Spending One’s Youth in Prison, the Cuban Regime’s Punishment for Filming a Protest

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Yoani-Sánchez

Before ending up in a dungeon, people prefer to hang up their ideological mask or emigrate to any country where peaceful protest is not so harshly penalized.

Most of the 13 Cubans prosecuted for the demonstrations in the Camagüey municipality Nuevitas were tried for the crime of sedition / Mayelín Rodríguez Prado/Facebook

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 30 April 2024 –She was 21 years old when she took her mobile phone and recorded part of the popular protests that shook the city of Nuevitas, in the Cuban province of Camagüey, in August 2022. Just a few days ago it was learned that a court sentenced her to 15 years in prison. If she serves that complete sentence, when she is released from prison, Mayelín Rodríguez Prado will be close to completing four decades of life. She will have spent the most precious moments of her existence behind bars. The time of studying for a university degree, of walking with her young friends, of being a mother or undertaking a professional project, will all be spent for her in a penitentiary.

Most of the 13 Cubans prosecuted for the demonstrations in that Camagüey municipality were tried for the crime of sedition, the legal figure that the Cuban regime also used against some of the protesters in the historic protests of 11 July 2021 (’11J’). In the case of Rodríguez Prado, his participation was limited to transmitting the events in Nuevitas through Facebook and collecting testimony from some girls who were beaten by uniformed troops after they detained several participants in the revolt.

For the summer that is upon us, the reasons that led the residents of Nuevitas to take to the streets two years ago seem to be repeated

The severity of the sentences seeks to send an exemplary message to the rest of the Cuban population. The official plan is to warn every citizen that any demonstration of dissent in the streets will be harshly punished. In addition to the reduction in civic rights that this State policy entails, it brings with it two phenomena that, although secondary, are no less important: the extension of opportunism and the increase in exodus. Before ending up in a dungeon, people prefer to hang up their ideological mask or emigrate to any country where peaceful protest is not so harshly penalized.

It is also significant that these protesters have been tried for sedition. According to the Cuban Penal Code, it is a “crime against the internal security of the State” and is used against those who “riotously and through express or tacit concert, using violence, disturb the socialist order.” But, despite this explanation, it is impossible to separate the word from its military connotations, associating it with the mutiny or uprising carried out by troops recruited in a military framework. That evocation is not far from the reality of this Island.

For decades, the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) has treated its citizens as part of a platoon, as simple troops in a barracks. For the authorities of this country, ordinary people must respond quickly and without hesitation to official calls, accept orders without question no matter how delirious they may seem, always be alert to fight the enemy in a battle that never comes, and swallow criticism without disobeying superiors. Even though we don’t wear uniforms, we are all treated like common soldiers. Any social insubordination will be judged as if it were a trial in a military court.

The effectiveness of this message of terror can only be proven over time. For the summer that is upon us, the reasons that led the residents of Nuevitas to take to the streets two years ago seem to be repeated. The energy deficit increases as temperatures rise, the subsidized basic family basket suffers fluctuations in supplies and is barely enough to eat badly for a few days of the month. Social fatigue does not stop growing due to inflation, the devaluation of the Cuban peso and the evident inability of the PCC leadership to find solutions. The soldiers behave more like citizens every day: they complain loudly and believe that the streets belong to them.

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

The Emigration of Its Militants Is a Blow to the Communist Party of Cuba

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Yoani-Sánchez

The speed with which some Cubans change the PCC red card for residence in the ’yuma’ (US), never ceases to surprise / Cadeca

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 25 April 2024 — Even opportunism crumbles. Wearing the ideological mask in Cuba meant, for decades, obtaining revenues and benefits, but for some time now it seems to cost more than what it brings in. This morning I learned from a former official, linked to propaganda in the official media, that she is diligently waiting for her humanitarian parole to be approved to move to the United States. Instead of rejection or annoyance, the news has provoked congratulations among her former colleagues in the core of the Communist Party.

“You’re incredibly lucky, you’re leaving!” another militant, already retired and lacking anyone to claim him on the “other side of the pond,” told her with a touch of envy. According to what the future migrant has assured her friends, she will alternate her life between Miami and Havana, but everyone senses that it is a trip with no real return. “In a few years, for sure, she will publish on Facebook the photo with the flag of the little stars next to an image of the Statue of Liberty, after becoming nationalized,” predicts the pensioner.

