May 6, 2010
Dmitri Prieto
Last Friday morning I happened to be riding in a car where the driver
was listening to "Making Radio", the morning program of a national Cuban
radio station. The program's commentator had selected the theme of the
Internet for his broadcasting message.
He was saying that despite all the hype received by that cybernetic
network of networks as a supposedly democratic space for free
expression, there are significant topics that the net distorts. At
times, even the system's technical interface impedes access to real
information.
He gave several example related to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Afterwards, he concentrated on the Cuban case. In making his point, he
stated the following: "If one types 'Cuba' in the Google search engine,
the first things that come up are not the news from the island itself
but articles from rightist newspapers or from bloggers."
And then he clarified: "Bloggers – writers who write on the Internet to
attack the revolution."
I suddenly felt a mild sensation of shock. I've never heard a more
distorted definition of the term blogger.
To the best of my knowledge, in Cuba there are bloggers from all the
political tendencies: for and against the government; for and against
the revolution; as well as some who I imagine don't give two cents for
politics.
I ask myself: what will be the effect of this definition offered by the
commentator on those who don't have access to the Internet. Such
people, unfortunately, still represent the majority of Cubans.
Those who can't themselves read any blogs will believe that bloggers are
nothing more than despicable and divisive persons who dream of nothing
better than to take away their homes, free health care and education.
All this despite the fact that the blogs usually judged as
contra-revolutionary are in general not accessible from Cuba. On the
other hand, official organizations such as the Journalists' Union (UPEC)
have promoted among their membership the idea that they should start
their own blogs to proclaim to the world the truth about Cuba. But if
there isn't any access to the Internet, by definition, neither these
blogs nor the other blogs will be seen on the island.
I wonder if the radio commentator had a harmful and provocative
intention in defining all bloggers as "contras" or if he simply was
mistaken in his excess of militant zeal. Either way, I felt his message
to be hurtful and distorted.
It's a shame.
Dmitri Prieto-Samsonov: I define myself as being either Cuban-Russian or
Russian-Cuban, indiscriminately. I was born in Moscow in 1972 of a
Russian mother and a Cuban father. I lived in the USSR until I was 13,
although I was already familiar with Cuba-- where we would take our
vacation almost every year. I currently live on the fifth floor of an
apartment building in Santa Cruz del Norte, near the sea. I've studied
biochemistry and law in Havana and anthropology in London. I've written
about molecular biology, philosophy and anarchism, although I enjoy
reading more than writing. I am currently teaching in the Agrarian
University of Havana. I believe in God and in the possibility of a free
society. Together with other people, that's what we're into: breaking
down walls and routines.
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