Prison Diary LIII: The Cardinal Cuba Needs / Angel Santiesteban
Posted on September 2, 2013
The first time I heard Father José Conrado Rodríguez, on a visit he made
to Havana, I was among those at the back of the huge crowd surrounding
him, hanging on to every word he said.
To be honest, I must I hung back, because I didn't know his greatness.
My disappointment with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church had caused
me to distance myself, after five years of unconditional and consistent
collaboration with the diocese of Pinar del Rio.
The last of the Catholics who had made me tremble in my own land, and
whom I loved until his death, was my Pope John Paul II.
From the back of the crowd, I heard the words of the priest José
Conrado, which immediately fostered a pleasant emotion, giving me
goosebumps moved by his passion, his love for Christ and for family. His
speech dealt with material deprivation, and strengthening the spiritual,
the lack of unity for an inadequate government that could end the
conflicts, misery and famine, especially in the east of the country
after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.
Without knowing how, my legs, responding to the call of my soul, carried
me up to him and I was only conscious when I found himself looking into
his eyes, completely entranced by a simple being, hence so
extraordinary, not afraid to say what his heart was feeling. This is my
true religion.
He called for an understanding between the government and the
opposition, a meeting among Cubans, bringing together the differences
and turning us into inhabitants of a prosperous country, with a
religious and cultural history sufficient to direct the destiny of a nation.
He asked us to put aside personal ambition, and to respond to the
multiple pleas of society to end political differences, that the only
thing they have done is promote poverty in a country that had a future
marked by the dream of José Martí.
His song healed my wounds, once again I felt hope; but above all my
happiness was based on discovering that there was a man of the church
who understood my conflicts, knew of my cries, sorrows, desires, shames
and showed me solutions.
After listening to him, I remember Bishop Siro, already retired to rest
from political and ecclesiastical leadership, giving his efforts to
Vitral magazine, directed by my beloved friend Dagoberto Valdes, and to
maintain his courses and constant interchange with civil society.
From love and the direct work of Bishop Siro, from his cry for a new
Cuba, transformed, evolutionary, in which the family unit is first, I
learned to be free, to externalize my dreams and to fight for them
without thinking of the sacrifice.
Inside the Cathedral of Pinar del Rio, my yearning for freedom grew,
along with the the need to share it, to demand my rights and to fight to
achieve them.
Father José Conrado, in his night of cries, made me travel, confusing
their voices, at times seeming to hear the other, mutated, exchanged his
religious and patriotic reasons, and for moments he was Bishop Siro, in
another, definitely, Father Conrado, who joined the geography of the
national Catholic map, beginning with Bishop Díaz de Espada, Father José
Agustín Caballero, the priest Félix Varela, Bishop Siro, Monsignor Pedro
Meurice, and now, with a candle in his word, Father José Conrado
Rodríguez, Who from the first moment, irradiated by the brightness of
his eyes, I discerned as the Cardinal Cuba needs.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats
Prison 1580. July 2013
Posted in The Children Nobody Wanted on 2 September 2013
Source: "Prison Diary LIII: The Cardinal Cuba Needs / Angel Santiesteban
| Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/prison-diary-liii-the-cardinal-cuba-needs-angel-santiesteban/
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
The Story of the Good Pipe
The Story of the Good Pipe* / Fernando Damaso
Posted on September 2, 2013
Cuba has serious medical problems at home. There have been cases
reported of cholera, tuberculosis and dengue fever — already at epidemic
levels — and other illnesses that have not been seen for decades in this
country. In towns and cities there is also a disastrous sanitation and
epidemiological situation which has been exacerbated by inadequate
health services in clinics and hospitals. Nevertheless, the government
of Cuba has reached an agreement with its counterpart in Brazil to
provide the services of four thousand doctors to that nation. As the
saying goes, "streetlamps outside, darkness inside."
Forget all the folderol from the publicity release which talks about
"solidarity and friendship with the Brazilian people." The reason this
agreement came about is because it serves the interests of both parties.
For Brazil it is political. Its government hopes it will help win votes
in a future election. Economic reasons drive the Cuban government, which
hopes it will bring in cold, hard cash.
It is no secret that this is a juicy business. Of the four thousand
dollar monthly salary paid by the Brazilian to each physician, the Cuban
government will expropriate three thousand five hundred. The rest is to
be "enjoyed" by the employee, within rules and limitations established
by the ministerial branch which handles these things. This is nothing
new. It is how these missions work and have always worked in most of the
fifty-eight countries in which they operate.
Since the production of goods for export has gone from bad to worse here
— notwithstanding the "updating" (as Raul Castro's economic reforms are
known) — the business of exporting services has become one of the
principal means for generating hard currency. Since most of what is
collected remains in the coffers of the state, it can offer professional
services at much lower prices than other countries, whose quality is
often no better, giving it a competitive advantage.
Meanwhile, if you are over here, try not to get sick. But if it cannot
be avoided and you want to get better, look for a doctor who is a
friend, one of those who doesn't give a hoot about "ideological orders"
and is a "friend of friends." But if you cannot find one, then look for
a healer (every neighborhood has one) and plenty of herbal medicine,
which some call natural. (And if you are a believer, it would not hurt
to look to the supernatural as well.) Because the idea that this is a
"medical powerhouse" is nothing more than a story as old as that of "the
good pipe."
*Translator's note: A reference to a circular question that never gets
answered, similar to "Who's on first?" from an old American comedy routine.
30 August 2013
Source: "The Story of the Good Pipe* / Fernando Damaso | Translating
Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-story-of-the-good-pipe-fernando-damaso/
Posted on September 2, 2013
Cuba has serious medical problems at home. There have been cases
reported of cholera, tuberculosis and dengue fever — already at epidemic
levels — and other illnesses that have not been seen for decades in this
country. In towns and cities there is also a disastrous sanitation and
epidemiological situation which has been exacerbated by inadequate
health services in clinics and hospitals. Nevertheless, the government
of Cuba has reached an agreement with its counterpart in Brazil to
provide the services of four thousand doctors to that nation. As the
saying goes, "streetlamps outside, darkness inside."
Forget all the folderol from the publicity release which talks about
"solidarity and friendship with the Brazilian people." The reason this
agreement came about is because it serves the interests of both parties.
For Brazil it is political. Its government hopes it will help win votes
in a future election. Economic reasons drive the Cuban government, which
hopes it will bring in cold, hard cash.