Although the phenomenon has been quite common in recent years, the speed with which some Cubans exchange the PCC red card for residence in the Yuma is still surprising. With the same enthusiasm that, util recently, they used to get ready to participate in official events, they pack their suitcase and go to the airport. The speed with which they shed the skin of the simulator is causing a schism in the ranks of those who still say they support the system.

Party meetings, public events and the morning workplace meetings have become a roll call to count those absent and calculate how many more will emigrate. They look into each other’s eyes, weigh every word each other says, look for signs that they are waiting for a visa or a ticket. But the potential migrants do not give up. Trained in hiding their criticism of the regime and keeping quiet about any discrepancies, they guard their departure until the last minute.

From the plane window, up there, they will smile with relief. Down here, their cronies in the cause will also do the same. They know that with each acolyte who leaves, loyalty fades, masks crack, the system falls apart.

Haiti, Another Failure of Latin American Integration

Posted on March 31, 2024 by Yoani-Sánchez

Haitians cannot continue to wait for summits and photos of presidents who smile in front of the cameras / EFE

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 31 March 2024 — Acronyms, meetings and official photos. International organizations seem more interested in demonstrating that they are operating through events and receptions than with actions or results. In Latin America it is a rare month in which there is not a summit, meeting or alliance that grabs the headlines and generates a new declaration signed by leaders and foreign ministers. However, where the effectiveness of these integration mechanisms is really measured is in reality, a level in which most lack tangible fruits.

The current situation in Haiti has revealed the limited effectiveness of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and other regional alliances. Instead of accompanying and supporting the Haitian people in the difficult moment they are experiencing, the governments of this continent have chosen to look the other way or to dedicate themselves to distributing historical blame without managing to provide quick and practical help aimed at the population of a country ravaged by violence, the economic crisis and the collapse of political institutions.

Instead of accompanying and supporting the Haitian people in the difficult moment they are experiencing, the governments of this continent have chosen to look the other way

Celac and Latin American executives have failed Haitians because they have not even managed to protect them as refugees. On the dangerous route that crosses the Darién jungle and enters Central America and then crosses Mexican territory until reaching the southern border of the United States, nationals of the Caribbean country are among the migrants in the most vulnerable situation. Without speaking a word of Spanish, in many cases, lacking the resources to pay coyotes, and goaded by racism, they have become invisible beings that local administrations do not want to see, mention or support.

The lack of programs with residence facilities, access to work and coverage of basic services in many of the countries that make up the migratory journey of thousands of Haitians annually is striking. With more than 12 million inhabitants, the small island depends more and more on its diaspora and supporting these human beings in transit is also a way to save families who have been left waiting for their relatives to manage the trek, send them remittances and support them from the outside. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) issued a series of recommendations for neighboring countries to guarantee these Haitians refuge and protection; but, as often happens, the exhortation has fallen on deaf ears.

In addition to specific facilities for these migrants, a joint response to the Haitian drama has been lacking in Latin America

In addition to specific facilities for these migrants, a joint response to the Haitian drama has been lacking in Latin America. The houses of Government are more focused on arguing among themselves over their ideological positions, creating a diplomatic fire based on the publications of a leader on the social network X, or making accusations against other governments, than in sitting down to agree on a plan of action.

During crises and humanitarian alerts, regional organizations are tested and those who represent us in this hemisphere have demonstrated their inability. Haitians can no longer wait for summits and photos of presidents smiling in front of the cameras. An aid program aimed at its injured population is urgently needed and must be as a whole as “the silver in the depth of the Andes.”*

*Translator’s note: The quote is from José Martí’s 1891 essay “Nuestra America”: “The hour to muster and march in unison is upon us and our ranks must be as compact as the veins of silver in the depths of the Andes.”

Romanticizing the Electricity Cuts in Cuba, More Than Cynical It Is Offensive

Posted on March 13, 2024 by Yoani-Sánchez

Romanticizing a blackout by alluding to the fact that the great classics of universal literature were written by candlelight, surpasses cynicism and becomes an offense / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana — A ‘snort’ runs through the neighborhood. They have just cut off the electricity service and life is paralyzed until the power returns. The elevator does not work, the elderly residents of the upper floors wait on the ground floor of the building because arthritis and fatigue do not allow them to climb the stairs. The cafeteria on the corner closes to the public since the oven is electric and its main offering is pizzas. The pipes remain dry because the water pump could not complete the rise to the tank and, furthermore, “for two days there has been a break in the Palatino pipeline,” says a neighbor.

