Cuban Faces of 2015: Danilo Maldonado, 'El Sexto', Graffiti Artist /
14ymedio
Posted on December 31, 2015
14ymedio, Havana, 29 December 2015 — Irreverent and daring, the graffiti
artist Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto (The Sixth)—in a satirical
reference to the 'Five Heroes'—organized a performance for Christmas
2014 under the title Animal Farm. In Havana's Central Park the artist
intended to release two pigs on which he had painted the names Fidel and
Raul, but he was never able to carry out the action because he was
arrested on the way there and imprisoned.
During the time he spent in prison, El Sexto managed to send out
drawings and letters that visually narrated the rigors of incarceration
and in which he ratified his decision to continue making rebellious art.
A hunger strike, through which he demanded to be released, led him to
the brink of losing his life and made his cause even more visible.
Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience.
In mid-April of this year, 2015, this restless creator born in 1983
received the Vaclav Havel Award for Creative Dissent, in the midst of an
intense international campaign demanding his immediate release which
played out on the social networks with the hashtag #FreeElSexto.
In October of this year, El Sexto was released without ever having been
brought to trial, and is now on an international tour.
Source: Cuban Faces of 2015: Danilo Maldonado, 'El Sexto', Graffiti
Artist / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-faces-of-2015-danilo-maldonado-el-sexto-graffiti-artist-14ymedio/
Friday, January 1, 2016
Havana’s “Little Hotel” For Parlementarians
Havana's "Little Hotel" For Parlementarians / 14ymedio
Posted on December 31, 2015
14ymedio, Havana, 30 December 2015 — Constructed at the beginning of
this century and known as the Tulip Hotel, it was intended initially to
house patients coming to Cuba under "Operation Miracle," to undergo
medical treatments and surgery. As the number of people coming to the
island for these services declined, the place was left empty.
Now, the property has had to open its hundreds of rooms to the tourist
market – with little success, given the ugliness of its architecture and
its distance from the historic district – and so it has been converted
into place that houses athletes, delegates to numerous congresses, and
deputies to the National Assembly of People's Power during their
meetings at the Place of Conventions in Havana.
This week "the little hotel," as it is known in the Nuevo Vedado
neighborhood where it is nestled, was closed to public access, and not
even pedestrians were allowed to pass along the street in front of the
facade. Meanwhile, its interior welcomes the 612 deputies participating
in the National Assembly's last session of the year.
Source: Havana's "Little Hotel" For Parlementarians / 14ymedio |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/havanas-little-hotel-for-parlementarians-14ymedio/
Posted on December 31, 2015
14ymedio, Havana, 30 December 2015 — Constructed at the beginning of
this century and known as the Tulip Hotel, it was intended initially to
house patients coming to Cuba under "Operation Miracle," to undergo
medical treatments and surgery. As the number of people coming to the
island for these services declined, the place was left empty.
Now, the property has had to open its hundreds of rooms to the tourist
market – with little success, given the ugliness of its architecture and
its distance from the historic district – and so it has been converted
into place that houses athletes, delegates to numerous congresses, and
deputies to the National Assembly of People's Power during their
meetings at the Place of Conventions in Havana.
This week "the little hotel," as it is known in the Nuevo Vedado
neighborhood where it is nestled, was closed to public access, and not
even pedestrians were allowed to pass along the street in front of the
facade. Meanwhile, its interior welcomes the 612 deputies participating
in the National Assembly's last session of the year.
Source: Havana's "Little Hotel" For Parlementarians / 14ymedio |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/havanas-little-hotel-for-parlementarians-14ymedio/
Media Campaign Aims to Discredit Rodiles
Media Campaign Aims to Discredit Rodiles / Angel Santiesteban
Posted on December 29, 2015
Angel Santiesteban Prats, 26 December 2015 — State Security is using all
the tools in its arsenal to denigrate Cuban dissident Antonio Rodiles,
who is currently the most uncomfortable thorn in the side of the regime,
in the court of national and international public opinion.
Rodiles is one of three organizers of the Forum for Rights and
Liberties. In conjunction with the Ladies in White and other human
rights organizations, the group promotes peaceful Sunday marches —
demonstrations which have been causing great harm to the regime — under
the hashtag #TodosMarchamos.
