Cuban Exiles Demand The Release Of Danilo Maldonado / EFE, 14ymedio
Posted on September 29, 2015
EFE, Miami, 29 September 2015 — The Assembly of Cuban Resistance in
Miami on Tuesday demanded the release in Cuba of artist Danilo
Maldonado, known as El Sexto (The Sixth), who has spent 22 days on a
hunger strike to demand his freedom after nine months of detention.
According to the Cuban exile group, the graffiti artist is in "critical
condition" in the Cuban prison of Valle Grande, in the province of
Mayabeque, along with the activisits Zaqueo Báez, Ismael Bonet Reñé and
María Josefa Acón, detained in Havana and also on hunger strike.
The organization explained that Maldonado was arrested in December 2014
for painting the names of the two Castro brothers on the backs of two
pigs, before an artistic performance he was going to stage with the animals.
The group called on human rights organizations and the international
community to "show solidarity with this cause."
"No trial has yet been held and the reason is that he simply wanted to
stage a performance," the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance said in a
statement today.
The organization said that the three other human rights activists belong
to the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and were arrested on 20
September during the visit of Pope Francis to the island.
"We call on the international community to support these defenders of
human rights whose lives are really at risk," Antonio Rodiles said in a
statement; Rodiles is one of the coordinators of the Forum on the Rights
and Freedoms.
After more than five decades of enmity, Cuba and the United States
re-established diplomatic relations on 20 July.
The White House said this Tuesday that President Barack Obama
"reaffirmed" before his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro, his "commitment"
to ensure that the Government of the island "does a better job" in
protecting the human rights of its citizens, following the participation
of both presidents on Monday at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Source: Cuban Exiles Demand The Release Of Danilo Maldonado / EFE,
14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-exiles-demand-the-release-of-danilo-maldonado-efe-14ymedio/
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Raul Castro Tells UN that Human Rights Are ‘a Utopia’
Raul Castro Tells UN that Human Rights Are 'a Utopia' / Diario de Cuba
Posted on September 30, 2015
The general stands in defense of Latin American populist governments and
criticizes democracies with parties "alien and distant from the
aspirations of the people."
DiariodeCuba.com, New York, 28 September 2015 – General Raul Castro
affirmed this Monday, in his speech before the General Assembly of the
UN, that the enjoyment of human rights is "a utopia," and he criticized
the fact that, according to him, "their promotion and protection is
distorted." "They are used as a selective and discriminatory way of
imposing political decisions," he remarked.
The ruler began his speech with reference to the "unacceptable
militarization of cyberspace and information technology." And he
lamented that since the emergence of the fundamental charter of human
rights, there have been "constant wars and interventions, forcible
overthrows by government forces and soft coups."
In this sense, he defended the freedom of countries to choose their own
political, economic, social and cultural system, and he explicitly
defended the governments of Nicolas Maduro and Rafael Correa, respectively.
The general asserted that the cause of the conflicts is found in
"poverty," originating, according to what he said, "in colonialism first
and imperialism later."
"The commitment assumed in 1945 to promote social progress and elevate
the standard of living for people and their economic and social
development is still a chimera," he emphasized, pointing out that "795
million people suffer hunger, 781 million adults are illiterate, 17,000
children die every day of incurable illnesses, while military expenses
are 1.7 trillion dollars worldwide."
The ruler indicated that "with only a fraction of this amount they could
solve the most pressing problems that afflict humanity."
Castro also asserted that "even in industrialized countries social
welfare states have practically disappeared" and added that "the
electoral systems and parties depend on money and publicity." They are,
he said, "increasingly alien and distant from the aspirations of the
people."
Part of his address focused also on warning of the ravages of climate
change and particularly the serious consequences for "small island nations."
Castro also spoke of migration problems without reference to the Cuban
problem. Instead, he appealed to the European Union to "assume its
responsibilities" in the current humanitarian crisis "that it helped to
create."
As on previous occasions, Castro reminded us that the normalization of
relations between the United States and Cuba will be completed with the
end of the embargo, the end of broadcasts by Radio and Television Marti,
the return of the Guantanamo naval base, and reparations for damages
caused to the Cuban people by sanctions. He also asked for the end to
"subversion" programs directed at promoting changes on the Island.
Translated by Mary Lou Keel
Source: Raul Castro Tells UN that Human Rights Are 'a Utopia' / Diario
de Cuba | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/raul-castro-tells-un-that-human-rights-are-a-utopia-diario-de-cuba/
Posted on September 30, 2015
The general stands in defense of Latin American populist governments and
criticizes democracies with parties "alien and distant from the
aspirations of the people."
DiariodeCuba.com, New York, 28 September 2015 – General Raul Castro
affirmed this Monday, in his speech before the General Assembly of the
UN, that the enjoyment of human rights is "a utopia," and he criticized
the fact that, according to him, "their promotion and protection is
distorted." "They are used as a selective and discriminatory way of
imposing political decisions," he remarked.
The ruler began his speech with reference to the "unacceptable
militarization of cyberspace and information technology." And he
lamented that since the emergence of the fundamental charter of human
rights, there have been "constant wars and interventions, forcible
overthrows by government forces and soft coups."