There is nothing romantic, beautiful or creative about blackouts. They are not, as official media assures, the opportunity to prepare a candlelit dinner for a couple, to get away from the mobile screen or read a book. Not having power is something much more mundane, irritating and limiting. Bedridden patients are flooded with sweat because the fans no longer work; the little milk that the family saves for the baby spoils due to the lack of refrigeration; the poor young man who earns his living as a bicycle messenger loses his little income. because the shipping application stops working after the telecommunications towers are turned off.

Now, they claim that darkness can return us to a calmer and more natural life, when in reality it makes our existence more distressing

With the blackout, people become more aggressive and in the silence left by the engines and devices, domestic fights, swearing and insults emerge more strongly. With the power outage, private businesses are sinking, the dangers of accidents with disconnected traffic lights multiply, night outings are reduced even more, plans are postponed and the idea of packing suitcases gains strength. Weddings are also postponed, schools further reduce the quality of their teaching and bureaucratic procedures become much more complicated.

Romanticizing a blackout, alluding to the fact that the great classics of universal literature were written by candlelight surpasses cynicism and becomes an offense. Just like when, during the Special Period, some leaders of the Communist Party praised the flavor that cooking with firewood left in food, due to the absence of gas. But, while they evoked the charcoal that leaves a smoky touch on food, we burned our grandparents’ furniture so we could eat. Now, they claim that darkness can return us to a calmer and more natural life, when in reality it makes our existence more distressing.

No, there is nothing beautiful about a blackout, especially when you have suffered them for a good part of your life and you cannot see, in the short or medium term, that they will stop breaking into our daily lives.

The Cuban ‘Paquetazo’ Moves to the Rhythm of Russian Demands

Posted on March 3, 2024 by Yoani-Sánchez

It does not seem a coincidence that, after the postponement of the start of the ‘package’, we had the visit of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov / Russian Foreign Ministry

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 29 February 2024 — Lavrov, Patrushev and Titov. We Cubans get lost among so many surnames of high-ranking Russian officials who arrive in Cuba. The procession, which has grown in number and frequency in recent months, coincides with official announcements of economic measures. It is very difficult to remove the Kremlin from the national equation when Vladimir Putin’s envoys arrive on the island and, shortly after, tariff adjustments are published in the Official Gazette or new prices are made effective at gas stations and electricity bills.

This Thursday, the head of the Russia-Cuba Business Council, Boris Titov, arrives in Havana, and will stay on the Island until March 7. A long visit that, in advance, has all the traces of a review, of a meticulous inspection to verify where the vague promises that Cuban officials must have made to the ears of the Russians, to extract investments and support, have played out. A dance of seduction that has worked with others but is now being performed before “clients” who know very well the false tricks of Castroism.

It does not seem a coincidence that after the postponement of the start of the paquetazo*, which raised the prices of fuel and electricity, we had the visit of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, and, later, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev. Both in the second half of February, the month initially chosen to begin measures that will make life on the Island more expensive and generate great social unrest. After his departure, the application of the new prices to take effect on March 1 has finally been announced.

It seems that Miguel Díaz-Canel has been showered with scoldings from Moscow. For Putin, it is not enough to agree, we must comply. His men have come to demand accountability in Havana and the clumsy officials of the Cuban Communist Party have only managed to do what they know best. Initially they have chosen to stretch the times and negotiate new deadlines, only to end up giving in to the powerful patron of the day.

It seems that Miguel Díaz-Canel has been showered with scoldings from Moscow. For Putin, it is not enough to agree, we must comply.

In front of the eyes of the citizens, the Russians seem to be sneaking into every crevice of national life. The intergovernmental commission led by Titov examines and makes agreements in areas as diverse as the economic, financial, energy, transportation, agriculture, communications, health, education and tourism. Even though not recognized by either regime, the presence of Cuban mercenaries fighting for the Russian side in the invasion of Ukraine also makes the link between Castroism and Putinism closer.