Following mass at St. Rita Church, the group meets — as coincidence
would have it — at Gandhi Park, and walks in a peaceful weekly
procession along 26th Street to Third Avenue. They do this knowing that
what awaits them, Sunday after Sunday, is one of those operations
mounted by the repressive forces of the Castro clan to which we have
become so accustomed. Fortunately, however, images of every repressive
attack are recorded, leaving no doubt as to what is really going on.
The reaction by the regime is clear evidence that Rodiles is hitting
them where they are most vulnerable: the nerve center from which they
have zealously maintained, for more than half a century in power, social
discipline. As usual, they have used nastiness, lies and posturing in an
attempt to strip him of his personal attributes, actions which have
caused outrage because of the cowardice which they have been concocted.
This is a well-known tactic, one that has been used many times before on
other opposition figures. The macabre plan is to first tarnish his image
and, once they have sown doubt about him in the public's mind, to then
imprison him, because putting Rodiles behind bars is a longstanding
dream the political police will always fight to achieve.
This smear campaign recently began after Rodiles returned from the
United States, where he was invited to speak at a congressional debate
in Washington on the topic of Cuba. He later met with prominent
Cuban-American congressional representatives, who are calling on the
government of Raul Castro to respect freedom and human rights on the
island as a prerequisite for progress in restoring diplomatic relations.
It is worth remembering that, upon returning home from his first such
visit last year, Rodiles' organization was the object of a cyber attack,
albeit a relatively minor one.
Those maneuvering to sully human rights activists are working hard to
dismantle the Forum for Rights and Freedoms. To do this, they need to
get Rodiles out of the way, dismember the Ladies in White organization
and remove the obstacles blocking their path to remaining in power, as
they have done for nearly six decades.
If the Castro dictatorship reacts this way to someone like Antonio
Rodiles, clearly it must be because he is doing something right.
Persecuting him is payback for his political activism, for his constant
defiance of the injustices that the regime perpetrates against those who
oppose its plans.
Neither the defamations aimed at vilifying him — in essence, because of
his pride — nor the entire army of followers that the terrorist state
uses to harass him will be enough. Nor will plotting to achieve spurious
benefits succeed in changing our standards or our ideas. On the
contrary, this shameful strategy convinces us even more of the need for
a clean and democratic government.
Angel Santiesteban-Prats
Havana, December 2015, "free" on parole.
Source: Media Campaign Aims to Discredit Rodiles / Angel Santiesteban |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/media-campaign-aims-to-discredit-rodiles-angel-santiesteban/
Posted on December 29, 2015
Angel Santiesteban Prats, 26 December 2015 — State Security is using all
the tools in its arsenal to denigrate Cuban dissident Antonio Rodiles,
who is currently the most uncomfortable thorn in the side of the regime,
in the court of national and international public opinion.
Rodiles is one of three organizers of the Forum for Rights and
Liberties. In conjunction with the Ladies in White and other human
rights organizations, the group promotes peaceful Sunday marches —
demonstrations which have been causing great harm to the regime — under
the hashtag #TodosMarchamos.
Following mass at St. Rita Church, the group meets — as coincidence
would have it — at Gandhi Park, and walks in a peaceful weekly
procession along 26th Street to Third Avenue. They do this knowing that
what awaits them, Sunday after Sunday, is one of those operations
mounted by the repressive forces of the Castro clan to which we have
become so accustomed. Fortunately, however, images of every repressive
attack are recorded, leaving no doubt as to what is really going on.
The reaction by the regime is clear evidence that Rodiles is hitting
them where they are most vulnerable: the nerve center from which they
have zealously maintained, for more than half a century in power, social
discipline. As usual, they have used nastiness, lies and posturing in an
attempt to strip him of his personal attributes, actions which have
caused outrage because of the cowardice which they have been concocted.
This is a well-known tactic, one that has been used many times before on
other opposition figures. The macabre plan is to first tarnish his image
and, once they have sown doubt about him in the public's mind, to then
imprison him, because putting Rodiles behind bars is a longstanding
dream the political police will always fight to achieve.
This smear campaign recently began after Rodiles returned from the
United States, where he was invited to speak at a congressional debate
in Washington on the topic of Cuba. He later met with prominent
Cuban-American congressional representatives, who are calling on the
government of Raul Castro to respect freedom and human rights on the
island as a prerequisite for progress in restoring diplomatic relations.
It is worth remembering that, upon returning home from his first such
visit last year, Rodiles' organization was the object of a cyber attack,
albeit a relatively minor one.
Those maneuvering to sully human rights activists are working hard to
dismantle the Forum for Rights and Freedoms. To do this, they need to
get Rodiles out of the way, dismember the Ladies in White organization
and remove the obstacles blocking their path to remaining in power, as
they have done for nearly six decades.
If the Castro dictatorship reacts this way to someone like Antonio
Rodiles, clearly it must be because he is doing something right.
Persecuting him is payback for his political activism, for his constant
defiance of the injustices that the regime perpetrates against those who
oppose its plans.
Neither the defamations aimed at vilifying him — in essence, because of
his pride — nor the entire army of followers that the terrorist state
uses to harass him will be enough. Nor will plotting to achieve spurious
benefits succeed in changing our standards or our ideas. On the
contrary, this shameful strategy convinces us even more of the need for
a clean and democratic government.
Angel Santiesteban-Prats
Havana, December 2015, "free" on parole.
Source: Media Campaign Aims to Discredit Rodiles / Angel Santiesteban |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/media-campaign-aims-to-discredit-rodiles-angel-santiesteban/
Cuban Faces of 2015 - Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba
Cuban Faces of 2015: Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez, Archbishop of
Santiago de Cuba / 14ymedio
Posted on December 30, 2015
14ymedio, Havana, 29 December 2015 — He was working as an electrical
engineer specializing in telecommunications when, in 1980, he decided to
assume the habit. Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez was born in 1945, and
as a deacon did his first outstanding work alongside Father Jose Conrado
Rodriguez in the preparations for the Cuban Ecclesial Reflection, which
concluded in 1985, when he was ordained as a priest. Eleven years later
he would be consecrated as a bishop.
The current Archbishop Primate of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba
and President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba is also the
custodian of the image of the Virgin of Charity venerated in the Shrine
of Cobre. During this year, and with the presence of Pope Francis in
Cuba, he announced the jubilee year that will end in September 2016, to
mark the centenary of the declaration of the Virgin as patroness of Cuba.
Those skilled in ecclesiastical intricacies consider him a likely
successor to Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino as Archbishop of Havana,
which could happen around next Easter.
Source: Cuban Faces of 2015: Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez,
Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-faces-of-2015-dionisio-guillermo-garcia-ibanez-archbishop-of-santiago-de-cuba-14ymedio/
Santiago de Cuba / 14ymedio
Posted on December 30, 2015
14ymedio, Havana, 29 December 2015 — He was working as an electrical
engineer specializing in telecommunications when, in 1980, he decided to
assume the habit. Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez was born in 1945, and
as a deacon did his first outstanding work alongside Father Jose Conrado
Rodriguez in the preparations for the Cuban Ecclesial Reflection, which
concluded in 1985, when he was ordained as a priest. Eleven years later
he would be consecrated as a bishop.
The current Archbishop Primate of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba
and President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba is also the
custodian of the image of the Virgin of Charity venerated in the Shrine
of Cobre. During this year, and with the presence of Pope Francis in
Cuba, he announced the jubilee year that will end in September 2016, to
mark the centenary of the declaration of the Virgin as patroness of Cuba.
Those skilled in ecclesiastical intricacies consider him a likely
successor to Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino as Archbishop of Havana,
which could happen around next Easter.
Source: Cuban Faces of 2015: Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez,
Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-faces-of-2015-dionisio-guillermo-garcia-ibanez-archbishop-of-santiago-de-cuba-14ymedio/
New Year’s Eve Fatalities
New Year's Eve Fatalities / Rebeca Monzo
Posted on December 30, 2015
Rebeca Monzo, 29 December 2015 — We are now almost at the end 2015 and
outside one can detect a distinctive feeling of sadness. People wander
the streets, going from poorly stocked farmers markets to stores in
their daily search for food. If they cross your path and you wish them a
"Merry Christmas," not only do they not return the greeting, they look
at you stunned, as though you were an extra-terrestrial.
Very few hard currency stores are decorated with lights or Christmas
trees. The others — the ones that price goods in the misnamed Cuban
peso, a currency that is almost worthless but the one in which salaries
and pensions are paid — do not even carry normal every-day light bulbs.
Their shelves are either unabashedly empty or are filled with the same
product. Their display windows are broken and grime covers the floors
and glass.
There is no media coverage of traditional celebrations, only stories
about the latest anniversary of the triumph of a revolution, which from
the beginning was already showing signs of what it would ultimately
become: a complete failure.
Never has the Cuban family been so divided and dispersed as it is now.
Christmas Eve passed without notice. The streets were as deserted and
dark as usual, and there were none of those enticing aromas of
yesteryear wafting from neighborhood kitchens that gave hints of a
pleasant meal to come.
If this is the socialism the government says it wants to "perfect," may
God help us!
Source: New Year's Eve Fatalities / Rebeca Monzo | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/new-years-eve-fatalities-rebeca-monzo/
Posted on December 30, 2015
Rebeca Monzo, 29 December 2015 — We are now almost at the end 2015 and
outside one can detect a distinctive feeling of sadness. People wander
the streets, going from poorly stocked farmers markets to stores in
their daily search for food. If they cross your path and you wish them a
"Merry Christmas," not only do they not return the greeting, they look
at you stunned, as though you were an extra-terrestrial.
Very few hard currency stores are decorated with lights or Christmas
trees. The others — the ones that price goods in the misnamed Cuban
peso, a currency that is almost worthless but the one in which salaries
and pensions are paid — do not even carry normal every-day light bulbs.
Their shelves are either unabashedly empty or are filled with the same
product. Their display windows are broken and grime covers the floors
and glass.
There is no media coverage of traditional celebrations, only stories
about the latest anniversary of the triumph of a revolution, which from
the beginning was already showing signs of what it would ultimately
become: a complete failure.
Never has the Cuban family been so divided and dispersed as it is now.
Christmas Eve passed without notice. The streets were as deserted and
dark as usual, and there were none of those enticing aromas of
yesteryear wafting from neighborhood kitchens that gave hints of a
pleasant meal to come.
If this is the socialism the government says it wants to "perfect," may
God help us!
Source: New Year's Eve Fatalities / Rebeca Monzo | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/new-years-eve-fatalities-rebeca-monzo/
Cuba Also Needs Democratic Multiparty Elections
Cuba Also Needs Democratic Multiparty Elections / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos
Posted on December 31, 2015
14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Havana, 29 December 2015 — Cuba is the only
country in this hemisphere that does not conduct democratic multi-party
elections, which is what the Revolution of 1959 fought for and what
different wings of the democratic left and the opposition forces of all
stripes have been advocating for years.
Democratization of the political-economic process is an urgent need for
Cuban society. A historical debt to the people. The 1959 Revolution
attracted the support of everyone because it is proposed to restore the
democratic 1940 Constitution and the institutional system interrupted by
the 1953 coup. This has been postponed indefinitely.
It is no secret that the economic and politically centralized state
model imposed on Cuba in the name of socialism has failed all along the
line. Its inability to fulfill its own agreements from the Sixth
Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba is conclusive. The model isn't
even capable of implementing the modifications approved by its own party
and leaders.
President Raul Castro says he will retire from the leadership of the
government in 2018. With him, the fundamental base that has sustained
the regime in power for more than half a century will also go: the
glories of the attack on the Moncada Barracks, the yacht Granma bringing
the revolutionaries back from Mexico, and the fight in the Sierra
Maestra. And no matter how much those who come after want it, they will
no longer have those credentials. And they cannot, not even if they
carry its name, for the simple and sensible reason that they were not
there, the test of authenticity imposed by the Castro brothers
themselves. The Revolution was their source of power, but legitimacy is
another thing altogether.
If, before finally retiring from the government, Raul Castro is not
subject to a direct and secret popular vote, future generations will
always be left with the doubt about whether the work of the Castro
brothers was done with or without the support of the majority of the people.
If he were elected president, he could still retire and fulfill his
promise to leave power, but leaving a vice president no longer tied to
those glories but with legitimacy won at the ballot box. And if he
doesn't want to or can't face elections, let the Cuban Communist Party
candidate he supports and for whom he would openly campaign be submitted
to a popular vote. The success or failure of their candidate would be
that of the Castros.
But if their candidate is not submitted to such scrutiny, not only would
the doubt about the true popular support for the Castros continue, but
the legitimacy of the successor would always be in question, because he
or she would not even have these glories, nor would they have been
elected by popular vote.
As the leaders and the current high level bureaucracy of the Communist
Party is convinced that they can always count on the support of the
majority of Cubans, there should be no reason in the next elections not
to elect the president and vice president of the republic by popular
vote, along with the provincial governors and city mayors.
This would bring enormous benefits for the current government. In fact,
if they were to initiate and develop in 2016 a process of
democratization that implies a fundamental respect for Cubans' human
rights, such as freedom of expression, election and economic activity,
and that establishes a new constitution and a new electoral law that
enables truly democratic elections, what remains of the US
blockade-embargo would be completely undermined, forcing its immediate
repeal by the United States Congress.
This would be, in fact, a triumph of their government and would help
them in democratic elections and could also contribute, depending on who
wins the upcoming elections in the United States, to an expedited
normalization of relations with that country.
Moreover, within a couple of years economic and political liberalization
would generate rapid economic growth, slow the exodus of Cubans
overseas, and make all Cubans feel free to express themselves, organize
parties and associations, promote their political proposals, vote for
whomever gives them real economic gains thrugh deploying their abilities
of every kind, which would be visible at the time of the elections and
could widely favor popular support for the government candidate, if he
or she was in the vanguard of this democratization.
"You're dreaming, Pedro Campos," more than a few readers will comment.
No, my friends, this is no dream. Nor are they hopes, though woe to
anybody who does not have them! I am trying to bring some light to the
path for the good of everyone. Whether they see it or not, that's
another thing. Some think that if there is openness, the opposition will
erase the government. Not if the opening is truly democratic and authentic.
It is very clear that those who spearhead the process of
democratization, now or later, are going to lead the country in the
following years. The opposition did not bury Mikhail Gorbachev, it was
the military conservatives. Here, I do not think any members of the
military could do something similar. And the other thing that is clear
to all Cubans is that this model of state capitalism disguised as
socialism has no future. "This model doesn't even work for us any more,"
Fidel Castro himself said once, although later he "clarified" that he
had been misinterpreted.
I imagine that no one will go down in history as the gravedigger of the
Revolution, above all if it is the Revolution itself that makes possible
the opening to full democratization and development of the country.
Source: Cuba Also Needs Democratic Multiparty Elections / 14ymedio,
Pedro Campos | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuba-also-needs-democratic-multiparty-elections-14ymedio-pedro-campos/
Posted on December 31, 2015
14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Havana, 29 December 2015 — Cuba is the only
country in this hemisphere that does not conduct democratic multi-party
elections, which is what the Revolution of 1959 fought for and what
different wings of the democratic left and the opposition forces of all
stripes have been advocating for years.
Democratization of the political-economic process is an urgent need for
Cuban society. A historical debt to the people. The 1959 Revolution
attracted the support of everyone because it is proposed to restore the
democratic 1940 Constitution and the institutional system interrupted by
the 1953 coup. This has been postponed indefinitely.
It is no secret that the economic and politically centralized state
model imposed on Cuba in the name of socialism has failed all along the
line. Its inability to fulfill its own agreements from the Sixth
Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba is conclusive. The model isn't
even capable of implementing the modifications approved by its own party
and leaders.
President Raul Castro says he will retire from the leadership of the
government in 2018. With him, the fundamental base that has sustained
the regime in power for more than half a century will also go: the
glories of the attack on the Moncada Barracks, the yacht Granma bringing
the revolutionaries back from Mexico, and the fight in the Sierra
Maestra. And no matter how much those who come after want it, they will
no longer have those credentials. And they cannot, not even if they
carry its name, for the simple and sensible reason that they were not
there, the test of authenticity imposed by the Castro brothers
themselves. The Revolution was their source of power, but legitimacy is
another thing altogether.
If, before finally retiring from the government, Raul Castro is not
subject to a direct and secret popular vote, future generations will
always be left with the doubt about whether the work of the Castro
brothers was done with or without the support of the majority of the people.
If he were elected president, he could still retire and fulfill his
promise to leave power, but leaving a vice president no longer tied to
those glories but with legitimacy won at the ballot box. And if he
doesn't want to or can't face elections, let the Cuban Communist Party
candidate he supports and for whom he would openly campaign be submitted
to a popular vote. The success or failure of their candidate would be
that of the Castros.
But if their candidate is not submitted to such scrutiny, not only would
the doubt about the true popular support for the Castros continue, but
the legitimacy of the successor would always be in question, because he
or she would not even have these glories, nor would they have been
elected by popular vote.
As the leaders and the current high level bureaucracy of the Communist
Party is convinced that they can always count on the support of the
majority of Cubans, there should be no reason in the next elections not
to elect the president and vice president of the republic by popular
vote, along with the provincial governors and city mayors.
This would bring enormous benefits for the current government. In fact,
if they were to initiate and develop in 2016 a process of
democratization that implies a fundamental respect for Cubans' human
rights, such as freedom of expression, election and economic activity,
and that establishes a new constitution and a new electoral law that
enables truly democratic elections, what remains of the US
blockade-embargo would be completely undermined, forcing its immediate
repeal by the United States Congress.
This would be, in fact, a triumph of their government and would help
them in democratic elections and could also contribute, depending on who
wins the upcoming elections in the United States, to an expedited
normalization of relations with that country.
Moreover, within a couple of years economic and political liberalization
would generate rapid economic growth, slow the exodus of Cubans
overseas, and make all Cubans feel free to express themselves, organize
parties and associations, promote their political proposals, vote for
whomever gives them real economic gains thrugh deploying their abilities
of every kind, which would be visible at the time of the elections and
could widely favor popular support for the government candidate, if he
or she was in the vanguard of this democratization.
"You're dreaming, Pedro Campos," more than a few readers will comment.
No, my friends, this is no dream. Nor are they hopes, though woe to
anybody who does not have them! I am trying to bring some light to the
path for the good of everyone. Whether they see it or not, that's
another thing. Some think that if there is openness, the opposition will
erase the government. Not if the opening is truly democratic and authentic.
It is very clear that those who spearhead the process of
democratization, now or later, are going to lead the country in the
following years. The opposition did not bury Mikhail Gorbachev, it was
the military conservatives. Here, I do not think any members of the
military could do something similar. And the other thing that is clear
to all Cubans is that this model of state capitalism disguised as
socialism has no future. "This model doesn't even work for us any more,"
Fidel Castro himself said once, although later he "clarified" that he
had been misinterpreted.
I imagine that no one will go down in history as the gravedigger of the
Revolution, above all if it is the Revolution itself that makes possible
the opening to full democratization and development of the country.
Source: Cuba Also Needs Democratic Multiparty Elections / 14ymedio,
Pedro Campos | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuba-also-needs-democratic-multiparty-elections-14ymedio-pedro-campos/
Alaska, Another Route for Cubans
Alaska, Another Route for Cubans / Juan Juan Almeida
Posted on December 30, 2015
Juan Juan Almeida, 1 December 2015 — As a part of the basket of measures
relating to the migration crisis concerning Cubans in Costa Rica, and
with the obvious intention of protecting human interests, starting from
1st December, Cubans wanting to travel to Ecuador will have to get a
visa to enter that country.
The regulation is an attempt to control the stampede; but already the
human traffickers, taking a bird's eye view and with financial
resources, are trying to find new routes to connect Havana with the
United States. Now it seems crossing the last frontier is the latest thing.
I would like to make it clear that not one single letter of what I am
writing here is any attempt to encourage illegal emigration; but, to
write about the matter with my eyes closed or making political points,
is to make myself a central part of the problem.
Crossing Central America, Cubans in the hands of traffickers have to
confront the dangers of the jungle, get around conflict zones ruled by
guerrillas and drug traffickers, and put up with the aggravation of
being constantly ripped off by corrupt locals. Things more improbable,
but just as dangerous as the Siberian steppes.
The latest madness also costs 10,000 – 12,000 CUC per person.
Cubans, conscious victims of people traffickers, fly Havana – Moscow by
Cubana de Aviación (CU0470) 1.156,00 €, or by Aeroflot Russian Airlines
(SU0151) 627,39 €.
Arriving, still a few at a time, at Sheremetyevo International Airport,
the Cubans are received by guides who put them up in previously-reserved
houses and hostels. I have been told that it is all quite a challenge,
they give them warm clothes, something to eat, and then, like polar bear
cubs, God knows in what conditions, they get onto a whaling ship and
cross the Bering Strait to arrive in Alaska, which is American territory.
We know the rest, the Cuban Adjustment Law.
The situation in Costa Rica, will eventually be sorted out. How? I
don't know. That is for governments and diplomats to work on. But let's
not kid ourselves. The problem exists and the exodus continues.
Already, Havana is whispering that Oceania is another way, heading
toward the Cook Islands, Niue, Tuvalu and Samoa, states which have
visa-free agreements with Cuba, nothing complicated, and from there
travel to American Samoa, which, as its name indicates, is also American
territory.