In this sense, he defended the freedom of countries to choose their own
political, economic, social and cultural system, and he explicitly
defended the governments of Nicolas Maduro and Rafael Correa, respectively.
The general asserted that the cause of the conflicts is found in
"poverty," originating, according to what he said, "in colonialism first
and imperialism later."
"The commitment assumed in 1945 to promote social progress and elevate
the standard of living for people and their economic and social
development is still a chimera," he emphasized, pointing out that "795
million people suffer hunger, 781 million adults are illiterate, 17,000
children die every day of incurable illnesses, while military expenses
are 1.7 trillion dollars worldwide."
The ruler indicated that "with only a fraction of this amount they could
solve the most pressing problems that afflict humanity."
Castro also asserted that "even in industrialized countries social
welfare states have practically disappeared" and added that "the
electoral systems and parties depend on money and publicity." They are,
he said, "increasingly alien and distant from the aspirations of the
people."
Part of his address focused also on warning of the ravages of climate
change and particularly the serious consequences for "small island nations."
Castro also spoke of migration problems without reference to the Cuban
problem. Instead, he appealed to the European Union to "assume its
responsibilities" in the current humanitarian crisis "that it helped to
create."
As on previous occasions, Castro reminded us that the normalization of
relations between the United States and Cuba will be completed with the
end of the embargo, the end of broadcasts by Radio and Television Marti,
the return of the Guantanamo naval base, and reparations for damages
caused to the Cuban people by sanctions. He also asked for the end to
"subversion" programs directed at promoting changes on the Island.
Translated by Mary Lou Keel
Source: Raul Castro Tells UN that Human Rights Are 'a Utopia' / Diario
de Cuba | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/raul-castro-tells-un-that-human-rights-are-a-utopia-diario-de-cuba/
Wifi, Another Opportunity To “Resolve Things Under The Table”
Wifi, Another Opportunity To "Resolve Things Under The Table" / EFE,
Yeny Garcia
Posted on September 30, 2015
EFE, 14ymedio, Yeny Garcia, Havana, 28 September 2015 – For the last
three months Cuba has experienced an unprecedented, although still
limited, increase in Internet access with 35 new WiFi points, a boom
that engages Cubans and that has led to the proliferation of services
"under the table."
Many "bisneros" [businessmen] or street traders have taken advantage of
the inability of the telecommunications monopoly, ETECSA, to maintain a
stable supply of recharge coupons, high prices and the lack of knowledge
among neophyte users, to offer services outside the legal to meet demand.
"It's like it's always been, we try to resolve it however we can, we
don't worry too much about how, the problem is to resolve it, to
connect," says Gerardo, a young man who has settled with his laptop on a
bench on Boulevard San Rafael in Old Havana, where one of the wireless
internet areas operates.
Almost always this Cuban "resolve" goes one way: "under the table,"
which explains what this young Havanan intends to do to be able to
challenge the restrictions.
For Gerardo "the world moves through the Internet" so the access to the
web brings "many benefits to Cubans," although for some it is still very
difficult to pay the 2 Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) fee for one hour of
internet (over $10 US or one-tenth or more of the average monthly wage).
"The price for the cards is very expensive, because we cannot do much in
an hour, the connection is very slow, you have to keep reconnecting, and
in the end it is not economical for us," he said.
Cuba is one of the countries with the lowest rates of connectivity in
the world, with only 5% of people connected to the internet (that is,
not the island's own intranet), which is reduced to 1% for broadband.
The eagerness of Cubans to surf the web has resulted in 55,000
individual connections from the 35 WiFi points spread across the island,
8,000 of them simultaneously, according to the official data.
"Many people connect and ETECSA isn't equipped to sell the recharge
cards, the lines are very long, they're only sold during working hours.
So you have to go to the black market," a "bisnero" who offers the
service told EFE, asking for anonymity.
Reselling the cards, generally at 3 CUCs (one above the official price)
means having "the police always on top of you," and so this business has
shifted to "installing software," to turn cellphones into WiFi hotspots.
Several local media, among them the main official newspaper, Granma,
criticize these WiFi "merchants" who sell to users via middlemen who use
their devices to create alternative wireless networks that can be
accessed for half the official price.
"People often do not have the money to take advantage of what is
offered, but they're aware of all this and have increased the
surveillance; I myself have been picked up by the police, for no reason,
and they had to let me go," says this young man who recognizes that "the
wifi is something that has not been developed as it should have been."
Another user, Grisel, welcomes the opportunity to connect, but is
concerned about the consequences, "You have to keep your eyes open, so
that someone doesn't take your cellphone," recognizing that the price
will continue to be "elevated" if you take into account the average
Cuban salary.
Hundreds of people, focused on their phones, tablets and computers,
accommodate themselves as best they can on sidewalks, benches, stairs
and curbs within the WiFi zones, including Yainiel, who travels from
Santiago de las Vegas, about 12 miles from Havana, to connect.
"I come from far away," he tells EFE, while affirming that "when so many
people with phones and computers are outdoors, robberies increase the
insecurity."
The young engineer acknowledges the poor quality of the connection,
"when there are a lot of people it is very slow and that's money that
it's costing you," he said, noting that this is why many people prefer
to pay half-price, even though it is illegal.
"If ETECSA lowers prices (…) and expands the sale of cards, this (the
illegalities) will eventually fall," he said, while excusing himself
saying that in Cuba "time is money."