The official press of the Island has adopted the script that the Kremlin imposes on its national media. Both there and here, Russian defeats on the battlefield are not published, Volodymyr Zelensky’s name must always be accompanied by the worst adjectives, and the invasion is only a “special operation” for the Russian homeland to recover what belongs to it, what was once taken from it. Every day, the publications of Sputnik and Granma become more similar. There are hardly any differences between RIA Nóvosti and Prensa Latina when it comes to news about Europe and the United States.

Both regimes have been synchronizing speeches in recent years, aligning their political narrative at various points and strengthening ties, some visible and others under the cloak of secrecy. But Cuba is a small country, an island with hardly any natural resources and an economy destroyed by inefficiency and mismanagement. Getting too close to Moscow’s voracity is a very dangerous move because Russia asks its allies for much more than handshakes and formal visits.

Within this obedient delivery is the act of serving as a springboard for disinformation campaigns and acting as a bridge with Latin America so that Putin can wash his image and undermine solidarity with Kiev. The Kremlin does not give support without asking for anything in return and these are times of direct requests and excessive demands.

When Moscow lands it does so with everything. Sometimes destroying the treads of their tanks, other times crushing with their misinformation and adjustments.

*Translator’s note: ‘Paquete’ means ‘package’, while the ‘azo’ added to the end implies a ‘forceful blow’.

Cuban President Diaz-Canel Had To Go to Cauto Cristo to ‘Bathe in the People’

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Yoani-Sánchez

The new dancers define their style as contemporary, with a clear influence from modern Cuban dance and the folkloric and popular dances. (EFE)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Madrid, 11 February 2024 — Acosta Danza Yunior, the new artistic project of the prestigious Cuban dancer and choreographer Carlos Acosta, debuts this weekend with a presentation at the emblematic Martí Theater in Havana. The new youth group is made up of 10 dancers from 18 to 20 years old, graduates from the academy belonging to the company founded by Acosta in 2016 with an artistic style that combines contemporary movement and classical ballet.

The new generation is ready to perform, having completed a special curriculum for three years. The promoters point out that they will have their own choreographic repertoire and particular program of presentations.

They also define their style as contemporary, with a clear influence from Cuban modern dance and the folk and popular dances of the Island, without disdaining the technical touch of classical ballet.

For their first season, ’Green Shoots’, they will perform ’Fuga’, ’Hybrid’ and ’Nosotros’, where the dancers show their energy, passion and freshness, and that desire to “eat the world,” as their mentor Acosta expressed in the program for their first public performance.

“The three creations are artistic approaches to the complex moments we are living,” said the general director of the ’older sister’ company of the group.

Acosta Danza Yunior “will be the space where many artists will begin their professional careers, and they will adorn the stage in the coming decades”

Acosta Danza Yunior “will be the space where many artists will begin their professional careers, and they will adorn the stage in the coming decades. It is a place to grow, excel, experiment and mature,” he said.

Behind the curtain, the dancers move nervously, wearing light clothing to stage ’Fuga’, a world premiere piece that was specially conceived for Acosta Danza Yunior by the Spanish choreographer and dancer – based in Cuba – Susana Pous.

She has placed the context of her work “in a moment of escape, of flight.” She explains that she has not intended to “complicate the work from the dramaturgical point of view, but that’s what it’s all about: all that can mean sharing a space, and that space begins to be insufficient for some, too small for them, so that they feel the need to get out of there, to escape.”

The piece is joined by ’Hybrid’ and ’Nosotros’, which are versions of Acosta Danza choreographies that the new group will now perform.

’Nosotros’, the second work of the program, danced by Betty García and Raúl Reinoso, is a duet to reflect on the intermittences of relationships, both disagreements and coincident points, frustrations and the couple’s best moments.

As a culmination, ’Hybrid’ brings closure, as the dancers move freely and transmit their body energy to represent the message of the most complex work for debutants.

’Fuga’ is a world premiere piece that was specially conceived for Acosta Danza Yunior by the Spanish choreographer and dancer – located in Cuba – Susana Pous

Paul Brando García-Cachimaille and Thalía Cardín Díaz take the lead in ’Hybrid’, and even before recovering from the impact and the strong dynamics of their representation, they stated their impressions.