The person I was talking to told me something which shook me: "Water
should be free, drinking it is a vital part of a human being's
existence; but water gets bottled and sold. Don't you think that is
profiting from life? Getting people out of Cuba, people who are going to
flee anyway from that country, is less shameful than selling bottled water."
We did not dramatise the tragedy saying that in order to control the
migration the rules of a million dollar organisation are going to
change. It isn't like that, we know that the Cuban and United States
governments, and the whole region is working to trap the traffickers;
but this is tackling the effect without doing something about the cause.
The solution is to create a Cuba with rights, liberties and
opportunities. Then, no-one would want to escape.
As you know, when hope dies, so does love. That, for a disillusioned
people, the traffickers are seen as strange roses growing in the ashes
of a disaster; but, I think that the most dangerous thing is not the
traffic in Cubans, but that the island will be converted into the most
perfect location for the transit of people from many other countries,
who are seeking the same destiny; but with a different objective: Terrorism.
Translated by GH
Source: Alaska, Another Route for Cubans / Juan Juan Almeida |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/alaska-another-route-for-cubans-juan-juan-almeida/
Posted on December 30, 2015
Juan Juan Almeida, 1 December 2015 — As a part of the basket of measures
relating to the migration crisis concerning Cubans in Costa Rica, and
with the obvious intention of protecting human interests, starting from
1st December, Cubans wanting to travel to Ecuador will have to get a
visa to enter that country.
The regulation is an attempt to control the stampede; but already the
human traffickers, taking a bird's eye view and with financial
resources, are trying to find new routes to connect Havana with the
United States. Now it seems crossing the last frontier is the latest thing.
I would like to make it clear that not one single letter of what I am
writing here is any attempt to encourage illegal emigration; but, to
write about the matter with my eyes closed or making political points,
is to make myself a central part of the problem.
Crossing Central America, Cubans in the hands of traffickers have to
confront the dangers of the jungle, get around conflict zones ruled by
guerrillas and drug traffickers, and put up with the aggravation of
being constantly ripped off by corrupt locals. Things more improbable,
but just as dangerous as the Siberian steppes.
The latest madness also costs 10,000 – 12,000 CUC per person.
Cubans, conscious victims of people traffickers, fly Havana – Moscow by
Cubana de Aviación (CU0470) 1.156,00 €, or by Aeroflot Russian Airlines
(SU0151) 627,39 €.
Arriving, still a few at a time, at Sheremetyevo International Airport,
the Cubans are received by guides who put them up in previously-reserved
houses and hostels. I have been told that it is all quite a challenge,
they give them warm clothes, something to eat, and then, like polar bear
cubs, God knows in what conditions, they get onto a whaling ship and
cross the Bering Strait to arrive in Alaska, which is American territory.
We know the rest, the Cuban Adjustment Law.
The situation in Costa Rica, will eventually be sorted out. How? I
don't know. That is for governments and diplomats to work on. But let's
not kid ourselves. The problem exists and the exodus continues.
Already, Havana is whispering that Oceania is another way, heading
toward the Cook Islands, Niue, Tuvalu and Samoa, states which have
visa-free agreements with Cuba, nothing complicated, and from there
travel to American Samoa, which, as its name indicates, is also American
territory.
The person I was talking to told me something which shook me: "Water
should be free, drinking it is a vital part of a human being's
existence; but water gets bottled and sold. Don't you think that is
profiting from life? Getting people out of Cuba, people who are going to
flee anyway from that country, is less shameful than selling bottled water."
We did not dramatise the tragedy saying that in order to control the
migration the rules of a million dollar organisation are going to
change. It isn't like that, we know that the Cuban and United States
governments, and the whole region is working to trap the traffickers;
but this is tackling the effect without doing something about the cause.
The solution is to create a Cuba with rights, liberties and
opportunities. Then, no-one would want to escape.
As you know, when hope dies, so does love. That, for a disillusioned
people, the traffickers are seen as strange roses growing in the ashes
of a disaster; but, I think that the most dangerous thing is not the
traffic in Cubans, but that the island will be converted into the most
perfect location for the transit of people from many other countries,
who are seeking the same destiny; but with a different objective: Terrorism.
Translated by GH
Source: Alaska, Another Route for Cubans / Juan Juan Almeida |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/alaska-another-route-for-cubans-juan-juan-almeida/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)