than everything they can
say to me: there are the silent screams of an abysmal shadow that hangs
over the people in Cuba, not only those of these fields of Najasa, but
so many in this country who live filled with fear of saying in public
what they want and what they know.
And I write it of course: the biggest problem with the forced internal
silence about the UMAP issue is not that there is discrimination based
on sexual behavior today in Cuba and it remains in the minds of
thousands of Cuban men and women and in the structures of leadership,
nor that the one who manages this issue officially here is a member of
the governing family — which stinks of nepotism — nor than they try to
hide the past, among other reasons to avoid a settling of accounts,
inopportune repentance and reparations for the victims. The worst is the
infinite fear that still infects millions of people in this country, a
logical fear induced from above which, while it exists, prevents Cubans
from speaking freely of their desires, concerns and complaints, of their
past, and even more seriously, of their present.
That grave mystery that the people around the little school that was
UMAP remember fearfully, is proof. Where there are people afraid to
speak there is no peace.
*Translator's note: UMAP, "Military Units to Aid Production," was a
series of concentration camps where the regime imprisoned its "enemies"
including homosexuals, religious believers, writers, artists,
intellectuals and others.
18 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/of-umap-and-other-demons-henry-constantin/ Continue reading
Posted on May 18, 2013
UMAP: Citizens' force used for the good of society. Brilliant idea of
UMAP: Citizens' force used for the good of society. Brilliant initiative
of military cadres.
A common school, half in ruins, half with children in uniform, with its
Cuban flag and signs on the walls. The boys talk among themselves, then
look with curiosity at the stranger, who takes photos of enormous
homeless sites behind the surviving classrooms. Everything seems normal
in that country schoolhouse. But there is a shadow. The stranger quickly
quits with the photos. The last: some cement squares next to the door,
"like a booth in a military unit," he thought. He crosses the potholes
of the road and approaches the wooden houses. They welcome him, give him
water, talk about the sunshine and the plums. The stranger, who has
already been introduced, happily drinks the coffee they also offer him,
smiles, and thanks the lady and shuts up. It's that there is a shadow.
Then, he asks the man of the house, an old man with a mustache, "Is it
true that the elementary school, a long time ago, was a UMAP*?" He
points at the half-boarding Batalla de Guisa school, whose kids have no
idea what was suffered there forty-some years ago. The farmer stops
smiling. He hesitates, stutters, speaks softly, looks at the floor.
"Yes, yes… but no. I'm not looking for problems." Someone says, "They
took the people there to some banana groves to work."
Other visits to the farmers around then, other evasions, "Yes, yes, some
of that happened. One guy set himself on fire and the screams could be
heard for miles. But I do not know anything else. "
One lady says, "There was a lot of damage. There were dungeons, there at
the end."
So I ask, in other houses, people who lived there, in the hamlet of
Manolin, ten kilometers from the southern town of Cuatro Caminos,
Camagüey, in the sixties, that time of so much luminous Revolution, and
so many prison cells and firing squads — more than any time in the
history of Cuba.
Those who respond say yes and open their eyes as if amazed at what
they've just be reminded of. They know more or less that the collapsed
schoolhouse was a UMAP camp, run by officers of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces, and serious things happened to those interned there.
"What things?" and then they hesitated, "Better ask so-and-so, who lived
closer." And the faces of mystery, the silence, the evasions in the
faces of the interviewed farmers tell me more than everything they can
say to me: there are the silent screams of an abysmal shadow that hangs
over the people in Cuba, not only those of these fields of Najasa, but
so many in this country who live filled with fear of saying in public
what they want and what they know.
And I write it of course: the biggest problem with the forced internal
silence about the UMAP issue is not that there is discrimination based
on sexual behavior today in Cuba and it remains in the minds of
thousands of Cuban men and women and in the structures of leadership,
nor that the one who manages this issue officially here is a member of
the governing family — which stinks of nepotism — nor than they try to
hide the past, among other reasons to avoid a settling of accounts,
inopportune repentance and reparations for the victims. The worst is the
infinite fear that still infects millions of people in this country, a
logical fear induced from above which, while it exists, prevents Cubans
from speaking freely of their desires, concerns and complaints, of their
past, and even more seriously, of their present.
That grave mystery that the people around the little school that was
UMAP remember fearfully, is proof. Where there are people afraid to
speak there is no peace.
*Translator's note: UMAP, "Military Units to Aid Production," was a
series of concentration camps where the regime imprisoned its "enemies"
including homosexuals, religious believers, writers, artists,
intellectuals and others.
18 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/of-umap-and-other-demons-henry-constantin/ Continue reading
Prison Diary XVIII: Those Who Live Off The Government / Angel Santiesteban
Posted on May 18, 2013
A few days ago it was suggested to me in a letter that someday, in
another government of course, I could be Minister of Culture, which I
doubt because I think politics is not my thing. But if being a
politician is saying what you think and going against the interests of
the current president, then I am a politician, or a romantic risking
that I don't get tired of suffering until the coming of the happiness to
this country that it has deserved for so many years.
In this future government I don't doubt that there will be the same
people who now support the dictatorship.
Unfortunately they are corks*, intellectuals without honor, allying
themselves for their personal benefit to communism and fascism.
We see them there, and they, as usual, extend a greeting to me that if I
escape they will label me spiteful and say that I cannot adjust to the
new national force for a better country.
Those of us who were born to suffer, those of us who do not accept gifts
from wherever they come, those of us who think first of Martí, we never
enter into these political alliances.
For me, a president is nothing more than a good administrator, and if we
get one, then we will see our economy and our culture flourish. What
more can we ask for? With that I will be deeply happy. I want a
participatory democracy, a country without a secret police that
persecutes the opposition and a culture that is not censored for
expressing ideas contrary to the State.
In short, I want a free country and that's why I wake up every morning
in this prison completely sure that José Martí's dream is coming. I am
happy in the place that I am. I am at the side of the suffered with
Bishop Espada, Father Jos" Agustín Caballero and Félix Varela; I am
where I am because I am continuing along the path laid for us by Martí,
Céspedes, Agramonte, Maceo. And accompanying me on this path are
hundreds of Cubans like Antonio Rodiles, Jose Daniel Ferrer, Guillermo
Fariñas, Berta Soler, Hector Maseda, Angel Moya, Cuesta Morúa, Antunez,
Manzano and Palacio, among many, who risk their lives and those of their
families to achieve our longed for freedom, not to mention the community
of bloggers and independent journalists.
I am going to be this: a citizen in the service of good causes, and I'll
be with the rest of the noble and honest intellectuals creating our
works which is the best omen.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats
Prison 1580. May 2013
*Translator's note: "Corks" in the sense that they keep bobbing to the
surface.
17 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/prison-diary-xviii-those-who-live-off-the-government-angel-santiesteban/ Continue reading
Posted on May 18, 2013
A few days ago it was suggested to me in a letter that someday, in
another government of course, I could be Minister of Culture, which I
doubt because I think politics is not my thing. But if being a
politician is saying what you think and going against the interests of
the current president, then I am a politician, or a romantic risking
that I don't get tired of suffering until the coming of the happiness to
this country that it has deserved for so many years.
In this future government I don't doubt that there will be the same
people who now support the dictatorship.
Unfortunately they are corks*, intellectuals without honor, allying
themselves for their personal benefit to communism and fascism.
We see them there, and they, as usual, extend a greeting to me that if I
escape they will label me spiteful and say that I cannot adjust to the
new national force for a better country.
Those of us who were born to suffer, those of us who do not accept gifts
from wherever they come, those of us who think first of Martí, we never
enter into these political alliances.
For me, a president is nothing more than a good administrator, and if we
get one, then we will see our economy and our culture flourish. What
more can we ask for? With that I will be deeply happy. I want a
participatory democracy, a country without a secret police that
persecutes the opposition and a culture that is not censored for
expressing ideas contrary to the State.
In short, I want a free country and that's why I wake up every morning
in this prison completely sure that José Martí's dream is coming. I am
happy in the place that I am. I am at the side of the suffered with
Bishop Espada, Father Jos" Agustín Caballero and Félix Varela; I am
where I am because I am continuing along the path laid for us by Martí,
Céspedes, Agramonte, Maceo. And accompanying me on this path are
hundreds of Cubans like Antonio Rodiles, Jose Daniel Ferrer, Guillermo
Fariñas, Berta Soler, Hector Maseda, Angel Moya, Cuesta Morúa, Antunez,
Manzano and Palacio, among many, who risk their lives and those of their
families to achieve our longed for freedom, not to mention the community
of bloggers and independent journalists.
I am going to be this: a citizen in the service of good causes, and I'll
be with the rest of the noble and honest intellectuals creating our
works which is the best omen.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats
Prison 1580. May 2013
*Translator's note: "Corks" in the sense that they keep bobbing to the
surface.
17 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/prison-diary-xviii-those-who-live-off-the-government-angel-santiesteban/ Continue reading
Three Parameters, One House / Yoani Sanchez
Posted on May 18, 2013
Placing zeros to the right seems to be the preferred sport of those who
put a price on the homes they sell in Cuba today. A captive market at
the end of the day, the buyer could find a lot of surprises in the wide
range of classified ads. From owners who ask astronomical sums for their
houses, sums that have nothing to do with the reality of demand, to real
bargains that make you feel sorry for the naiveté of the negotiator.
Many are pressured to sell, some by those with the smarts to realize
that this is the time to buy a house on the Island. It is a bet on the
future, if it goes wrong they lose almost everything, but if it goes
well they position themselves — in advance — for tomorrow. The slow
hurry up and the fast run at the speed of light. These are times to make
haste, the end of an era could be close… say the smartest.
It's surprising to see, with barely any notion of real estate, how
Cubans launch themselves into the marketing of square meters. They talk
about their space, usually with an over abundance of adjectives that
make you laugh or scare you. So when you read "one bedroom apartment in
central Havana with mezzanine bedroom," you should understand "room in a
Central Havana apartment with wooden platform." If they talk about a
garden, it's best to imagine a bed with soil and plants at the entrance;
and even five-bedroom residences, after a visit, are reduced to two
bedrooms partitioned with cardboard. The same mistrust with which people
view the photos on the social networks where young people look for
partners, should be applied to housing ads here. However, you can also
find real pearls in the midst of the exaggeration.
Right now there are at least three parameters that determine the final
cost of a home: location, physical state of construction, and pedigree.
The neighborhood has a great influence on the final value of the
property. In Havana, the most prized areas are Vedado, Miramar, Central
Havana, Víbora and Cerro, for their central character. The least wanted
are Alamar, Reparto Eléctrico, San Miguel del Padrón and La Lisa. The
poor state of public transport significantly influences people's
preference for houses that are near major commercial centers with
abundant spaces for entertainment. If there is a farmers market in the
vicinity, the asking price goes up; if it is near the Malecon it also
goes up. People shy away from the periphery, although among the "new
rich," those who have accumulated a little more capital whether by legal
or illegal means, the trend of looking for homes in the outskirts has
begun. It is still too early, however, to speak about a trend to locate
in greener and less polluted areas. For now, the main premise can be
summarized as the more central the better.
The physical state is one of the other elements that defines what a home
will cost. If the ceiling is beam and slab, the numbers fall; meanwhile
constructions from the 1940s and '50s enjoy a very good reputation and
appeal. The lowest values are for the so-called "microbrigade works"
with their ugly concrete buildings and their little Eastern European
style apartments. If the roofing is light — tiles, zinc, wood, ceiling
paper — the seller will get less. The state of the bathroom and kitchen
are another point that directly influences the marketability of the
property. The quality of the floors, if the windows are barred and the
door is new — of glass and metal — these are points in its favor. If
there are no neighbors overhead, then the seller can rest easy. Also
very valuable are houses with two entrances, designed for a large family
seeking to split up and live independently. Everything counts, anything
goes.
So far it resembles a real estate market like any other anywhere in the
world. However, there is a situation that defines, in a very particular
way, the value of homes for sale. This is their pedigree. This refers to
whether the house has belonged to the family for forever, or if it was
confiscated in one of the waves of expropriations in Cuba. If the
previous owner left during the Rafter Crisis of 1994 and the State
handed the property over to someone new, the price is lower. The same
thing happens if it was taken during the Mariel Boatlift in 1980, a time
when property was awarded to others after the emigration of those who
had lived there up until that time. But where the prices hit rock bottom
is with those homes confiscated between 1959 and 1963, when great
numbers left for exile. Few want to take on the problem of acquiring a
site that later may go into litigation. Although there are some who are
taking advantage of this situation to buy real mansions in the most
central neighborhoods at bargain prices.
In order to check the location, the state of construction, as well as
the legal past of the house, potential buyers are aided by their own
experience, a good architect and even a lawyer to dig through the
details of the property. Each element adds or removes a cipher, one zero
or one hundred to the total price people are willing to pay. In a
captive market anything is possible; it's as if knowledge of real estate
has only been sleeping, lethargic, and now returns with amazing force.
18 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/three-parameters-one-house-yoani-sanchez/ Continue reading
Posted on May 18, 2013
Placing zeros to the right seems to be the preferred sport of those who
put a price on the homes they sell in Cuba today. A captive market at
the end of the day, the buyer could find a lot of surprises in the wide
range of classified ads. From owners who ask astronomical sums for their
houses, sums that have nothing to do with the reality of demand, to real
bargains that make you feel sorry for the naiveté of the negotiator.
Many are pressured to sell, some by those with the smarts to realize
that this is the time to buy a house on the Island. It is a bet on the
future, if it goes wrong they lose almost everything, but if it goes
well they position themselves — in advance — for tomorrow. The slow
hurry up and the fast run at the speed of light. These are times to make
haste, the end of an era could be close… say the smartest.
It's surprising to see, with barely any notion of real estate, how
Cubans launch themselves into the marketing of square meters. They talk
about their space, usually with an over abundance of adjectives that
make you laugh or scare you. So when you read "one bedroom apartment in
central Havana with mezzanine bedroom," you should understand "room in a
Central Havana apartment with wooden platform." If they talk about a
garden, it's best to imagine a bed with soil and plants at the entrance;
and even five-bedroom residences, after a visit, are reduced to two
bedrooms partitioned with cardboard. The same mistrust with which people
view the photos on the social networks where young people look for
partners, should be applied to housing ads here. However, you can also
find real pearls in the midst of the exaggeration.
Right now there are at least three parameters that determine the final
cost of a home: location, physical state of construction, and pedigree.
The neighborhood has a great influence on the final value of the
property. In Havana, the most prized areas are Vedado, Miramar, Central
Havana, Víbora and Cerro, for their central character. The least wanted
are Alamar, Reparto Eléctrico, San Miguel del Padrón and La Lisa. The
poor state of public transport significantly influences people's
preference for houses that are near major commercial centers with
abundant spaces for entertainment. If there is a farmers market in the
vicinity, the asking price goes up; if it is near the Malecon it also
goes up. People shy away from the periphery, although among the "new
rich," those who have accumulated a little more capital whether by legal
or illegal means, the trend of looking for homes in the outskirts has
begun. It is still too early, however, to speak about a trend to locate
in greener and less polluted areas. For now, the main premise can be
summarized as the more central the better.
The physical state is one of the other elements that defines what a home
will cost. If the ceiling is beam and slab, the numbers fall; meanwhile
constructions from the 1940s and '50s enjoy a very good reputation and
appeal. The lowest values are for the so-called "microbrigade works"
with their ugly concrete buildings and their little Eastern European
style apartments. If the roofing is light — tiles, zinc, wood, ceiling
paper — the seller will get less. The state of the bathroom and kitchen
are another point that directly influences the marketability of the
property. The quality of the floors, if the windows are barred and the
door is new — of glass and metal — these are points in its favor. If
there are no neighbors overhead, then the seller can rest easy. Also
very valuable are houses with two entrances, designed for a large family
seeking to split up and live independently. Everything counts, anything
goes.
So far it resembles a real estate market like any other anywhere in the
world. However, there is a situation that defines, in a very particular
way, the value of homes for sale. This is their pedigree. This refers to
whether the house has belonged to the family for forever, or if it was
confiscated in one of the waves of expropriations in Cuba. If the
previous owner left during the Rafter Crisis of 1994 and the State
handed the property over to someone new, the price is lower. The same
thing happens if it was taken during the Mariel Boatlift in 1980, a time
when property was awarded to others after the emigration of those who
had lived there up until that time. But where the prices hit rock bottom
is with those homes confiscated between 1959 and 1963, when great
numbers left for exile. Few want to take on the problem of acquiring a
site that later may go into litigation. Although there are some who are
taking advantage of this situation to buy real mansions in the most
central neighborhoods at bargain prices.
In order to check the location, the state of construction, as well as
the legal past of the house, potential buyers are aided by their own
experience, a good architect and even a lawyer to dig through the
details of the property. Each element adds or removes a cipher, one zero
or one hundred to the total price people are willing to pay. In a
captive market anything is possible; it's as if knowledge of real estate
has only been sleeping, lethargic, and now returns with amazing force.
18 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/three-parameters-one-house-yoani-sanchez/ Continue reading
The Long Road to Recovery / Rebeca Monzo
Posted on May 17, 2013
Holding on to my patience I managed to watch the National TV News (NTV)
for a while. I had to make sure I kept calm in order to avoid getting a
heart attack watching the images and listening to the scripted nonsense
repeated by our announcers, as if it were a program intended for idiots.
It turned out that they announce that they are "gradually" bringing the
streetlights back into action in the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy
which devastated the province of Santiago de Cuba, leaving things in a
terrible state — as if it was a great event. More than that, what
insulted me even more was that they were saying that they were
commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the attack on the Moncada
barracks, as opposed to the hundreds of unfortunate victims, who still
haven't recovered the losses occasioned by the hurricane, fundamentally
due to the accumulated misery of decades, which made it impossible for
them to carry out proper maintenance to their houses.
It's an embarrassment that after so many months they are saying that
they are "gradually" restoring street lighting to the streets and
avenues, knowing that crime and danger are directly supported by
darkness. What's more, they appear to be avoiding the dietary
deficiencies confronting the people of Santiago de Cuba, whose poor
income doesn't permit them to feed themselves properly, and to recover
from the damage caused by the atmospheric phenomenon. All of that,
without even mentioning that much of the donations sent from different
countries were not distributed without charge, as might be expected by
the people sending them, but were sold at high prices.
I was even more insulted when recently the representative of the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization in our country had the nerve and lack of
seriousness to publicly announce that we were one of the best fed people
not only in America but in the world. It seems that this man forgot that
here, when kids get to three years of age they lose their compotes, and
at seven their milk, quite apart from the major sacrifices their parents
have to make from when they are born, simply because of the lack of
material resources.
Now, furthermore, a psychologist, whom I thought up to today was a
reasonable person, has volunteered to sign in the Granma daily an
article in which he completely justifies our country's misery, calling
it "The Cuban Model of Wellbeing". What's more he puts forward as a
great example to be followed the fact that in Cuba everybody knows
exactly who their neighbors are and what they are doing, when in reality
it is no more than meddling in someone else's life, and not
"socializing," which is what ll of us, one way or another, have had to
suffer.
Translated by GH
16 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/the-long-road-to-recovery-rebeca-monzo/ Continue reading
Posted on May 17, 2013
Holding on to my patience I managed to watch the National TV News (NTV)
for a while. I had to make sure I kept calm in order to avoid getting a
heart attack watching the images and listening to the scripted nonsense
repeated by our announcers, as if it were a program intended for idiots.
It turned out that they announce that they are "gradually" bringing the
streetlights back into action in the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy
which devastated the province of Santiago de Cuba, leaving things in a
terrible state — as if it was a great event. More than that, what
insulted me even more was that they were saying that they were
commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the attack on the Moncada
barracks, as opposed to the hundreds of unfortunate victims, who still
haven't recovered the losses occasioned by the hurricane, fundamentally
due to the accumulated misery of decades, which made it impossible for
them to carry out proper maintenance to their houses.
It's an embarrassment that after so many months they are saying that
they are "gradually" restoring street lighting to the streets and
avenues, knowing that crime and danger are directly supported by
darkness. What's more, they appear to be avoiding the dietary
deficiencies confronting the people of Santiago de Cuba, whose poor
income doesn't permit them to feed themselves properly, and to recover
from the damage caused by the atmospheric phenomenon. All of that,
without even mentioning that much of the donations sent from different
countries were not distributed without charge, as might be expected by
the people sending them, but were sold at high prices.
I was even more insulted when recently the representative of the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization in our country had the nerve and lack of
seriousness to publicly announce that we were one of the best fed people
not only in America but in the world. It seems that this man forgot that
here, when kids get to three years of age they lose their compotes, and
at seven their milk, quite apart from the major sacrifices their parents
have to make from when they are born, simply because of the lack of
material resources.
Now, furthermore, a psychologist, whom I thought up to today was a
reasonable person, has volunteered to sign in the Granma daily an
article in which he completely justifies our country's misery, calling
it "The Cuban Model of Wellbeing". What's more he puts forward as a
great example to be followed the fact that in Cuba everybody knows
exactly who their neighbors are and what they are doing, when in reality
it is no more than meddling in someone else's life, and not
"socializing," which is what ll of us, one way or another, have had to
suffer.
Translated by GH
16 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/the-long-road-to-recovery-rebeca-monzo/ Continue reading
Conspiring With Impunity / Rosa Maria Rodriguez
Posted on May 16, 2013
"Corrupt lawyer and judge. Raúl Castro, help me. Unjust eviction."
Unfortunately, in Cuba anybody with a Communist Party ID, a title that
gives them a substantial amount of power, and personality disorders that
will predispose them to abuse their authority, can conspire against any
defenseless citizens and strip them of their property. If there are
economic or monetary interests involved, these become incentives that
speed up such acts.
I found out about the case of Yamile Bargías Hurtado (YBH) in November,
and it moved me to write "If it is not rotten, why does it smell bad?."
In it I tactfully tackle a thorny subject of which I do not know all the
sides of, as I have not participated in all the hearings nor heard all
the plaintiff's allegations, her defense attorney's, the affected
family's or any other attorney's statements. However, as the process to
evict Yamile from the apartment that she owns, and into which she moved
ten years ago as a result of a house swap with the previous owner, has
become traumatic and has extended for five years, it allows us to find
out about contradictions, convenient omissions and timely obstructions
that stain its adequate transparency and good execution.
Recapitulation
Baltazar Toledo Rodriguez was the manager of the building located at 3rd
Street, #355, between Paseo and 2nd and was married to Teresa Luisa
Rivero Domínguez. It was assigned to them or they assigned it to
themselves, but that is irrelevant, a mini-room in a space adjacent to
the building's garage for this reason. Other apartments have garages,
one each beneath them, but it seems that no one cared then for them.
With the passage of time, the couple created better housing conditions;
the apartment got bigger, as expected, with the expansion of the garage
and it ended up being a "modest and miniscule apartment" and I place
quotation marks in order to emphasize that I speak of a limited space,
not a property that with the years the necessary institutions recognized
as legal and made the couple title holders. Upon the death of Toledo
Rodriguez in 1998, grandfather of the plaintiff Eleazar Yosvany Rivero
Toledo, his wife who was co-owner, updated her status before the
Municipal Directory of Housing and the property was awarded to her as
only owner. In 2003 Yamile swapped apartments with the widower and
remodeled and expanded her new home with enormous efforts and costs in
order to create a bedroom for their daughter. She did it all, tells me
the plaintiff, applying for the required construction permits and adding
the new space to the property title at the corresponding organization:
Municipal Directory of Housing in Plaza. While all the construction
activity progressed, the litigant who claims the property as "former
heir", was an eyewitness to the renovations, as he regularly visited the
home on top of Yamile's apartment, considered by those affected as the
bank of credit of the process, whose aged protagonists have three
children abroad and huge desires to obtain the space for their parents.
It was not until 2008 that YBH found out that her house was in dispute
since 2002 and her house swap was cancelled in 2009.
"Raúl, I ask for justice"
It is true that at the time of the home exchange, and according to his
identification card, the plaintiff resided, with his grandfather's
widower. Some witnesses allege that he tricked her into allowing him to
stay and register as a co-inhabitant of the dwelling using as an excuse
the fact that he had separated from his wife, and had no place to live.
If he did not have where to live why he did not sleep under the same
roof as his grandmother? Why did he not go to live with her at the Bahia
neighborhood? She was the new property owner after Baltazar Toledo's
death and his heiress by right.
In August, YBH tells me, she painted the banner shown in the image on
the right, and carried it to the State Council to ask Cuban President
Raul Castro to intercede in the injustice against her! She was arrested
in the vicinity of the Plaza of the revolution, they removed the rough
banner and took her to a police station in which she was kept for
several hours.
From November on
In November of 2012, due to the silence of the "deft" national
authorities which she had approached, and their immovability, YBH made
her cause public and started writing letters to international
personalities and institutions. At the same time she approached me and
other members of the civil society in Cuba. However the despair and
insecurity she has experienced during these 5 years of unjust and
undeserved conflict, have not diminish her sympathy for the system led
by the younger of the Castro brothers although she hasn't received an
answer to her letters from their offices.