“We are very happy with this project that opens many doors for us in the world of art, to start a new stage in our artistic career and to grow artistically,” said García-Cachimaille, after saying that the previous training process and the long hours of rehearsals have been “difficult.”

His colleague Thalía Cardín Díaz said that “it has been a pleasure, and we are proud to work with these internationally recognized choreographers. It opens up our way of experiencing dance.”

The 19-year-old dancer hopes this presentation has “touched the soul” of the public and that “seeing dance as something relevant in these hard times makes us feel grateful for the art, for Acosta Danza and the people who support us.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

‘I Do Not Normally Post These Kinds of Publications’

Posted on December 31, 2023 by Auto Post

Las personas, ante el miedo, justifican lo que van a publicar con que no es una conducta habitual. (14ymedio) — People, in the face of fear, justify what they are going to publish by saying that it is not common behavior. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 31 December 2023 — In my childhood, letters always began with “I hope upon receipt of this letter.” Now, many Cubans on Facebook warn in their first line: “I am not used to making this kind of publication.” Both formulas introduce a text and seek to create a link between the writer and their reader, but they are separated not only by the distance of decades but also by intentions. One is a mere cliché, the other is evidence of fear.

In Cuba, those who have expressed themselves freely through social networks have been penalized so much, in one way or another, that the fear of making a complaint visible, requesting medicine or reporting the state’s apathy is enormous. People feel that they have to apologize in advance for exercising their right to spread their opinions or to demand everything, from having food arrive at the ration store to having a hospital bathroom cleaned. The majority feel obliged to offer that disclaimer to make it clear that only in this extreme case are they appealing to make their annoyance or desperation visible.

They also want to distance themselves from activists, independent journalists and opponents who have made the virtual square the space to disseminate their actions, information or platforms. Before the inquisitive eyes of the political police that monitor the web, it must be clear that the Internet user in question has made an exception to their rules and has published their feelings this one time, only this once. If a co-worker were to check their Facebook wall to see what content they have shared, the colleague must also get the impression that this post is the result of urgency and will not become a habit.

The message is also intended for strangers. They will know that once the problem is solved and the personal crisis subsides, that Facebook account will go back to just posting family photos, ribbon-adorned hearts, and celebrity gossip. There should be no doubt that, after the current complaint, there will be no political positioning, no dissident attitude and, much less, the conversion of the individual into a digital leader that summons others and overshadows the prominence of officials and party leaders.

The “I do not normally post these types of publications” is a summary of the terror that has been instilled in us towards our own words. Using that formula goes beyond a platitude, it is perpetuating the gag that has been imposed on us.

The Anguish of Cubans in the Face of the Government’s Economic ‘Paquetazo’

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Auto Post

This Christmas, few dare to believe or say that next year will be better. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 29 December 2023 –Few garlands, scarce Christmas trees and less popular enthusiasm are marking the last days of 2023 in Cuba. Apart from the occasional isolated celebration, the spirit of this December seems more marked by uncertainty than by celebration. Added to the long economic crisis and the mass exodus are fears about the great economic paquetazo* that the Island’s authorities have announced for 2024.

Although President Miguel Díaz-Canel has already come out to try to stop the rumors and insists that the cuts are not part of a “neoliberal” process, we all know that Cuban leaders have their own glossary of terms. For decades they have labelled the unemployed with the almost friendly euphemism of “available workers”; the crisis of the 90s was labeled the “Special Period“; and the onslaught that confiscated all private businesses in 1968, even including the boxes of the shoeshine boys, was given the heroic moniker of the “Revolutionary Offensive.”

Miguel Díaz-Canel insists that the cuts are not part of a “neoliberal” process; we all know that Cuban leaders have their own glossary of terms

Knowing this appetite for naming things their own way, it is clear that the authorities do not like it at all when someone gets ahead of them in naming the phenomena and moments that the Cuban reality has gone through. But, it only took a few minutes after Prime Minister Manuel Marrero began to explain before Parliament the economic adjustments that will come with the new year, for the word “paquetazo” to spread through the networks and instant messaging services. This little word names the snips that will be aimed at cutting subsidies while, on the other hand, prices are increased.