Source: Wifi, Another Opportunity To "Resolve Things Under The Table" /
EFE, Yeny Garcia | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/wifi-another-opportunity-to-resolve-things-under-the-table-efe-yeny-garcia/
Yeny Garcia
Posted on September 30, 2015
EFE, 14ymedio, Yeny Garcia, Havana, 28 September 2015 – For the last
three months Cuba has experienced an unprecedented, although still
limited, increase in Internet access with 35 new WiFi points, a boom
that engages Cubans and that has led to the proliferation of services
"under the table."
Many "bisneros" [businessmen] or street traders have taken advantage of
the inability of the telecommunications monopoly, ETECSA, to maintain a
stable supply of recharge coupons, high prices and the lack of knowledge
among neophyte users, to offer services outside the legal to meet demand.
"It's like it's always been, we try to resolve it however we can, we
don't worry too much about how, the problem is to resolve it, to
connect," says Gerardo, a young man who has settled with his laptop on a
bench on Boulevard San Rafael in Old Havana, where one of the wireless
internet areas operates.
Almost always this Cuban "resolve" goes one way: "under the table,"
which explains what this young Havanan intends to do to be able to
challenge the restrictions.
For Gerardo "the world moves through the Internet" so the access to the
web brings "many benefits to Cubans," although for some it is still very
difficult to pay the 2 Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) fee for one hour of
internet (over $10 US or one-tenth or more of the average monthly wage).
"The price for the cards is very expensive, because we cannot do much in
an hour, the connection is very slow, you have to keep reconnecting, and
in the end it is not economical for us," he said.
Cuba is one of the countries with the lowest rates of connectivity in
the world, with only 5% of people connected to the internet (that is,
not the island's own intranet), which is reduced to 1% for broadband.
The eagerness of Cubans to surf the web has resulted in 55,000
individual connections from the 35 WiFi points spread across the island,
8,000 of them simultaneously, according to the official data.
"Many people connect and ETECSA isn't equipped to sell the recharge
cards, the lines are very long, they're only sold during working hours.
So you have to go to the black market," a "bisnero" who offers the
service told EFE, asking for anonymity.
Reselling the cards, generally at 3 CUCs (one above the official price)
means having "the police always on top of you," and so this business has
shifted to "installing software," to turn cellphones into WiFi hotspots.
Several local media, among them the main official newspaper, Granma,
criticize these WiFi "merchants" who sell to users via middlemen who use
their devices to create alternative wireless networks that can be
accessed for half the official price.
"People often do not have the money to take advantage of what is
offered, but they're aware of all this and have increased the
surveillance; I myself have been picked up by the police, for no reason,
and they had to let me go," says this young man who recognizes that "the
wifi is something that has not been developed as it should have been."
Another user, Grisel, welcomes the opportunity to connect, but is
concerned about the consequences, "You have to keep your eyes open, so
that someone doesn't take your cellphone," recognizing that the price
will continue to be "elevated" if you take into account the average
Cuban salary.
Hundreds of people, focused on their phones, tablets and computers,
accommodate themselves as best they can on sidewalks, benches, stairs
and curbs within the WiFi zones, including Yainiel, who travels from
Santiago de las Vegas, about 12 miles from Havana, to connect.
"I come from far away," he tells EFE, while affirming that "when so many
people with phones and computers are outdoors, robberies increase the
insecurity."
The young engineer acknowledges the poor quality of the connection,
"when there are a lot of people it is very slow and that's money that
it's costing you," he said, noting that this is why many people prefer
to pay half-price, even though it is illegal.
"If ETECSA lowers prices (…) and expands the sale of cards, this (the
illegalities) will eventually fall," he said, while excusing himself
saying that in Cuba "time is money."
Source: Wifi, Another Opportunity To "Resolve Things Under The Table" /
EFE, Yeny Garcia | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/wifi-another-opportunity-to-resolve-things-under-the-table-efe-yeny-garcia/
Pinar Del Rio, Under Siege By Dengue Fever
Pinar Del Rio, Under Siege By Dengue Fever / 14ymedio, Juan Carlos Fernandez
Posted on September 30, 2015
14ymedio, Juan Carlos Fernandez, 29 September 2015 – The fear of
contracting dengue fever keeps thousands of families on tenterhooks in
the province of Pinar del Rio, especially those with young children.
Problems with the water supply are among the main causes for the
outbreak, said a family doctor from the Hermanos Barcón People's
Council, who requested anonymity. "People build tanks, cisterns and try
to store water and that is a constant focus of vectors," he says. "There
are areas in the city that only receive water every fifteen days,"
adding that the "poor state of the health centers in the capital makes
many people with the disease try to hide it so they will not be forced
to go to a hospital," thereby increasing the risk of contagion.
Hospitals have reinforced their services to deal with cases of dengue
fever, especially Leon Cuervo Rubio Hospital and Abel Santamaría General
Teaching Hospital, which has one room only for pregnant women. It has
also set up a room at the Simon Boliver Health Polytechnic and another
for infants in the Turcios Lima polyclinic, while in the Pepe Portilla
Pediatric Hospital the avalanche of fever cases has required them to
place beds in the corridors, with mosquito nets to prevent transmission.