On December 6,2012 a hearing was scheduled to hear all parties, and to
"make it a transparent process." After the supreme court had already
handed down its ruling and the threat of eviction hung over the
stability of two families?? I write transparent in bold letters because
the close relationship between the plaintiff's lawyer, the ruling judge
and the family that lives upstairs, taints with suspicion any
unprejudiced attitude that one would like to have about the case. At the
hearing she was told that eviction was to be carried out. Then, why the
hearing? To calm things down?
Yamilé withdrew from that circus that ironically sought to legitimize
the crooked attitudes of some lawyers. Neither then nor now, was she the
object of any reprisal or much less a fine for being in contempt of
court for leaving the court without being authorized, and without
finishing that judicial theater. Some experts consulted on the case,
were scandalized over so much arbitrariness, mishandling, coercion,
opportune omissions and convenient obstructions which have stained the
safekeeping of the rights of the living and the dead.
The following days brought them closer to despair and helplessness to
what in Cuba they call, using a legal euphemism, "forced extraction" to
minimize the impact that such methods could have on society. The
terminology is made up to avoid the comparison with evictions in other
countries — used by Cuban authorities in political campaigns — and to
differentiate them from those of which the new regime has historically
accused the previous one in their overly exploited propaganda. The one
when farmers were evicted from their hovels with all their belongings
and families. Beyond any legal and professional definitions, this legal
figure is the sum of all manipulations.
Parenthesis
Convinced that the lawsuit would go nowhere, Teresa Rivero Dominguez's
heirs, allowed things to follow their course thinking that it was just a
matter of time until the laws were applied correctly. However, seeing
that the courts appeared biased against them and Yamile, and that they
had ruled against her, they decided to take action to avoid any further
injustice.
In April of 2012, the heirs from the Bahia neighborhood hired a legal
professional to begin a process called "The Inheritance Flow" to
determine who has rights over the house left behind by the late Rivero
Dominguez. It is possible that Eleazar Yosvany may have rights over the
property, and be entitled to monetary compensation, but not to the
property itself. The lawyer they hired, violated their contract by
transferring the case to another lawyer who presented her case on
December 20th, 2012. For the defendants, this was just another link in
the chain of obstacles that prove fraud in the proceedings. Why does it
look like someone has ordered to stop the parallel processed initiated
by the heirs? Naturally, if it is demonstrated that Eleazar Yosvany has
no rights over the dwelling, the case no longer makes sense, and
everything goes back to normal.
The Day of the Ultimatum
After five years of trying to rob two families of their homes, and after
the Supreme Court ruling against YBH, the authorities announced that
they would carry out the eviction of Yamile, her daughter and the family
from the Bahia neighborhood on February 5th. The authorities showed up
in front of Bargia Hurtado's house that now shown a message painted on
the wall accusing of corruption all the lawyers involved, and asked the
— in this case — deaf president of Cuba.
A local apparatchik sent two workers to pain the wall to cover the
graffiti that had no anti-government message at all (and even if it did,
it is her right to paint it) but in support of justice for the two
families. Who sent them? Why sabotage the work and time invested in
creating it, not to mention the cost of the paint that YBH's family had
bought with their own resources?
In the same fashion, the lawyers accused of corruption and present
during the "forced extraction," went upstairs to the home of the ones
thought to be moving (green) papers to make a move of which Eleazar
Yosvany is only the facilitating pawn. If there were any doubts about
their link, that day their relationship with the upstairs neighbors (the
lady of the house came out in defense of the lawyers) was made evident.
The incredibly passive attitudes of the attorneys were even more
suspicious since they did not react at all to the accusations of
corruption from those involved. Why?
The interested parties who live upstairs are elderly, but have money and
time to think about expanding their dwelling. They already did by taking
over the roof, and now they want YBH's, and in time who knows what else
they will want. In their favor they have a letter that states that the
old man fought in Sierra Maestra for the revolution. Although no one
knows if it is real or not, it empowers them to do harm to others, scare
them and trample their rights.
For a while now, YBH and her daughter who studies at university, wonder
if the Cuban Lady Justice uses her scale to weigh wads of cash and if
she covers her eyes to avoid looking at the problem that affects them.
The two of them sleep, but never really rest, keeping an eye open and an
ear alert to try to prevent the authorities breaking into their place at
night, as if it were "an organized crime action," to evict them under
cover of night, and without an audience. It is not a baseless fear since
they have been told that in similar situations a committee arrives with
a locksmith, break into the house even if the owner is not in, put the
furniture on a truck, and commit the abuse with impunity.
The malpractice of some of the jurists involved in this case has been
denounced in multiple collateral lawsuits and complaints, and there have
been calls for others authorities to investigate and intervene to no
avail. The sword of eviction continues to hang over the security and the
emotional and physical stability of two Cuban families, and over the
prestige and respectability of the laws and civil legal proceedings in Cuba.
Translated by Ernesto Ariel Suarez
1 March 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/conspiring-with-impunity-rosa-maria-rodriguez/ Continue reading
Posted on May 16, 2013
"Corrupt lawyer and judge. Raúl Castro, help me. Unjust eviction."
Unfortunately, in Cuba anybody with a Communist Party ID, a title that
gives them a substantial amount of power, and personality disorders that
will predispose them to abuse their authority, can conspire against any
defenseless citizens and strip them of their property. If there are
economic or monetary interests involved, these become incentives that
speed up such acts.
I found out about the case of Yamile Bargías Hurtado (YBH) in November,
and it moved me to write "If it is not rotten, why does it smell bad?."
In it I tactfully tackle a thorny subject of which I do not know all the
sides of, as I have not participated in all the hearings nor heard all
the plaintiff's allegations, her defense attorney's, the affected
family's or any other attorney's statements. However, as the process to
evict Yamile from the apartment that she owns, and into which she moved
ten years ago as a result of a house swap with the previous owner, has
become traumatic and has extended for five years, it allows us to find
out about contradictions, convenient omissions and timely obstructions
that stain its adequate transparency and good execution.
Recapitulation
Baltazar Toledo Rodriguez was the manager of the building located at 3rd
Street, #355, between Paseo and 2nd and was married to Teresa Luisa
Rivero Domínguez. It was assigned to them or they assigned it to
themselves, but that is irrelevant, a mini-room in a space adjacent to
the building's garage for this reason. Other apartments have garages,
one each beneath them, but it seems that no one cared then for them.
With the passage of time, the couple created better housing conditions;
the apartment got bigger, as expected, with the expansion of the garage
and it ended up being a "modest and miniscule apartment" and I place
quotation marks in order to emphasize that I speak of a limited space,
not a property that with the years the necessary institutions recognized
as legal and made the couple title holders. Upon the death of Toledo
Rodriguez in 1998, grandfather of the plaintiff Eleazar Yosvany Rivero
Toledo, his wife who was co-owner, updated her status before the
Municipal Directory of Housing and the property was awarded to her as
only owner. In 2003 Yamile swapped apartments with the widower and
remodeled and expanded her new home with enormous efforts and costs in
order to create a bedroom for their daughter. She did it all, tells me
the plaintiff, applying for the required construction permits and adding
the new space to the property title at the corresponding organization:
Municipal Directory of Housing in Plaza. While all the construction
activity progressed, the litigant who claims the property as "former
heir", was an eyewitness to the renovations, as he regularly visited the
home on top of Yamile's apartment, considered by those affected as the
bank of credit of the process, whose aged protagonists have three
children abroad and huge desires to obtain the space for their parents.
It was not until 2008 that YBH found out that her house was in dispute
since 2002 and her house swap was cancelled in 2009.
"Raúl, I ask for justice"
It is true that at the time of the home exchange, and according to his
identification card, the plaintiff resided, with his grandfather's
widower. Some witnesses allege that he tricked her into allowing him to
stay and register as a co-inhabitant of the dwelling using as an excuse
the fact that he had separated from his wife, and had no place to live.
If he did not have where to live why he did not sleep under the same
roof as his grandmother? Why did he not go to live with her at the Bahia
neighborhood? She was the new property owner after Baltazar Toledo's
death and his heiress by right.
In August, YBH tells me, she painted the banner shown in the image on
the right, and carried it to the State Council to ask Cuban President
Raul Castro to intercede in the injustice against her! She was arrested
in the vicinity of the Plaza of the revolution, they removed the rough
banner and took her to a police station in which she was kept for
several hours.
From November on
In November of 2012, due to the silence of the "deft" national
authorities which she had approached, and their immovability, YBH made
her cause public and started writing letters to international
personalities and institutions. At the same time she approached me and
other members of the civil society in Cuba. However the despair and
insecurity she has experienced during these 5 years of unjust and
undeserved conflict, have not diminish her sympathy for the system led
by the younger of the Castro brothers although she hasn't received an
answer to her letters from their offices.
On December 6,2012 a hearing was scheduled to hear all parties, and to
"make it a transparent process." After the supreme court had already
handed down its ruling and the threat of eviction hung over the
stability of two families?? I write transparent in bold letters because
the close relationship between the plaintiff's lawyer, the ruling judge
and the family that lives upstairs, taints with suspicion any
unprejudiced attitude that one would like to have about the case. At the
hearing she was told that eviction was to be carried out. Then, why the
hearing? To calm things down?
Yamilé withdrew from that circus that ironically sought to legitimize
the crooked attitudes of some lawyers. Neither then nor now, was she the
object of any reprisal or much less a fine for being in contempt of
court for leaving the court without being authorized, and without
finishing that judicial theater. Some experts consulted on the case,
were scandalized over so much arbitrariness, mishandling, coercion,
opportune omissions and convenient obstructions which have stained the
safekeeping of the rights of the living and the dead.
The following days brought them closer to despair and helplessness to
what in Cuba they call, using a legal euphemism, "forced extraction" to
minimize the impact that such methods could have on society. The
terminology is made up to avoid the comparison with evictions in other
countries — used by Cuban authorities in political campaigns — and to
differentiate them from those of which the new regime has historically
accused the previous one in their overly exploited propaganda. The one
when farmers were evicted from their hovels with all their belongings
and families. Beyond any legal and professional definitions, this legal
figure is the sum of all manipulations.
Parenthesis
Convinced that the lawsuit would go nowhere, Teresa Rivero Dominguez's
heirs, allowed things to follow their course thinking that it was just a
matter of time until the laws were applied correctly. However, seeing
that the courts appeared biased against them and Yamile, and that they
had ruled against her, they decided to take action to avoid any further
injustice.
In April of 2012, the heirs from the Bahia neighborhood hired a legal
professional to begin a process called "The Inheritance Flow" to
determine who has rights over the house left behind by the late Rivero
Dominguez. It is possible that Eleazar Yosvany may have rights over the
property, and be entitled to monetary compensation, but not to the
property itself. The lawyer they hired, violated their contract by
transferring the case to another lawyer who presented her case on
December 20th, 2012. For the defendants, this was just another link in
the chain of obstacles that prove fraud in the proceedings. Why does it
look like someone has ordered to stop the parallel processed initiated
by the heirs? Naturally, if it is demonstrated that Eleazar Yosvany has
no rights over the dwelling, the case no longer makes sense, and
everything goes back to normal.
The Day of the Ultimatum
After five years of trying to rob two families of their homes, and after
the Supreme Court ruling against YBH, the authorities announced that
they would carry out the eviction of Yamile, her daughter and the family
from the Bahia neighborhood on February 5th. The authorities showed up
in front of Bargia Hurtado's house that now shown a message painted on
the wall accusing of corruption all the lawyers involved, and asked the
— in this case — deaf president of Cuba.
A local apparatchik sent two workers to pain the wall to cover the
graffiti that had no anti-government message at all (and even if it did,
it is her right to paint it) but in support of justice for the two
families. Who sent them? Why sabotage the work and time invested in
creating it, not to mention the cost of the paint that YBH's family had
bought with their own resources?
In the same fashion, the lawyers accused of corruption and present
during the "forced extraction," went upstairs to the home of the ones
thought to be moving (green) papers to make a move of which Eleazar
Yosvany is only the facilitating pawn. If there were any doubts about
their link, that day their relationship with the upstairs neighbors (the
lady of the house came out in defense of the lawyers) was made evident.
The incredibly passive attitudes of the attorneys were even more
suspicious since they did not react at all to the accusations of
corruption from those involved. Why?
The interested parties who live upstairs are elderly, but have money and
time to think about expanding their dwelling. They already did by taking
over the roof, and now they want YBH's, and in time who knows what else
they will want. In their favor they have a letter that states that the
old man fought in Sierra Maestra for the revolution. Although no one
knows if it is real or not, it empowers them to do harm to others, scare
them and trample their rights.
For a while now, YBH and her daughter who studies at university, wonder
if the Cuban Lady Justice uses her scale to weigh wads of cash and if
she covers her eyes to avoid looking at the problem that affects them.
The two of them sleep, but never really rest, keeping an eye open and an
ear alert to try to prevent the authorities breaking into their place at
night, as if it were "an organized crime action," to evict them under
cover of night, and without an audience. It is not a baseless fear since
they have been told that in similar situations a committee arrives with
a locksmith, break into the house even if the owner is not in, put the
furniture on a truck, and commit the abuse with impunity.
The malpractice of some of the jurists involved in this case has been
denounced in multiple collateral lawsuits and complaints, and there have
been calls for others authorities to investigate and intervene to no
avail. The sword of eviction continues to hang over the security and the
emotional and physical stability of two Cuban families, and over the
prestige and respectability of the laws and civil legal proceedings in Cuba.
Translated by Ernesto Ariel Suarez
1 March 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/conspiring-with-impunity-rosa-maria-rodriguez/ Continue reading
A Second Evaluation / Dimas Castellanos
Posted on May 17, 2013
On May 1 the government of Cuba was the subject for the second time of
the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a tool of the Human Rights Council
(HRC) of the United Nations responsible for reviewing the obligations
and commitments made by the members States in this area.
When this function was exercised by the former Commission on Human
Rights, under the UN Economic and Social Council, the dispute between
the governments of Cuba and the United States led to a growing
politicization of the issue until if became a total bottleneck. Each
year the same script is repeated: lobbying before and during the
sessions, offensive debates, exchange of accusations, voting on a
resolution and finally the Cuban government's announcement of the defeat
of imperialism. From that time until the next session nothing changed in
Cuba, because when dealing with "false" and "gross" accusations of the
enemy, there was nothing to change.
For Cubans what happened in Geneva had no effect on their lives, because
conflicts between states tend to the underhanded and therefore to
demobilize conflicts within states, and much more so when the external
contradiction is brought to the fore. This situation was used by the
Cuban authorities to support ideological nationalism and to "prove" to
the world that in Cuba there were no human rights violations, it was all
lies told by enemies.
For example, in 2002, in the month of January, Cuba's Minister of
Foreign Affairs accused the U.S. government of working with the foreign
ministries of Latin American countries to present a resolution on
"alleged" human rights violations. Thus the controversy moved from
discussion of violations in Cuba to the conduct of the United States.
Three months later, in response to the Mexican vote in Geneva against
Cuba, the newspaper Juventud Rebelde launched a ruthless attack on
Mexican president Vicente Fox, published in Mexico by La Jornada, in
which it said that the President is "unable to defend the interests of
Mexicans and is an embarrassment to Latin America."
Since human rights precede and transcend politics, to put things in
their place politicizes of the issue and on that basis promotes a
peaceful and constructive debate, aimed at improving the real state of
human rights in the Greater Antilles. This was enough to answer
questions as simple as the following:
Can Cubans leave and enter the country without government permission?
Can they associate independently of the state? Can they choose the type
of education they want for their children? Can they participate as
subjects in their nation's economy? Can they disagree publicly with the
government or the Communist Party without risk? Can they freely connect
to the internet? Can they follow the ball in the major leagues on TV as
is done with football? The answer was a single and simple: No. An answer
sufficient to shed light on human rights within the country and turn the
focus of attention on the allegations against Argentina, Mexico, the
U.S. or any other state for "meddling" in the internal affairs and/or
the lack of moral standing to condemn the Cuban government. Questions
and responses that delimit the problem to discussing and drawing
attention to the political will and the responsibility of the Cuban
government to its people.
The Question Now
The UPR, unlike the former Human Rights Commission, is an
intergovernmental body of the United Nations, composed of 47 member
countries, which is led by a troika of rapporteurs and in the presence
of the observer states, regularly reviews the status of human rights in
UN member countries. The country examined presents a report to the group
which starts a dialogue from which recommendations emerge. According to
this procedure, Cuba received 88 recommendations in the first review in
2009. And on the basis of that opinion the Greater Antilles has just
been submitted again for evaluation.
The Cuban Foreign Minister of the day, in the report, repeated the
rhetoric against blockade imposed by the U.S., against the policy to
impose "regime change" and enumerated the significant changes in the
economy and society in the last two years. He asserted that "Cuba has
continued to strengthen the democratic character of its institutions and
freedoms of opinion, expression, information and news are recognized for
all citizens," without clarifying that these freedoms are
constitutionally limited to defending the postulates of the ruling
party, which explains that in Cuba the associations that can legally
exist are created and subordinated to this end.
During the evaluation the majority of countries participating in the UPR
praised the Island for its "progress" in relation to the Millennium
Development Goals, especially in regard to education and access to
health services and changes in immigration policy and the right of
Cubans to work for themselves in a set of limited activities. But at the
same time they urged the Government, among other things, to end the
short term detentions, harassment and other repressive measures against
activists and independent journalists, to reduce government control of
the internet, to allow representatives of the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit prisons without limitation, to ratify the
Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, which Cuba signed since 2008.
As a result of the evaluation, the HRC made 204 recommendations and
suggestions more than in 2009, that is a total of 292. The comments
correspond to the deplorable state of human rights in Cuba and
correspond to the allegations made by the Cuban opposition inside and
outside the country before and after the creation of the HRC,
demonstrating conclusively that the absence of civil liberties and
fundamental rights in Cuba have little to do with the dispute with or
the "baloney" of the enemy. There is no denying that there have been
some changes in human rights, but in a western country with a rich
history in freedoms, the current state is deplorable and unsustainable,
as these small measures implemented don't even reach the level of
respect for human rights that existed in Cuba since the second half of
the nineteenth century.
An important step would be to start by ratifying the covenants Cuba
signed five years ago, which, if made binding, could be a real sign of
change.
However, we must recognize that the response of the island's ambassador
to the UN, arguing that of these recommendations "a large group" will be
accepted and implemented "according to our possibilities and changing
circumstances," is at least some distance from those inflammatory
speeches any time a remark is made about the Island.
Translated from Diario de Cuba
14 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/a-second-evaluation-dimas-castellanos/ Continue reading
Posted on May 17, 2013
On May 1 the government of Cuba was the subject for the second time of
the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a tool of the Human Rights Council
(HRC) of the United Nations responsible for reviewing the obligations
and commitments made by the members States in this area.
When this function was exercised by the former Commission on Human
Rights, under the UN Economic and Social Council, the dispute between
the governments of Cuba and the United States led to a growing
politicization of the issue until if became a total bottleneck. Each
year the same script is repeated: lobbying before and during the
sessions, offensive debates, exchange of accusations, voting on a
resolution and finally the Cuban government's announcement of the defeat
of imperialism. From that time until the next session nothing changed in
Cuba, because when dealing with "false" and "gross" accusations of the
enemy, there was nothing to change.
For Cubans what happened in Geneva had no effect on their lives, because
conflicts between states tend to the underhanded and therefore to
demobilize conflicts within states, and much more so when the external
contradiction is brought to the fore. This situation was used by the
Cuban authorities to support ideological nationalism and to "prove" to
the world that in Cuba there were no human rights violations, it was all
lies told by enemies.
For example, in 2002, in the month of January, Cuba's Minister of
Foreign Affairs accused the U.S. government of working with the foreign
ministries of Latin American countries to present a resolution on
"alleged" human rights violations. Thus the controversy moved from
discussion of violations in Cuba to the conduct of the United States.
Three months later, in response to the Mexican vote in Geneva against
Cuba, the newspaper Juventud Rebelde launched a ruthless attack on
Mexican president Vicente Fox, published in Mexico by La Jornada, in
which it said that the President is "unable to defend the interests of
Mexicans and is an embarrassment to Latin America."
Since human rights precede and transcend politics, to put things in
their place politicizes of the issue and on that basis promotes a
peaceful and constructive debate, aimed at improving the real state of
human rights in the Greater Antilles. This was enough to answer
questions as simple as the following:
Can Cubans leave and enter the country without government permission?
Can they associate independently of the state? Can they choose the type
of education they want for their children? Can they participate as
subjects in their nation's economy? Can they disagree publicly with the
government or the Communist Party without risk? Can they freely connect
to the internet? Can they follow the ball in the major leagues on TV as
is done with football? The answer was a single and simple: No. An answer
sufficient to shed light on human rights within the country and turn the
focus of attention on the allegations against Argentina, Mexico, the
U.S. or any other state for "meddling" in the internal affairs and/or
the lack of moral standing to condemn the Cuban government. Questions
and responses that delimit the problem to discussing and drawing
attention to the political will and the responsibility of the Cuban
government to its people.
The Question Now
The UPR, unlike the former Human Rights Commission, is an
intergovernmental body of the United Nations, composed of 47 member
countries, which is led by a troika of rapporteurs and in the presence
of the observer states, regularly reviews the status of human rights in
UN member countries. The country examined presents a report to the group
which starts a dialogue from which recommendations emerge. According to
this procedure, Cuba received 88 recommendations in the first review in
2009. And on the basis of that opinion the Greater Antilles has just
been submitted again for evaluation.
The Cuban Foreign Minister of the day, in the report, repeated the
rhetoric against blockade imposed by the U.S., against the policy to
impose "regime change" and enumerated the significant changes in the
economy and society in the last two years. He asserted that "Cuba has
continued to strengthen the democratic character of its institutions and
freedoms of opinion, expression, information and news are recognized for
all citizens," without clarifying that these freedoms are
constitutionally limited to defending the postulates of the ruling
party, which explains that in Cuba the associations that can legally
exist are created and subordinated to this end.
During the evaluation the majority of countries participating in the UPR
praised the Island for its "progress" in relation to the Millennium
Development Goals, especially in regard to education and access to
health services and changes in immigration policy and the right of
Cubans to work for themselves in a set of limited activities. But at the
same time they urged the Government, among other things, to end the
short term detentions, harassment and other repressive measures against
activists and independent journalists, to reduce government control of
the internet, to allow representatives of the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit prisons without limitation, to ratify the
Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, which Cuba signed since 2008.
As a result of the evaluation, the HRC made 204 recommendations and
suggestions more than in 2009, that is a total of 292. The comments
correspond to the deplorable state of human rights in Cuba and
correspond to the allegations made by the Cuban opposition inside and
outside the country before and after the creation of the HRC,
demonstrating conclusively that the absence of civil liberties and
fundamental rights in Cuba have little to do with the dispute with or
the "baloney" of the enemy. There is no denying that there have been
some changes in human rights, but in a western country with a rich
history in freedoms, the current state is deplorable and unsustainable,
as these small measures implemented don't even reach the level of
respect for human rights that existed in Cuba since the second half of
the nineteenth century.
An important step would be to start by ratifying the covenants Cuba
signed five years ago, which, if made binding, could be a real sign of
change.
However, we must recognize that the response of the island's ambassador
to the UN, arguing that of these recommendations "a large group" will be
accepted and implemented "according to our possibilities and changing
circumstances," is at least some distance from those inflammatory
speeches any time a remark is made about the Island.
Translated from Diario de Cuba
14 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/a-second-evaluation-dimas-castellanos/ Continue reading
Internet Censorship in Cuba Backfires
May 16, 2013
Fernando Ravsberg
HAVANA TIMES — Young Cuba (La Joven Cuba, LJC) has returned to the
blogosphere after tearing down the barriers that denied it access to the
Internet.
We had a feeling this would happen when we saw the authors of this blog
from the province of Matanzas in a photograph, standing next to Cuba's
First Vice-President Miguel Diaz Canel.
The picture was taken following a meeting where a debate on the topics
of cyberspace, social networks and connectivity was held. "We had a
meeting with him, we debated about the blogosphere, he asked us for our
opinion and he explained his," LJC blogger Roberto Peralo told me.
They had been off-line for months (the tactic had been to simply cut off
the outspoken bloggers' access to the Internet). There was no need for
an official ban. A discrete phone call to the University of Matanzas and
the mention of "ideological problems" sufficed to immediately deprive
them of their Internet connection.
This was how the authorities sought to get rid of a blog whose
irreverence, critical edge, youthful spirit and communist leanings made
it quite hard to swallow. It was also a way of sending a warning to all
other cybernauts: "we own the pipeline; whoever disobeys us gets their
water and electricity cut off."
Of course, there's always the possibility of getting Internet access at
the diplomatic headquarters of the United States, which houses a
cybercafé that dissidents can use for free. In fact, an American
diplomat, disguised as a naïve tourist, attended the last public meeting
of Cuban Twitter users to offer participants his friendship and help.
The offer is tempting: when a blogger becomes a dissident, they
immediately obtain a travel visa, get a better laptop, Internet
connection problems disappear under the powerful embassy antennas or
with the broadband available at hotels and censors stop bothering them,
whatever they choose to write.
The "Protectors of the Faith" would have loved for the young people
responsible for LJC to have gone down this road. It would have been
exactly what they needed to justify their measure, to "prove" that,
behind their public façade of committed revolutionaries, LJC bloggers
were concealing the enemy and its cyber-war against the Revolution.