This group of actions would also fit well with the definition of “shock plan,” another of the phrases that the official Cuban press likes to use when talking about other countries. What is coming, broadly speaking, includes an increase in the prices of products and services and the end of the universal subsidy for the basic food basket. Following Marrero’s statements, several officials have rushed to assure us that the rationed market “booklet” will not be eliminated, but without guaranteeing that, after 60 years of existence, it will be maintained for all consumers.

The paquetazo also includes a 25% increase in the electricity rate for the 6% of the residential sector that consumes the most and charging tourists for fuel in foreign currency. The cost of the water supply will triple for those who do not have a metering device and the price of a liquefied gas cylinder will increase by 25%. New rates will also be applied to passenger transportation services. In addition, Marrero warned of a “review” of the number of people currently on the state payroll, which predicts numerous layoffs.

The announcements before Parliament have raised a wave of concern among both ordinary people and the officials themselves.

It is evident that in a society where welfarism, crude egalitarianism and the rationed market have been used not only as mechanisms for the distribution of goods and products, but also as a form of social and political control, the announcements before Parliament have raised a wave of concern among both ordinary people and the officials themselves. While inside homes there is fear of an even greater increase in the cost of food and basic products, in the air-conditioned offices of institutions and ministries they suspect that the measures will fuel popular protests or accelerate emigration, which hits the labor sector hard, especially the workforce of qualified workers.

Apprehension is in the air. An inquietude that Cubans express these days at an end of the year with few parties and few Christmas trees. When they pass a friend or acquaintance on the street, they don’t even dare to use one of those ready-made and formal phrases that are customary to say these days. No one utters the sarcastic prediction that 2024 “will be better.”

*Translator’s note: “Paquetazo” is basically ‘package’, but the ending ‘azo’, signifying a blow, adds a certain heft to it. (See “Maleconazo“) See also from Spanishtogo.app: “Paquetazo, a term used predominantly in Latin America, refers to a package of economic reforms implemented by the government that often includes a series of austerity measures. Over time, it has become a popular term among citizens to express discontent with these policies.”

______________

Editor’s Note: This text was originally published by Deutsche Welle’s Latin America page .

Cuba, a Christmas Divided Between ‘Here’ and ‘Over There’

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Yoani-Sánchez

At this end of the year, many of us Cubans remaining on the Island experience the December Celebrations through those who have emigrated. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 19 December 2023 — It’s time to see them in the photos they send on WhatsApp. They smile in some square with a Christmas tree behind their backs. Other times they are sitting at the table with full plates, lit candles, bubbly glasses and colorful decorations. This end of the year, many of us Cubans who remain on the Island experience the December celebrations through those who have emigrated. We breathe a sigh of relief as we conclude that they have been saved from the abyss.

“Tostones or yucca?” a neighbor asks her husband regarding the menu for Christmas Eve. Alone, after the emigration of their two daughters, they try to maintain the tradition and, despite the hardships, will celebrate next Sunday with their family. The problem is that they no longer have relatives in Cuba to invite to dinner, grandchildren to entertain with gifts, or plans to make with their children, in this land, for 2024. They are as alone as the star that shines on the tip of the tree.

The problem is that they no longer have relatives in Cuba to invite to dinner, grandchildren to entertain with gifts, or plans to make with their children, in this land, for 2024.

“I don’t care, if it’s just you and me,” he responds when faced with the options to eat. Retired and, at the time, a defender of what he now contemptuously calls “this thing,” my neighbor knows that last summer, when he turned 79 and gathered his daughters, his sons-in-law and his grandchildren in a photo, he was also achieving a now impossible snapshot, which will never be repeated. Valencia, Miami and cold Stockholm are the new homes of those who, just a few months ago, posed in the image with him, a cake, some beers and Negrito, the family’s elderly dog.

For weeks now, the couple has only smiled when she, more skilled with technology, comes almost jumping to tell them that “the girls” [her granddaughters] wrote to her, that one is doing well in school and the other is making new friends. She is moved when she hears how her eldest daughter’s husband is happy “frying hamburgers and earning real money for the first time,” although in Cuba he was an engineer. If the neighbors ask her, she always repeats: “Well, they are doing very well, at least they are not here.”