Although health authorities spread the word about the increase of cases
in the region they have not yet provided data on infections. Dr. Mérida
Morales Lugo, head of the International Sanitary Control Program, simply
explained last Friday in a statement to the local newspaper Guerrilla
that conditions are favorable for "accelerated vector reproduction,"
referring to the Aedes aegypti mosquito. However, the specialist said,
so far there are no cases of hemorrhagic dengue fever, the most feared
form of the disease.
There are confirmed cases of dengue fever in the four health areas of
the Pinar del Rio capital and in eight of its People's Councils, an area
that has a population of about 122,000. The disease has also reached the
municipalities of San Luis, San Juan y Martinez and Consolacion del Sur,
near the provincial capital.
Health authorities have urged people to go to the doctor at the least
sign of fever symptoms. Medical students, staff in all the family
medicine offices and public health administrative workers have been
mobilized along with other workplace employees to search house to house,
looking for people with symptoms of the disease.
Source: Pinar Del Rio, Under Siege By Dengue Fever / 14ymedio, Juan
Carlos Fernandez | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/pinar-del-rio-under-siege-by-dengue-fever-14ymedio-juan-carlos-fernandez/
Posted on September 30, 2015
14ymedio, Juan Carlos Fernandez, 29 September 2015 – The fear of
contracting dengue fever keeps thousands of families on tenterhooks in
the province of Pinar del Rio, especially those with young children.
Problems with the water supply are among the main causes for the
outbreak, said a family doctor from the Hermanos Barcón People's
Council, who requested anonymity. "People build tanks, cisterns and try
to store water and that is a constant focus of vectors," he says. "There
are areas in the city that only receive water every fifteen days,"
adding that the "poor state of the health centers in the capital makes
many people with the disease try to hide it so they will not be forced
to go to a hospital," thereby increasing the risk of contagion.
Hospitals have reinforced their services to deal with cases of dengue
fever, especially Leon Cuervo Rubio Hospital and Abel Santamaría General
Teaching Hospital, which has one room only for pregnant women. It has
also set up a room at the Simon Boliver Health Polytechnic and another
for infants in the Turcios Lima polyclinic, while in the Pepe Portilla
Pediatric Hospital the avalanche of fever cases has required them to
place beds in the corridors, with mosquito nets to prevent transmission.
Although health authorities spread the word about the increase of cases
in the region they have not yet provided data on infections. Dr. Mérida
Morales Lugo, head of the International Sanitary Control Program, simply
explained last Friday in a statement to the local newspaper Guerrilla
that conditions are favorable for "accelerated vector reproduction,"
referring to the Aedes aegypti mosquito. However, the specialist said,
so far there are no cases of hemorrhagic dengue fever, the most feared
form of the disease.
There are confirmed cases of dengue fever in the four health areas of
the Pinar del Rio capital and in eight of its People's Councils, an area
that has a population of about 122,000. The disease has also reached the
municipalities of San Luis, San Juan y Martinez and Consolacion del Sur,
near the provincial capital.
Health authorities have urged people to go to the doctor at the least
sign of fever symptoms. Medical students, staff in all the family
medicine offices and public health administrative workers have been
mobilized along with other workplace employees to search house to house,
looking for people with symptoms of the disease.
Source: Pinar Del Rio, Under Siege By Dengue Fever / 14ymedio, Juan
Carlos Fernandez | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/pinar-del-rio-under-siege-by-dengue-fever-14ymedio-juan-carlos-fernandez/
Are We Cubans More Unruly Than Other Peoples?
Are We Cubans More Unruly Than Other Peoples? / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez
Posted on September 30, 2015
14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 30 September 2015 –
"Nobody takes care of anything," raged the lady in line at the cash
register of a State butcher shop. She was referring to those who leave
the refrigerators open or who put their shopping baskets on the glass
counters. However, she didn't seem to notice the lack of air
conditioning, the stench coming from some of the freezers where the
goods were spoiled, or the single employee taking payments, while the
others looked on with their arms crossed. The customers are to blame,
according to the feisty woman.
Social indiscipline has become a recurring theme in reports and
interviews in the national media. Vandalism is blamed for everything,
from problems with public transport buses to the deplorable state of
planted areas. Official journalists raise the accusing finger more and
more against the pillage, while barely addressing the educational and
political system that has molded these citizens so bent on looting and
destruction.
Social behavior is shaped by one's environment. On a spotless floor, a
clean sidewalk, in a cared-for city, many will imitate the environment
and avoid dirtying, destroying or degrading it. Context greatly
influences people's attitude toward public spaces and common goods. But
when the environment is dirty, assaulted by carelessness and becomes
hostile, those who inhabit it will neither respect nor care for it.
Cubans are no more unruly than other human beings and yet, right now, a
park filled with children's play structures needs to be guarded like a
bank, so that the swing seats, the iron from the carousels or the ropes
from the climbing nets aren't stolen. In poorly lit areas of the city
people defecate or urinate, microdumps rise in thousands of corners and
a stream of dirty water can fall from any balcony, directly on
pedestrians below.
The situation has gone on for so long that many have come to believe
that it is in the DNA of our identity to not care for our surroundings.