But, this time, the censors shot themselves in the foot, because the
young bloggers decided to fight for their rights without foreign aid,
using their own resources and securing the help of a number of Cuban
bloggers, among whom they found a space to continue divulging their
opinions.
Some Cuban Internet users applauded the censors, writing that "the
people of LJC had Internet access thanks to the University of Matanzas,
a State connection. They were making use of that connection to address
irrelevant issues, they flirted with the opposition, they crossed the
line." (1)
These cybernauts concluded that "they didn't heed the advice of people
who tried to warn them whenever they overdid things." And they are
surprised for, years before, such "warnings" would have constituted
strong enough reins to bring even the wildest of steeds to a halt.
The world, however, has changed, even if the censors don't appear to
notice this. Some days ago, Vice-President Miguel Diaz Canel tried to
explain to them that, with the state of development of information
technologies, social networks, computer science and the Internet,
"trying to prohibit something is next to impossible."
He added that "today news from everywhere, be them good or bad,
manipulated or truthful, even half-truths are divulged online, they
reach people, people read them, and the worst thing, therefore, is silence."
But, since no one is as deaf as someone who does not want to hear, the
response was to "silence" the opinion of Cuba's Vice-President also. His
statements were not aired on television and, despite the importance of
his message, no official newspaper chose to print them.
Harold (l) was happily welcomed by the participants of Twitthab. The
battle for reclaiming LJC's Internet connection is part of the war
fought by the entire blogosphere. Photo: Raquel Perez
Harold (l) was happily welcomed by the participants of Twitthab. The
battle for reclaiming LJC's Internet connection is part of the war
fought by the entire blogosphere. Photo: Raquel Perez
In any event, LJC's return helps weaken the wall of silence. According
to Roberto, the bloggers were deprived of their Internet connection
because "of our opinions about Cuban reality". Ironically, now they are
being asked to "continue doing what you were doing before."
I ran into him at a gathering of Twitter users (2) and he assured me
that "we're back, pitching in ideas to the debate about Cuban society
(…) saying what we really think (…) the day we are not able to say what
we think will be the day we stop blogging."
Roberto and Harold were given a warm welcome by the cybernauts who had
convened for Twitthab. In a way, many of them feel that the battle to
get LJC back on line was part of their own war, that it helped ward off
the day when the bells could also toll for them.
—–
(1)
http://capitulocubano.blogspot.it/2013/05/bloqueo-la-joven-cuba-peligrosos.html
(2) http://www.cubano1erplano.com/2013/05/los-acordes-del-twitthab-20.html
(*) An authorized Havana Times translation of the original published by
BBC Mundo."
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93229 Continue reading
May 16, 2013
Fernando Ravsberg
HAVANA TIMES — Young Cuba (La Joven Cuba, LJC) has returned to the
blogosphere after tearing down the barriers that denied it access to the
Internet.
We had a feeling this would happen when we saw the authors of this blog
from the province of Matanzas in a photograph, standing next to Cuba's
First Vice-President Miguel Diaz Canel.
The picture was taken following a meeting where a debate on the topics
of cyberspace, social networks and connectivity was held. "We had a
meeting with him, we debated about the blogosphere, he asked us for our
opinion and he explained his," LJC blogger Roberto Peralo told me.
They had been off-line for months (the tactic had been to simply cut off
the outspoken bloggers' access to the Internet). There was no need for
an official ban. A discrete phone call to the University of Matanzas and
the mention of "ideological problems" sufficed to immediately deprive
them of their Internet connection.
This was how the authorities sought to get rid of a blog whose
irreverence, critical edge, youthful spirit and communist leanings made
it quite hard to swallow. It was also a way of sending a warning to all
other cybernauts: "we own the pipeline; whoever disobeys us gets their
water and electricity cut off."
Of course, there's always the possibility of getting Internet access at
the diplomatic headquarters of the United States, which houses a
cybercafé that dissidents can use for free. In fact, an American
diplomat, disguised as a naïve tourist, attended the last public meeting
of Cuban Twitter users to offer participants his friendship and help.
The offer is tempting: when a blogger becomes a dissident, they
immediately obtain a travel visa, get a better laptop, Internet
connection problems disappear under the powerful embassy antennas or
with the broadband available at hotels and censors stop bothering them,
whatever they choose to write.
The "Protectors of the Faith" would have loved for the young people
responsible for LJC to have gone down this road. It would have been
exactly what they needed to justify their measure, to "prove" that,
behind their public façade of committed revolutionaries, LJC bloggers
were concealing the enemy and its cyber-war against the Revolution.
But, this time, the censors shot themselves in the foot, because the
young bloggers decided to fight for their rights without foreign aid,
using their own resources and securing the help of a number of Cuban
bloggers, among whom they found a space to continue divulging their
opinions.
Some Cuban Internet users applauded the censors, writing that "the
people of LJC had Internet access thanks to the University of Matanzas,
a State connection. They were making use of that connection to address
irrelevant issues, they flirted with the opposition, they crossed the
line." (1)
These cybernauts concluded that "they didn't heed the advice of people
who tried to warn them whenever they overdid things." And they are
surprised for, years before, such "warnings" would have constituted
strong enough reins to bring even the wildest of steeds to a halt.
The world, however, has changed, even if the censors don't appear to
notice this. Some days ago, Vice-President Miguel Diaz Canel tried to
explain to them that, with the state of development of information
technologies, social networks, computer science and the Internet,
"trying to prohibit something is next to impossible."
He added that "today news from everywhere, be them good or bad,
manipulated or truthful, even half-truths are divulged online, they
reach people, people read them, and the worst thing, therefore, is silence."
But, since no one is as deaf as someone who does not want to hear, the
response was to "silence" the opinion of Cuba's Vice-President also. His
statements were not aired on television and, despite the importance of
his message, no official newspaper chose to print them.
Harold (l) was happily welcomed by the participants of Twitthab. The
battle for reclaiming LJC's Internet connection is part of the war
fought by the entire blogosphere. Photo: Raquel Perez
Harold (l) was happily welcomed by the participants of Twitthab. The
battle for reclaiming LJC's Internet connection is part of the war
fought by the entire blogosphere. Photo: Raquel Perez
In any event, LJC's return helps weaken the wall of silence. According
to Roberto, the bloggers were deprived of their Internet connection
because "of our opinions about Cuban reality". Ironically, now they are
being asked to "continue doing what you were doing before."
I ran into him at a gathering of Twitter users (2) and he assured me
that "we're back, pitching in ideas to the debate about Cuban society
(…) saying what we really think (…) the day we are not able to say what
we think will be the day we stop blogging."
Roberto and Harold were given a warm welcome by the cybernauts who had
convened for Twitthab. In a way, many of them feel that the battle to
get LJC back on line was part of their own war, that it helped ward off
the day when the bells could also toll for them.
—–
(1)
http://capitulocubano.blogspot.it/2013/05/bloqueo-la-joven-cuba-peligrosos.html
(2) http://www.cubano1erplano.com/2013/05/los-acordes-del-twitthab-20.html
(*) An authorized Havana Times translation of the original published by
BBC Mundo."
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93229 Continue reading
Yoani Sanchez - Award-winning Cuban blogger
The Children of the Satellite Dish, Bypassing Ideology in Cuba
Posted: 05/17/2013 3:50 pm
For World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
They look the same as everyone else: small, restless, ready to play and
joke, like any child. But something distinguishes them beyond the
neighborhood where they live or the family they belong to. They are part
of a generation that is escaping the indoctrination of the official
media because they have taken refuge in illegal television programming.
They are "the children of the satellite dish," the direct consumers of
the programming on these satellite dishes, as widespread as they are
persecuted. When the teacher asks them, in the classroom, what they saw
on the news the day before, they are the ones who look at the ceiling
and invent some response. But when they interact among themselves, they
all know the name of the trendy host in Florida or who won the latest
Nuestra Belleza Latina contest.
There are no clear studies of how many people on the Island access these
banned channels. It is difficult to calculate because it is a topic
little spoken of in public, for fear of confiscations and fines; but
also because it's enough for one family to have one of these satellite
dishes to pass the signal via cable to a dozen, a score, or fifty
neighboring homes. The most daring have installed the cable under the
streets, pretending they were making an authorized repair because of
some broken pipe. The principle owner of the persecuted artifact is the
one who decides the programming that all subscribers then see on their
respective screens. The monthly price is around ten dollars, although
some can have the service for free, especially the neighborhood
informers, to buy their silence.
However, beyond these technical details of how such an illegality is
committed, the most interesting thing is the sociological phenomenon it
is generating. Many Cubans of the younger generations -- particularly in
the capital -- barely watch national television. They have escaped the
ideological dose of this portal and have replaced it with a more
frivolous but less politicized assortment. Among this TV audience are
many children, for whom the effect of the slogans and official campaigns
is detrimental. They are the children of the satellite dish, breastfed
with the illicit and used to the other side of information or
misinformation. They have grown up with the remote control in their
hands and, with a simple click, they access the prohibited every day.
PS: "It makes no sense to prohibit" the circulation of news, because it
is "an almost impossible chimera," because people "know it." "Today the
news is everywhere, the good, the bad, the manipulated and the true, the
half-truths, circulating on the networks, reaching the people, people
know it, and the worse thing is silence," the official told a conference
of educators -- according to a television report from a few days ago
about the words of Miguel Diaz-Canel, first vice president of Cuba.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/the-children-of-the-satel_b_3294524.html Continue reading
The Children of the Satellite Dish, Bypassing Ideology in Cuba
Posted: 05/17/2013 3:50 pm
For World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
They look the same as everyone else: small, restless, ready to play and
joke, like any child. But something distinguishes them beyond the
neighborhood where they live or the family they belong to. They are part
of a generation that is escaping the indoctrination of the official
media because they have taken refuge in illegal television programming.
They are "the children of the satellite dish," the direct consumers of
the programming on these satellite dishes, as widespread as they are
persecuted. When the teacher asks them, in the classroom, what they saw
on the news the day before, they are the ones who look at the ceiling
and invent some response. But when they interact among themselves, they
all know the name of the trendy host in Florida or who won the latest
Nuestra Belleza Latina contest.
There are no clear studies of how many people on the Island access these
banned channels. It is difficult to calculate because it is a topic
little spoken of in public, for fear of confiscations and fines; but
also because it's enough for one family to have one of these satellite
dishes to pass the signal via cable to a dozen, a score, or fifty
neighboring homes. The most daring have installed the cable under the
streets, pretending they were making an authorized repair because of
some broken pipe. The principle owner of the persecuted artifact is the
one who decides the programming that all subscribers then see on their
respective screens. The monthly price is around ten dollars, although
some can have the service for free, especially the neighborhood
informers, to buy their silence.
However, beyond these technical details of how such an illegality is
committed, the most interesting thing is the sociological phenomenon it
is generating. Many Cubans of the younger generations -- particularly in
the capital -- barely watch national television. They have escaped the
ideological dose of this portal and have replaced it with a more
frivolous but less politicized assortment. Among this TV audience are
many children, for whom the effect of the slogans and official campaigns
is detrimental. They are the children of the satellite dish, breastfed
with the illicit and used to the other side of information or
misinformation. They have grown up with the remote control in their
hands and, with a simple click, they access the prohibited every day.
PS: "It makes no sense to prohibit" the circulation of news, because it
is "an almost impossible chimera," because people "know it." "Today the
news is everywhere, the good, the bad, the manipulated and the true, the
half-truths, circulating on the networks, reaching the people, people
know it, and the worse thing is silence," the official told a conference
of educators -- according to a television report from a few days ago
about the words of Miguel Diaz-Canel, first vice president of Cuba.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/the-children-of-the-satel_b_3294524.html Continue reading
How Expensive is having a Child in Cuba?
May 17, 2013
By Fabián Flores (Café Fuerte)
HAVANA TIMES — For the second consecutive year, the London-based
organization Save the Children has identified Cuba as the best country
in Latin America to be a mother. Reading this, I cannot but think that
the author of the report must have visited a Cuba located on another
planet and not the country where the mother of my children has to get up
every morning.
Thinking about her and the millions of Cuban women who celebrated
Mother's Day this past Sunday, caught up in the heroic task of raising
their children in a country that is in economic shambles, I took on the
task of finding out how much bringing a child into the world on this
Caribbean isle actually costs.
The results of my study explain, in part, why Cuba's population remains
more or less static at around 11 million people, with an annual growth
rate which, in 2011, was of 0.6, the first positive figure reported by
the National Statistics Bureau (ONE) since 2006. Statistical predictions
show that the population will continue to grow little and that the
number of inhabitants on the island will be below 12 million in 2025.
Pregnancy
In Cuba, all pregnant women enjoy a planned care program as of the
moment of their pregnancy is officially registered, and every expectant
woman is given a daily dose of ferrous fumarate (iron, that is) and a
vitamin supplement called Prenatal.
However, these vitamins are generally made available to women as of the
second trimester of their pregnancy, not before, much later than is
accustomed in most countries with an advanced healthcare system. Cuban
doctors themselves usually tell pregnant women the following: "If you
can get your hands on prenatal vitamins from abroad, throw away the ones
you get here," something which casts some doubts on the quality of the
pills made available to Cuban women.
As holders of a libreta, or ration booklet, pregnant women are
"entitled" to three or four pounds of beef and the same amount of fish a
month.
Labor becomes something of a nightmare for Cuban women, given the
disastrous conditions that most hospitals around the country are in.
Last year, I was surprised to read a comment that was posted on
Cubadebate when this official Cuban government website published the
Save the Children report which praised the country's prenatal care
system, a comment that had somehow made it past the site's filter. The
person who posted the comment, who identified himself as MG, wrote:
"Has anyone paid a visit to the Fe del Valle Maternity Hospital in
Manzanillo, Granma? Anyone who sets foot in this hospital, anyone who
has to suffer the condition it's in, anyone who has to spend even a
fraction of the time a woman who has just given birth has to there, will
realize this article makes absolutely no sense.
"My twin daughters were born this past October at this hospital, where,
owing to shortages, they would put TWO pregnant women in each bed (I
know some people won't believe me, but it's true), where pregnant women
don't even have a sink they can brush their teeth in in the morning,
where they have to carry buckets of water to the bathroom in order to
flush the toilets, because the flushing mechanisms in these aren't
working, where the sight of the bathrooms makes your stomach turn, where
the lobby and cafeterias were turned into maternity wards due to lack of
space, where those who accompany women who have undergone caesareans do
not have a chair to sit in, not even in the recovery area where these
women are placed after the operation, and must remain standing for the 6
hours of the recovery process."
Maternity Baskets
Mothers-to-be are also "entitled" to a basket which includes a blanket
and a handful of items. A typical maternity basket includes three
mattress cases, two mid-sized towels, two pacifiers, a rubber toy, a
pair of panties, a T-shirt, four bars of soap, a bottle of cologne, one
body lotion, one body oil, ten gauze diapers, ten meters of antiseptic
fabric (to make diapers out of) and a pair of socks, all of which is
sold at 85 Cuban pesos (just over 4 USD).
A Maternity Basket from the Cuban State
If the pregnant woman works somewhere where employees belong to the
country's official union (the Cuban Workers Federation) or at any of the
ministries, she will receive a more "generous" one time maternity basket
for her first birth.
The basic products provided by the State.
How will this woman get her hands on all the other products she needs to
care for her baby during his or her first year of life? A Cuban's
average monthly salary is about 455 CUPs, the equivalent of 20 dollars
or Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUCs).
The two most important items, the diapers and milk, are sold at
exorbitant prices. Cuba does not produce disposable diapers and the
prices of this imported product in the market, in CUCs, are beyond the
possibilities of the immense majority of families: a package of diapers
costs anywhere from 4 to 12 CUCs.
Milk with vitamin supplements is only sold to women who are unable to
breastfeed (and can offer medical proof of this), and the assigned quota
is limited. At hard currency stores, a can of NAN-brand supplemented
milk costs a little over 4 CUCs. Other brands are sold at around 5 CUCs.
Exorbitant Prices
At the very few State stores that sell articles for newborns, the prices
far exceed what a person living on an average salary can afford.
"Most people don't buy baby articles at State stores, they use the
maternity baskets they get from relatives abroad," said Marinela
Frometa, a housewife living in Havana's neighborhood of Centro Habana.
At Cuba's State stores, a blanket for a crib costs somewhere between 8
and 10 CUCs, and the price of a crib, as such, is between 100 and 120
CUCs. The mattress one needs to buy also is around 50 CUCs. A stroller
can cost between 50 and 180 CUCs, depending on the characteristics of
the product.
This "heavy artillery" isn't the only thing that's expensive in Cuba,
however. The little "one-size" overalls for babies ("one-piece suits",
as they are called in Cuba) cost anywhere from 3 to 7 CUCs. Underwear
for both genders can cost as much as 10 CUCs.
The stress felt by parents grows as the baby's first birthday nears,
for, depending on the size and brand, the baby sneakers can cost as much
as 20 CUCs.
"I put together my own maternity basket from items I bought at private
kiosks and stuff they sent me, plus the clothes I ordered from
seamstresses. We wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise," said
Marlom Silvera, a factory worker.
Parallel Markets
One of ways parents can secure what they need for their newborns at
lower prices is to purchase these items at Cuba's parallel markets. One
of the most frequented is located on Calle 21, between 4 and 6, in
Vedado, Havana. It is a privately-run establishment where prices, though
still high for Cubans living on State salaries, are less prohibitive
than those one comes across at State stores.
"Most of our products come from people who no longer need them and sell
them to us, and from business people that bring them from Ecuador, the
United States or Venezuela. Seamstresses also bring us homemade products
for which there is a high demand," we were told by the store owner, who
did not want us to reveal her identity.
The deals customers get at this store, according to the owner, are
considerable.
"At State stores, a milk bottle can cost anywhere from 1.50 to 5 CUCs.
The ones we carry here have a flat price of 2 CUCs. This is why we have
more customers. We also carry products that are hard to find, like
pacifiers, corrals and other accessories," she added.
In Cuba's interior, mosquito nets are sold at 300 CUPs (12 CUCs) and
gauze diapers at 6 CUPs a piece at these parallel markets.
The Drama of Nutrition
This is one of the most serious problems surrounding the care of a baby
during his or her first months of life. The availability of cereals is
extremely limited and, when you can find the product, it costs anywhere
from 5 to 10 CUCs a box.
"I believe the most expensive part of having a child in Cuba is buying
the food. The products you buy at the vegetable and meat market "eat up"
what one earns in a month at lightning speed," said Joel Gutierrez, the
owner of small private business.
"At the ration store," he added, "you get fairly poor-quality milk and
some baby food that you feel bad giving your kid. From time to time,
they give you these weird things called "Fortachon", a cereal imitation,
but that's hardly enough. And what should you do when you run out of
these things?"
The comments posted by MG at Cubadebate backed this opinion: "I am the
father of twins and earn a basic salary of 432 Cuban pesos a month. Do
you know how many cans of NAN-PRO milk I can buy with this? Do the math:
I have to buy these at the hard currency store, each at 5 CUCs (125
Cuban pesos), because not one pharmacy in the entire province of Granma
carried the milk assigned to new mothers. The mother of the twins has
just graduated, she isn't working, isn't earning any money, so, I ask
you, do you think I can support two girls on my salary alone? You go
through your entire salary just to buy the child's food for a week or two."
Following a quick glance at the basic products one needs for a newborn
and after visiting several stores, we calculated that the initial cost
of a birth in Cuba (or caring for a baby during its first six months of
life) is between 700 and 750 CUCs (a figure that varies in dependence of
store prices),
OTHER PRICES AT STATE HARD CURRENCY STORES:
Mosquito net: 30-40 CUCs
Wash bowl: 5-12 CUCs
Walker: 18-25 CUCs
Baby carry-bag: 20-25 CUCs
Wet towels: 1-3 CUCs
Large towel: 10-12 CUCs
Gerber baby sauces: 0.80-1.20 CUCs each
Nestle cereals: 3-5 CUCs
Toys: 5-30 CUCs
Talcum powder: 2-6 CUCs
Corrals: 15-20 CUCs
Child medication sold at hard currency pharmacies: 9-15 CUCs
* This article is the result of a six-month-long journalistic
investigation conducted with the support of the editors of CaféFuerte.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93246 Continue reading
May 17, 2013
By Fabián Flores (Café Fuerte)
HAVANA TIMES — For the second consecutive year, the London-based
organization Save the Children has identified Cuba as the best country
in Latin America to be a mother. Reading this, I cannot but think that
the author of the report must have visited a Cuba located on another
planet and not the country where the mother of my children has to get up
every morning.
Thinking about her and the millions of Cuban women who celebrated
Mother's Day this past Sunday, caught up in the heroic task of raising
their children in a country that is in economic shambles, I took on the
task of finding out how much bringing a child into the world on this
Caribbean isle actually costs.
The results of my study explain, in part, why Cuba's population remains
more or less static at around 11 million people, with an annual growth
rate which, in 2011, was of 0.6, the first positive figure reported by
the National Statistics Bureau (ONE) since 2006. Statistical predictions
show that the population will continue to grow little and that the
number of inhabitants on the island will be below 12 million in 2025.
Pregnancy
In Cuba, all pregnant women enjoy a planned care program as of the
moment of their pregnancy is officially registered, and every expectant
woman is given a daily dose of ferrous fumarate (iron, that is) and a
vitamin supplement called Prenatal.
However, these vitamins are generally made available to women as of the
second trimester of their pregnancy, not before, much later than is
accustomed in most countries with an advanced healthcare system. Cuban
doctors themselves usually tell pregnant women the following: "If you
can get your hands on prenatal vitamins from abroad, throw away the ones
you get here," something which casts some doubts on the quality of the
pills made available to Cuban women.
As holders of a libreta, or ration booklet, pregnant women are
"entitled" to three or four pounds of beef and the same amount of fish a
month.
Labor becomes something of a nightmare for Cuban women, given the
disastrous conditions that most hospitals around the country are in.
Last year, I was surprised to read a comment that was posted on
Cubadebate when this official Cuban government website published the
Save the Children report which praised the country's prenatal care
system, a comment that had somehow made it past the site's filter. The
person who posted the comment, who identified himself as MG, wrote:
"Has anyone paid a visit to the Fe del Valle Maternity Hospital in
Manzanillo, Granma? Anyone who sets foot in this hospital, anyone who
has to suffer the condition it's in, anyone who has to spend even a
fraction of the time a woman who has just given birth has to there, will
realize this article makes absolutely no sense.
"My twin daughters were born this past October at this hospital, where,
owing to shortages, they would put TWO pregnant women in each bed (I
know some people won't believe me, but it's true), where pregnant women
don't even have a sink they can brush their teeth in in the morning,
where they have to carry buckets of water to the bathroom in order to
flush the toilets, because the flushing mechanisms in these aren't
working, where the sight of the bathrooms makes your stomach turn, where
the lobby and cafeterias were turned into maternity wards due to lack of
space, where those who accompany women who have undergone caesareans do
not have a chair to sit in, not even in the recovery area where these
women are placed after the operation, and must remain standing for the 6
hours of the recovery process."
Maternity Baskets
Mothers-to-be are also "entitled" to a basket which includes a blanket
and a handful of items. A typical maternity basket includes three
mattress cases, two mid-sized towels, two pacifiers, a rubber toy, a
pair of panties, a T-shirt, four bars of soap, a bottle of cologne, one
body lotion, one body oil, ten gauze diapers, ten meters of antiseptic
fabric (to make diapers out of) and a pair of socks, all of which is
sold at 85 Cuban pesos (just over 4 USD).
A Maternity Basket from the Cuban State
If the pregnant woman works somewhere where employees belong to the
country's official union (the Cuban Workers Federation) or at any of the
ministries, she will receive a more "generous" one time maternity basket
for her first birth.
The basic products provided by the State.
How will this woman get her hands on all the other products she needs to
care for her baby during his or her first year of life? A Cuban's
average monthly salary is about 455 CUPs, the equivalent of 20 dollars
or Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUCs).
The two most important items, the diapers and milk, are sold at
exorbitant prices. Cuba does not produce disposable diapers and the
prices of this imported product in the market, in CUCs, are beyond the
possibilities of the immense majority of families: a package of diapers
costs anywhere from 4 to 12 CUCs.
Milk with vitamin supplements is only sold to women who are unable to
breastfeed (and can offer medical proof of this), and the assigned quota
is limited. At hard currency stores, a can of NAN-brand supplemented
milk costs a little over 4 CUCs. Other brands are sold at around 5 CUCs.
Exorbitant Prices
At the very few State stores that sell articles for newborns, the prices
far exceed what a person living on an average salary can afford.
"Most people don't buy baby articles at State stores, they use the
maternity baskets they get from relatives abroad," said Marinela
Frometa, a housewife living in Havana's neighborhood of Centro Habana.
At Cuba's State stores, a blanket for a crib costs somewhere between 8
and 10 CUCs, and the price of a crib, as such, is between 100 and 120
CUCs. The mattress one needs to buy also is around 50 CUCs. A stroller
can cost between 50 and 180 CUCs, depending on the characteristics of
the product.
This "heavy artillery" isn't the only thing that's expensive in Cuba,
however. The little "one-size" overalls for babies ("one-piece suits",
as they are called in Cuba) cost anywhere from 3 to 7 CUCs. Underwear
for both genders can cost as much as 10 CUCs.
The stress felt by parents grows as the baby's first birthday nears,
for, depending on the size and brand, the baby sneakers can cost as much
as 20 CUCs.
"I put together my own maternity basket from items I bought at private
kiosks and stuff they sent me, plus the clothes I ordered from
seamstresses. We wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise," said
Marlom Silvera, a factory worker.
Parallel Markets
One of ways parents can secure what they need for their newborns at
lower prices is to purchase these items at Cuba's parallel markets. One
of the most frequented is located on Calle 21, between 4 and 6, in
Vedado, Havana. It is a privately-run establishment where prices, though
still high for Cubans living on State salaries, are less prohibitive
than those one comes across at State stores.
"Most of our products come from people who no longer need them and sell
them to us, and from business people that bring them from Ecuador, the
United States or Venezuela. Seamstresses also bring us homemade products
for which there is a high demand," we were told by the store owner, who
did not want us to reveal her identity.
The deals customers get at this store, according to the owner, are
considerable.
"At State stores, a milk bottle can cost anywhere from 1.50 to 5 CUCs.
The ones we carry here have a flat price of 2 CUCs. This is why we have
more customers. We also carry products that are hard to find, like
pacifiers, corrals and other accessories," she added.
In Cuba's interior, mosquito nets are sold at 300 CUPs (12 CUCs) and
gauze diapers at 6 CUPs a piece at these parallel markets.
The Drama of Nutrition
This is one of the most serious problems surrounding the care of a baby
during his or her first months of life. The availability of cereals is
extremely limited and, when you can find the product, it costs anywhere
from 5 to 10 CUCs a box.
"I believe the most expensive part of having a child in Cuba is buying
the food. The products you buy at the vegetable and meat market "eat up"
what one earns in a month at lightning speed," said Joel Gutierrez, the
owner of small private business.
"At the ration store," he added, "you get fairly poor-quality milk and
some baby food that you feel bad giving your kid. From time to time,
they give you these weird things called "Fortachon", a cereal imitation,
but that's hardly enough. And what should you do when you run out of
these things?"
The comments posted by MG at Cubadebate backed this opinion: "I am the
father of twins and earn a basic salary of 432 Cuban pesos a month. Do
you know how many cans of NAN-PRO milk I can buy with this? Do the math:
I have to buy these at the hard currency store, each at 5 CUCs (125
Cuban pesos), because not one pharmacy in the entire province of Granma
carried the milk assigned to new mothers. The mother of the twins has
just graduated, she isn't working, isn't earning any money, so, I ask
you, do you think I can support two girls on my salary alone? You go
through your entire salary just to buy the child's food for a week or two."
Following a quick glance at the basic products one needs for a newborn
and after visiting several stores, we calculated that the initial cost
of a birth in Cuba (or caring for a baby during its first six months of
life) is between 700 and 750 CUCs (a figure that varies in dependence of
store prices),
OTHER PRICES AT STATE HARD CURRENCY STORES:
Mosquito net: 30-40 CUCs
Wash bowl: 5-12 CUCs
Walker: 18-25 CUCs
Baby carry-bag: 20-25 CUCs
Wet towels: 1-3 CUCs
Large towel: 10-12 CUCs
Gerber baby sauces: 0.80-1.20 CUCs each
Nestle cereals: 3-5 CUCs
Toys: 5-30 CUCs
Talcum powder: 2-6 CUCs
Corrals: 15-20 CUCs
Child medication sold at hard currency pharmacies: 9-15 CUCs
* This article is the result of a six-month-long journalistic
investigation conducted with the support of the editors of CaféFuerte.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93246 Continue reading
Letter to Raul Castro Demanding Free Internet Access for All Cubans
May 17, 2013
Dear Raul,
World Internet Day is May 17th.
HAVANA TIMES — I write you this 17th of May not to send you my greetings
on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia, which we
enthusiastically celebrate today next to Mariela Castro, nor because
Cuba celebrates Farmers' Day today. I write you because today is also
World Internet Day.
My dear Comandante, allow me to steal a few minutes of the precious time
you are devoting to Cuba's reforms, reforms which, according to you,
will be implemented "surely but not hastily" (though, to be frank, I've
seen more of the second half than of anything else), to tell you a few
things about the history of a celebration of which, apparently, you know
next to nothing.
In 2005, cybernauts* from countries like Mexico, Chile, Paraguay,
Argentina, Spain, Colombia, Uruguay and other places around the world,
as well as the Internet Users Association and the Internet Society,
decided to begin celebrating this day. Notice anything about that list,
Comandante? All of the countries which supported this idea, with the
exception of Spain, are in Latin America.
The chief aim of celebrating this day, I should tell you, is to "divulge
information about the possibilities for improving the standard of living
of countries and their citizens afforded by new technologies."
Can you imagine videos of the parade in front of the La Rampa theatre
and the festivities held at the farming cooperatives on YouTube,
uploaded by Cuba's gay and peasant communities? Why, even I would find
it hard to believe!
Dear Raul, my mom recently had two moles surgically removed. Don't
worry, it was a simple enough procedure.
The point is that I would have liked to have seen her face after she'd
gotten rid of those unpleasant protuberances. Believe me, it would have
been very easy: an Internet connection, a laptop computer and a webcam
would have sufficed.
Raul, you will likely say to me that the fact I am unable to see my
mother's mole-free face is trivial, or, to call things by their name,
that it is really quite stupid to complain about such things, when the
country can boast of a 2 % infant mortality rate thanks to you and your lot.
But, allow me to disagree with you, and say that these stupid little
things are what make life worth living, particularly for Cubans who live
far from their loved ones.
Comandante, please forgive the impertinence of asking you to provide all
Cubans with free access to the Internet, this is truly disrespectful,
particularly now, when you are so busy tracing new "guidelines" for the
country. But, please, stop for a moment and Google the phrase
"technological illiteracy".
Believe me, at the pace we're moving, soon Cuba will need another
literacy campaign. This time, though, to raise the shameless banner
which proclaims the island as "the last country in Latin America without
technological illiteracy."
Revolutionarily yours,
Alfredo Fernández Rodríguez
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93251 Continue reading
May 17, 2013
Dear Raul,
World Internet Day is May 17th.
HAVANA TIMES — I write you this 17th of May not to send you my greetings
on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia, which we
enthusiastically celebrate today next to Mariela Castro, nor because
Cuba celebrates Farmers' Day today. I write you because today is also
World Internet Day.
My dear Comandante, allow me to steal a few minutes of the precious time
you are devoting to Cuba's reforms, reforms which, according to you,
will be implemented "surely but not hastily" (though, to be frank, I've
seen more of the second half than of anything else), to tell you a few
things about the history of a celebration of which, apparently, you know
next to nothing.
In 2005, cybernauts* from countries like Mexico, Chile, Paraguay,
Argentina, Spain, Colombia, Uruguay and other places around the world,
as well as the Internet Users Association and the Internet Society,
decided to begin celebrating this day. Notice anything about that list,
Comandante? All of the countries which supported this idea, with the
exception of Spain, are in Latin America.
The chief aim of celebrating this day, I should tell you, is to "divulge
information about the possibilities for improving the standard of living
of countries and their citizens afforded by new technologies."
Can you imagine videos of the parade in front of the La Rampa theatre
and the festivities held at the farming cooperatives on YouTube,
uploaded by Cuba's gay and peasant communities? Why, even I would find
it hard to believe!
Dear Raul, my mom recently had two moles surgically removed. Don't
worry, it was a simple enough procedure.
The point is that I would have liked to have seen her face after she'd
gotten rid of those unpleasant protuberances. Believe me, it would have
been very easy: an Internet connection, a laptop computer and a webcam
would have sufficed.
Raul, you will likely say to me that the fact I am unable to see my
mother's mole-free face is trivial, or, to call things by their name,
that it is really quite stupid to complain about such things, when the
country can boast of a 2 % infant mortality rate thanks to you and your lot.
But, allow me to disagree with you, and say that these stupid little
things are what make life worth living, particularly for Cubans who live
far from their loved ones.
Comandante, please forgive the impertinence of asking you to provide all
Cubans with free access to the Internet, this is truly disrespectful,
particularly now, when you are so busy tracing new "guidelines" for the
country. But, please, stop for a moment and Google the phrase
"technological illiteracy".
Believe me, at the pace we're moving, soon Cuba will need another
literacy campaign. This time, though, to raise the shameless banner
which proclaims the island as "the last country in Latin America without
technological illiteracy."
Revolutionarily yours,
Alfredo Fernández Rodríguez
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93251 Continue reading
Behind a Kilo of Meat in Cuba / Juan Juan Almeida
Posted on May 16, 2013
A few days ago I read that within the vast and complicated machinery of
the Cuban Ministry of the Food Industry (MINAL), the meat company
nationwide scored higher sales volume during the past fiscal year.
It surprised me, in that ministry there are several companies with more
administrative staff than workers; but happy or alarmed was my "to be or
not to be."
The official press lies a little, although regularly, and as an
established norm avoids part of reality. So I thought that this note
would be published with the only objective of cleaning the stench of
corruption that the wave of investigations and arrests that led the
former head of this industry, Alejandro Francisco Roca Iglesia, to
prison, along with his vice minister, Celio Hernandez and so many other
officials. Especially knowing that, although the new minister of the
branch is Dr. Maria del Carmen Concepcion Gonzalez, the one who has the
upper hand in such a necessary institution in the foolish and never
well-thought of engineering specialist in the applied chemistry of human
nutrition, Deborah Castro Espín.
Anyway, the irony is liberating and as the old sailor's saying goes,
"When the dolphins leap the storm is coming." I continued to keep my
intellectual apathy busy and communicated with Havana using the overly
expensive invention patented in 1876 by the British speech therapist
Alexander Graham Bell.
"The Union of the Flesh" — and I quote almost verbatim someone who asked
not to be revealed — "is the company that within this large conglomerate
sold more last year. Supported, of course, by the Food Corporation SA (a
mysterious Cuban capital private entity).
"Meat consumption grew, and both entities were responsible for producing
and marketing meat products, plus all their derivatives."
So far everything was going well, the scandalous is the rest. For a long
time is hasn't been profitable to produce a kilo of meat in Cuba, taking
into account feed prices, the costs of caring for the animal, veterinary
care and fuel. With all this an expensive product reaches Cuban
processors. But the Cuban government didn't calculate, or foresee the
tangible increase, it has had since last year, in private restaurants
(the paladares) and for that reason the MINAL was forced to innovative
solutions to meet the pressing demand.
"We had no response," my interlocutor told me stealthily, "and the
'higher ups' ordered ground beef to be mixed with small amounts of horse
meat and texturized soy, to maintain an acceptable level of nutrition
and not affect the typical cherry-red color of the fresh meat.
How dreadful, the Cuban officials lost respect and restraint; they
gained irresponsibility, shamelessness and perversion. The fraud here is
not in the mixing of the meat, if it's not misleading or not properly
informed.
It should be clarified that from the middle of 2012 to date, ground
beef, selling at the price of steak priced in CUC, and that tourists and
nationals enjoy, is fit for human consumption, but it is not ground
beef. Indeed, in Cuba it's never what it seems.
13 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/behind-a-kilo-of-meat-in-cuba-juan-juan-almeida/ Continue reading
Posted on May 16, 2013
A few days ago I read that within the vast and complicated machinery of
the Cuban Ministry of the Food Industry (MINAL), the meat company
nationwide scored higher sales volume during the past fiscal year.
It surprised me, in that ministry there are several companies with more
administrative staff than workers; but happy or alarmed was my "to be or
not to be."
The official press lies a little, although regularly, and as an
established norm avoids part of reality. So I thought that this note
would be published with the only objective of cleaning the stench of
corruption that the wave of investigations and arrests that led the
former head of this industry, Alejandro Francisco Roca Iglesia, to
prison, along with his vice minister, Celio Hernandez and so many other
officials. Especially knowing that, although the new minister of the
branch is Dr. Maria del Carmen Concepcion Gonzalez, the one who has the
upper hand in such a necessary institution in the foolish and never
well-thought of engineering specialist in the applied chemistry of human
nutrition, Deborah Castro Espín.
Anyway, the irony is liberating and as the old sailor's saying goes,
"When the dolphins leap the storm is coming." I continued to keep my
intellectual apathy busy and communicated with Havana using the overly
expensive invention patented in 1876 by the British speech therapist
Alexander Graham Bell.
"The Union of the Flesh" — and I quote almost verbatim someone who asked
not to be revealed — "is the company that within this large conglomerate
sold more last year. Supported, of course, by the Food Corporation SA (a
mysterious Cuban capital private entity).
"Meat consumption grew, and both entities were responsible for producing
and marketing meat products, plus all their derivatives."
So far everything was going well, the scandalous is the rest. For a long
time is hasn't been profitable to produce a kilo of meat in Cuba, taking
into account feed prices, the costs of caring for the animal, veterinary
care and fuel. With all this an expensive product reaches Cuban
processors. But the Cuban government didn't calculate, or foresee the
tangible increase, it has had since last year, in private restaurants
(the paladares) and for that reason the MINAL was forced to innovative
solutions to meet the pressing demand.
"We had no response," my interlocutor told me stealthily, "and the
'higher ups' ordered ground beef to be mixed with small amounts of horse
meat and texturized soy, to maintain an acceptable level of nutrition
and not affect the typical cherry-red color of the fresh meat.
How dreadful, the Cuban officials lost respect and restraint; they
gained irresponsibility, shamelessness and perversion. The fraud here is
not in the mixing of the meat, if it's not misleading or not properly
informed.
It should be clarified that from the middle of 2012 to date, ground
beef, selling at the price of steak priced in CUC, and that tourists and
nationals enjoy, is fit for human consumption, but it is not ground
beef. Indeed, in Cuba it's never what it seems.
13 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/behind-a-kilo-of-meat-in-cuba-juan-juan-almeida/ Continue reading
Cuba's Agriculture Continues to Slump
May 15, 2013
By Daniel Benitez (Café Fuerte)
HAVANA TIMES — Despite efforts to bolster agricultural and livestock production and reduce food product imports, the most recent government statistics reveal that Cuba's economy is currently in a tight corner.
According to a report published by Cuba's National Statistics and Information Bureau (ONE), production statistics for crops not included in the sugar cane sector plummeted by 7.8 percent during the first quarter of 2013.
The figures for viand production – 368.6 thousand tons, 20.8 percent less than the previous year – are truly catastrophic. Compared to the previous year, the production of tubers (290.3 thousand tons) experienced a 10 percent drop.
The country's potato harvest was the most severly affected with a 36 percent drop reported. Decreased production was also reported for bananas (44%), corn (22 %), citrus fruits (34%), other fruits (14%) and beans (7%).
There was a rise in the production of tomatoes (22%), green vegetables (9%) and rice (2.5 %)
More Meat, Less Milk
The livestock industry experienced a 16.8 percent increase in production between the months of January and March according to ONE, which reported greater yields for beef (30 thousand tons) and pork (41.3 thousand tons). A slight drop in the production of rabbit meat and poultry was reported.
The production of milk and eggs, however, two of the pillars of the daily diets of Cubans, also experienced a significant drop.
At 84.8 million liters, milk production dropped by nearly one million liters compared to last year. The volume made available to the population directly was a mere 20.3 million liters, 19 percent less than the volume reported in 2012.
Milk shortages have again served to evoke the promises made by President Raul Castro in 2007, when he affirmed that the country had to guarantee that all Cubans had at least one glass of milk on their tables.
In recent declarations, Felix Gonzalez, president of Cuba's National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), urged dairy farmers to catch up to the production goal established for the first third of the year and to eliminate the nearly three-million-liter milk deficit.
Gonzalez made these declarations in Villa Clara, a province with a 300-million-liter production plan, and called on farmers to make the most of the spring season, so as to be able to reach the established goal.
At 495.6 million units, egg production experienced a 2.4 percent drop when compared to figures reported for the poultry sector last year.
No Small Potatoes
The issue of potato production is one of the Ministry of Agriculture's more serious headaches. Unable to maintain a steady offer of this product at official sales points, the country is witnessing high black market prices for the tuber.
It is estimated that current potato production efforts are 8,000 tons behind the established goal, as a result of organizational and technical deficiencies, among other factors. According to an official report, unfavorable weather conditions and generally poor yields by two imported varieties of potato, were chiefly responsible for this drop in production.
This critical situation has forced agricultural authorities to apply such measures as selling the product immediately, without previous storage, in order to avoid greater shortages during the peak stage of the harvest.
In view of this complex situation, the Cuban press has criticized the allotment of large volumes of the product to private businesses and intermediaries, a practice which has long affected Cuban society and results in the disappearance of highly-demanded products from State markets and their monopolization by privately-run kiosks.
In the hands of intermediaries, a pound of potatoes can cost as much as 25 pesos, or 1 Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC). The average monthly salary in Cuba is about 18 CUC.
New Market Policies
The situation is made even more complex by the emergence of more and more privately-run restaurants and cafeterias which offer potato-based menu items.
The Department for Viands of Cuba's Ministry of Agriculture recently reported that 5,575 hectares of land, in the provinces from Artemisa to Ciego de Avila, have been used as potato plantations so far this year. This year, fewer volumes of potatoes have been planted in an effort to reduce losses in the sector (in 2011, potato production fell 11 thousand tons short of the production goal).
The province of Ciego de Avila, which is 22,198 tons behind the production schedule, is one of the largest potato producers in the country. The province also ships the product to the provinces of Camaguey, Granma, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo.
This past Monday, the Cuban government announced it would implement a new policy for the sale of agricultural and livestock products in the provinces of La Habana, Artemisa and Mayabeque, a policy that could later be applied to the rest of the country. The initiative seeks to regulate, in centralized fashion, the production prices of such products as rice, beans, potatoes, malanga, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and tomatoes.
The government also announced that, as of now, there will be two types of agricultural and livestock markets: those administered by the State, which will be entitled to operate under the same conditions as non-State establishments, and those operated by agricultural and livestock cooperatives.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93145
Continue reading
May 15, 2013
By Daniel Benitez (Café Fuerte)
HAVANA TIMES — Despite efforts to bolster agricultural and livestock production and reduce food product imports, the most recent government statistics reveal that Cuba's economy is currently in a tight corner.
According to a report published by Cuba's National Statistics and Information Bureau (ONE), production statistics for crops not included in the sugar cane sector plummeted by 7.8 percent during the first quarter of 2013.
The figures for viand production – 368.6 thousand tons, 20.8 percent less than the previous year – are truly catastrophic. Compared to the previous year, the production of tubers (290.3 thousand tons) experienced a 10 percent drop.
The country's potato harvest was the most severly affected with a 36 percent drop reported. Decreased production was also reported for bananas (44%), corn (22 %), citrus fruits (34%), other fruits (14%) and beans (7%).
There was a rise in the production of tomatoes (22%), green vegetables (9%) and rice (2.5 %)
More Meat, Less Milk
The livestock industry experienced a 16.8 percent increase in production between the months of January and March according to ONE, which reported greater yields for beef (30 thousand tons) and pork (41.3 thousand tons). A slight drop in the production of rabbit meat and poultry was reported.
The production of milk and eggs, however, two of the pillars of the daily diets of Cubans, also experienced a significant drop.
At 84.8 million liters, milk production dropped by nearly one million liters compared to last year. The volume made available to the population directly was a mere 20.3 million liters, 19 percent less than the volume reported in 2012.
Milk shortages have again served to evoke the promises made by President Raul Castro in 2007, when he affirmed that the country had to guarantee that all Cubans had at least one glass of milk on their tables.
In recent declarations, Felix Gonzalez, president of Cuba's National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), urged dairy farmers to catch up to the production goal established for the first third of the year and to eliminate the nearly three-million-liter milk deficit.
Gonzalez made these declarations in Villa Clara, a province with a 300-million-liter production plan, and called on farmers to make the most of the spring season, so as to be able to reach the established goal.
At 495.6 million units, egg production experienced a 2.4 percent drop when compared to figures reported for the poultry sector last year.
No Small Potatoes
The issue of potato production is one of the Ministry of Agriculture's more serious headaches. Unable to maintain a steady offer of this product at official sales points, the country is witnessing high black market prices for the tuber.
It is estimated that current potato production efforts are 8,000 tons behind the established goal, as a result of organizational and technical deficiencies, among other factors. According to an official report, unfavorable weather conditions and generally poor yields by two imported varieties of potato, were chiefly responsible for this drop in production.
This critical situation has forced agricultural authorities to apply such measures as selling the product immediately, without previous storage, in order to avoid greater shortages during the peak stage of the harvest.
In view of this complex situation, the Cuban press has criticized the allotment of large volumes of the product to private businesses and intermediaries, a practice which has long affected Cuban society and results in the disappearance of highly-demanded products from State markets and their monopolization by privately-run kiosks.
In the hands of intermediaries, a pound of potatoes can cost as much as 25 pesos, or 1 Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC). The average monthly salary in Cuba is about 18 CUC.
New Market Policies
The situation is made even more complex by the emergence of more and more privately-run restaurants and cafeterias which offer potato-based menu items.
The Department for Viands of Cuba's Ministry of Agriculture recently reported that 5,575 hectares of land, in the provinces from Artemisa to Ciego de Avila, have been used as potato plantations so far this year. This year, fewer volumes of potatoes have been planted in an effort to reduce losses in the sector (in 2011, potato production fell 11 thousand tons short of the production goal).
The province of Ciego de Avila, which is 22,198 tons behind the production schedule, is one of the largest potato producers in the country. The province also ships the product to the provinces of Camaguey, Granma, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo.
This past Monday, the Cuban government announced it would implement a new policy for the sale of agricultural and livestock products in the provinces of La Habana, Artemisa and Mayabeque, a policy that could later be applied to the rest of the country. The initiative seeks to regulate, in centralized fashion, the production prices of such products as rice, beans, potatoes, malanga, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and tomatoes.
The government also announced that, as of now, there will be two types of agricultural and livestock markets: those administered by the State, which will be entitled to operate under the same conditions as non-State establishments, and those operated by agricultural and livestock cooperatives.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93145
Cuba's Supposedly 'Emancipated' Women Are Still Boiling Their Babies'
Diapers Over Fires
Posted: 05/15/2013 8:23 pm
From a distance you feel the strokes... bam, bam, bam. The arm raises
the thick fat stick and then lets it falls hard on the twisted sheet.
The spray of lather explodes with every stroke and white water seeping
from dirty fabric mixes with the river. It is very early, the sun barely
up, and already the clotheslines are waiting for with damp clothes that
must dry in the morning. The woman is exhausted. From the time she was a
teenager she has washed her and her family's clothing in this way. What
other choice did she have? In that little village lost in the eastern
mountains all her neighbors did the same. At times as she slept her body
would move restlessly in the bed and repeat the hint of a movement:
up... down... bam... bam... bam.
Lately the discussion of women's emancipation in Cuba has been focused
on persuading us of its extent, showing the numbers of women in
parliament. There is also talk -- in the official mass media -- of how
many have managed to climb into administrative positions, or to lead an
institution, a scientific center or a business. However, very little is
said about the sacrifice involved for them in managing in these
positions with their busy domestic schedules and material shortages. You
only have to look at the faces of those over 40 to note the tense frown
common in so many Cuban woman. It is the mark left by a daily life where
a good part of the time must be dedicated to burdensome and repetitive
tasks. One of these is the laundry, which many of our countrywomen do,
at least a couple of times a week, by hand and in very tough conditions.
Some do not even have running water in their homes.
In a country where a washing machine costs an entire year's salary, we
can't talk about women's emancipation. Facing the washtub and the brush,
or the boiler filled with baby diapers bubbling on the firewood,
thousands of women pass many hours of their lives. The situation becomes
more difficult if we move away from the capital and look at the hands of
the women who clean, with the strength of their fingers, the shirts,
pants and even the military uniforms of their families. Their hands are
knotted, stained white by the soap or detergent in which they're
immersed for hours. Hands belie statistics about emancipation and the
fabricated gender quotas, with which they try to convince us otherwise.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/cubas-supposedly-emancipa_b_3282785.html Continue reading
Diapers Over Fires
Posted: 05/15/2013 8:23 pm
From a distance you feel the strokes... bam, bam, bam. The arm raises
the thick fat stick and then lets it falls hard on the twisted sheet.
The spray of lather explodes with every stroke and white water seeping
from dirty fabric mixes with the river. It is very early, the sun barely
up, and already the clotheslines are waiting for with damp clothes that
must dry in the morning. The woman is exhausted. From the time she was a
teenager she has washed her and her family's clothing in this way. What
other choice did she have? In that little village lost in the eastern
mountains all her neighbors did the same. At times as she slept her body
would move restlessly in the bed and repeat the hint of a movement:
up... down... bam... bam... bam.
Lately the discussion of women's emancipation in Cuba has been focused
on persuading us of its extent, showing the numbers of women in
parliament. There is also talk -- in the official mass media -- of how
many have managed to climb into administrative positions, or to lead an
institution, a scientific center or a business. However, very little is
said about the sacrifice involved for them in managing in these
positions with their busy domestic schedules and material shortages. You
only have to look at the faces of those over 40 to note the tense frown
common in so many Cuban woman. It is the mark left by a daily life where
a good part of the time must be dedicated to burdensome and repetitive
tasks. One of these is the laundry, which many of our countrywomen do,
at least a couple of times a week, by hand and in very tough conditions.
Some do not even have running water in their homes.
In a country where a washing machine costs an entire year's salary, we
can't talk about women's emancipation. Facing the washtub and the brush,
or the boiler filled with baby diapers bubbling on the firewood,
thousands of women pass many hours of their lives. The situation becomes
more difficult if we move away from the capital and look at the hands of
the women who clean, with the strength of their fingers, the shirts,
pants and even the military uniforms of their families. Their hands are
knotted, stained white by the soap or detergent in which they're
immersed for hours. Hands belie statistics about emancipation and the
fabricated gender quotas, with which they try to convince us otherwise.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/cubas-supposedly-emancipa_b_3282785.html Continue reading
Cuba: The Persistence of Institutional Racism
May 16, 2013
Esteban Morales
Who is responsible for the fact our national statistics do not offer the
information needed to conduct a thorough study of the racial issue in Cuba?
Who is responsible for the fact our national statistics do not offer the
information needed to conduct a thorough study of the racial issue in Cuba?
HAVANA TIMES — While it is true that racism, as a conscious,
institutional policy does not exist in Cuba, this does not mean we have
done away with institutional racism as such.
Who is responsible for the fact that the issue of color isn't mentioned
in Cuban schools, that race isn't a subject of study or research in any
University syllabus, or that these questions aren't sufficiently
addressed by the media? Without a doubt, the Ministry of Education,
Cuban television and the official press are responsible.
Who is responsible for the fact our national statistics do not offer the
information needed to conduct a thorough study of the racial issue in
Cuba, or for the fact our socio-economic statistics make no mention of
skin color? Without a doubt, the National Statistics Bureau (ONE) is
responsible.
So, has institutional racism truly disappeared? Apparently not, or, at
the very least, it has disappeared only relatively, for our State
institutions still do not offer us the results we would expect from them
were they actually designed to combat racism, showing many deficiencies
in terms of the mechanisms that could help us eradicate this phenomenon.
If these mechanisms were improved, we would be in a much better position
to combat racism and racial discrimination, which still exist in our
society. These phenomena aren't entirely inherited from the past; they
are also the result of flawed social systems that contribute to their
reproduction.
These flaws we continue to perpetuate stem, to a considerable extent,
from the flawed mechanisms of different State institutions.
We could say, thus, we have not totally eliminated so-called
institutional racism in Cuba, and that this form of racism often finds
refuge in the lack of political will shown by some State institutions
that, far from helping eradicate the phenomenon, contribute to its survival.
It will be impossible to win the battle against stereotypes, racism and
racial discrimination if our educational institutions, our media, our
scientific and statistics organizations do not join forces. Without
these four institutional pillars, we will not come out victorious of
this great struggle we have undertaken.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93180 Continue reading
May 16, 2013
Esteban Morales
Who is responsible for the fact our national statistics do not offer the
information needed to conduct a thorough study of the racial issue in Cuba?
Who is responsible for the fact our national statistics do not offer the
information needed to conduct a thorough study of the racial issue in Cuba?
HAVANA TIMES — While it is true that racism, as a conscious,
institutional policy does not exist in Cuba, this does not mean we have
done away with institutional racism as such.
Who is responsible for the fact that the issue of color isn't mentioned
in Cuban schools, that race isn't a subject of study or research in any
University syllabus, or that these questions aren't sufficiently
addressed by the media? Without a doubt, the Ministry of Education,
Cuban television and the official press are responsible.
Who is responsible for the fact our national statistics do not offer the
information needed to conduct a thorough study of the racial issue in
Cuba, or for the fact our socio-economic statistics make no mention of
skin color? Without a doubt, the National Statistics Bureau (ONE) is
responsible.
So, has institutional racism truly disappeared? Apparently not, or, at
the very least, it has disappeared only relatively, for our State
institutions still do not offer us the results we would expect from them
were they actually designed to combat racism, showing many deficiencies
in terms of the mechanisms that could help us eradicate this phenomenon.
If these mechanisms were improved, we would be in a much better position
to combat racism and racial discrimination, which still exist in our
society. These phenomena aren't entirely inherited from the past; they
are also the result of flawed social systems that contribute to their
reproduction.
These flaws we continue to perpetuate stem, to a considerable extent,
from the flawed mechanisms of different State institutions.
We could say, thus, we have not totally eliminated so-called
institutional racism in Cuba, and that this form of racism often finds
refuge in the lack of political will shown by some State institutions
that, far from helping eradicate the phenomenon, contribute to its survival.
It will be impossible to win the battle against stereotypes, racism and
racial discrimination if our educational institutions, our media, our
scientific and statistics organizations do not join forces. Without
these four institutional pillars, we will not come out victorious of
this great struggle we have undertaken.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93180 Continue reading
An Almost an Impossible Chimera / Regina Coyula
Posted on May 15, 2013
Freedom of information is an issue that has recently been addressed in
the press about Cuba with regards to a statement by Vice President
Miguel Diaz-Canel at a seminar on education. And I mention the press
about Cuba and not the press of Cuba, because the words of the Cuban
Vice President were reported by the official press avoiding the pitfall
that refers to the quality of … the official press.
The free flow of information has been mentioned cyclically with nuances
and more or less presence over the fifty-some years of single party
government. But not even in its stagnation can the government deny the
impact of the technological revolution that has put global news a click
away from a mobile phone.
I won't try to analyze the technological gap that supposedly backed this
revolution for the sake of ideological purity. That same ideological
purity has made our "information" media a vehicle of propaganda, and has
converted economic setbacks into political victories, to distort
national and foreign history.
I won't mention the responsibility of the U.S. government in denying
Cuba access to ocean cables, because any careful reader will make the
documented observation in this web 2.0 of bidirectional flow.
Much has been said about Telesur in recent times. And although the
multinational has its own news bias, we Cubans have been able to glance
at another form of news. After comparison, the Cuban television news, in
addition to being stingy with the news, appears outdated, ancient,
tacky. "Dossier", one of the flagship programs of the chain, prior to
Telesur being broadcast on Cuban television (although it was on 24 hour
delay), also has an antiquated air if we compare it to the touch screens
and the correspondents and hosts who interact from the four corners of
the world.
I do not know what will be the fate of Telesur, the millionaire project
funded mostly by the Venezuelan government, but if it ended tomorrow, we
Cubans could watch the news. At least we could watch more news.
Returning to the words of Díaz-Canel, the challenge would be to put the
government information system at the level to meet the demands of modern
society, considering that internet access will become more and faster,
and still prioritizing the socially beneficial internet that excludes
the society as a whole, through this same information path it will be
everywhere in a matter of hours.
Could the official media journalists actively move their practice to
this other practice, that would be novel for Cubans but is the norm in
world news today? If I open the newspaper Granma, if I tune in the TV
news, I think that for many of them it's too late, because they don't
know how to do it differently.
But the cardinal issue is that, if the political will gathered in the
last Party Congress (three years ago!) existed, they would have replaced
the leadership of an exclusive news station like Radio Reloj, they would
have removed the current directors of the newspaper and television news.
But they are there, no one has bothered them and they in their turn have
not bothered to introduce changes in their field of work because where
information policy is decided, where is it known that "with the
development of information technologies, the social networks, computers
and the Internet, to prohibit something is almost an impossible
chimera," (the words of Diaz-Canel, the emphasis mine), clinging while
they can to that almost so that even with the change, everything remains
the same.
From Diario de Cuba.
14 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/an-almost-an-impossible-chimera-regina-coyula/ Continue reading
Posted on May 15, 2013
Freedom of information is an issue that has recently been addressed in
the press about Cuba with regards to a statement by Vice President
Miguel Diaz-Canel at a seminar on education. And I mention the press
about Cuba and not the press of Cuba, because the words of the Cuban
Vice President were reported by the official press avoiding the pitfall
that refers to the quality of … the official press.
The free flow of information has been mentioned cyclically with nuances
and more or less presence over the fifty-some years of single party
government. But not even in its stagnation can the government deny the
impact of the technological revolution that has put global news a click
away from a mobile phone.
I won't try to analyze the technological gap that supposedly backed this
revolution for the sake of ideological purity. That same ideological
purity has made our "information" media a vehicle of propaganda, and has
converted economic setbacks into political victories, to distort
national and foreign history.
I won't mention the responsibility of the U.S. government in denying
Cuba access to ocean cables, because any careful reader will make the
documented observation in this web 2.0 of bidirectional flow.
Much has been said about Telesur in recent times. And although the
multinational has its own news bias, we Cubans have been able to glance
at another form of news. After comparison, the Cuban television news, in
addition to being stingy with the news, appears outdated, ancient,
tacky. "Dossier", one of the flagship programs of the chain, prior to
Telesur being broadcast on Cuban television (although it was on 24 hour
delay), also has an antiquated air if we compare it to the touch screens
and the correspondents and hosts who interact from the four corners of
the world.
I do not know what will be the fate of Telesur, the millionaire project
funded mostly by the Venezuelan government, but if it ended tomorrow, we
Cubans could watch the news. At least we could watch more news.
Returning to the words of Díaz-Canel, the challenge would be to put the
government information system at the level to meet the demands of modern
society, considering that internet access will become more and faster,
and still prioritizing the socially beneficial internet that excludes
the society as a whole, through this same information path it will be
everywhere in a matter of hours.
Could the official media journalists actively move their practice to
this other practice, that would be novel for Cubans but is the norm in
world news today? If I open the newspaper Granma, if I tune in the TV
news, I think that for many of them it's too late, because they don't
know how to do it differently.
But the cardinal issue is that, if the political will gathered in the
last Party Congress (three years ago!) existed, they would have replaced
the leadership of an exclusive news station like Radio Reloj, they would
have removed the current directors of the newspaper and television news.
But they are there, no one has bothered them and they in their turn have
not bothered to introduce changes in their field of work because where
information policy is decided, where is it known that "with the
development of information technologies, the social networks, computers
and the Internet, to prohibit something is almost an impossible
chimera," (the words of Diaz-Canel, the emphasis mine), clinging while
they can to that almost so that even with the change, everything remains
the same.
From Diario de Cuba.
14 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/an-almost-an-impossible-chimera-regina-coyula/ Continue reading
Neither so Educated nor so Superior / Miriam Celaya
Posted on May 14, 2013
HAVANA, Cuba, May, www.cubanet.org- I've heard it said that hunger can
affect vision permanently. For a while, I thought that this sentence was
just a popular myth based on superstition, however, it turns out to be
absolutely true. Hunger and other deficiencies cause, additionally, some
distortions, such as lack of perception of reality and total lack of
perspective.
This explains why, for many "inside" Cubans, almost everything is
irrelevant and nothing transcends beyond the narrow confines of daily
survival. Decades of material shortages and of totalitarianism have
ruined the ability of a large segment of the population of the island to
discern, despite the high levels of instruction exhibited by official
statistics, turning subjects into slaves of their own elementary needs.
An example of this was the recent electoral process in Venezuela which
showed, by comparison, how far we Cubans are from even reaching the
first step of this difficult stairway filled with obstacles called
democracy. While Venezuelans offered us a true example of civility by
exercising their right to vote and to assert the power of suffrage — an
unknown experience for millions of Cubans — the main concern of people
on the island was the possibility of the start of a new era of blackouts
and a new "Special Period" if the opposition candidate, Henrique
Capriles, won. Paradoxically, many Cubans refer to Venezuelans as
"crude," "illiterate" and "ignorant."
The combined action of the monopoly of information and direction, the
lack of freedom of association and the manipulation of the press have
been three basic mainstays which — together with the material
precariousness of survival — have plunged the Cuban population in a deep
ignorance that does not reflect the benign statistics. The Cuban case
demonstrates exactly how the use of statistics has allowed the
government to misinform the population and feed the national vanity. The
farce, often repeated, has spread alarmingly, to the point that even
many prestigious international organizations have recognized the
"achievements" of the revolution in education and health and other
indicators of social development.
The numbers, however, are fickle, and mask a reality very different than
the image they project. Decades of incomplete, distorted and biased
information have resulted in only a minority of Cubans possessing the
ability to analyze issues related to politics, economics, or any event
occurring in the world. The "masses," meanwhile, form opinions from
indoctrination and emotions… when they form opinions. Usually, the
standard displayed among people faced with any matter not related to
their daily subsistence is limited to an apathetic shrug of the shoulders.
The indifference and ignorance grow, while each year the statistics are
more triumphant and less reliable. Let's take the case of the training
of doctors and other health specialists. The graduations are massive,
but the quality of the graduates is generally very low. The levels of
professionalism are often extremely poor and only a few dozen will stand
out amid thousands of new doctors and technical personnel in each group.
The same applies to general education. Officially, it is stated that
there is a teacher in every classroom, which is a lie. However, the
worst thing is that there are hardly any teachers able to educate and
instruct students, so both, the levels and the quality of education have
declined dramatically over the years, particularly since the 90′s.
The proverbial ignorance of many of these "teachers," coupled with their
failure to educate, has forced parents to search for alternative
solutions, such as hiring "tutors," teachers who have been generally
separated from the formal education system due to terrible wages and
deplorable working conditions, and now teach in private education. This
option has proven the effectiveness the official system lacks, and is
marking a major schism among students whose parents can afford the
expense of hiring the services of a private teacher and those who must
make do with the meager knowledge they receive in classrooms.
But, in the meantime, the numbers and the official press continue out
there. The statistics support the government fanfare about the
advantages of the Cuban system, yet deceive public opinion by
distorting, at the same time, society's general opinion. The media
revels, jubilant, in the advantages of the system. Perhaps this explains
why Cubans see themselves as highly educated and intellectually superior
to many other people in the region. Another deceit that, in some way,
constitutes a small consolation after half a century of dictatorship
that has erased the memory of a nation's population.
Translated by Norma Whiting
10 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/neither-so-educated-nor-so-superior-miriam-celaya/ Continue reading
Posted on May 14, 2013
HAVANA, Cuba, May, www.cubanet.org- I've heard it said that hunger can
affect vision permanently. For a while, I thought that this sentence was
just a popular myth based on superstition, however, it turns out to be
absolutely true. Hunger and other deficiencies cause, additionally, some
distortions, such as lack of perception of reality and total lack of
perspective.
This explains why, for many "inside" Cubans, almost everything is
irrelevant and nothing transcends beyond the narrow confines of daily
survival. Decades of material shortages and of totalitarianism have
ruined the ability of a large segment of the population of the island to
discern, despite the high levels of instruction exhibited by official
statistics, turning subjects into slaves of their own elementary needs.
An example of this was the recent electoral process in Venezuela which
showed, by comparison, how far we Cubans are from even reaching the
first step of this difficult stairway filled with obstacles called
democracy. While Venezuelans offered us a true example of civility by
exercising their right to vote and to assert the power of suffrage — an
unknown experience for millions of Cubans — the main concern of people
on the island was the possibility of the start of a new era of blackouts
and a new "Special Period" if the opposition candidate, Henrique
Capriles, won. Paradoxically, many Cubans refer to Venezuelans as
"crude," "illiterate" and "ignorant."
The combined action of the monopoly of information and direction, the
lack of freedom of association and the manipulation of the press have
been three basic mainstays which — together with the material
precariousness of survival — have plunged the Cuban population in a deep
ignorance that does not reflect the benign statistics. The Cuban case
demonstrates exactly how the use of statistics has allowed the
government to misinform the population and feed the national vanity. The
farce, often repeated, has spread alarmingly, to the point that even
many prestigious international organizations have recognized the
"achievements" of the revolution in education and health and other
indicators of social development.
The numbers, however, are fickle, and mask a reality very different than
the image they project. Decades of incomplete, distorted and biased
information have resulted in only a minority of Cubans possessing the
ability to analyze issues related to politics, economics, or any event
occurring in the world. The "masses," meanwhile, form opinions from
indoctrination and emotions… when they form opinions. Usually, the
standard displayed among people faced with any matter not related to
their daily subsistence is limited to an apathetic shrug of the shoulders.
The indifference and ignorance grow, while each year the statistics are
more triumphant and less reliable. Let's take the case of the training
of doctors and other health specialists. The graduations are massive,
but the quality of the graduates is generally very low. The levels of
professionalism are often extremely poor and only a few dozen will stand
out amid thousands of new doctors and technical personnel in each group.
The same applies to general education. Officially, it is stated that
there is a teacher in every classroom, which is a lie. However, the
worst thing is that there are hardly any teachers able to educate and
instruct students, so both, the levels and the quality of education have
declined dramatically over the years, particularly since the 90′s.
The proverbial ignorance of many of these "teachers," coupled with their
failure to educate, has forced parents to search for alternative
solutions, such as hiring "tutors," teachers who have been generally
separated from the formal education system due to terrible wages and
deplorable working conditions, and now teach in private education. This
option has proven the effectiveness the official system lacks, and is
marking a major schism among students whose parents can afford the
expense of hiring the services of a private teacher and those who must
make do with the meager knowledge they receive in classrooms.
But, in the meantime, the numbers and the official press continue out
there. The statistics support the government fanfare about the
advantages of the Cuban system, yet deceive public opinion by
distorting, at the same time, society's general opinion. The media
revels, jubilant, in the advantages of the system. Perhaps this explains
why Cubans see themselves as highly educated and intellectually superior
to many other people in the region. Another deceit that, in some way,
constitutes a small consolation after half a century of dictatorship
that has erased the memory of a nation's population.
Translated by Norma Whiting
10 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/neither-so-educated-nor-so-superior-miriam-celaya/ Continue reading
Is There a Cuban Model of Wellbeing / Fernando Damaso
Posted on May 14, 2013
A careful read of the extensive article, "A look at the Cuban model of
wellbeing," published in the daily Granma on 13 May 2013, raised, for
me, some doubts and disagreements.
The cases with which the article begins are people of different ages
who, for one personal reason or others, have decided to return to live
in Cuba, representing an insignificant percent of the hundreds of
thousands who have not, and who prefer to continue developing their life
projects in line with other wellbeing models overseas, despite the
economic crisis, the violence, unemployment, social isolation,
rootlessness, the distance from their lived ones, the exclusion,
discrimination, lack of solidarity, etc.
On the basis of these atypical cases, the entire posterior argument is
structured, emphasizing the lack of a feeling of exclusion, the social
spaces, social solidarity and the collective creativity and intelligence.
To suggest that there is no feeling of exclusion because everyone in the
neighborhood knows everyone else, is an incredibly trivial argument, as
is defending the bad custom of sticking your nose in other people's
lives, which is the result of the widespread surveillance among
neighbors, leading to envy, gossip and the existence of mandatory
collective activities which, far from avoiding exclusion, directly
threaten the individuality of citizens, which should be respected.
In reality, seeing the same faces every day if pretty boring. The number
of Cubans who gather in a park or sit around a table playing dominoes in
a yard or even on a sidewalk is not an achievement, quite the contrary:
it shows the lack of social spaces where one can visit in a pleasant and
civilized way, the lack of recreation societies, clubs, fraternities,
schools, etc. Perhaps these Cubans, if they had the financial resources,
would prefer national or international tourism, or to go fishing in
their boats, to meet with their friends in a cafe or restaurant, etc.
To argue that raising the standard of living causes isolation is to
ignore the development of precisely the new information technologies
that allow one to connect to the entire world (which is not the case of
Cuba where Internet is banned) and to expand relationships beyond the
family, neighbors, the neighborhood, municipality, the province and even
the country. More than knowing one's next door neighbor and knowing all
about him, which constitutes an invasion of his privacy and has the
stink of too much politics, how one can know many different people with
distinct models of wellbeing and exchange opinions and experiences and
even compare them.
It is a mistake to confuse socializing with overcrowding. In our
neighborhoods, because of the housing shortage and the poor state of
most existing housing, several generations of the same family, and
sometimes several families, occupy the same space previously occupied by
a single family, undermining the personal life of their different
members, a situation that is repeated with the next door neighbors and
so on continuously.
The well-known "hot beds" — which is the same bed shared in turn by
different people — of Central Havana, are not examples of socialization,
but of extreme poverty.
The same thing happens with the crowds at bus stops, waiting for the bus
that never comes, and the lines for bread and other products.
Contributing their grains of sand to this "socialization" are the low
wages, the meager pensions and the widespread inefficiency.
To look for this "socialization" in organized societies where citizens
have economic independence is somewhat difficult, because they do not
depend on each other, much less on their neighbors. They each live their
life and make these individual lives form the life of the community.
Even more difficult is trying to find it in airports, subways and
concrete blocks. I'm almost convinced that many of the people forced the
shelters and hostels in Havana, would like not having to be face to face
with their relatives and neighbors every second of the day and night,
and would appreciate a few moments of solitude and tranquility.
The "us" that they are proposing to recover is not a sound proposal and
has already been used too much in this country as an excuse to have our
compatriots faced with the mistakes and deficiencies to set aside the
brave "I" both for good and bad.
Whether in the sharing of the bottle, or transport, or the collective
use of a private telephone, or in handing down school uniforms, or in
shared snacks or shared medicine, it is not solidarity that is
demonstrated, but only insufficiencies and shortages, unresolved for
over fifty years of failed social experiments.
To suggest, generically, that in Cuba we can talk and have multiple
social exchanges and we can afford a the luxury of a nice chat with many
people, because of our high culture and education, is more a joke than a
serious argument. Here, when talking or chatting citizens are careful
who their partners are and must measure their words, for fear that it
may cause them personal problems. Wielding the double standard (I think
one thing and I say another: the official line) makes conversations and
honest chats difficult.
To strengthen the Cuban model of wellbeing, they propose not to have
more but to be more, not to create more wealth, but more humanity, and
to live well rather than better. In addition to rejecting the just
natural desire of every human being to prosper, they suggest something a
little ethereal and confusing for the ordinary Cuban, because they say
absolutely nothing, seems more like the slogans of those who also say
absolutely nothing.
In addition, they propose to promote social solidarity and strengthen
community spaces. Again, more slogans.
If they actually want to achieve the wellbeing we do not have, do not
waste any more time trying to present our difficulties, weaknesses,
misfortunes and shortcomings as the original components of wellbeing.
They are actually the "anti-well-being" components of the Cuban model.
Wellbeing is only achieved by working and creating wealth, for which, in
our case, profound economic, political and social changes are essential.
There is no Cuban model of wellbeing, simply because the other model,
the political, economic and social, the so-called socialist model, is a
failure and has been incapable of achieving it.
14 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/is-there-a-cuban-model-of-wellbeing-fernando-damaso/ Continue reading
Posted on May 14, 2013
A careful read of the extensive article, "A look at the Cuban model of
wellbeing," published in the daily Granma on 13 May 2013, raised, for
me, some doubts and disagreements.
The cases with which the article begins are people of different ages
who, for one personal reason or others, have decided to return to live
in Cuba, representing an insignificant percent of the hundreds of
thousands who have not, and who prefer to continue developing their life
projects in line with other wellbeing models overseas, despite the
economic crisis, the violence, unemployment, social isolation,
rootlessness, the distance from their lived ones, the exclusion,
discrimination, lack of solidarity, etc.
On the basis of these atypical cases, the entire posterior argument is
structured, emphasizing the lack of a feeling of exclusion, the social
spaces, social solidarity and the collective creativity and intelligence.
To suggest that there is no feeling of exclusion because everyone in the
neighborhood knows everyone else, is an incredibly trivial argument, as
is defending the bad custom of sticking your nose in other people's
lives, which is the result of the widespread surveillance among
neighbors, leading to envy, gossip and the existence of mandatory
collective activities which, far from avoiding exclusion, directly
threaten the individuality of citizens, which should be respected.
In reality, seeing the same faces every day if pretty boring. The number
of Cubans who gather in a park or sit around a table playing dominoes in
a yard or even on a sidewalk is not an achievement, quite the contrary:
it shows the lack of social spaces where one can visit in a pleasant and
civilized way, the lack of recreation societies, clubs, fraternities,
schools, etc. Perhaps these Cubans, if they had the financial resources,
would prefer national or international tourism, or to go fishing in
their boats, to meet with their friends in a cafe or restaurant, etc.
To argue that raising the standard of living causes isolation is to
ignore the development of precisely the new information technologies
that allow one to connect to the entire world (which is not the case of
Cuba where Internet is banned) and to expand relationships beyond the
family, neighbors, the neighborhood, municipality, the province and even
the country. More than knowing one's next door neighbor and knowing all
about him, which constitutes an invasion of his privacy and has the
stink of too much politics, how one can know many different people with
distinct models of wellbeing and exchange opinions and experiences and
even compare them.
It is a mistake to confuse socializing with overcrowding. In our
neighborhoods, because of the housing shortage and the poor state of
most existing housing, several generations of the same family, and
sometimes several families, occupy the same space previously occupied by
a single family, undermining the personal life of their different
members, a situation that is repeated with the next door neighbors and
so on continuously.
The well-known "hot beds" — which is the same bed shared in turn by
different people — of Central Havana, are not examples of socialization,
but of extreme poverty.
The same thing happens with the crowds at bus stops, waiting for the bus
that never comes, and the lines for bread and other products.
Contributing their grains of sand to this "socialization" are the low
wages, the meager pensions and the widespread inefficiency.
To look for this "socialization" in organized societies where citizens
have economic independence is somewhat difficult, because they do not
depend on each other, much less on their neighbors. They each live their
life and make these individual lives form the life of the community.
Even more difficult is trying to find it in airports, subways and
concrete blocks. I'm almost convinced that many of the people forced the
shelters and hostels in Havana, would like not having to be face to face
with their relatives and neighbors every second of the day and night,
and would appreciate a few moments of solitude and tranquility.
The "us" that they are proposing to recover is not a sound proposal and
has already been used too much in this country as an excuse to have our
compatriots faced with the mistakes and deficiencies to set aside the
brave "I" both for good and bad.
Whether in the sharing of the bottle, or transport, or the collective
use of a private telephone, or in handing down school uniforms, or in
shared snacks or shared medicine, it is not solidarity that is
demonstrated, but only insufficiencies and shortages, unresolved for
over fifty years of failed social experiments.
To suggest, generically, that in Cuba we can talk and have multiple
social exchanges and we can afford a the luxury of a nice chat with many
people, because of our high culture and education, is more a joke than a
serious argument. Here, when talking or chatting citizens are careful
who their partners are and must measure their words, for fear that it
may cause them personal problems. Wielding the double standard (I think
one thing and I say another: the official line) makes conversations and
honest chats difficult.
To strengthen the Cuban model of wellbeing, they propose not to have
more but to be more, not to create more wealth, but more humanity, and
to live well rather than better. In addition to rejecting the just
natural desire of every human being to prosper, they suggest something a
little ethereal and confusing for the ordinary Cuban, because they say
absolutely nothing, seems more like the slogans of those who also say
absolutely nothing.
In addition, they propose to promote social solidarity and strengthen
community spaces. Again, more slogans.
If they actually want to achieve the wellbeing we do not have, do not
waste any more time trying to present our difficulties, weaknesses,
misfortunes and shortcomings as the original components of wellbeing.
They are actually the "anti-well-being" components of the Cuban model.
Wellbeing is only achieved by working and creating wealth, for which, in
our case, profound economic, political and social changes are essential.
There is no Cuban model of wellbeing, simply because the other model,
the political, economic and social, the so-called socialist model, is a
failure and has been incapable of achieving it.
14 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/is-there-a-cuban-model-of-wellbeing-fernando-damaso/ Continue reading
27 Families Evicted in Guanabo, Havana
May 15, 2013
HAVANA TIMES – A total of twenty seven families living in the beach town
of Guanabo, east of Havana, lost their homes amid a strong police
special troops operation to evict them on May 4, reported Diario de Cuba
on Tuesday.
The settlement known as Los Tanques, built by the residents own efforts,
was demolished beginning with the wooden houses of the poorest families.
Then a bulldozer razed the foundations of those which were still under
construction, while finally destroying those homes already completed or
in advance construction.
Two days later, the victims of the eviction tried to stage a protest in
front of the Plaza de la Revolution, where the Council of State offices
are located, but were impeded by the police, who stopped the bus in
which they were traveling there.
According to information from Hablemos Press, one of the Housing
officials said that "more than 15 days ago these people had been alerted
to return to their place of origin, because these constructions were
illegal and would be demolished".
Although the official discourse says there are no evictions in Cuba,
these actions called "extractions" happen regularly on the island.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93139 Continue reading
May 15, 2013
HAVANA TIMES – A total of twenty seven families living in the beach town
of Guanabo, east of Havana, lost their homes amid a strong police
special troops operation to evict them on May 4, reported Diario de Cuba
on Tuesday.
The settlement known as Los Tanques, built by the residents own efforts,
was demolished beginning with the wooden houses of the poorest families.
Then a bulldozer razed the foundations of those which were still under
construction, while finally destroying those homes already completed or
in advance construction.
Two days later, the victims of the eviction tried to stage a protest in
front of the Plaza de la Revolution, where the Council of State offices
are located, but were impeded by the police, who stopped the bus in
which they were traveling there.
According to information from Hablemos Press, one of the Housing
officials said that "more than 15 days ago these people had been alerted
to return to their place of origin, because these constructions were
illegal and would be demolished".
Although the official discourse says there are no evictions in Cuba,
these actions called "extractions" happen regularly on the island.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93139 Continue reading
Tindouf: The forgotten Children Deported to Cuba
Written by Ali Haidar
Wednesday, 15 May 2013 16:29
Hundreds of children from the Polisario-controlled Tindouf camps are
deported every year to Cuba. These children are forcibly separated from
their parents and shipped manu-military to Cuba where they undergo
communist indoctrination at a time the international community and NGOs,
which have their eyes riveted on human rights in Western Sahara, are
showing total indifference to their fate.
Details of this appalling adventure were revealed by a Sahrawi from the
Rguibet tribe who managed to escape the hell of the Tindouf camps upon
return from Havana. Hamoudi Al Bihi, 26, was part of a contingent of
hundreds of Sahrawi children conveyed to Cuba in 1989. He was then 9
year old.
He spent there nearly 15 years before being repatriated back to the
Aousserd camp where his family lives. Right after his return from Cuba,
he managed to escape from the Tindouf camps, crossed the northern border
of Mauritania and arrived in Morocco.
"We were sent to Cuba at a very early age. We were just kids but we were
used as a means to keep our families hostages in Tindouf and prevent
them from returning to Morocco," said Al Bihi in an interview with "The
Economist" daily.
"We were actually trained to be enrolled in the Polisario militias,"
said the young Sahrawi who claimed that while he was studying pharmacy
at the Garcia Marques University in Guantanamo (Cuba) he also underwent
stringent military training.
In Cuba, those children, aged between 8 and 10, were totally banned from
any contact with their families. Education and military training were
provided by Cuban instructors in military barracks, said, with deep
emotion, Hamoudi Al Bihi who still remembers how they were awakened in
the middle of the night to start very hard training sessions under
pouring rain and in muddy terrain.
"We were trained to handle both light and heavy weapons," he said,
adding that when he returned to Algeria, his pharmacy degree and
passport were confiscated.
The Polisario uses this stratagem with all young Sahrawis to force them
to rally the army and prevent them from escaping from the camps that are
constantly controlled by the Polisario armed militia with the support of
the Algerian army deployed in the region, he said.
http://www.sahara-news.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=326:tindouf-the-forgotten-children-deported-to-cuba&catid=1 Continue reading
Written by Ali Haidar
Wednesday, 15 May 2013 16:29
Hundreds of children from the Polisario-controlled Tindouf camps are
deported every year to Cuba. These children are forcibly separated from
their parents and shipped manu-military to Cuba where they undergo
communist indoctrination at a time the international community and NGOs,
which have their eyes riveted on human rights in Western Sahara, are
showing total indifference to their fate.
Details of this appalling adventure were revealed by a Sahrawi from the
Rguibet tribe who managed to escape the hell of the Tindouf camps upon
return from Havana. Hamoudi Al Bihi, 26, was part of a contingent of
hundreds of Sahrawi children conveyed to Cuba in 1989. He was then 9
year old.
He spent there nearly 15 years before being repatriated back to the
Aousserd camp where his family lives. Right after his return from Cuba,
he managed to escape from the Tindouf camps, crossed the northern border
of Mauritania and arrived in Morocco.
"We were sent to Cuba at a very early age. We were just kids but we were
used as a means to keep our families hostages in Tindouf and prevent
them from returning to Morocco," said Al Bihi in an interview with "The
Economist" daily.
"We were actually trained to be enrolled in the Polisario militias,"
said the young Sahrawi who claimed that while he was studying pharmacy
at the Garcia Marques University in Guantanamo (Cuba) he also underwent
stringent military training.
In Cuba, those children, aged between 8 and 10, were totally banned from
any contact with their families. Education and military training were
provided by Cuban instructors in military barracks, said, with deep
emotion, Hamoudi Al Bihi who still remembers how they were awakened in
the middle of the night to start very hard training sessions under
pouring rain and in muddy terrain.
"We were trained to handle both light and heavy weapons," he said,
adding that when he returned to Algeria, his pharmacy degree and
passport were confiscated.
The Polisario uses this stratagem with all young Sahrawis to force them
to rally the army and prevent them from escaping from the camps that are
constantly controlled by the Polisario armed militia with the support of
the Algerian army deployed in the region, he said.
http://www.sahara-news.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=326:tindouf-the-forgotten-children-deported-to-cuba&catid=1 Continue reading
Cuba/Homophobia: It's Never Too Late
May 14, 2013
By Yusimí Rodríguez
HAVANA TIMES — Though chiefly devoted to celebrating joy and freedom,
the gathering held at Havana's Cuba Pavilion (Pabellon Cuba) every year
as part of Cuba's Campaign against Homophobia activities has more than a
fun time to offer.
This past Saturday, a small corner of the pavilion became the venue of
the Liberation Theology Forum organized by Cuba's Martin Luther King
Center and the Arnulfo Romero Study Group. Chaired by Pastor Daylin
Rufin, the forum holds debates on issues related to sexual diversity.
Jane Hardin, a woman from the southern United States – where, in her
words, "there are no gays, or so I thought" and was on hand to
participate in Saturday's parade – was among the invitees who shared
their experiences with forum participants.
Hardin told us that, after thirty years of marriage (during which time
she had two daughters), "I found myself, got a divorce and moved in with
my partner. I've been a declared lesbian for eighteen years. It's never
too late to come out."
I can't begin to describe how moved I was by this woman's courage. If
it's difficult for a young woman struggles to overcome social prejudice
and family pressures, to assume her sexual orientation, I imagine how
difficult it must have been for a married woman with two grown
daughters. It wasn't hard for her daughters to accept it, she later told
me, precisely because they are younger.
I tried to hold on to this woman's words later, when the forum came to a
close and people began to leave the pavilion, to return to a world of
mockery, prejudice, discrimination, male chauvinism and patriarchal
mindsets.
I tried to tell myself that it might not be too late for society as a
whole, even when it's a question of changing deeply-rooted and age-old
ways of thinking. But it is hard to do this when I hear and read
frightening opinions; some published in Havana Times, like the statement
that same-sex marriages should not be permitted because they would lead
to the extinction of the human race.
Such statements would be funny were they not ultimately so
disheartening. We've become so used to the idea of war, so accustomed to
famines that ravish entire populations around the globe, that we barely
flinch when we see news of these things on the TV. Or we simply ignore
such news. We care little about the issue of global warming.
But the idea that a group of people should be able to exercise the right
to marry whoever they please is horrifying for us. How many people die,
or are killed before they are even born, as a result of wars, natural
catastrophes, hunger? How many died in fascist concentration camps? Does
anyone seriously believe the world would be a safer place without
homosexuals?
Homosexuality does not preclude the wish to start a family.
Homosexuality is not responsible for the drop in births Cuba has
experienced. Many homosexuals want to make use of artificial
insemination to procreate, or adopt children.
Many still affirm that marriage is a religious institution. I think even
heterosexuals should start to worry. What I mean to say is that there
are some who believe not even they should have the right to marry, that
only Christians should be entitled to this. I am terrified by those who
invoke God to curtail a person's rights.
But I am even more bemused by those who affirm that legalizing same-sex
marriages and accepting homosexuality as "normal" sets a bad example for
young generations. I wonder if they are just as worried by the violence
in the movies these young generations are watching. Aren't they worried
about the example these films could be setting for them?
Fears are so rampant that some have expressed they are concerned that
homosexuality could become the norm, when a norm is precisely what we
should not have for something as personal and intimate as our sexuality.
Months ago, a friend told me that she, her husband and son had watched
the American film "If These Walls Could Talk." The first story in the
film is about a couple of old women who have lived together their entire
lives. When one of the two dies, her nephew shows up and claims all of
her properties, including her house, as her closest relative.
The woman she had spent most of her life with, who is a mere friend
before the Law, is left out on the street. At the end of the movie, my
friend's son said: "That's why we need same-sex marriages."
Just so you know, my friend's son is a perfectly heterosexual teenager.
Homophobia, prejudice, blinkered mindsets, these things are very hard to
uproot. It takes society years to get rid of them. Not even the Cuban
government, which, over the last few years, has undertaken a breakneck
campaign aimed at changing (and, if possible, effacing) its former
attitude towards homosexuals, cannot change things overnight.
I wonder if those who govern us secretly conserve their prejudices and
their intolerance, at a time when the struggle against homophobia seems
part and parcel of their attempts to rejuvenate socialism.
Looking back, I do recognize that nothing remotely resembling a campaign
of activities against homophobia or a Liberation Theology forum would
have been thinkable in the seventies or eighties, not even in the nineties.
This retrospective look, teenagers like my friend's son and the words
Pastor Rufin shared with us during the forum, where she invited us to
see God in everything and everyone, to be inclusive, to broaden our
circles, leaves me with the hope that it may not be too late for our
society to change.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93077 Continue reading
May 14, 2013
By Yusimí Rodríguez
HAVANA TIMES — Though chiefly devoted to celebrating joy and freedom,
the gathering held at Havana's Cuba Pavilion (Pabellon Cuba) every year
as part of Cuba's Campaign against Homophobia activities has more than a
fun time to offer.
This past Saturday, a small corner of the pavilion became the venue of
the Liberation Theology Forum organized by Cuba's Martin Luther King
Center and the Arnulfo Romero Study Group. Chaired by Pastor Daylin
Rufin, the forum holds debates on issues related to sexual diversity.
Jane Hardin, a woman from the southern United States – where, in her
words, "there are no gays, or so I thought" and was on hand to
participate in Saturday's parade – was among the invitees who shared
their experiences with forum participants.
Hardin told us that, after thirty years of marriage (during which time
she had two daughters), "I found myself, got a divorce and moved in with
my partner. I've been a declared lesbian for eighteen years. It's never
too late to come out."
I can't begin to describe how moved I was by this woman's courage. If
it's difficult for a young woman struggles to overcome social prejudice
and family pressures, to assume her sexual orientation, I imagine how
difficult it must have been for a married woman with two grown
daughters. It wasn't hard for her daughters to accept it, she later told
me, precisely because they are younger.
I tried to hold on to this woman's words later, when the forum came to a
close and people began to leave the pavilion, to return to a world of
mockery, prejudice, discrimination, male chauvinism and patriarchal
mindsets.
I tried to tell myself that it might not be too late for society as a
whole, even when it's a question of changing deeply-rooted and age-old
ways of thinking. But it is hard to do this when I hear and read
frightening opinions; some published in Havana Times, like the statement
that same-sex marriages should not be permitted because they would lead
to the extinction of the human race.
Such statements would be funny were they not ultimately so
disheartening. We've become so used to the idea of war, so accustomed to
famines that ravish entire populations around the globe, that we barely
flinch when we see news of these things on the TV. Or we simply ignore
such news. We care little about the issue of global warming.
But the idea that a group of people should be able to exercise the right
to marry whoever they please is horrifying for us. How many people die,
or are killed before they are even born, as a result of wars, natural
catastrophes, hunger? How many died in fascist concentration camps? Does
anyone seriously believe the world would be a safer place without
homosexuals?
Homosexuality does not preclude the wish to start a family.
Homosexuality is not responsible for the drop in births Cuba has
experienced. Many homosexuals want to make use of artificial
insemination to procreate, or adopt children.
Many still affirm that marriage is a religious institution. I think even
heterosexuals should start to worry. What I mean to say is that there
are some who believe not even they should have the right to marry, that
only Christians should be entitled to this. I am terrified by those who
invoke God to curtail a person's rights.
But I am even more bemused by those who affirm that legalizing same-sex
marriages and accepting homosexuality as "normal" sets a bad example for
young generations. I wonder if they are just as worried by the violence
in the movies these young generations are watching. Aren't they worried
about the example these films could be setting for them?
Fears are so rampant that some have expressed they are concerned that
homosexuality could become the norm, when a norm is precisely what we
should not have for something as personal and intimate as our sexuality.
Months ago, a friend told me that she, her husband and son had watched
the American film "If These Walls Could Talk." The first story in the
film is about a couple of old women who have lived together their entire
lives. When one of the two dies, her nephew shows up and claims all of
her properties, including her house, as her closest relative.
The woman she had spent most of her life with, who is a mere friend
before the Law, is left out on the street. At the end of the movie, my
friend's son said: "That's why we need same-sex marriages."
Just so you know, my friend's son is a perfectly heterosexual teenager.
Homophobia, prejudice, blinkered mindsets, these things are very hard to
uproot. It takes society years to get rid of them. Not even the Cuban
government, which, over the last few years, has undertaken a breakneck
campaign aimed at changing (and, if possible, effacing) its former
attitude towards homosexuals, cannot change things overnight.
I wonder if those who govern us secretly conserve their prejudices and
their intolerance, at a time when the struggle against homophobia seems
part and parcel of their attempts to rejuvenate socialism.
Looking back, I do recognize that nothing remotely resembling a campaign
of activities against homophobia or a Liberation Theology forum would
have been thinkable in the seventies or eighties, not even in the nineties.
This retrospective look, teenagers like my friend's son and the words
Pastor Rufin shared with us during the forum, where she invited us to
see God in everything and everyone, to be inclusive, to broaden our
circles, leaves me with the hope that it may not be too late for our
society to change.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93077 Continue reading
The Traps of Nostalgia
May 14, 2013
Verónica Vega
HAVANA TIMES — That the pangs of nostalgia can deceive us, painting our
memories of the past with bright colors, is a feeling I had for the
first time some years ago, while reading a novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
As I've grown older and had my share of bitter experiences, I have,
expectedly, become slightly more suspicious of any romantic perception
of the past. Even when a melody takes me back to a distant love, an
earlier time in my life, or those fantasies about the future spawned by
the excesses of youth, I take a step back and try to organize my
memories, take apart and analyze past situations carefully and try to
recollect faces and attitudes objectively.
Our upbringing gives us an exaggerated sense of longing for times past.
Not only in Cuba, where the early years of the Revolution are constantly
idealized and the martyrs of yesteryear turned into something of a
mystical cult. Generally speaking, this is true everywhere.
Nostalgia is exploited in the mass media, through retro fashions and in
most romantic songs, which are often dripping with cheap sentimentalism.
We are taught to hold on to things (with our hands, our eyes or our
minds), in a world where life is just the opposite of this, an endless
process of transformation, which starts with our very own image. Our
friends depart, not only to a "better place", beyond the horizon or the
grave, but also because circumstances, interests and paths diverge.
Couples part ways, parents depart, children depart. Even if they do not
leave their homes (as is often the case in Cuba, owing to the great
housing problem we face), children experience body and mental changes
and our relationship with them similarly changes.
Objects, no matter how much we cherish them, ultimately wear down or
break. The spaces around us assume new forms. Ideas change, "the times"
change.
So, why go against such natural tendencies? Why not conclude, like
Tagore, that:
"(…) Beauty is sweet to us, because she dances to the same fleeting tune
with our lives.
Knowledge is precious to us, because we shall never have time to
complete it.
All is done and finished in the eternal Heaven.
But earth's flowers of illusion are kept eternally fresh by death.
Brother, keep that in mind and rejoice."
A change in perspective.
I aim these comments especially at myself, for nostalgia seems to follow
me like my own shadow. Lately, I catch myself avoiding places I went to
with my younger sister, who left the country years ago, or with a friend
who no longer lives in Cuba, or circumventing the building where my
mother once lived.
What I recoil from most violently, however, is the severe deterioration
shown by the places of my youth, the places that once housed my dreams:
the "Russians' beach" in Alamar, the swimming pool I used to go to with
my sister and our kids, places that have become ruins, a collection of
dilapidated walls submerged in foul-smelling water.
A movie theatre in Old Havana, where I saw an unforgettable film, is now
unrecognizable, buildings that are torn down and replaced with parks,
stores or kiosks that strike me as fake, as though clumsily superimposed
on the composition using Photoshop.
It terrifies me to come across this past, trampled on by a derisive
future (now present), corroded by an inherent weight I was unable to see
before and now leaps at me from its ruins.
Some days ago, however, these visual impressions produced the opposite
effect on me: I was able to see, with the utmost clarity, that one tends
to miss those things that brought one pleasure at one point in time,
isolating those things in one's memory, severing them from their
evolution as events – separating them from their "before" and,
particularly, their "after".
As such, we do not see the experience as a totality, or where the causes
behind our loss lie, or the fact that what we miss is but a detail in a
ceaseless flow of events.
It makes sense that a battered city, at once a witness to and an
intimate part of our identity, should have an impact on us, more so when
its image is frozen in the instant we felt we were flourishing, with the
city, into something beautiful and prosperous. Carefully pulling apart
my memories, I find only scattered splashes of splendor, as I do right now.
What, for instance, do I miss about Centro Habana, where I lived in what
was once a hotel, a building with corroded beams and walls that reeked
of humidity? A building that, as early as the 1980s, looked as though
about to collapse, a building that's still there, inexplicably defying
gravity?
From Vedado, perhaps you could say I miss what the Coppelia ice-cream
parlor was years ago, the variety of flavors and the richness of the
ice-cream, the ice-tea we would drink at the intersection of 23 and G
streets, at noon on a sweltering summer day.
Perhaps I miss the small delicacies, which, today, have simply moved
elsewhere. The things saved from the wreckage are no longer where they
used to be, true, but, in the end, we have gained more than what is
perceivable at first glance.
Because, what we believed was about to come into existence before was
simply a mirage. It was an illusion sustained by our alliance with the
Soviets, an impasse in the real process of transformation which has not
ceased, not even in moments of apparent inertia.
As a Hindu proverb proclaims, "Though lies may run for a year, the truth
shall catch up to them in a day." Cuba is, today, more than what it was
when it was nothing but a promise. Idealizing our past does not help us
understand our existence or how the world works. It envelops everything
with a thick fog, making us lose our way, while history continues to
move forward.
I believe that what we miss, most of all, are our own dreams, our minds'
great flights of fancy. In this sense, our nostalgia is no different
from the nostalgia a person living in the First World experiences, when
they feel sad at being unable to recognize the neighborhood they were
born in (even if this is owed to inevitable progress).
A friend told me that, one day, he was walking down the street with his
father. Coming to a halt before Havana's Parque Central, the father
froze and his gaze went blank. When asked what was happening to him, he
replied: "it's just that I saw…if you could only see what I just saw! I
just remembered how everything looked before (1959)." In his eyes,
rather than nostalgia, one could see pain.
Those who feel they benefited from the revolution will likely react in
anger, and I understand them. I also think that, if change came, it was
because something was festering, somewhere beneath the splendor. Might
it not be a positive sign that the festering wound is now on the
surface, like those pustules that, once burst, can only be drained and heal?
Yesterday, the main character in a film I saw said something which left
me thinking. She said that one is afraid of the future because, in a
way, one feels that nothing is going to change, that the future will
ultimately be something like what we have now. But things do change. And
if things do not yet feel right, if they still do not satisfy us, if we
continue to harbor a feeling of lack, of conflict, this means that we
have not yet reached the end.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93067 Continue reading
May 14, 2013
Verónica Vega
HAVANA TIMES — That the pangs of nostalgia can deceive us, painting our
memories of the past with bright colors, is a feeling I had for the
first time some years ago, while reading a novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
As I've grown older and had my share of bitter experiences, I have,
expectedly, become slightly more suspicious of any romantic perception
of the past. Even when a melody takes me back to a distant love, an
earlier time in my life, or those fantasies about the future spawned by
the excesses of youth, I take a step back and try to organize my
memories, take apart and analyze past situations carefully and try to
recollect faces and attitudes objectively.
Our upbringing gives us an exaggerated sense of longing for times past.
Not only in Cuba, where the early years of the Revolution are constantly
idealized and the martyrs of yesteryear turned into something of a
mystical cult. Generally speaking, this is true everywhere.
Nostalgia is exploited in the mass media, through retro fashions and in
most romantic songs, which are often dripping with cheap sentimentalism.
We are taught to hold on to things (with our hands, our eyes or our
minds), in a world where life is just the opposite of this, an endless
process of transformation, which starts with our very own image. Our
friends depart, not only to a "better place", beyond the horizon or the
grave, but also because circumstances, interests and paths diverge.
Couples part ways, parents depart, children depart. Even if they do not
leave their homes (as is often the case in Cuba, owing to the great
housing problem we face), children experience body and mental changes
and our relationship with them similarly changes.
Objects, no matter how much we cherish them, ultimately wear down or
break. The spaces around us assume new forms. Ideas change, "the times"
change.
So, why go against such natural tendencies? Why not conclude, like
Tagore, that:
"(…) Beauty is sweet to us, because she dances to the same fleeting tune
with our lives.
Knowledge is precious to us, because we shall never have time to
complete it.
All is done and finished in the eternal Heaven.
But earth's flowers of illusion are kept eternally fresh by death.
Brother, keep that in mind and rejoice."
A change in perspective.
I aim these comments especially at myself, for nostalgia seems to follow
me like my own shadow. Lately, I catch myself avoiding places I went to
with my younger sister, who left the country years ago, or with a friend
who no longer lives in Cuba, or circumventing the building where my
mother once lived.
What I recoil from most violently, however, is the severe deterioration
shown by the places of my youth, the places that once housed my dreams:
the "Russians' beach" in Alamar, the swimming pool I used to go to with
my sister and our kids, places that have become ruins, a collection of
dilapidated walls submerged in foul-smelling water.
A movie theatre in Old Havana, where I saw an unforgettable film, is now
unrecognizable, buildings that are torn down and replaced with parks,
stores or kiosks that strike me as fake, as though clumsily superimposed
on the composition using Photoshop.
It terrifies me to come across this past, trampled on by a derisive
future (now present), corroded by an inherent weight I was unable to see
before and now leaps at me from its ruins.
Some days ago, however, these visual impressions produced the opposite
effect on me: I was able to see, with the utmost clarity, that one tends
to miss those things that brought one pleasure at one point in time,
isolating those things in one's memory, severing them from their
evolution as events – separating them from their "before" and,
particularly, their "after".
As such, we do not see the experience as a totality, or where the causes
behind our loss lie, or the fact that what we miss is but a detail in a
ceaseless flow of events.
It makes sense that a battered city, at once a witness to and an
intimate part of our identity, should have an impact on us, more so when
its image is frozen in the instant we felt we were flourishing, with the
city, into something beautiful and prosperous. Carefully pulling apart
my memories, I find only scattered splashes of splendor, as I do right now.
What, for instance, do I miss about Centro Habana, where I lived in what
was once a hotel, a building with corroded beams and walls that reeked
of humidity? A building that, as early as the 1980s, looked as though
about to collapse, a building that's still there, inexplicably defying
gravity?
From Vedado, perhaps you could say I miss what the Coppelia ice-cream
parlor was years ago, the variety of flavors and the richness of the
ice-cream, the ice-tea we would drink at the intersection of 23 and G
streets, at noon on a sweltering summer day.
Perhaps I miss the small delicacies, which, today, have simply moved
elsewhere. The things saved from the wreckage are no longer where they
used to be, true, but, in the end, we have gained more than what is
perceivable at first glance.
Because, what we believed was about to come into existence before was
simply a mirage. It was an illusion sustained by our alliance with the
Soviets, an impasse in the real process of transformation which has not
ceased, not even in moments of apparent inertia.
As a Hindu proverb proclaims, "Though lies may run for a year, the truth
shall catch up to them in a day." Cuba is, today, more than what it was
when it was nothing but a promise. Idealizing our past does not help us
understand our existence or how the world works. It envelops everything
with a thick fog, making us lose our way, while history continues to
move forward.
I believe that what we miss, most of all, are our own dreams, our minds'
great flights of fancy. In this sense, our nostalgia is no different
from the nostalgia a person living in the First World experiences, when
they feel sad at being unable to recognize the neighborhood they were
born in (even if this is owed to inevitable progress).
A friend told me that, one day, he was walking down the street with his
father. Coming to a halt before Havana's Parque Central, the father
froze and his gaze went blank. When asked what was happening to him, he
replied: "it's just that I saw…if you could only see what I just saw! I
just remembered how everything looked before (1959)." In his eyes,
rather than nostalgia, one could see pain.
Those who feel they benefited from the revolution will likely react in
anger, and I understand them. I also think that, if change came, it was
because something was festering, somewhere beneath the splendor. Might
it not be a positive sign that the festering wound is now on the
surface, like those pustules that, once burst, can only be drained and heal?
Yesterday, the main character in a film I saw said something which left
me thinking. She said that one is afraid of the future because, in a
way, one feels that nothing is going to change, that the future will
ultimately be something like what we have now. But things do change. And
if things do not yet feel right, if they still do not satisfy us, if we
continue to harbor a feeling of lack, of conflict, this means that we
have not yet reached the end.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93067 Continue reading
Should We Criticize Mandela?
May 15, 2013
Alfredo Fernández
HAVANA TIMES — A well-known episode in contemporary history is the fact
that, when the government of South Africa established the apartheid
regime, former South African president Nelson Mandela, then a civil
rights activist, personally asked the United States to impose an
economic blockade on the country in order to hasten the collapse of a
government where 12.2 % of the population – the whites, or Boers, as
they were also known – trampled on the most elementary rights of all
other citizens with impunity.
Some days ago, we saw a heated debate about the petition that a number
of renowned Cuban dissidents have made to the US government, calling for
hardline measures that would bring about the economic collapse of the
country and thus definitively remove the Castro brothers from power.
What supporters of the Castro government see as a blockade, detractors
see as a mere embargo, for the Cuban government is able to trade with
all other countries around the world and even import over a hundred
products from the United States itself (provided it pay cash).
The tired debate over the lifting or preservation of the economic
blockade imposed on Cuba has traditionally been the most sensitive topic
handled by Cuban dissidents, where two emblematic figures – Ladies in
White leader Berta Soler and blogger Yoani Sanchez – maintain
diametrically opposed positions on the matter.
Soler believes the lifting the blockade would mean conceding defeat and
granting an unmerited political victory to the Castro government, which
would, in no way, put an end to the abuses perpetrated against the
opposition.
Sanchez, on the other hand, sees the suppression of the blockade as an
opportunity to deprive the Cuban government of the arguments it has long
used to justify the inefficiency and dysfunctionality inherent to the
system.
The repercussions that Berta Soler's petition to the US government had
in different on-line media dealing with Cuba-related issues are what
have prompted me to write this post.
Soler, who asked for a "firm hand against the Castros", met with a wide
spectrum of criticisms and praise, though accusations of being an
annexationist who has no political vision, is disloyal to her people and
acts as a CIA agent, were the most common.
The most notable argument used against Soler is that "the Cuban people,
in general, are opposed to the blockade."
Though this point is not be taken lightly, we could say, in Soler's
defense, that the Cuban people did not think twice before supporting the
Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, that it was responsible for
vigilante-style violence in the 80s, that it accepted the establishment
of the double-currency system (Cuba's economic apartheid), without
protesting, in 1993, and that, along with members of the Cuban Writers
and Artists Federation (UNEAC), it stood silent while 3 young men who
attempted to hijack a ferry were executed following summary trials and
75 government opponents were jailed for their activities.
If the above does not completely deprive the Cuban people of any moral
authority to opine about these matters, it does, at least, invite us to
exercise prudence when lending it an ear, particularly when we recall
that lucidity has not been one of the more outstanding qualities the
masses have shown in the course of history.
A bird's eye view of recent history would reveal the many opportunities
the Cuban government lost to help alleviate many of the hardships
endured by its population today.
Today, with or without the blockade, Cubans residing abroad could be
allowed to invest in the country, a measure that would help the
country's domestic economy, employing thousands of workers in
enterprises that, no doubt, would also offer better salaries than those
paid by the government.
Cubans residing abroad who have publicly expressed their differences
with the status quo and have been banned from the island could be
allowed to return to their country of origin.
All political prisoners could be released, as they do not constitute a
risk to Cuba's national security.
Successful farmers could be given ownership over new lands and expand
land leases, which thus far have not reduced food shortages in the
slightest. The population could also be given free and unrestricted
access to the Internet.
There is a long list of such measures that the tired US blockade does
not in any way impede implementing, save, perhaps, for the Castro
government's fear of losing its power. In a post-blockade Cuba, with the
doors of the world's most powerful nation flung wide open, such measures
will, in my view, prove next to impossible to hold back.
The petition to impose a blockade on South Africa's government was seen
by Mandela's compatriots (save the Boers, of course), as the
consummation of his political vision.
Today, Berta Soler, asking exactly the same for a government which, in
practice, imposes a very similar destiny on those who do not belong to
its political "race" (the monolithic Cuban Communist Party), has to face
accusations from all sides which put the legitimacy of her struggle in
question, from people who, apparently, have forgotten the difficult
roads the Ladies in White have traversed since 2003.
After seeing these two human rights activists make these requests with
the intention of improving their country's lot, and incurring such
different reactions, I cannot help but ask myself whether we should also
reprimand Mandela for demanding such measures for his own people.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93107 Continue reading
May 15, 2013
Alfredo Fernández
HAVANA TIMES — A well-known episode in contemporary history is the fact
that, when the government of South Africa established the apartheid
regime, former South African president Nelson Mandela, then a civil
rights activist, personally asked the United States to impose an
economic blockade on the country in order to hasten the collapse of a
government where 12.2 % of the population – the whites, or Boers, as
they were also known – trampled on the most elementary rights of all
other citizens with impunity.
Some days ago, we saw a heated debate about the petition that a number
of renowned Cuban dissidents have made to the US government, calling for
hardline measures that would bring about the economic collapse of the
country and thus definitively remove the Castro brothers from power.
What supporters of the Castro government see as a blockade, detractors
see as a mere embargo, for the Cuban government is able to trade with
all other countries around the world and even import over a hundred
products from the United States itself (provided it pay cash).
The tired debate over the lifting or preservation of the economic
blockade imposed on Cuba has traditionally been the most sensitive topic
handled by Cuban dissidents, where two emblematic figures – Ladies in
White leader Berta Soler and blogger Yoani Sanchez – maintain
diametrically opposed positions on the matter.
Soler believes the lifting the blockade would mean conceding defeat and
granting an unmerited political victory to the Castro government, which
would, in no way, put an end to the abuses perpetrated against the
opposition.
Sanchez, on the other hand, sees the suppression of the blockade as an
opportunity to deprive the Cuban government of the arguments it has long
used to justify the inefficiency and dysfunctionality inherent to the
system.
The repercussions that Berta Soler's petition to the US government had
in different on-line media dealing with Cuba-related issues are what
have prompted me to write this post.
Soler, who asked for a "firm hand against the Castros", met with a wide
spectrum of criticisms and praise, though accusations of being an
annexationist who has no political vision, is disloyal to her people and
acts as a CIA agent, were the most common.
The most notable argument used against Soler is that "the Cuban people,
in general, are opposed to the blockade."
Though this point is not be taken lightly, we could say, in Soler's
defense, that the Cuban people did not think twice before supporting the
Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, that it was responsible for
vigilante-style violence in the 80s, that it accepted the establishment
of the double-currency system (Cuba's economic apartheid), without
protesting, in 1993, and that, along with members of the Cuban Writers
and Artists Federation (UNEAC), it stood silent while 3 young men who
attempted to hijack a ferry were executed following summary trials and
75 government opponents were jailed for their activities.
If the above does not completely deprive the Cuban people of any moral
authority to opine about these matters, it does, at least, invite us to
exercise prudence when lending it an ear, particularly when we recall
that lucidity has not been one of the more outstanding qualities the
masses have shown in the course of history.
A bird's eye view of recent history would reveal the many opportunities
the Cuban government lost to help alleviate many of the hardships
endured by its population today.
Today, with or without the blockade, Cubans residing abroad could be
allowed to invest in the country, a measure that would help the
country's domestic economy, employing thousands of workers in
enterprises that, no doubt, would also offer better salaries than those
paid by the government.
Cubans residing abroad who have publicly expressed their differences
with the status quo and have been banned from the island could be
allowed to return to their country of origin.
All political prisoners could be released, as they do not constitute a
risk to Cuba's national security.
Successful farmers could be given ownership over new lands and expand
land leases, which thus far have not reduced food shortages in the
slightest. The population could also be given free and unrestricted
access to the Internet.
There is a long list of such measures that the tired US blockade does
not in any way impede implementing, save, perhaps, for the Castro
government's fear of losing its power. In a post-blockade Cuba, with the
doors of the world's most powerful nation flung wide open, such measures
will, in my view, prove next to impossible to hold back.
The petition to impose a blockade on South Africa's government was seen
by Mandela's compatriots (save the Boers, of course), as the
consummation of his political vision.
Today, Berta Soler, asking exactly the same for a government which, in
practice, imposes a very similar destiny on those who do not belong to
its political "race" (the monolithic Cuban Communist Party), has to face
accusations from all sides which put the legitimacy of her struggle in
question, from people who, apparently, have forgotten the difficult
roads the Ladies in White have traversed since 2003.
After seeing these two human rights activists make these requests with
the intention of improving their country's lot, and incurring such
different reactions, I cannot help but ask myself whether we should also
reprimand Mandela for demanding such measures for his own people.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93107 Continue reading
For Cubans in Cuba, the Revolution Hasn't Begun / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo
Posted on May 13, 2013
From Sampsonia Way Magazine: In March the Cuban columnist Roberto
Zurbano published an article in The New York Times entitled "For Blacks
in Cuba, the Revolution Hasn't Begun."
Although the author himself has since said that his text suffered from
editorial interventions (namely that the title should have read "For
Blacks in Cuba, the Revolution is Not Yet Finished"), his perspective
has still caused a huge reaction on and off the Island. Consequently, a
variety of responses to the article appeared in the Cuban online press.
At the time it seemed that the Island's racial polemic might finally
come out of the closet of censorship into the public arena. But
unfortunately, at the beginning of April, the Editorial Fund of the Casa
de las Américas in Havana dismissed Zurbano from his post as its director.
Thus, the logic of totalitarian intolerance won another battle. Cuba
isn't changing, even though everything looks like it is.
And Afro-Cubans are not the only ones in Cuba left without their
fundamental rights. Over the past half-century the anti-democratic
tradition on our island has not set out to back racial apartheid, but
rather civic discrimination, whereby the State claims that no dissident
voice is legitimate, where no law is born out of the people's wishes but
instead by decree of the historic caudillos, where a human being's
fundamental rights are still held hostage in the name of utopia.
In his controversial article, Zurbano claims that "It is unrealistic to
hope for a black president, given the insufficient racial consciousness
on the island." But in these historic circumstances what should urgently
be made realistic is for Cuba to gain in social conscience and for the
president of our country to finally be a public servant, not a demagogic
messiah.
http://translatingcuba.com/for-cubans-in-cuba-the-revolution-hasnt-begun-orlando-luis-pardo-lazo/ Continue reading
Posted on May 13, 2013
From Sampsonia Way Magazine: In March the Cuban columnist Roberto
Zurbano published an article in The New York Times entitled "For Blacks
in Cuba, the Revolution Hasn't Begun."
Although the author himself has since said that his text suffered from
editorial interventions (namely that the title should have read "For
Blacks in Cuba, the Revolution is Not Yet Finished"), his perspective
has still caused a huge reaction on and off the Island. Consequently, a
variety of responses to the article appeared in the Cuban online press.
At the time it seemed that the Island's racial polemic might finally
come out of the closet of censorship into the public arena. But
unfortunately, at the beginning of April, the Editorial Fund of the Casa
de las Américas in Havana dismissed Zurbano from his post as its director.
Thus, the logic of totalitarian intolerance won another battle. Cuba
isn't changing, even though everything looks like it is.
And Afro-Cubans are not the only ones in Cuba left without their
fundamental rights. Over the past half-century the anti-democratic
tradition on our island has not set out to back racial apartheid, but
rather civic discrimination, whereby the State claims that no dissident
voice is legitimate, where no law is born out of the people's wishes but
instead by decree of the historic caudillos, where a human being's
fundamental rights are still held hostage in the name of utopia.
In his controversial article, Zurbano claims that "It is unrealistic to
hope for a black president, given the insufficient racial consciousness
on the island." But in these historic circumstances what should urgently
be made realistic is for Cuba to gain in social conscience and for the
president of our country to finally be a public servant, not a demagogic
messiah.
http://translatingcuba.com/for-cubans-in-cuba-the-revolution-hasnt-begun-orlando-luis-pardo-lazo/ Continue reading
The Sound of Silence / Rosa Maria Rodriguez
Posted on May 11, 2013
Miguel Diaz-Canel criticized the information silence imposed on us by
the authorities and called it an "impossible dream" to maintain it due
to the circulation of news that circulated among people who surf the
internet or who have email, and the avidity of our compatriots to have
alternative sources of knowledge of the news.
In the National Seminar in Preparation of the 2013-2014 School Year,
held in Havana, the Cuban government's second in command acknowledged
publicly and tacitly — even without saying it — that the authorities
have violated the rights of a society to free information have imposed
an incidental ignorance, biased information, and an obligatory official
and irresponsible journalism.
Which authorities is he referring to? Evidently, the number two Cuban is
alluding to the "gray quarantine" of the mandate of Raul Castro.
We all know that in Cuba people use the internet at their workplaces —
those who have it — to be able to communicate with family and friends
living abroad, and consume a little information about what is happening
in the world from an alternative perspective to the classical posture of
the unconditional government journalists.
A great part of the population is fed up with the visions and versions
aligned with the party and the high command offered by the professionals
of the national press, so distant from the Cuban reality that suffers
daily lines to buy meager food for the day, who have to face full buses
to get to work, and who at night consume super-politicized television
programming, mediocre and outmoded, that seem anchored in the decade of
the seventies.
The Cuban Vice President did not speak, however, about the cable that,
under the leadership of President Hugo Chavez, we have had in Cuba since
February 2011, which those in power tried to hide with all kinds of
misinformation and rumors, and the growing demand of the computerized
Cuban society to have their free access to information through the
Internet be respected.
This silent but progressive demand, which is imposing a renewed
conception of the information paradigms that should be established and
rule in modern society. There is no point in insisting on a lifting of
the so-called secrecy of the Cuban press unless the authorities take the
first step to greater transparency and information freedom, if there is
censorship, if they do not allow alternative news agencies, and if they
harass and condemn independent journalism.
The so-called socialist models that have been imposed in Latin America,
also have their share of influence in the new directions that should
guide our destiny towards greater social justice. What are called the
new systems of the continental left, have pulled the rug out from under
the Cuban regime with their multiparty system, with their social
programs, housing and technological development, among many others to
cajole their people.
When thinking about the development of their countries and giving them
greater benefits, they have left their Cuban ideological benefactor and
sponsor as the hemispheric "ugly duckling" with regards to freedoms and
rights.
But it seems that the day "is coming" when "the silence of the innocents
and the lambs" that the powerful has so greatly mocked and abused, will
break the wall of cyber censorship and begin at least to walk along the
highways of information and communication. New times dictate this, but
we expect more, much more that they owe to Cuba, to our people and our
history.
11 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/the-sound-of-silence-rosa-maria-rodriguez/ Continue reading
Posted on May 11, 2013
Miguel Diaz-Canel criticized the information silence imposed on us by
the authorities and called it an "impossible dream" to maintain it due
to the circulation of news that circulated among people who surf the
internet or who have email, and the avidity of our compatriots to have
alternative sources of knowledge of the news.
In the National Seminar in Preparation of the 2013-2014 School Year,
held in Havana, the Cuban government's second in command acknowledged
publicly and tacitly — even without saying it — that the authorities
have violated the rights of a society to free information have imposed
an incidental ignorance, biased information, and an obligatory official
and irresponsible journalism.
Which authorities is he referring to? Evidently, the number two Cuban is
alluding to the "gray quarantine" of the mandate of Raul Castro.
We all know that in Cuba people use the internet at their workplaces —
those who have it — to be able to communicate with family and friends
living abroad, and consume a little information about what is happening
in the world from an alternative perspective to the classical posture of
the unconditional government journalists.
A great part of the population is fed up with the visions and versions
aligned with the party and the high command offered by the professionals
of the national press, so distant from the Cuban reality that suffers
daily lines to buy meager food for the day, who have to face full buses
to get to work, and who at night consume super-politicized television
programming, mediocre and outmoded, that seem anchored in the decade of
the seventies.
The Cuban Vice President did not speak, however, about the cable that,
under the leadership of President Hugo Chavez, we have had in Cuba since
February 2011, which those in power tried to hide with all kinds of
misinformation and rumors, and the growing demand of the computerized
Cuban society to have their free access to information through the
Internet be respected.
This silent but progressive demand, which is imposing a renewed
conception of the information paradigms that should be established and
rule in modern society. There is no point in insisting on a lifting of
the so-called secrecy of the Cuban press unless the authorities take the
first step to greater transparency and information freedom, if there is
censorship, if they do not allow alternative news agencies, and if they
harass and condemn independent journalism.
The so-called socialist models that have been imposed in Latin America,
also have their share of influence in the new directions that should
guide our destiny towards greater social justice. What are called the
new systems of the continental left, have pulled the rug out from under
the Cuban regime with their multiparty system, with their social
programs, housing and technological development, among many others to
cajole their people.
When thinking about the development of their countries and giving them
greater benefits, they have left their Cuban ideological benefactor and
sponsor as the hemispheric "ugly duckling" with regards to freedoms and
rights.
But it seems that the day "is coming" when "the silence of the innocents
and the lambs" that the powerful has so greatly mocked and abused, will
break the wall of cyber censorship and begin at least to walk along the
highways of information and communication. New times dictate this, but
we expect more, much more that they owe to Cuba, to our people and our
history.
11 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/the-sound-of-silence-rosa-maria-rodriguez/ Continue reading
SOS: Attempted Riot in Prison 1580. Increase in Repression Against Angel
Santiesteban and the Other Inmates / Angel Santiesteban
Posted on May 11, 2013
After the attempted riot in Prison 1580
Last night, Sunday May 5 at 7:45 PM, an inmate — Reniel Agramonte Valle
— was beaten by two guards: Jesus and Andy the karate man. The inmates
of both barracks started shouting against abuse and almost all looked
through the windows and bars while the guards continued the abuse of the
black, slight and famished 24-year-old.
The prisoners began to hit the gate until it broke and opened; the
guards seeing the possible population unnerved all about them, fled and
forgot how numerous they and their batons were, the same ones who
minutes before struck the prisoner in question, and who by then had been
taking their pills for chronic mental illness that are supplied to them
several times a day.
To stop the potential riot, the senior officer, when he reached the
scene, freed the prisoner, and when they saw him return to the barracks
it began to calm the spirits of his comrades who had already begun
yelling "Down with Fidel," "Down with dictatorship," "Tomorrow we will
get the news to Radio Martí," "Assassins," and "Abusers," among others.
This morning, when the inmates attended the breakfast, they were met
with German shepherds, the ones who on just seeing a prison uniform
begin to bark and are very aggressive with them, Nazi-style.
In previous days they also beat several prisoners and after the
beatings, they put them in cells hidden from the eyes of the rest of the
prison population to hide their injuries and bodily signs of violence
against them.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats
Prison 1580, San Miguel del Padrón
Sowing Terror
One day after the attempted riot in the prison, they began the
interviews and the removal of all persons who regularly conversed with me.
They want to keep inmates away from me because they consider a dangerous
element my relating to them. And so they were taken to other barracks.
Now the prisoners afraid to approach me because they don't want to be
harmed. I am also concerned about some who claim not to care; because
when they receive reprisals for being close to me, my guilty conscience
is great because their fates are worse just for talking to me.
Even so, some have changed strategy and started to leave me papers on my
bed with silent solidarity messages.
A prisoner on a hunger strike, Jesús Guerra Camejo, for talking with me,
has also been taken from the company to an unknown destination.
The inmates are constantly interviewed to obtain information about me,
writing or any data they might provide about me.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats
Prison 1580, San Miguel del Padrón
10 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/sos-attempted-riot-in-prison-1580-increase-in-repression-against-angel-santiesteban-and-the-other-inmates/ Continue reading
Santiesteban and the Other Inmates / Angel Santiesteban
Posted on May 11, 2013
After the attempted riot in Prison 1580
Last night, Sunday May 5 at 7:45 PM, an inmate — Reniel Agramonte Valle
— was beaten by two guards: Jesus and Andy the karate man. The inmates
of both barracks started shouting against abuse and almost all looked
through the windows and bars while the guards continued the abuse of the
black, slight and famished 24-year-old.
The prisoners began to hit the gate until it broke and opened; the
guards seeing the possible population unnerved all about them, fled and
forgot how numerous they and their batons were, the same ones who
minutes before struck the prisoner in question, and who by then had been
taking their pills for chronic mental illness that are supplied to them
several times a day.
To stop the potential riot, the senior officer, when he reached the
scene, freed the prisoner, and when they saw him return to the barracks
it began to calm the spirits of his comrades who had already begun
yelling "Down with Fidel," "Down with dictatorship," "Tomorrow we will
get the news to Radio Martí," "Assassins," and "Abusers," among others.
This morning, when the inmates attended the breakfast, they were met
with German shepherds, the ones who on just seeing a prison uniform
begin to bark and are very aggressive with them, Nazi-style.
In previous days they also beat several prisoners and after the
beatings, they put them in cells hidden from the eyes of the rest of the
prison population to hide their injuries and bodily signs of violence
against them.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats
Prison 1580, San Miguel del Padrón
Sowing Terror
One day after the attempted riot in the prison, they began the
interviews and the removal of all persons who regularly conversed with me.
They want to keep inmates away from me because they consider a dangerous
element my relating to them. And so they were taken to other barracks.
Now the prisoners afraid to approach me because they don't want to be
harmed. I am also concerned about some who claim not to care; because
when they receive reprisals for being close to me, my guilty conscience
is great because their fates are worse just for talking to me.
Even so, some have changed strategy and started to leave me papers on my
bed with silent solidarity messages.
A prisoner on a hunger strike, Jesús Guerra Camejo, for talking with me,
has also been taken from the company to an unknown destination.
The inmates are constantly interviewed to obtain information about me,
writing or any data they might provide about me.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats
Prison 1580, San Miguel del Padrón
10 May 2013
http://translatingcuba.com/sos-attempted-riot-in-prison-1580-increase-in-repression-against-angel-santiesteban-and-the-other-inmates/ Continue reading
Deportan a ex oficial de las FAR
Álvaro Yero
13 de mayo de 2013
La Habana, Cuba – www.PayoLibre.com – Un ex oficial de las Fuerzas
Armadas Revolucionarias fue deportado el 8 de mayo para su provincia
natal, Camagüey, por residir "ilegal" en Ciudad de La Habana.
El ex agente de la FAR llamado Carlos González Linares dijo desde
Camagüey que fue detenido en plena vía pública por las autoridades y
conducido para la estación de la policía ubicada en Dragones.
Una vez en la unidad, le informaron que debido a su condición de ilegal
sería trasladado en tren hacia su lugar de nacimiento.
Según la fuente, aunque no fue sancionado, le redactaron una carta de
advertencia que le obligaron firmar. Esta le impide regresar a la
capital a no ser que cambie su dirección o realice un tránsito temporal
para la Ciudad de La Habana.
Agregó González Linares que en caso de violar esta advertencia podría
cumplir prisión.
Carlos González Linares fue expulsado de las FAR en el año 2011 por
involucrarse en una salida ilegal utilizando como medio de transporte
una lancha del servicio guardacostas de la república de Cuba y fue
capturado por Tropas Guardafronteras cubanas. Desde entonces reside sin
dirección en La Habana y es considerado ilegal.
El gobierno cubano no permite que ciudadanos de otras provincias residan
Ciudad de la Habana sin una dirección legalizada. Quien es capturado con
dirección de otra provincia, es deportado con vigilancia policial hacia
su lugar natal. Si reincide, es puesto en prisión.
http://payolibre.com/noticias/noticias2.php?id=9563
Álvaro Yero
13 de mayo de 2013
La Habana, Cuba – www.PayoLibre.com – Un ex oficial de las Fuerzas
Armadas Revolucionarias fue deportado el 8 de mayo para su provincia
natal, Camagüey, por residir "ilegal" en Ciudad de La Habana.
El ex agente de la FAR llamado Carlos González Linares dijo desde
Camagüey que fue detenido en plena vía pública por las autoridades y
conducido para la estación de la policía ubicada en Dragones.
Una vez en la unidad, le informaron que debido a su condición de ilegal
sería trasladado en tren hacia su lugar de nacimiento.
Según la fuente, aunque no fue sancionado, le redactaron una carta de
advertencia que le obligaron firmar. Esta le impide regresar a la
capital a no ser que cambie su dirección o realice un tránsito temporal
para la Ciudad de La Habana.
Agregó González Linares que en caso de violar esta advertencia podría
cumplir prisión.
Carlos González Linares fue expulsado de las FAR en el año 2011 por
involucrarse en una salida ilegal utilizando como medio de transporte
una lancha del servicio guardacostas de la república de Cuba y fue
capturado por Tropas Guardafronteras cubanas. Desde entonces reside sin
dirección en La Habana y es considerado ilegal.
El gobierno cubano no permite que ciudadanos de otras provincias residan
Ciudad de la Habana sin una dirección legalizada. Quien es capturado con
dirección de otra provincia, es deportado con vigilancia policial hacia
su lugar natal. Si reincide, es puesto en prisión.
http://payolibre.com/noticias/noticias2.php?id=9563
Posted on Tuesday, 05.14.13
Cuba government minister reports on corruption in international deals
and gas
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
Cuban government officials must fight "a grand battle" against
corruption in areas such as business deals with foreigners and the
distribution of gasoline, according to an official news media report Monday.
Rodrigo Malmierca, Minister of Foreign Commerce and Investment, gave a
cabinet meeting Friday a report on the "irregularities detected in the
functioning of businesses with foreign capital and international
contracts," the state-run Web page CubaDebate reported.
"He declared that among the principal causes … that make these acts
possible, the foremost are the lack of rigor, control and exigency all
along the deals, as well as the conduct and attitudes of the officials
implicated," CubaDebate added.
The Web report did not detail the cases, but the Cuban government has
been rocked in recent years by a long string of corruption scandals
involving top figures, from a former armed forces general to a couple of
deputy ministers and even the boyfriend of a daughter of Cuban leader
Raúl Castro.
Two Canadians and a British citizen have been detained for investigation
on complaints that they paid bribes to Cuban officials who gave them
advance knowledge of government contracts and favored their bids.
Malmierca told the Council of Ministers cabinet meeting that audits
carried out by the General Comptroller's Office "merit study to make
sure that lessons are learned and the same errors are avoided in the
future," according to the web page's report.
Minister of the Economy Adel Yzquierdo also reported to the cabinet that
corruption and theft are rampant in the fuel sector, especially gasoline
stolen from government stocks and sold on the black market.
"The high demand and profits in this illegal business creates a
permanent siege of employees in this sector by unscrupulous people who
later sell the fuel for up to 60 percent less than the official price,"
CubaDebate reported.
Havana has been rife with widespread but unconfirmed reports in recent
days about the arrests of several top officials at CUPET, the state
monopoly on gas stations and one of the main sources of black market
gasoline.
Yzquierdo noted that new technology is required to measure, store and
distribute the fuel, as well as to calibrate the measuring equipment — a
key way in which gasoline is stolen.
CubaDebate reported that the cabinet agreed that on the economic front,
"the grand battle today is against our own deficiencies and limitations
in all the sectors."
Minister of Industries Salvador Pardo Cruz reported, for example, that
between 2001 and 2010 the government spent about $680 million importing
products that before then had been made on the island, according to the
Web page's report.
Malmierca also reported that Cuba's service sector has become the
biggest source of hard currency for the island. CubaDebate gave no
further details, but Malmierca apparently referred to tourism and the
tens of thousands of Cuban medical personnel working for foreign
governments.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/14/3395497/govt-minister-reports-on-corruption.html Continue reading
Cuba government minister reports on corruption in international deals
and gas
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
Cuban government officials must fight "a grand battle" against
corruption in areas such as business deals with foreigners and the
distribution of gasoline, according to an official news media report Monday.
Rodrigo Malmierca, Minister of Foreign Commerce and Investment, gave a
cabinet meeting Friday a report on the "irregularities detected in the
functioning of businesses with foreign capital and international
contracts," the state-run Web page CubaDebate reported.
"He declared that among the principal causes … that make these acts
possible, the foremost are the lack of rigor, control and exigency all
along the deals, as well as the conduct and attitudes of the officials
implicated," CubaDebate added.
The Web report did not detail the cases, but the Cuban government has
been rocked in recent years by a long string of corruption scandals
involving top figures, from a former armed forces general to a couple of
deputy ministers and even the boyfriend of a daughter of Cuban leader
Raúl Castro.
Two Canadians and a British citizen have been detained for investigation
on complaints that they paid bribes to Cuban officials who gave them
advance knowledge of government contracts and favored their bids.
Malmierca told the Council of Ministers cabinet meeting that audits
carried out by the General Comptroller's Office "merit study to make
sure that lessons are learned and the same errors are avoided in the
future," according to the web page's report.
Minister of the Economy Adel Yzquierdo also reported to the cabinet that
corruption and theft are rampant in the fuel sector, especially gasoline
stolen from government stocks and sold on the black market.
"The high demand and profits in this illegal business creates a
permanent siege of employees in this sector by unscrupulous people who
later sell the fuel for up to 60 percent less than the official price,"
CubaDebate reported.
Havana has been rife with widespread but unconfirmed reports in recent
days about the arrests of several top officials at CUPET, the state
monopoly on gas stations and one of the main sources of black market
gasoline.
Yzquierdo noted that new technology is required to measure, store and
distribute the fuel, as well as to calibrate the measuring equipment — a
key way in which gasoline is stolen.
CubaDebate reported that the cabinet agreed that on the economic front,
"the grand battle today is against our own deficiencies and limitations
in all the sectors."
Minister of Industries Salvador Pardo Cruz reported, for example, that
between 2001 and 2010 the government spent about $680 million importing
products that before then had been made on the island, according to the
Web page's report.
Malmierca also reported that Cuba's service sector has become the
biggest source of hard currency for the island. CubaDebate gave no
further details, but Malmierca apparently referred to tourism and the
tens of thousands of Cuban medical personnel working for foreign
governments.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/14/3395497/govt-minister-reports-on-corruption.html Continue reading
Cuba: Moving Backwards
May 14, 2013
Veronica Fernandez
HAVANA TIMES — While the common Cuban is beating his or her head trying
to figure out what they will throw together for dinner tonight, the
Ernest Hemingway Fishing Tournament, a competition that has been held in
honor of the renowned American author for many years now, is underway in
Havana's municipality of Cojimar. I feel that, more than paying tribute
to Hemingway, the contest is an insult to his memory.
Like most things in Cuba, the tournament had a good start but, in the
course of time, has been degraded more and more. I say this for many
reasons.
Today, you won't come across the game that used to be put up on display
at the end of tournaments. You won't even see anything remotely
resembling a fishing vessel.
What you will see, instead, is a house painter touching up Hemingway's
bust, in a public gathering that combines entertainment for children
with dispensers of beer and hard liquor.
veronica3What has this event been turned into? As is the case with many
other so-called popular festivities in Cuba, today it is dominated by
stands offering alcoholic beverages, a few junk-food kiosks and
ear-splitting reaggeton that assails your ears, makes any normal or
pleasant conversation impossible and forces people to shout.
There are some who enjoy these gatherings, rather inaptly called
"festivities". There are some who wouldn't be caught dead in one. And
then there are some, like me, who go for a little a while, thinking it
could be different from last year's and, struck by the crude reality,
immediately leave.
The "fun and games", as Cubans say, turned the Cojimar park, located
east of the Havana Bay area, into a rather depressing setting, in every
sense of the word. Not far from this place, in front of a bakery, there
was another "spectacle" I was also able to capture with my camera.
More than a month ago, a state construction brigade tore open a good
stretch of road to conduct some repair work there. You would think the
aim was rather to mess up the street, for I have yet to see the road
back in working order again.
There is no shortage of such examples, which reveal the extent to which
Cuban society has deteriorated.
I am convinced these stark contrasts are not accidental, that there is a
deliberate effort to keep people entertained, to make robots of them, to
keep them from thinking, analyzing or reflecting on their lives, to keep
them from seeing beyond, from noticing what our lives have become and,
heaven forbid, developing the capacity to think critically.
We are going backwards in time, journeying back to the bud, as Alejo
Carpentier would have put it. This regression is gnawing away more and
more of our integrity every day. In Cuba, Darwin's theory about the
evolution of the species is proven wrong again and again.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93050 Continue reading
May 14, 2013
Veronica Fernandez
HAVANA TIMES — While the common Cuban is beating his or her head trying
to figure out what they will throw together for dinner tonight, the
Ernest Hemingway Fishing Tournament, a competition that has been held in
honor of the renowned American author for many years now, is underway in
Havana's municipality of Cojimar. I feel that, more than paying tribute
to Hemingway, the contest is an insult to his memory.
Like most things in Cuba, the tournament had a good start but, in the
course of time, has been degraded more and more. I say this for many
reasons.
Today, you won't come across the game that used to be put up on display
at the end of tournaments. You won't even see anything remotely
resembling a fishing vessel.
What you will see, instead, is a house painter touching up Hemingway's
bust, in a public gathering that combines entertainment for children
with dispensers of beer and hard liquor.
veronica3What has this event been turned into? As is the case with many
other so-called popular festivities in Cuba, today it is dominated by
stands offering alcoholic beverages, a few junk-food kiosks and
ear-splitting reaggeton that assails your ears, makes any normal or
pleasant conversation impossible and forces people to shout.
There are some who enjoy these gatherings, rather inaptly called
"festivities". There are some who wouldn't be caught dead in one. And
then there are some, like me, who go for a little a while, thinking it
could be different from last year's and, struck by the crude reality,
immediately leave.
The "fun and games", as Cubans say, turned the Cojimar park, located
east of the Havana Bay area, into a rather depressing setting, in every
sense of the word. Not far from this place, in front of a bakery, there
was another "spectacle" I was also able to capture with my camera.
More than a month ago, a state construction brigade tore open a good
stretch of road to conduct some repair work there. You would think the
aim was rather to mess up the street, for I have yet to see the road
back in working order again.
There is no shortage of such examples, which reveal the extent to which
Cuban society has deteriorated.
I am convinced these stark contrasts are not accidental, that there is a
deliberate effort to keep people entertained, to make robots of them, to
keep them from thinking, analyzing or reflecting on their lives, to keep
them from seeing beyond, from noticing what our lives have become and,
heaven forbid, developing the capacity to think critically.
We are going backwards in time, journeying back to the bud, as Alejo
Carpentier would have put it. This regression is gnawing away more and
more of our integrity every day. In Cuba, Darwin's theory about the
evolution of the species is proven wrong again and again.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93050 Continue reading
Cuba offering construction services at fair in Europe
CUBA STANDARD — Venturing into the European construction market, the
Cuban construction ministry (MICONS) is offering services of its
companies at a fair in Spain.
MICONS will be exhibiting at the Construmat 2013 fair May 21-24 in
Barcelona, offering project management, technical assistance and
contracting of skilled labor, such as engineers, technicians and
specialized workers. The Cuban delegation will include executives of the
Office of the Historian, which oversees the restoration of Old Havana,
as well as the Company of Projects and Engineering Services, and PALCO
Corporation.
The effort to open up the Spanish and European construction market
follows the success Cuba's healthcare and sports sectors have had with
service exports, which became Cuba's largest hard-currency generator a
decade ago, surpassing tourism.
The ministry's Project Division has 30 years experience with total and
partial designs, particularly in restoration of historical buildings and
tourism-related projects.
This is not the first time Cuba is exporting construction services.
State company Quality Couriers International, which is not participating
in the Barcelona fair, has provided turnkey projects in Vietnam,
Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Libya, Angola and elsewhere.
http://www.cubastandard.com/2013/05/12/cuba-offering-construction-services-at-fair-in-europe/ Continue reading
CUBA STANDARD — Venturing into the European construction market, the
Cuban construction ministry (MICONS) is offering services of its
companies at a fair in Spain.
MICONS will be exhibiting at the Construmat 2013 fair May 21-24 in
Barcelona, offering project management, technical assistance and
contracting of skilled labor, such as engineers, technicians and
specialized workers. The Cuban delegation will include executives of the
Office of the Historian, which oversees the restoration of Old Havana,
as well as the Company of Projects and Engineering Services, and PALCO
Corporation.
The effort to open up the Spanish and European construction market
follows the success Cuba's healthcare and sports sectors have had with
service exports, which became Cuba's largest hard-currency generator a
decade ago, surpassing tourism.
The ministry's Project Division has 30 years experience with total and
partial designs, particularly in restoration of historical buildings and
tourism-related projects.
This is not the first time Cuba is exporting construction services.
State company Quality Couriers International, which is not participating
in the Barcelona fair, has provided turnkey projects in Vietnam,
Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Libya, Angola and elsewhere.
http://www.cubastandard.com/2013/05/12/cuba-offering-construction-services-at-fair-in-europe/ Continue reading
Cuba Has Farm Products Wholesale Market
May 13, 2013
HAVANA TIMES – Cuban Vice President Marino Murillo told an expanded
meeting of the Council of Ministers on Friday that a wholesale market
has been established for farm products in the Havana municipality of
Boyeros.
He noted that such a type of wholesale market will be established in the
capital as well as neighboring provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque. Both
private buyers and state entities will have access to the market, said
Murillo.
Murillo further announced that agricultural markets will operate under
two modes: administered by the state and managed by agricultural
cooperatives.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93034 Continue reading
May 13, 2013
HAVANA TIMES – Cuban Vice President Marino Murillo told an expanded
meeting of the Council of Ministers on Friday that a wholesale market
has been established for farm products in the Havana municipality of
Boyeros.
He noted that such a type of wholesale market will be established in the
capital as well as neighboring provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque. Both
private buyers and state entities will have access to the market, said
Murillo.
Murillo further announced that agricultural markets will operate under
two modes: administered by the state and managed by agricultural
cooperatives.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93034 Continue reading
Cuba: The Hard Work of Being a Mother
May 11, 2013
Rosa Martínez
HAVANA TIMES —Though I read all of the comments that people write in
response to my posts, I am not always able to reply to them, much less
write a new piece as way of a retort.
Many comments have given me ideas for posts which I have later
developed, but I do not make a habit of replying to comments that anger
me or hurt my feelings. I am of the opinion that everyone ought to be
free to express their opinions, but that it is important to respect
others in the process.
Today, however, on the eve of Mother's Day, I want to refer to a number
of comments I received a few months ago, in response to the post "The
Height of Forgetfulness", which I had published on this site.
I believe those who accused me of being irresponsible were right. In
fact, that is precisely what I felt when I realized I had left my little
girl behind in the park. No one is as duty-bound to care for our
children as we, their parents, are, and oversights of this nature can
cost a child their life, in Cuba and any other country in the world.
No one would have kidnapped my girl to ask for a million-dollar ransom,
nor was she at any serious risk of being murdered by someone, not in
Cuba, but she could have easily been hit by a car or suffered another
kind of accident trying to get home on her own.
I acknowledge the serious consequences that my neglectfulness could have
caused.
A mistake at work can cost one a sanction or, in the worst of cases,
one's job. A misunderstanding can ruin a friendship of many years. But
one can live with all these things.
However, the guilt a mother cannot live with is the guilt of having
caused their child harm, or brought about their death, through neglect.
I don't think I could ever live with that. I imagine no mother could.
Many are the daily chores that fall on women, particularly Cuban women,
who, because of their measly salaries, cannot afford to hire someone to
wash or iron clothes, much less take care of the house while they work
elsewhere.
Like most mothers around the planet, Cuban mothers carry the heaviest
burdens at home. We contribute, as our husbands do, to covering daily
household expenses and, in addition to this, are also responsible for
our children's education, for their moral upbringing, school work and
other forms of instruction.
Nothing justifies the oversight I described in my post, but I want
people to see that a change in daily routine can easily lead to it, as
it did with me. The important thing is to prevent such things from
happening again, right? Nobody is perfect and what happened to me could
have happened to anyone.
I dedicate this post to those mothers, to the most self-sacrificing of
the lot.
To those who fall asleep helping their kids with their homework; to
those who accidentally burn food while getting ahead on the cleaning or
washing for the next day and to those who arrive late at parent-teacher
meetings because they could not get away from work earlier.
This is also dedicated to those who carry two jobs, plus the full burden
of the home, who act as both mother and father, as sister and friend. To
those who leave behind their child in the park in a moment of neglect;
to those who sacrifice their own lives to devote themselves entirely to
their little ones, and to those who prepare the most delicious food in
the world, adding that special ingredient that no one else knows how to
give as they do: love.
I dedicate this post to all of those mothers, congratulating them on
this most special of days.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=92915 Continue reading
May 11, 2013
Rosa Martínez
HAVANA TIMES —Though I read all of the comments that people write in
response to my posts, I am not always able to reply to them, much less
write a new piece as way of a retort.
Many comments have given me ideas for posts which I have later
developed, but I do not make a habit of replying to comments that anger
me or hurt my feelings. I am of the opinion that everyone ought to be
free to express their opinions, but that it is important to respect
others in the process.
Today, however, on the eve of Mother's Day, I want to refer to a number
of comments I received a few months ago, in response to the post "The
Height of Forgetfulness", which I had published on this site.
I believe those who accused me of being irresponsible were right. In
fact, that is precisely what I felt when I realized I had left my little
girl behind in the park. No one is as duty-bound to care for our
children as we, their parents, are, and oversights of this nature can
cost a child their life, in Cuba and any other country in the world.
No one would have kidnapped my girl to ask for a million-dollar ransom,
nor was she at any serious risk of being murdered by someone, not in
Cuba, but she could have easily been hit by a car or suffered another
kind of accident trying to get home on her own.
I acknowledge the serious consequences that my neglectfulness could have
caused.
A mistake at work can cost one a sanction or, in the worst of cases,
one's job. A misunderstanding can ruin a friendship of many years. But
one can live with all these things.
However, the guilt a mother cannot live with is the guilt of having
caused their child harm, or brought about their death, through neglect.
I don't think I could ever live with that. I imagine no mother could.
Many are the daily chores that fall on women, particularly Cuban women,
who, because of their measly salaries, cannot afford to hire someone to
wash or iron clothes, much less take care of the house while they work
elsewhere.
Like most mothers around the planet, Cuban mothers carry the heaviest
burdens at home. We contribute, as our husbands do, to covering daily
household expenses and, in addition to this, are also responsible for
our children's education, for their moral upbringing, school work and
other forms of instruction.
Nothing justifies the oversight I described in my post, but I want
people to see that a change in daily routine can easily lead to it, as
it did with me. The important thing is to prevent such things from
happening again, right? Nobody is perfect and what happened to me could
have happened to anyone.
I dedicate this post to those mothers, to the most self-sacrificing of
the lot.
To those who fall asleep helping their kids with their homework; to
those who accidentally burn food while getting ahead on the cleaning or
washing for the next day and to those who arrive late at parent-teacher
meetings because they could not get away from work earlier.
This is also dedicated to those who carry two jobs, plus the full burden
of the home, who act as both mother and father, as sister and friend. To
those who leave behind their child in the park in a moment of neglect;
to those who sacrifice their own lives to devote themselves entirely to
their little ones, and to those who prepare the most delicious food in
the world, adding that special ingredient that no one else knows how to
give as they do: love.
I dedicate this post to all of those mothers, congratulating them on
this most special of days.
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=92915 Continue reading
Cuba: The Business of Charity
May 13, 2013
Osmel Almaguer
HAVANA TIMES — Odalys, one of my mother's neighbors, has a niece who's
made some significant additions to her wardrobe of late. She now has
some rather expensive garments, but, no, she doesn't have a salary that
would make such luxury affordable.
Nor does she have friends or parents living in the United States, no.
She simply works at one of those State institutions which receives and
distributes clothes donated to aid the victims of the hurricane which
lashed Santiago de Cuba recently.
She pays regular visits to her aunt, a seamstress, for her to mend the
latest acquisitions. Odalys gives her a reproachful look, again and
again. To which the niece replies: "Aw, come on, girl, when did you
suddenly become so conscientious?", or: "Don't be a party-pooper,
auntie. Everyone at work does it."
While it is true that people are going through tough times, it is also
true that you have to be fairly insensitive to do what Odalys' niece
does. I feel the average Cuban has become so used to taking things from
the workplace that these misappropriations are no longer seen as
something reprehensible.
This holds for items of clothing that arrive as donations from abroad,
where the feeling is perhaps more widespread. There, you don't just see
a handful of employees rummaging through boxes in search of something
that could be useful to them; you find a whole chain of businesses that
almost constitute an economic sector in the country.
Between warehouses and delivery trucks, clothes take illicit detours,
and garments are sold and purchased. I've heard that a sealed box,
containing who-knows-what inside, costs anywhere from 200 to 300 Cuban
Convertible Pesos (CUCs). With this investment, the would-be retailer
can make as much as 1,000 or 2,000 CUCs, if they have the patience to
move the clothes (1.00 CUC = 1.10 USD).
This is the reason the clothes that end up in State thrift stores are
garbage that only the most financially desperate among us buy and wear.
From time to time, you do come across a decent dress shirt from a
donation at a reasonable price, like 30 or 40 pesos, but only if you
know someone in the business.
Things have gotten to the point that, when I met Odalys' niece, I
scratched my head and asked myself: "Where might the clothes I
painstakingly sent to Santiago after the hurricane have ended up?"
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93002 Continue reading
May 13, 2013
Osmel Almaguer
HAVANA TIMES — Odalys, one of my mother's neighbors, has a niece who's
made some significant additions to her wardrobe of late. She now has
some rather expensive garments, but, no, she doesn't have a salary that
would make such luxury affordable.
Nor does she have friends or parents living in the United States, no.
She simply works at one of those State institutions which receives and
distributes clothes donated to aid the victims of the hurricane which
lashed Santiago de Cuba recently.
She pays regular visits to her aunt, a seamstress, for her to mend the
latest acquisitions. Odalys gives her a reproachful look, again and
again. To which the niece replies: "Aw, come on, girl, when did you
suddenly become so conscientious?", or: "Don't be a party-pooper,
auntie. Everyone at work does it."
While it is true that people are going through tough times, it is also
true that you have to be fairly insensitive to do what Odalys' niece
does. I feel the average Cuban has become so used to taking things from
the workplace that these misappropriations are no longer seen as
something reprehensible.
This holds for items of clothing that arrive as donations from abroad,
where the feeling is perhaps more widespread. There, you don't just see
a handful of employees rummaging through boxes in search of something
that could be useful to them; you find a whole chain of businesses that
almost constitute an economic sector in the country.
Between warehouses and delivery trucks, clothes take illicit detours,
and garments are sold and purchased. I've heard that a sealed box,
containing who-knows-what inside, costs anywhere from 200 to 300 Cuban
Convertible Pesos (CUCs). With this investment, the would-be retailer
can make as much as 1,000 or 2,000 CUCs, if they have the patience to
move the clothes (1.00 CUC = 1.10 USD).
This is the reason the clothes that end up in State thrift stores are
garbage that only the most financially desperate among us buy and wear.
From time to time, you do come across a decent dress shirt from a
donation at a reasonable price, like 30 or 40 pesos, but only if you
know someone in the business.
Things have gotten to the point that, when I met Odalys' niece, I
scratched my head and asked myself: "Where might the clothes I
painstakingly sent to Santiago after the hurricane have ended up?"
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=93002 Continue reading
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