“Here” It is the place where next Sunday the two elderly people will put out the tablecloth embroidered by the grandmother, who died ten years ago, they will take out the tall glasses and the porcelain vase, with flowers of an intense blue color. “Here” they will uncork the cider that the youngest daughter sent them, they will eat slowly, they will tell each other anecdotes about when the oldest of the grandchildren fell trying to take his first steps or about that moment when one of the sons-in-law had an accident on the motorcycle. Then the desserts will arrive, the toast will arrive and they will once again review the most recent photos received from “over there.”

“Outside,” their daughters and grandchildren will have known nostalgia, snow and multiculturalism for the first time. They will take selfies in front of the illuminated windows, they will try to call “the old people” who remained on the Island three times in the day, but the poor quality of the internet service in Cuba will frustrate a part of those desires. “Outside,” they will meet friends again, get to know other people, enter a new work environment and will also go through the difficulties of a newcomer. “Over there” has become their “here.”

“Here,” everything now focuses on not disturbing those who left. So that they do not note the loneliness in which thousands, hundreds of thousands of people have been left.

In Cuba, the grandparents will have agreed not to worry them. “Don’t let them see us sad,” she says. “Let them not be distressed for us,” he adds. So to calm any concerns, this Sunday night they will play music, film a short video while uncorking a bottle, show Negrito sleeping on an armchair and, just a week later, they will add other images throwing a bucket of water from the balcony of the house to ask for a better new year.

“Here,” everything now focuses on not disturbing those who left. So that they do not see the loneliness in which thousands, hundreds of thousands of people have been left. My neighbors don’t want their daughters to see how they look at someone who didn’t have room in the last lifeboat. From “here” It is time to encourage the emigrants and live through them, in the photos they send from “over there” by Whatsapp.

Five Years Since The Internet Came To Cubans’ Mobile Phones, A Bitter Victory

Posted on December 16, 2023 by Yoani-Sánchez

The Cuban government implemented a service to then censor, suspend and prevent its use selectively and with an obvious political bias. (EFE)

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, 16 December 2023 — This Saturday marks one week since internet service has been cut off on my mobile phone. Coincidentally, it was December, five years ago, when web browsing was allowed for the first time from the cellphones of customers of Cuba’s state telecommunications monopoly, Etecsa. In other words, they implemented the service to later censor it, suspend it and impede its use, in a selective way with obvious political bias.

In these five years, despite the vagaries, infrastructure problems, high prices of recharges and Etecsa’s ‘scissors’, Cuban society has grown thanks to the cracks that have opened in the Communist Party’s wall of information control. Being able to peer into the great Worldwide Web has allowed us to access other voices, stories and testimonies. Now we are less credulous and more demanding as citizens.

Without internet access, the popular protests of 11 July 2021 would most likely not have happened, or would have been smaller. Without the possibility of publishing directly on Facebook or on X (formerly Twitter), we would have missed the opportunity to listen so many voices, the voices of mothers, doctors and family members of political prisoners crying out for justice and a dignified life. Without web browsing on our mobile phones, so many reports of police violence, femicides and administrative corruption would have remained in the shadows.

If the party leaders had had their way, we would still be communicating with smoke signals, tweeting blindly and dictating our texts so that someone else could publish them online

Nevertheless, the current situation with telecommunications is not something to celebrate. Activists held incommunicado around key dates, independent journalists punished with disconnection for narrating the deep Cuba, and the use of instant messaging as a tool to threaten and intimidate citizens from the offices of the political police make up a very dark landscape. The official ‘soldiers of information, the ‘catfishers’
dedicated to the destruction of reputations, and the army of false accounts that create a distorted idea of popular support for the regime have also grown with the massive emergence of web access into our lives.

Although right now my mobile is “dead” and I can’t communicate with the world, make calls or even send a message of a single text, I know that the conversion of Cubans into Internauts has been a bitter pill to swallow for a system that does not support individuals having their own voices, channels chosen by them to inform themselves and consume news content, or or recreational content based on their desires and inclinations. If the party leaders had had their way, we would still be communicating with smoke signals, tweeting blindly and dictating our texts so that someone else could publish them online.

This is our victory, for all of us who pushed for years to be allowed to access the internet. It is, however, a bitter victory, incomplete and undermined. But during this entire month of December, with my mobile working or out of service, I am remembering that end of year in 2018 when we seized from power something that belonged to us.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: