Yoani Sánchez stresses importance of technology

Posted on Friday, 03.15.13

Yoani Sánchez stresses importance of technology
By Juan Carlos Chavez
jcchavez@ElNuevoHerald.com

NEW YORK CITY -- It was early in November 2009 when Cuban blogger Yoani
Sánchez and activists Orlando Luis Pardo and Claudia Cadelo were
arbitrarily detained in Havana while on their way to a peaceful march.
The group was shoved violently into a police car.

In Cuba, arrests of that kind can last days or even weeks. In recent
years, the government has used those detentions as a repressive tool to
silence critics. But that day, Cadelo recalled, Yoani managed to send an
emergency tweet.

"We have been arrested," the message said.

The news spread and cyberspace became a voice of protest. Authorities
soon ordered the detainees' release.

"The flight of the blue bird [the Twitter icon]shortened the horror,"
Sánchez said Friday during a forum titled The Revolution Recoded: The
Digital Culture and the Public Sphere in Cuba, organized by New York
University and The New School.

With this and other stories, Sánchez stressed in New York City the
importance and the role of technology in the exchange of information and
the defense of human rights. She spoke about politics and reviewed
Cuba's domestic situation, among other topics.

"I estimate that about 120 people in Cuba use Twitter from the island to
the world. It helps a lot in the creation of opinion," Sánchez said,
before an audience of more than 100.

Sánchez thus ended the second day of her visit to the United States. Her
presentations and meetings with students, professors and others are part
of an 80-day international tour that incudes several countries in
America and Europe.

In a presentation of about 90 minutes, the renowned blogger said that
many Cubans are interested in knowing what happens in the world, despite
the efforts of the authorities to exclude information. In that context,
she said there is a widespread desire that the government cannot control.

"The road to change may be small, slow and timid, but it's happening
inside the Cuban people," Sánchez said. 'Let us not allow the official
propaganda to separate us."

She said that this trip will provide her with "some sort of a protective
shield," though she added that the shield "is neither total nor complete
nor permanent." She also said that she doesn't pretend to speak for all
of Cuba.

"[Cuba] is a country with multiple opinions and I don't want to make the
same mistake as Fidel Castro, who attempted to represent everybody,"
Sánchez said.

The founder of the blog Generation Y made it clear that she doesn't plan
to settle abroad.

"I already know the experience of emigrating. I lived in Switzerland for
two years, 2002 to 2004, and that was an important experience in my
life, but I don't plan to repeat it," she said.

Sánchez responded to questions from American and foreign reporters in
the Silver Hall of Arts and Sciences at New York University. The
conference dealt with various topics, such as the death of Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez.

On that, she said that the people of Cuba have "conflicting" opinions.

"Many believe that his death could lead to an economic collapse, but
there are others of us who believe that his physical disappearance will
force [Cuba] to accelerate the pace of economic reforms," she said.

She also said that the work performed by independent journalists and
bloggers contribute to a better understanding of Cuban reality.

"We show the real Cuba, not the official one," the blogger said.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/15/v-fullstory/3289094/yoani-sanchez-stresses-importance.html