"This city couldn't have a subway, because imagine the stink in those
tunnels with people taking care of all their needs down there," states a
gentleman with the tint of a shabby official, while waiting at a bus stop.
With his words, the man suggested that we Cubans cannot enjoy the
privileges of modernity and comfort, because we are unable to maintain
them. However, this same "unredeemable exterminator" that we have become
can get on a plane, go to New York or Berlin, and in two weeks in those
place be throwing trash in the bins, not lighting up in public places,
and cleaning the mud off their shoes before entering an office.
Vandalism is a problem present in all societies. Laws and control
regulate it and keep it in check, but there it is. It is a part of our
human nature that a moment of rage makes us take a blade and inscribe
our name on a recently painted wall, or rip the fabric of a movie
theater seat. Fines and other penalties should keep this vulture we all
shelter within us from getting out of hand.
However, the context has to encourage people to care for things. It is
not enough to call for discipline and formal education, the individual
has to feel that it's worth the trouble to preserve his or her
surroundings. A street full of potholes, a late and overloaded bus, a
sidewalk plunged into darkness, its single streetlight broken years ago,
are the ideal components for depredation and pillage.
Many, like the lady who complained at the butcher's, no longer perceive
the scenario of constant attacks on the rights of consumers and citizens
that our society presents. So accustomed to the abuse, the
inefficiencies, the breakage and the high prices, they throw all the
blame on those "unruly Cubans" who couldn't "live anywhere without
destroying it."
Source: Are We Cubans More Unruly Than Other Peoples? / 14ymedio, Yoani
Sanchez | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/are-we-cubans-more-unruly-than-other-peoples-14ymedio-yoani-sanchez/
Posted on September 30, 2015
14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 30 September 2015 –
"Nobody takes care of anything," raged the lady in line at the cash
register of a State butcher shop. She was referring to those who leave
the refrigerators open or who put their shopping baskets on the glass
counters. However, she didn't seem to notice the lack of air
conditioning, the stench coming from some of the freezers where the
goods were spoiled, or the single employee taking payments, while the
others looked on with their arms crossed. The customers are to blame,
according to the feisty woman.
Social indiscipline has become a recurring theme in reports and
interviews in the national media. Vandalism is blamed for everything,
from problems with public transport buses to the deplorable state of
planted areas. Official journalists raise the accusing finger more and
more against the pillage, while barely addressing the educational and
political system that has molded these citizens so bent on looting and
destruction.
Social behavior is shaped by one's environment. On a spotless floor, a
clean sidewalk, in a cared-for city, many will imitate the environment
and avoid dirtying, destroying or degrading it. Context greatly
influences people's attitude toward public spaces and common goods. But
when the environment is dirty, assaulted by carelessness and becomes
hostile, those who inhabit it will neither respect nor care for it.
Cubans are no more unruly than other human beings and yet, right now, a
park filled with children's play structures needs to be guarded like a
bank, so that the swing seats, the iron from the carousels or the ropes
from the climbing nets aren't stolen. In poorly lit areas of the city
people defecate or urinate, microdumps rise in thousands of corners and
a stream of dirty water can fall from any balcony, directly on
pedestrians below.
The situation has gone on for so long that many have come to believe
that it is in the DNA of our identity to not care for our surroundings.
"This city couldn't have a subway, because imagine the stink in those
tunnels with people taking care of all their needs down there," states a
gentleman with the tint of a shabby official, while waiting at a bus stop.
With his words, the man suggested that we Cubans cannot enjoy the
privileges of modernity and comfort, because we are unable to maintain
them. However, this same "unredeemable exterminator" that we have become
can get on a plane, go to New York or Berlin, and in two weeks in those
place be throwing trash in the bins, not lighting up in public places,
and cleaning the mud off their shoes before entering an office.
Vandalism is a problem present in all societies. Laws and control
regulate it and keep it in check, but there it is. It is a part of our
human nature that a moment of rage makes us take a blade and inscribe
our name on a recently painted wall, or rip the fabric of a movie
theater seat. Fines and other penalties should keep this vulture we all
shelter within us from getting out of hand.
However, the context has to encourage people to care for things. It is
not enough to call for discipline and formal education, the individual
has to feel that it's worth the trouble to preserve his or her
surroundings. A street full of potholes, a late and overloaded bus, a
sidewalk plunged into darkness, its single streetlight broken years ago,
are the ideal components for depredation and pillage.
Many, like the lady who complained at the butcher's, no longer perceive
the scenario of constant attacks on the rights of consumers and citizens
that our society presents. So accustomed to the abuse, the
inefficiencies, the breakage and the high prices, they throw all the
blame on those "unruly Cubans" who couldn't "live anywhere without
destroying it."
Source: Are We Cubans More Unruly Than Other Peoples? / 14ymedio, Yoani
Sanchez | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/are-we-cubans-more-unruly-than-other-peoples-14ymedio-yoani-sanchez/
Were The Firecrackers That Brought the CDRs to Life Spontaneous?
Were The Firecrackers That Brought the CDRs to Life Spontaneous? /
Diario de Cuba, Orland Freire Santana
Posted on September 30, 2015
Diario de Cuba, Orlando Freire Santana, Havana, 28 September 2015 –
Recently a group of friends were talking about the way the Cuban
government leaders, during those first years of Fidel Castro's
Revolution, were maneuvering until achieving the establishment of a
Marxist-Leninist-type totalitarian system. At one point in the
conversation, one of the participants threw out the following question:
Could those firecrackers that went off that night of 28 September 1960,
when Castro founded the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution
(CDRs), been spontaneous, or was it merely a matter of self-provocation?
That year, even without the socialist character of the Revolution having
been declared, already the authorities were taking giant steps to
annihilate civil society. By that time, the opposition press had
disappeared almost completely, and the state's takeover of the economy
would proceed apace through the nationalization of foreign-owned
businesses, and the confiscation of large property-owners' holdings
across the nation. But Fidel Castro liked to wrangle with words – that
is, to hint that his actions were a response to The Enemy's aggressions.
Thus things went, and at the moment when Castro delivered a speech in
the old Presidential Palace after having attended the sessions of the
United Nations General Assembly, two firecrackers went off. Immediately,
and in response to those explosions, the Maximum Leader declared that
"we will put in place, before Imperialism's campaigns of aggression, a
collective revolutionary surveillance system, so that everyone will know
who lives on the block and what relationship he had with the Tyranny,
and what he does for a living, with whom he associates, and the
activities in which he is involved."
Truly, it is hard to believe that such a sophisticated method for
denouncing every person who is opposed to or acts against the government
could have been conceived by Castro at the very moment in which he was
piecing together his speech. Anyone would say that on that day, simply
put, a monstrosity was revealed that had been already carefully wrought.
Thus were born the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs),
an organization that has marched in time with its progenitors. Without a
doubt, the Committees had their best moment—as far as the government's
interests are concerned, of course—during the first three decades of the
Revolution. But they fell spectacularly starting in the 1990s, with the
advent of the "Special Period in Time of Peace."
At this time, at the grassroots level—on city blocks and in
neighborhoods—the CDRs barely function: the CDR members' monthly
meetings don't take place; almost nobody takes on guard duty in the
blocks; there is no more collection of raw materials (that task is now
performed by the self-employed); and there are very few Committees who
celebrate on the night of September 27, the eve of a new birthday of the
organization.
However, what hasn't fallen by the wayside is the collection of
membership dues. During the month of January, the members are required
to pay the year's dues in advance, thus providing the revenue that,
among other things, funds the maintenance of the organization's
parasitic structures at the municipal, provincial and national levels.
Even so, the machinery of power does not give in, and it does not waste
an opportunity to sing the CDRs' praises. To do this they dispatch the
retinue of Carlos Rafael Miranda, national coordinator of the CDRs,
across diverse territories of the country to pass out diplomas and
certificates, and to harangue the young people so that they will assume
responsibilities in the various structures of the CDR. And, of course,
they also call meetings where high-level authorities of the Communist
Party (PCC) and the hierarchy of the CRDs converge. One of these was the
Fourth National Plenary of the CDRs which met in recent days.
At that conclave, José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the
PCC, said that "the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution are
strengthening and will reach their 55th anniversary with important
achievements and perspectives." Even so, upon remembering (or upon
somebody whispering in his ear) that the CDRs are practically
non-functioning at their base level, Machado noted that "the system for
reporting and making denunciations must be reinforced for the prevention
of, and battle against, illegalities, crimes and social indisciplines"—a
tacit acknowledgment that the power elite is dissatisfied with the level
of snitching that the CDRs are currently exhibiting.
There was finally consensus among those friends who were recalling that
night in 1960 that not even 100 firecrackers, such as those that went
off on 28 September, would be enough to revive a patient who is in an
irreversible coma and is waiting only for the machines that are
artificially prolonging his life to be turned off so as to definitively die.
Translated By: Alicia Barraqué Ellison
Source: Were The Firecrackers That Brought the CDRs to Life Spontaneous?
/ Diario de Cuba, Orland Freire Santana | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/were-the-firecrackers-that-brought-the-cdrs-to-life-spontaneous-diario-de-cuba-orland-freire-santana/
Diario de Cuba, Orland Freire Santana
Posted on September 30, 2015
Diario de Cuba, Orlando Freire Santana, Havana, 28 September 2015 –
Recently a group of friends were talking about the way the Cuban
government leaders, during those first years of Fidel Castro's
Revolution, were maneuvering until achieving the establishment of a
Marxist-Leninist-type totalitarian system. At one point in the
conversation, one of the participants threw out the following question:
Could those firecrackers that went off that night of 28 September 1960,
when Castro founded the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution
(CDRs), been spontaneous, or was it merely a matter of self-provocation?
That year, even without the socialist character of the Revolution having
been declared, already the authorities were taking giant steps to
annihilate civil society. By that time, the opposition press had
disappeared almost completely, and the state's takeover of the economy
would proceed apace through the nationalization of foreign-owned
businesses, and the confiscation of large property-owners' holdings
across the nation. But Fidel Castro liked to wrangle with words – that
is, to hint that his actions were a response to The Enemy's aggressions.
Thus things went, and at the moment when Castro delivered a speech in
the old Presidential Palace after having attended the sessions of the
United Nations General Assembly, two firecrackers went off. Immediately,
and in response to those explosions, the Maximum Leader declared that
"we will put in place, before Imperialism's campaigns of aggression, a
collective revolutionary surveillance system, so that everyone will know
who lives on the block and what relationship he had with the Tyranny,
and what he does for a living, with whom he associates, and the
activities in which he is involved."
Truly, it is hard to believe that such a sophisticated method for
denouncing every person who is opposed to or acts against the government
could have been conceived by Castro at the very moment in which he was
piecing together his speech. Anyone would say that on that day, simply
put, a monstrosity was revealed that had been already carefully wrought.
Thus were born the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs),
an organization that has marched in time with its progenitors. Without a
doubt, the Committees had their best moment—as far as the government's
interests are concerned, of course—during the first three decades of the
Revolution. But they fell spectacularly starting in the 1990s, with the
advent of the "Special Period in Time of Peace."
At this time, at the grassroots level—on city blocks and in
neighborhoods—the CDRs barely function: the CDR members' monthly
meetings don't take place; almost nobody takes on guard duty in the
blocks; there is no more collection of raw materials (that task is now
performed by the self-employed); and there are very few Committees who
celebrate on the night of September 27, the eve of a new birthday of the
organization.
However, what hasn't fallen by the wayside is the collection of
membership dues. During the month of January, the members are required
to pay the year's dues in advance, thus providing the revenue that,
among other things, funds the maintenance of the organization's
parasitic structures at the municipal, provincial and national levels.
Even so, the machinery of power does not give in, and it does not waste
an opportunity to sing the CDRs' praises. To do this they dispatch the
retinue of Carlos Rafael Miranda, national coordinator of the CDRs,
across diverse territories of the country to pass out diplomas and
certificates, and to harangue the young people so that they will assume
responsibilities in the various structures of the CDR. And, of course,
they also call meetings where high-level authorities of the Communist
Party (PCC) and the hierarchy of the CRDs converge. One of these was the
Fourth National Plenary of the CDRs which met in recent days.
At that conclave, José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the
PCC, said that "the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution are
strengthening and will reach their 55th anniversary with important
achievements and perspectives." Even so, upon remembering (or upon
somebody whispering in his ear) that the CDRs are practically
non-functioning at their base level, Machado noted that "the system for
reporting and making denunciations must be reinforced for the prevention
of, and battle against, illegalities, crimes and social indisciplines"—a
tacit acknowledgment that the power elite is dissatisfied with the level
of snitching that the CDRs are currently exhibiting.
There was finally consensus among those friends who were recalling that
night in 1960 that not even 100 firecrackers, such as those that went
off on 28 September, would be enough to revive a patient who is in an
irreversible coma and is waiting only for the machines that are
artificially prolonging his life to be turned off so as to definitively die.
Translated By: Alicia Barraqué Ellison
Source: Were The Firecrackers That Brought the CDRs to Life Spontaneous?
/ Diario de Cuba, Orland Freire Santana | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/were-the-firecrackers-that-brought-the-cdrs-to-life-spontaneous-diario-de-cuba-orland-freire-santana/
Freedom of Expression - A Change That Has Been Just Another Strategy
Freedom of Expression: A Change That Has Been Just Another Strategy /
Hablemos Press, Weiner Alexander Martínez
Posted on October 1, 2015
27 September 2015, Havana – The flexibilities described by the Cuban
government in recent years regarding freedom of expression constitute
only a change in its political strategy, the objective being to improve
its image before international public opinion and organizations that
defend human rights.
Testimonies of various government opponents and independent journalists
indicate that repression of their activities has not ceased, but rather
that the methods used have evolved, becoming more subtle and imperceptible.
They differ from those in the now distant 1970s and 80s, when the
dissidence (and even any person who would dare to express divergent
ideas) was dealt a "strong hand."
Currently, the Island's independent journalists, as well as the
organizations of human rights activists or dissidents, are in the midst
of a psychological war waged by the State Security apparatus.
The most common tactics consist of weakening the opponents, attacking
their weaknesses, psychologically torturing them as well as their
families; carefully tracking all their steps, relationships,
friendships, influences, and even their enemies—so as to cause them to
be isolated from their families and suffer social and moral death.
This way, nobody can prove that the security forces are harassing them,
being that on no occasion do the agents appear in their uniforms, nor
can they be shown to be behind the actions they commit.
For these purposes, they rely also on technology, spying on and
filtering emails, telephone calls and text messages, and mounting
surveillance operations across the street from activists' dwellings.
All of this goes on with no concern over operational costs, being that
the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) and the Armed Forces do not answer
to the public regarding their expenditures.
As journalists of the Hablemos Press Agency, we have not remained far
from the war. My family has been threatened, stigmatized, and often
coerced so as to instill fear and insecurity among all members.
The reality faced by dissidents and independent journalists is harsh in
all senses of the word. But currently, in my opinion, there is something
that without a doubt is a point in favor of the non-governmental
organizations.
The desertions, violations of protocol, corruption, and fragmentation in
its ranks have weakened the organs of State Security, revealing many of
the obscure facets of this apparently solid institution.
This entity, also, suffers from the effects of the destruction of Cuban
society, as is happening in the schools, state institutions, factories
and high levels of government.
The infiltrated agents could not only exist among the ranks of the
opposition. The accusations of actions, roundups, and names of covert
operators are concrete proofs that show that even among the eternal
faithful of the Homeland, Party and Revolution, there can also be
stowaways in service to the Cuban dissidence.
When all is said and done, there is not one Cuban affiliated with
Castroism, consecrated to the Revolution and the Party, who lives
honestly off his salary and does not find himself forced to betray the
laws and regulations imposed by the leaders.
The classic modus operandi of Joseph Fouché could be the description for
many of those State Security agents, about whom it is easy to say, in
Cuban style, that "they dance to whatever rhythm they are played."
From its beginnings, the repressive machines of the government utilized
one of the simplest and most decisive weapons to win a war: distrust.
Thus could a group of dissidents be fragmented with just a simple salute
from a police agent or a chief of security to those gathered at any spot
in the neighborhood: an interesting strategy that bore fruit while it
lasted.
While the covers are blown from the clandestine agents, the proofs of
the presence of infiltrators can be seen everywhere. Videos of
assassinations committed in Cuba for diverse causes, extracted from an
exclusive MININT database by any one of its intrepid "followers" are now
circulating hand to hand.
True democracy in Cuba is still very far away from those of us who
suffer discrimination because of our firm stance before falsehood. Which
shows that they repress us for defending the truth, because repressors
defend the lie.
Translated by: Alicia Barraqué Ellison
Source: Freedom of Expression: A Change That Has Been Just Another
Strategy / Hablemos Press, Weiner Alexander Martínez | Translating Cuba
-
http://translatingcuba.com/freedom-of-expression-a-change-that-has-been-just-another-strategy-hablemos-press-weiner-alexander-martinez/
Hablemos Press, Weiner Alexander Martínez
Posted on October 1, 2015
27 September 2015, Havana – The flexibilities described by the Cuban
government in recent years regarding freedom of expression constitute
only a change in its political strategy, the objective being to improve
its image before international public opinion and organizations that
defend human rights.
Testimonies of various government opponents and independent journalists
indicate that repression of their activities has not ceased, but rather
that the methods used have evolved, becoming more subtle and imperceptible.
They differ from those in the now distant 1970s and 80s, when the
dissidence (and even any person who would dare to express divergent
ideas) was dealt a "strong hand."
Currently, the Island's independent journalists, as well as the
organizations of human rights activists or dissidents, are in the midst
of a psychological war waged by the State Security apparatus.
The most common tactics consist of weakening the opponents, attacking
their weaknesses, psychologically torturing them as well as their
families; carefully tracking all their steps, relationships,
friendships, influences, and even their enemies—so as to cause them to
be isolated from their families and suffer social and moral death.
This way, nobody can prove that the security forces are harassing them,
being that on no occasion do the agents appear in their uniforms, nor
can they be shown to be behind the actions they commit.
For these purposes, they rely also on technology, spying on and
filtering emails, telephone calls and text messages, and mounting
surveillance operations across the street from activists' dwellings.
All of this goes on with no concern over operational costs, being that
the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) and the Armed Forces do not answer
to the public regarding their expenditures.
As journalists of the Hablemos Press Agency, we have not remained far
from the war. My family has been threatened, stigmatized, and often
coerced so as to instill fear and insecurity among all members.
The reality faced by dissidents and independent journalists is harsh in
all senses of the word. But currently, in my opinion, there is something
that without a doubt is a point in favor of the non-governmental
organizations.
The desertions, violations of protocol, corruption, and fragmentation in
its ranks have weakened the organs of State Security, revealing many of
the obscure facets of this apparently solid institution.
This entity, also, suffers from the effects of the destruction of Cuban
society, as is happening in the schools, state institutions, factories
and high levels of government.
The infiltrated agents could not only exist among the ranks of the
opposition. The accusations of actions, roundups, and names of covert
operators are concrete proofs that show that even among the eternal
faithful of the Homeland, Party and Revolution, there can also be
stowaways in service to the Cuban dissidence.
When all is said and done, there is not one Cuban affiliated with
Castroism, consecrated to the Revolution and the Party, who lives
honestly off his salary and does not find himself forced to betray the
laws and regulations imposed by the leaders.
The classic modus operandi of Joseph Fouché could be the description for
many of those State Security agents, about whom it is easy to say, in
Cuban style, that "they dance to whatever rhythm they are played."
From its beginnings, the repressive machines of the government utilized
one of the simplest and most decisive weapons to win a war: distrust.
Thus could a group of dissidents be fragmented with just a simple salute
from a police agent or a chief of security to those gathered at any spot
in the neighborhood: an interesting strategy that bore fruit while it
lasted.
While the covers are blown from the clandestine agents, the proofs of
the presence of infiltrators can be seen everywhere. Videos of
assassinations committed in Cuba for diverse causes, extracted from an
exclusive MININT database by any one of its intrepid "followers" are now
circulating hand to hand.
True democracy in Cuba is still very far away from those of us who
suffer discrimination because of our firm stance before falsehood. Which
shows that they repress us for defending the truth, because repressors
defend the lie.
Translated by: Alicia Barraqué Ellison
Source: Freedom of Expression: A Change That Has Been Just Another
Strategy / Hablemos Press, Weiner Alexander Martínez | Translating Cuba
-
http://translatingcuba.com/freedom-of-expression-a-change-that-has-been-just-another-strategy-hablemos-press-weiner-alexander-martinez/
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