It is no secret that this is a juicy business. Of the four thousand
dollar monthly salary paid by the Brazilian to each physician, the Cuban
government will expropriate three thousand five hundred. The rest is to
be "enjoyed" by the employee, within rules and limitations established
by the ministerial branch which handles these things. This is nothing
new. It is how these missions work and have always worked in most of the
fifty-eight countries in which they operate.
Since the production of goods for export has gone from bad to worse here
— notwithstanding the "updating" (as Raul Castro's economic reforms are
known) — the business of exporting services has become one of the
principal means for generating hard currency. Since most of what is
collected remains in the coffers of the state, it can offer professional
services at much lower prices than other countries, whose quality is
often no better, giving it a competitive advantage.
Meanwhile, if you are over here, try not to get sick. But if it cannot
be avoided and you want to get better, look for a doctor who is a
friend, one of those who doesn't give a hoot about "ideological orders"
and is a "friend of friends." But if you cannot find one, then look for
a healer (every neighborhood has one) and plenty of herbal medicine,
which some call natural. (And if you are a believer, it would not hurt
to look to the supernatural as well.) Because the idea that this is a
"medical powerhouse" is nothing more than a story as old as that of "the
good pipe."
*Translator's note: A reference to a circular question that never gets
answered, similar to "Who's on first?" from an old American comedy routine.
30 August 2013
Source: "The Story of the Good Pipe* / Fernando Damaso | Translating
Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-story-of-the-good-pipe-fernando-damaso/
Half a Million “Crazies” Loom
Half a Million "Crazies" Loom / Alberto Mendez Castello
Posted on September 2, 2013
PUERTO PADRE , Cuba , www.cubanet.org – Dragged into the torrent of
criminality by genetic defects or by a social environment prone to
crime, not a few inmates who today form the very profuse Cuban prison
population, have ended up contracting mental illness.
Five maximum security prisons and another 195 prisons form the
penitentiary system of the island, where, according to official sources,
about 50,000 souls re serving sentences, although human rights
organizations place the figure between 60,000 and 75.000.
However, if we add to the above figures the detainees, those who for
various reasons spend a few hours to a week in the cells of police
stations, assuming only five arrested in each municipality each day, we
see that about one thousand more Cubans daily, and that number would be
multiplied by the 365 days in the year .
Are Cuban lawmakers action with a view to the future on dementia and
crime? According to the Fifth Iberoamerican Congress on Alzheimer's
Disease, which met in Havana October 20-11, 2011, there are 130,000
people with dementia in Cuba. But if this figure is alarming the
prognosis is even more so: according to experts, the number of demented
could triple by 2040.
This means that in an aging population of about eleven million, almost
half a million will suffer some kind of disease that makes it impossible
for them to communicate with us and to think clearly.
The exemptions from criminal responsibility are well defined in two
paragraphs of Article 20 of the Penal Code: a person is exempted from
committing the crime in a state of insanity, temporary insanity or
delayed mental development if because of any of these causes he does not
have the ability to understand the scope of his action or omission or to
direct his behavior.
Now these two sections do not apply if the person commits the crime was
voluntarily placed in a state of temporary insanity by the ingestion of
alcohol or psychotropic substances.
But if alcoholism is becoming a pandemic in Cuba, which is already
having alarming influences on crime, the fractures and breaking up of
families is doing no less.
"We would say that Cuba needs today, on the part of its specialists, the
precision of a Swiss watch; each of us has as a priceless treasure and
we should raise to the level of a national concern every family with a
child in prison," said a sociologist whom I had asked if there are too
many prisoners in Cuba.
"The amendments to the Criminal Code, which will go into force from this
coming October 1, to some extent will reduce the prison population, as
the legislature has enacted the choice of a fine in lieu of
imprisonment," replied this notable criminal lawyer. But, he was
wondering, what about those who are already in jail? What about future
inmates?
Only an amendment concerning mental health has been considered by the
legislature, to tailor the current criminal laws in Cuba: authorization
for the Provincial Court of the territory where the inmate is serving
his sentence, to make it so that without referring back to whomever
executed the sentence, the prisoner can be referred to a psychiatric
hospital.
A death now comes to mind: that of Harold Brito Parra, psychiatric
patient in the provincial prison in Las Tunas. Dead not so much from
delayed medical attention as from the crushing and inconsiderate legal
attention. In the same circumstances, Harold would also die today, even
with the very recent amendments to the Code and the Criminal Procedure Act.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alberto Mendez Castello (born Puerto Padre, Oriente, Cuba 1956).Degree
in Law and Criminal Sciences, graduate in Operational Management.
Although an Interior Ministry official from a very young age,
professional inconsistencies with his ethical ideas left him no choice
but to leave that institution in 1989 to engage in agriculture,
literature and journalism. Nominated for the "Plaza Mayor 2003″ Novel
Award in San Juan Puerto Rico, and the "Max Aub 2006 International
Stories Award in Valencia, Spain .
From Cubanet
30 August 2013
Source: "Half a Million "Crazies" Loom / Alberto Mendez Castello |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/half-a-million-crazies-loom-alberto-mendez-castello/
Posted on September 2, 2013
PUERTO PADRE , Cuba , www.cubanet.org – Dragged into the torrent of
criminality by genetic defects or by a social environment prone to
crime, not a few inmates who today form the very profuse Cuban prison
population, have ended up contracting mental illness.
Five maximum security prisons and another 195 prisons form the
penitentiary system of the island, where, according to official sources,
about 50,000 souls re serving sentences, although human rights
organizations place the figure between 60,000 and 75.000.
However, if we add to the above figures the detainees, those who for
various reasons spend a few hours to a week in the cells of police
stations, assuming only five arrested in each municipality each day, we
see that about one thousand more Cubans daily, and that number would be
multiplied by the 365 days in the year .
Are Cuban lawmakers action with a view to the future on dementia and
crime? According to the Fifth Iberoamerican Congress on Alzheimer's
Disease, which met in Havana October 20-11, 2011, there are 130,000
people with dementia in Cuba. But if this figure is alarming the
prognosis is even more so: according to experts, the number of demented
could triple by 2040.
This means that in an aging population of about eleven million, almost
half a million will suffer some kind of disease that makes it impossible
for them to communicate with us and to think clearly.
The exemptions from criminal responsibility are well defined in two
paragraphs of Article 20 of the Penal Code: a person is exempted from
committing the crime in a state of insanity, temporary insanity or
delayed mental development if because of any of these causes he does not
have the ability to understand the scope of his action or omission or to
direct his behavior.
Now these two sections do not apply if the person commits the crime was
voluntarily placed in a state of temporary insanity by the ingestion of
alcohol or psychotropic substances.
But if alcoholism is becoming a pandemic in Cuba, which is already
having alarming influences on crime, the fractures and breaking up of
families is doing no less.
"We would say that Cuba needs today, on the part of its specialists, the
precision of a Swiss watch; each of us has as a priceless treasure and
we should raise to the level of a national concern every family with a
child in prison," said a sociologist whom I had asked if there are too
many prisoners in Cuba.
"The amendments to the Criminal Code, which will go into force from this
coming October 1, to some extent will reduce the prison population, as
the legislature has enacted the choice of a fine in lieu of
imprisonment," replied this notable criminal lawyer. But, he was
wondering, what about those who are already in jail? What about future
inmates?
Only an amendment concerning mental health has been considered by the
legislature, to tailor the current criminal laws in Cuba: authorization
for the Provincial Court of the territory where the inmate is serving
his sentence, to make it so that without referring back to whomever
executed the sentence, the prisoner can be referred to a psychiatric
hospital.
A death now comes to mind: that of Harold Brito Parra, psychiatric
patient in the provincial prison in Las Tunas. Dead not so much from
delayed medical attention as from the crushing and inconsiderate legal
attention. In the same circumstances, Harold would also die today, even
with the very recent amendments to the Code and the Criminal Procedure Act.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alberto Mendez Castello (born Puerto Padre, Oriente, Cuba 1956).Degree
in Law and Criminal Sciences, graduate in Operational Management.
Although an Interior Ministry official from a very young age,
professional inconsistencies with his ethical ideas left him no choice
but to leave that institution in 1989 to engage in agriculture,
literature and journalism. Nominated for the "Plaza Mayor 2003″ Novel
Award in San Juan Puerto Rico, and the "Max Aub 2006 International
Stories Award in Valencia, Spain .
From Cubanet
30 August 2013
Source: "Half a Million "Crazies" Loom / Alberto Mendez Castello |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/half-a-million-crazies-loom-alberto-mendez-castello/
Gerente de CADECA roba más de un millón y se fuga
Gerente de CADECA roba más de un millón y se fuga
Le atribuyen el robo de más de un millón, entre dólares estadounidenses,
euros y CUC, y se cree haya abandonado el país, según dijeron las
fuentes a Martinoticias.
Luis Felipe Rojas
septiembre 02, 2013
Alcibiades Cabrejas, fue el funcionario responsable de una Casa de
Cambio (CADECA) en San Germán, provincia Holguín, a quien le atribuyen
el robo de más de un millón, entre dólares estadounidenses, euros y CUC,
y se cree haya abandonado el país, según dijeron fuentes desde esa
centro oriental localidad.
Maikel Martínez Cruz, fotógrafo independiente y residente en San Germán,
relató que el gerente del establecimiento "cargó con todo. Lo tenía todo
premeditado, con meses de antelación. Tenía un código único para la caja
fuerte y le programó un plazo de una semana para volverse a abrir. Dicen
que alguien afuera del país le coordinó la lancha para salir", afirmó
Martínez Cruz.
La poca información que ha podido filtrarse da cuenta que no solo fue en
ese municipio holguinero, sino "en otras provincias y de diferentes
dependencias económicas, de las que aún no se tienen detalles debido al
silencio que hace la prensa oficial en tales casos", relató el también
artista disidente.
"No fue solamente él, fue un hermano que vive en Camagüey y fue en otros
lugares más. Detuvieron a varios custodios y revendedores de dólares, e
incluso a la ex esposa la llevaron varios días a la estación policial y
se ha dicho que él mismo llamó para que no la vincularan con el robo.
Fue un golpe grande que está relacionado con salarios y fondos de
empresas en otros lugares, según han dicho, pero no se sabe mucho más,
ni la policía ni la prensa dicen nada", concluyó.
Source: "Gerente de CADECA roba más de un millón y se fuga" -
http://www.martinoticias.com/content/cadeca-san-german-robo-holguin-/27014.html
Le atribuyen el robo de más de un millón, entre dólares estadounidenses,
euros y CUC, y se cree haya abandonado el país, según dijeron las
fuentes a Martinoticias.
Luis Felipe Rojas
septiembre 02, 2013
Alcibiades Cabrejas, fue el funcionario responsable de una Casa de
Cambio (CADECA) en San Germán, provincia Holguín, a quien le atribuyen
el robo de más de un millón, entre dólares estadounidenses, euros y CUC,
y se cree haya abandonado el país, según dijeron fuentes desde esa
centro oriental localidad.
Maikel Martínez Cruz, fotógrafo independiente y residente en San Germán,
relató que el gerente del establecimiento "cargó con todo. Lo tenía todo
premeditado, con meses de antelación. Tenía un código único para la caja
fuerte y le programó un plazo de una semana para volverse a abrir. Dicen
que alguien afuera del país le coordinó la lancha para salir", afirmó
Martínez Cruz.
La poca información que ha podido filtrarse da cuenta que no solo fue en
ese municipio holguinero, sino "en otras provincias y de diferentes
dependencias económicas, de las que aún no se tienen detalles debido al
silencio que hace la prensa oficial en tales casos", relató el también
artista disidente.
"No fue solamente él, fue un hermano que vive en Camagüey y fue en otros
lugares más. Detuvieron a varios custodios y revendedores de dólares, e
incluso a la ex esposa la llevaron varios días a la estación policial y
se ha dicho que él mismo llamó para que no la vincularan con el robo.
Fue un golpe grande que está relacionado con salarios y fondos de
empresas en otros lugares, según han dicho, pero no se sabe mucho más,
ni la policía ni la prensa dicen nada", concluyó.
Source: "Gerente de CADECA roba más de un millón y se fuga" -
http://www.martinoticias.com/content/cadeca-san-german-robo-holguin-/27014.html
GAZ Group to deliver PAZ chassis to Cuba
09/02/2013 | 07:51am US/Eastern
GAZ Group to deliver PAZ chassis to Cuba
GAZ Group will deliver 330 PAZ-32053 chassis to Cuba by the end of 2013.
The Cuban Government plan to start their own production of buses on this
base.
GAZ Group has already delivered 210 PAZ-32053 chassis to Cuba and plans
to deliver 120 PAZ chassis more by the end of the year. The Cuban bus
based on the 2013 PAZ chassis will be called the Diana. The Cuban
partner will ensure the warranty and maintenance of the buses. PAZ will
supply spare parts to Cuba.
The component base of PAZ-32053 is reliable on any roads, easy to
operate and maintain and well known to Cuban customers. PAZ actively
cooperated with Cuban partners in the development and organization of
the Giron bus based on PAZ component case: approximately 15,000 buses
based on the PAZ-672 chassis were produced in Cuba between 1970 and1980.
GAZ Group PresidentCEO Bo Andersson said "The cooperation with the Cuban
side is one of the development stages in GAZ Group's export strategy. We
have launched GAZelle production in Turkey and Ural production in
Kazakhstan, and we are determined to strengthen our export business. Our
products meet the newest market demands and the requirements of the
leading ecological classes which prove its competitiveness among
international customers. We expect our export bus sales to increase by
20% by the end of 2013".
Source: "GAZ OAO : GAZ Group to deliver PAZ chassis to Cuba | 4-Traders"
-
http://www.4-traders.com/GAZ-OAO-13491341/news/GAZ-OAO--GAZ-Group-to-deliver-PAZ-chassis-to-Cuba-17232732/
GAZ Group to deliver PAZ chassis to Cuba
GAZ Group will deliver 330 PAZ-32053 chassis to Cuba by the end of 2013.
The Cuban Government plan to start their own production of buses on this
base.
GAZ Group has already delivered 210 PAZ-32053 chassis to Cuba and plans
to deliver 120 PAZ chassis more by the end of the year. The Cuban bus
based on the 2013 PAZ chassis will be called the Diana. The Cuban
partner will ensure the warranty and maintenance of the buses. PAZ will
supply spare parts to Cuba.
The component base of PAZ-32053 is reliable on any roads, easy to
operate and maintain and well known to Cuban customers. PAZ actively
cooperated with Cuban partners in the development and organization of
the Giron bus based on PAZ component case: approximately 15,000 buses
based on the PAZ-672 chassis were produced in Cuba between 1970 and1980.
GAZ Group PresidentCEO Bo Andersson said "The cooperation with the Cuban
side is one of the development stages in GAZ Group's export strategy. We
have launched GAZelle production in Turkey and Ural production in
Kazakhstan, and we are determined to strengthen our export business. Our
products meet the newest market demands and the requirements of the
leading ecological classes which prove its competitiveness among
international customers. We expect our export bus sales to increase by
20% by the end of 2013".
Source: "GAZ OAO : GAZ Group to deliver PAZ chassis to Cuba | 4-Traders"
-
http://www.4-traders.com/GAZ-OAO-13491341/news/GAZ-OAO--GAZ-Group-to-deliver-PAZ-chassis-to-Cuba-17232732/
The Joy of Cuba’s Oldtimers: ¡The Chicken Has Arrived!
The Joy of Cuba's Oldtimers: ¡The Chicken Has Arrived!
September 2, 2013
Janis Hernández
HAVANA TIMES – Like the frantic cry of "Land!" from a lookout atop a
mast or the excited exclamation of a watchtower vigil, this is how the
elderly in Cuba call out to let the neighborhood know that chicken has
been delivered.
Without a doubt, beyond what FAO statistics may say, there may not be
literal starvation in Cuba, but we are an underfed people. The habit of
walking around with plastic bags in our pockets so we can bring home
whatever food items might turn up has become a compulsion.
Guaranteeing our daily bread is a serious problem for most Cubans. It's
getting harder and harder to obtain food to put on the table. The price
of produce at the markets is extremely high for such low wage levels.
For example, vegetables, tubers, meats, and meat products are all quite
expensive. The worst part is that the supply often doesn't meet the demand.
It's possible to get five pounds of rice a month at a cheap price, and
two additional pounds at a higher cost at the neighborhood supply store
"bodega". Also available there are twenty grams of beans, four pounds of
sugar, and half a liter of cooking oil. This, along with a packet of
short or long pasta per person, makes up the quota of basic rationed
goods dispensed.
But protein allotment is the saddest part of the story. Five eggs, some
minced soya, and seventeen ounces of chicken per month. For many, the
latter produces the most anticipation.
Retired people, who are often the ones running errands for the
household, keep track of what days in the month are chicken delivery
days. They mark them on the calendar, they talk about it, and they get
terribly stressed out if the delivery is late.
Or, if it does come but is recalled because the weight wasn't adequate.
Or, if they didn't drop off their ration booklet at the counter in the
supply center on time. Or, if they didn't get in line fast enough and
they have to resign themselves to hearing the butcher's complacent
words, "…there wasn't enough, so you'll have to wait 'til the next time
around."
Getting the chicken is like an obsession for the elderly. It's their
biggest concern, and I think they feel that succeeding to bring it back
home is their main responsibility.
These poor old people don't talk about anything else. It's as if their
lives depended on those seventeen miserable ounces of poultry. They
march out to wait in line to buy the chicken like they're carrying out a
significant mission.
"Hey, tell me when the chicken gets in!" is a concern for homemakers.
"I'm going to leave my ration booklet with you so you can put it in the
butcher's mailbox in case the chicken gets delivered and I'm not here…"
says one neighbor to the other.
"The chicken arrived!" is like the lookout's battle cry for the elderly.
Source: "Cuba's seniors await the day of their chicken ration with
angst" - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=98509
September 2, 2013
Janis Hernández
HAVANA TIMES – Like the frantic cry of "Land!" from a lookout atop a
mast or the excited exclamation of a watchtower vigil, this is how the
elderly in Cuba call out to let the neighborhood know that chicken has
been delivered.
Without a doubt, beyond what FAO statistics may say, there may not be
literal starvation in Cuba, but we are an underfed people. The habit of
walking around with plastic bags in our pockets so we can bring home
whatever food items might turn up has become a compulsion.
Guaranteeing our daily bread is a serious problem for most Cubans. It's
getting harder and harder to obtain food to put on the table. The price
of produce at the markets is extremely high for such low wage levels.
For example, vegetables, tubers, meats, and meat products are all quite
expensive. The worst part is that the supply often doesn't meet the demand.
It's possible to get five pounds of rice a month at a cheap price, and
two additional pounds at a higher cost at the neighborhood supply store
"bodega". Also available there are twenty grams of beans, four pounds of
sugar, and half a liter of cooking oil. This, along with a packet of
short or long pasta per person, makes up the quota of basic rationed
goods dispensed.
But protein allotment is the saddest part of the story. Five eggs, some
minced soya, and seventeen ounces of chicken per month. For many, the
latter produces the most anticipation.
Retired people, who are often the ones running errands for the
household, keep track of what days in the month are chicken delivery
days. They mark them on the calendar, they talk about it, and they get
terribly stressed out if the delivery is late.
Or, if it does come but is recalled because the weight wasn't adequate.
Or, if they didn't drop off their ration booklet at the counter in the
supply center on time. Or, if they didn't get in line fast enough and
they have to resign themselves to hearing the butcher's complacent
words, "…there wasn't enough, so you'll have to wait 'til the next time
around."
Getting the chicken is like an obsession for the elderly. It's their
biggest concern, and I think they feel that succeeding to bring it back
home is their main responsibility.
These poor old people don't talk about anything else. It's as if their
lives depended on those seventeen miserable ounces of poultry. They
march out to wait in line to buy the chicken like they're carrying out a
significant mission.
"Hey, tell me when the chicken gets in!" is a concern for homemakers.
"I'm going to leave my ration booklet with you so you can put it in the
butcher's mailbox in case the chicken gets delivered and I'm not here…"
says one neighbor to the other.
"The chicken arrived!" is like the lookout's battle cry for the elderly.
Source: "Cuba's seniors await the day of their chicken ration with
angst" - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=98509
Reforms in Cuba: The Last Utopia?
Reforms in Cuba: The Last Utopia?
September 2, 2013
Emilio Morales* (Cafe Fuerte)
HAVANA TIMES – When Raul Castro initiated reforms aimed at transforming
the Cuban economic model, Cuban and foreign experts hoped that they were
finally glimpsing a change on the horizon following more than five
decades of mistaken policies.
However, despite having further reach than those changes effected in the
nineties, Raul Castro's reforms have turned out to be limited, shallow,
slow and contradictory.
One of the things that should be noted as unique to this process is that
the changes are being implemented by the historical leadership of the
revolution. This represents a peculiarity never before seen in history,
not even in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
where the ones that carried out the reforms were the emerging political
forces. In the Cuban case, we have the paradox of the historical
leadership finally finding themselves prisoners, trapped by their own
errors.
Obsolete Structure
The reforms rise out of obsolete structures that have not been
dismantled, with the goal of conserving socialism. From there on, they
become a contradiction in themselves.
In the current context, the economic situation on the island is chaotic;
the accumulated errors and failures of more than half a century comprise
a heavy obstacle stifling the development of any real economic and
financial transformation.
The economy of the country functions like a bankrupt business, surviving
only thanks to outside support: the Cuban Diaspora and the aid from
Venezuela are the two factors that today stave off the system's collapse.
The Cuban emigration data from the last ten years demonstrates that over
half a million Cubans have left the country permanently to try their
luck in other latitudes.
In 2012, two years after the beginnings of the reforms, migration
reached its highest peak in a decade: a total of 56,207 Cubans
immigrated to other countries. This statistic could be interpreted as a
signal that the reforms haven't awakened interest in the possibilities
of change on the island. On the contrary, the urge to emigrate has
apparently increased.
The life-raft
Currently, there are around 2.1 million Cubans living outside of Cuba
and 11.2 million on the island. Proportionally that means 15.3% of
Cuba's population living outside the country, or one Cuban living
outside the country for every five inhabitants.
Nevertheless, this high rate of Cuban migration has become,
paradoxically, one of the fundamental financial supports of the national
economy in the form of family remittances.
Thanks to the measures implemented by President Barack Obama freeing up
the restrictions on travel and on sending money, around 2.6 billion
dollars in cash arrive in Cuba annually, and another 2.5 billion in
merchandise. Provisions sent include clothing, food, medicine, small
appliances and other products that Cubans who live outside the island
send to help their family members. In the last four years the cash
remittances have increased over a billion dollars, a truly unusual rise.
The total balance of this family aid comes to 5.1 billion dollars, more
than the sum of the gross income from the four most important branches
of the country's economy: tourism (2.6 billion); nickel (1.4 billion);
exports of medicine ($500 million) and sugar exports ($393.1 million)
which together add up to 4.9 billion. Furthermore, after deducting the
costs of production, operations and marketing from these figures, the
net earnings from these areas is left at around one billion dollars, a
sum five times less than the contribution of the Cuban Diaspora.
Venezuelan Mega-support
Parallel to this, the aid from Venezuela constitutes the other
mega-support of the Cuban economy, with an estimated value of 6 billion
dollars per year.
Nonetheless, the current crisis facing the economy of that South
American country, added to the negative effect that the death of Hugo
Chávez may have on the continuity of power, lead to predictions that it
may prove difficult to maintain this level of aid in the future.
The numbers speak for themselves of a very real problem scenario for
Venezuela, something that raises its own alarm signals for Cuba.
When Chavez came to power in 1999, there were 16 ministries; today
(2013) there are 36, an increase of 125%.
In 1999 the State had 900,000 public employees; today there are
2,300,000, a 55% increment.
In 1999, without any exchange controls, the exchange rate for the former
Venezuelan currency was 573.86 Bolivars to a dollar. Today, with a
controlled exchange rate its 6.30 new Bolivars (6,300 of the old
currency) equaling a devaluation of 997.83%. This doesn't take into
account the higher price on the government's currency auction for
importers, and much less the price of a dollar on the street.
In 1999 the price of oil was US $10.57 dollars/barrel. Today it's
$109.45 dollars/barrel, an increase of 935.48%
In 1999 oil production was 3,480 million barrels a day; today it's at
2,357, a 32.27% reduction.
In 1999 oil exports were 3.000 million barrels a day (MMB/d). In the
last years it's been 2,200 MMB/d, which represents a decrease of 26.67%
In 1999 the payroll of the Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company
(PDVSA) included 40,000 employees; today they have around 120,000,
representing an increase of 300%.
In 1999 the financial debt of the PDVSA was 6 billion US$. Today it's
around 40 billion US$, a growth of 567.10%
In 1999 the external debt was 39 billion US$, while today it's
approaching 104 billion US $, a growth of 161.78%.
The Venezuelan government has intervened in more than 600 farms with a
total of 2.5 million hectares.
The government has spent more than $14 billion dollars in the purchase
of military armaments.
The labor situation in Cuba
The internal refoms in Cuba that are taking place within this context
are not showing encouraging results as far as the quantity of people
incorporated into private employment. This contrasts with the desire of
the government to gradually eliminate the state payroll and reduce the
bureaucracy.
Currently there are 6.8 million people of working age but only 5.17
million of them have a job, leaving 1.09 million people without work.
The number of people who have incorporated themselves into the world of
independent employment reached 429,458 in 2012. Of these, 77,302 are
retired and 60,124 are people who also work in the state sector. The
most current data, issued at the end of July, gives a statistic of
436,342 self-employed workers.
In fact, the number of "purely" self-employed workers is closer to
292,031, representing only 4.29 percent of all people of employable age.
If we add the approximately 537,000 private farmers to this statistic,
both groups would total only 12.28 percent of the employable population.
Why isn't there more advance?
Given this – why aren't the reforms advancing at the rate the government
needs?
The chief obstacle facing the reform process is that the structural
changes proclaimed by Raul Castro haven't happened. Instead, the reforms
are based on the old scheme of economic centralization, backed by
regulations and a shallow layer of laws.
We are witnessing more an exercise in the elimination of prohibitions
and restitution of rights than of structural changes. For example: the
migratory law, the liberation of home and auto sales, the authorization
of self-employment in 183 modalities and most recently the contracting
of Cuban sports figures in foreign professional clubs have all
overturned prohibitions established half a century ago, but haven't
generated structural changes in the economy.
The ideology that underlies the process remains intact; the same
ideology that has held the reins of the country for over half a century.
For this reason a change in strategic thinking and philosophy regarding
how to manage the country's economy is very difficult. There is no
perception of new strategic thinking about transitioning from the
centralized economic system towards an open and unrestricted economic
system.
One of the principal barriers is that the privatization of the public
sector is prohibited by the Constitution, which puts the brakes on
attracting foreign capital and developing a national private sector.
The productive forces find themselves prisoners of the rigidity and the
limitations of the existing laws, and for this reason individual
initiative and ingenuity are not encouraged. Further, the success of the
self-employed worker is reflected in the official press as the birth of
the nouveau riche which reflects distrust on the part of the government
and fears that the development of a private sector might prove the motor
force of a change in the social system.
It's obvious that a strong resistance to change persists despite the
fact that the highest circle of government understands that there is no
other alternative.
At the same time, the dual currency constitutes a straitjacket that is
very difficult to eliminate, given the low productivity of the country
and the high rate of employment in the totally unproductive State sector.
Aiming for utopia
The recently opened real estate market has turned out to be more about
speculation than sales. The prices of the homes are not in accordance
with the purchasing power of the population. The average price of a
house in Cuba on a national level is 31,489 CUC, while the average
annual salary is 216 CUC.
In this new market context the lack of financial mechanisms for
stimulating sales and financing mortgages weighs heavily. The low amount
offered in loans to finance home construction and repair that the banks
offer has generated a market where payment is only in cash and this
slows down the process instead of stimulating it.
The capital investments are discriminatory, as they are only allowed for
foreign companies or businessmen, not for Cubans living inside or
outside of the island. The government doesn't stimulate individual
initiative or free enterprise, but instead prefers to make incursions
into the failed road of the cooperatives.
In agriculture the distribution of land and cultivation rights has been
a failure. Despite leasing out 70% of the lands they possess (80% of the
total) the State has to import 60 percent of the country's food at a
cost of $2 billion dollars annually. Those who have been granted land
don't feel that they are really the owners. They look at the harvests
they produce more as a survival mechanism than for commercialization and
distribution.
Finally, the 183 modalities approved for self-employment have now
arrived at a limit that doesn't permit any greater growth of the private
sector. Meanwhile, the highly trained sectors of society – the
professionals- have not been included at present in the reform program.
This is the landscape, as we observe what the next years may bring: if
the reforms continue to aim at the utopia of shoring up socialism or if
they will take the direction of a road to transition towards a market
economy that brings prosperity and development to all Cubans.
For the moment, everything indicates that we will continue to hitch our
wagon to the star of utopia. And that may sound very nice, but it's not
a signal of change.
—–
*Emilio Morales is a Cuban economist, ex-head of strategic planning for
marketing in the CIMEX corporation and author of the books "Cuba: silent
transition to capitalism?" and "Marketing without Advertising, Brand
Preference and Consumer Choice in Cuba", and president of the Havana
Consulting Group in Miami.
Source: "Reforms in Cuba: The Last Utopia?" -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=98499
September 2, 2013
Emilio Morales* (Cafe Fuerte)
HAVANA TIMES – When Raul Castro initiated reforms aimed at transforming
the Cuban economic model, Cuban and foreign experts hoped that they were
finally glimpsing a change on the horizon following more than five
decades of mistaken policies.
However, despite having further reach than those changes effected in the
nineties, Raul Castro's reforms have turned out to be limited, shallow,
slow and contradictory.
One of the things that should be noted as unique to this process is that
the changes are being implemented by the historical leadership of the
revolution. This represents a peculiarity never before seen in history,
not even in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
where the ones that carried out the reforms were the emerging political
forces. In the Cuban case, we have the paradox of the historical
leadership finally finding themselves prisoners, trapped by their own
errors.
Obsolete Structure
The reforms rise out of obsolete structures that have not been
dismantled, with the goal of conserving socialism. From there on, they
become a contradiction in themselves.
In the current context, the economic situation on the island is chaotic;
the accumulated errors and failures of more than half a century comprise
a heavy obstacle stifling the development of any real economic and
financial transformation.
The economy of the country functions like a bankrupt business, surviving
only thanks to outside support: the Cuban Diaspora and the aid from
Venezuela are the two factors that today stave off the system's collapse.
The Cuban emigration data from the last ten years demonstrates that over
half a million Cubans have left the country permanently to try their
luck in other latitudes.
In 2012, two years after the beginnings of the reforms, migration
reached its highest peak in a decade: a total of 56,207 Cubans
immigrated to other countries. This statistic could be interpreted as a
signal that the reforms haven't awakened interest in the possibilities
of change on the island. On the contrary, the urge to emigrate has
apparently increased.
The life-raft
Currently, there are around 2.1 million Cubans living outside of Cuba
and 11.2 million on the island. Proportionally that means 15.3% of
Cuba's population living outside the country, or one Cuban living
outside the country for every five inhabitants.
Nevertheless, this high rate of Cuban migration has become,
paradoxically, one of the fundamental financial supports of the national
economy in the form of family remittances.
Thanks to the measures implemented by President Barack Obama freeing up
the restrictions on travel and on sending money, around 2.6 billion
dollars in cash arrive in Cuba annually, and another 2.5 billion in
merchandise. Provisions sent include clothing, food, medicine, small
appliances and other products that Cubans who live outside the island
send to help their family members. In the last four years the cash
remittances have increased over a billion dollars, a truly unusual rise.
The total balance of this family aid comes to 5.1 billion dollars, more
than the sum of the gross income from the four most important branches
of the country's economy: tourism (2.6 billion); nickel (1.4 billion);
exports of medicine ($500 million) and sugar exports ($393.1 million)
which together add up to 4.9 billion. Furthermore, after deducting the
costs of production, operations and marketing from these figures, the
net earnings from these areas is left at around one billion dollars, a
sum five times less than the contribution of the Cuban Diaspora.
Venezuelan Mega-support
Parallel to this, the aid from Venezuela constitutes the other
mega-support of the Cuban economy, with an estimated value of 6 billion
dollars per year.
Nonetheless, the current crisis facing the economy of that South
American country, added to the negative effect that the death of Hugo
Chávez may have on the continuity of power, lead to predictions that it
may prove difficult to maintain this level of aid in the future.
The numbers speak for themselves of a very real problem scenario for
Venezuela, something that raises its own alarm signals for Cuba.
When Chavez came to power in 1999, there were 16 ministries; today
(2013) there are 36, an increase of 125%.
In 1999 the State had 900,000 public employees; today there are
2,300,000, a 55% increment.
In 1999, without any exchange controls, the exchange rate for the former
Venezuelan currency was 573.86 Bolivars to a dollar. Today, with a
controlled exchange rate its 6.30 new Bolivars (6,300 of the old
currency) equaling a devaluation of 997.83%. This doesn't take into
account the higher price on the government's currency auction for
importers, and much less the price of a dollar on the street.
In 1999 the price of oil was US $10.57 dollars/barrel. Today it's
$109.45 dollars/barrel, an increase of 935.48%
In 1999 oil production was 3,480 million barrels a day; today it's at
2,357, a 32.27% reduction.
In 1999 oil exports were 3.000 million barrels a day (MMB/d). In the
last years it's been 2,200 MMB/d, which represents a decrease of 26.67%
In 1999 the payroll of the Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company
(PDVSA) included 40,000 employees; today they have around 120,000,
representing an increase of 300%.
In 1999 the financial debt of the PDVSA was 6 billion US$. Today it's
around 40 billion US$, a growth of 567.10%
In 1999 the external debt was 39 billion US$, while today it's
approaching 104 billion US $, a growth of 161.78%.
The Venezuelan government has intervened in more than 600 farms with a
total of 2.5 million hectares.
The government has spent more than $14 billion dollars in the purchase
of military armaments.
The labor situation in Cuba
The internal refoms in Cuba that are taking place within this context
are not showing encouraging results as far as the quantity of people
incorporated into private employment. This contrasts with the desire of
the government to gradually eliminate the state payroll and reduce the
bureaucracy.
Currently there are 6.8 million people of working age but only 5.17
million of them have a job, leaving 1.09 million people without work.
The number of people who have incorporated themselves into the world of
independent employment reached 429,458 in 2012. Of these, 77,302 are
retired and 60,124 are people who also work in the state sector. The
most current data, issued at the end of July, gives a statistic of
436,342 self-employed workers.
In fact, the number of "purely" self-employed workers is closer to
292,031, representing only 4.29 percent of all people of employable age.
If we add the approximately 537,000 private farmers to this statistic,
both groups would total only 12.28 percent of the employable population.
Why isn't there more advance?
Given this – why aren't the reforms advancing at the rate the government
needs?
The chief obstacle facing the reform process is that the structural
changes proclaimed by Raul Castro haven't happened. Instead, the reforms
are based on the old scheme of economic centralization, backed by
regulations and a shallow layer of laws.
We are witnessing more an exercise in the elimination of prohibitions
and restitution of rights than of structural changes. For example: the
migratory law, the liberation of home and auto sales, the authorization
of self-employment in 183 modalities and most recently the contracting
of Cuban sports figures in foreign professional clubs have all
overturned prohibitions established half a century ago, but haven't
generated structural changes in the economy.
The ideology that underlies the process remains intact; the same
ideology that has held the reins of the country for over half a century.
For this reason a change in strategic thinking and philosophy regarding
how to manage the country's economy is very difficult. There is no
perception of new strategic thinking about transitioning from the
centralized economic system towards an open and unrestricted economic
system.
One of the principal barriers is that the privatization of the public
sector is prohibited by the Constitution, which puts the brakes on
attracting foreign capital and developing a national private sector.
The productive forces find themselves prisoners of the rigidity and the
limitations of the existing laws, and for this reason individual
initiative and ingenuity are not encouraged. Further, the success of the
self-employed worker is reflected in the official press as the birth of
the nouveau riche which reflects distrust on the part of the government
and fears that the development of a private sector might prove the motor
force of a change in the social system.
It's obvious that a strong resistance to change persists despite the
fact that the highest circle of government understands that there is no
other alternative.
At the same time, the dual currency constitutes a straitjacket that is
very difficult to eliminate, given the low productivity of the country
and the high rate of employment in the totally unproductive State sector.
Aiming for utopia
The recently opened real estate market has turned out to be more about
speculation than sales. The prices of the homes are not in accordance
with the purchasing power of the population. The average price of a
house in Cuba on a national level is 31,489 CUC, while the average
annual salary is 216 CUC.
In this new market context the lack of financial mechanisms for
stimulating sales and financing mortgages weighs heavily. The low amount
offered in loans to finance home construction and repair that the banks
offer has generated a market where payment is only in cash and this
slows down the process instead of stimulating it.
The capital investments are discriminatory, as they are only allowed for
foreign companies or businessmen, not for Cubans living inside or
outside of the island. The government doesn't stimulate individual
initiative or free enterprise, but instead prefers to make incursions
into the failed road of the cooperatives.
In agriculture the distribution of land and cultivation rights has been
a failure. Despite leasing out 70% of the lands they possess (80% of the
total) the State has to import 60 percent of the country's food at a
cost of $2 billion dollars annually. Those who have been granted land
don't feel that they are really the owners. They look at the harvests
they produce more as a survival mechanism than for commercialization and
distribution.
Finally, the 183 modalities approved for self-employment have now
arrived at a limit that doesn't permit any greater growth of the private
sector. Meanwhile, the highly trained sectors of society – the
professionals- have not been included at present in the reform program.
This is the landscape, as we observe what the next years may bring: if
the reforms continue to aim at the utopia of shoring up socialism or if
they will take the direction of a road to transition towards a market
economy that brings prosperity and development to all Cubans.
For the moment, everything indicates that we will continue to hitch our
wagon to the star of utopia. And that may sound very nice, but it's not
a signal of change.
—–
*Emilio Morales is a Cuban economist, ex-head of strategic planning for
marketing in the CIMEX corporation and author of the books "Cuba: silent
transition to capitalism?" and "Marketing without Advertising, Brand
Preference and Consumer Choice in Cuba", and president of the Havana
Consulting Group in Miami.
Source: "Reforms in Cuba: The Last Utopia?" -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=98499
Cuba’s Stray Dogs Have Their Champions
Cuba's Stray Dogs Have Their Champions
By Ivet González
HAVANA, Sep 2 2013 (IPS) - The stray cat's fur was burned and its eyes
were hanging from its sockets when pensioner Neida González found it on
a street in the Cuban capital. The cat, which she named Grenlito, now
lives with her eight other pets.
"I've lost count of all the animals I've saved. I also feed 16 cats that
live in the garage of my apartment building," González told IPS. From a
young age, she has been taking in dogs and other stray animals, and
helping to organise massive citizens' campaigns for spaying, neutering
and worming.
"Over the years, networks have formed of people devoted to the
protection of animals. We keep each other up-to-date on veterinary
campaigns and help each other with food and medicine," she said.
Nongovernmental organisations, community projects, and people with no
particular affiliation are now part of a movement that helps animals in
a country where no shelters exist to facilitate adoptions of stray cats
and dogs.
"A source of financing needs to be found for an animal shelter," Nora
García, president of the nongovernmental Cuban Association for the
Protection of Animals and Plants (ANIPLANT), told IPS.
"However, the solution needs to be more comprehensive and must include a
programme of massive sterilisation of both male and female animals," she
added. "We advocate the prevention of undesired animal births, instead
of killing dogs and cats that nobody wants."
Her group has championed and put into practice this idea since 1992.
In 2012, ANIPLANT neutered more than 4,000 animals (both paid and free
of charge), mostly in the capital and in the provinces of Holguín,
Artemisa, Matanzas, Camagüey and the Isla de la Juventud island, where
the group also has members. Other groups, such as the Cuban Association
of Cat Lovers, also carry out free health campaigns.
A sad fate awaits stray animals in Cuba.
Government vehicles regularly pick up stray dogs and aggressive dogs to
prevent the spread of diseases like rabies, which can be deadly for
humans. The animal health authorities take them to dog pounds, where
they are put to sleep if nobody claims them within a given period.
Stray animals, especially puppies, are often used to train or simply
entertain dogs used in dog fighting. Underground dog fights, which have
fans in outlying urban and rural areas, are associated with illegal
gambling, which is punishable by fines or two to three years in prison.
Animals on the streets are also at risk of being hit by cars, and they
often suffer from cruelty, as well as untreated diseases, which make
them a public health threat.
"Animals are mistreated, both consciously and unconsciously. That is why
we emphasise the education factor, and the need to raise children and
adolescents to take care of and love animals. We promote effective
protection, which goes beyond feeding and includes aspects such as
vaccination and spaying/neutering," García said.
However, the activists are working in a legal vacuum, as the few
regulations that exist in Cuba apply to draught animals.
Because of that situation, since 1988 ANIPLANT has been systematically
introducing a draft law for the protection of animals to the Ministry of
Agriculture, she said.
The most recent proposal was presented in 2007, with the support of the
nongovernmental Veterinary Science Council.
The proposed law would penalise abandonment, irresponsible ownership,
and the use of painful methods for putting down dogs at shelters and for
killing animals at slaughterhouses, García said.
In Neida González's opinion, a law specifically addressing these
questions would make it possible to counter "a lack of understanding
among human beings."
Despite the work of these organisations and the "invisible army," as
García refers to the network of animal rescuers, much remains to be
done, especially outside of Havana.
"When people abandon animals or fail to control their reproduction, the
number of stray animals grows," she said.
High prices for food and medicines make pet ownership expensive.
Rosario Tio, a resident of the Havana municipality of Cerro, beefs up
the diet of her German shepherd, Chagui, with leftovers donated by her
neighbours. "My finances took a turn for the worse. I can't always buy
him meat or pay for vaccines, which are only sold in CUC," she told IPS.
Not everyone in Cuba has access to CUCs, the Cuban currency in
circulation in place of the dollar.
The Heritage, Community and Environment Society of the Havana City
Historian's Office (OHC) conducts free public worming campaigns in the
old city.
For years, the OHC has been trying to create a shelter where people can
adopt dogs. It has also allowed city museums and gardens to take in
stray animals.
Many of these dogs stroll through Old Havana wearing collars and tags
with their photo and name, and the name of the animal protection
organisation that sponsors them.
The Casa de la Obrapía museum has had Canela, a dog, and Junípero, a
cat, for eight and two years, respectively. "We feed them and give them
veterinary care. They are also an attraction, because visitors are
surprised to find them here," museum director Janet Quiroga told IPS.
The City Animals Protection project has a Facebook page, PAC-Cuba, where
it describes itself as "a group of people who work to reduce the number
of animals living on the streets of Havana."
Source: "IPS – Cuba's Stray Dogs Have Their Champions | Inter Press
Service" -
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/cubas-stray-dogs-have-their-champions/
By Ivet González
HAVANA, Sep 2 2013 (IPS) - The stray cat's fur was burned and its eyes
were hanging from its sockets when pensioner Neida González found it on
a street in the Cuban capital. The cat, which she named Grenlito, now
lives with her eight other pets.
"I've lost count of all the animals I've saved. I also feed 16 cats that
live in the garage of my apartment building," González told IPS. From a
young age, she has been taking in dogs and other stray animals, and
helping to organise massive citizens' campaigns for spaying, neutering
and worming.
"Over the years, networks have formed of people devoted to the
protection of animals. We keep each other up-to-date on veterinary
campaigns and help each other with food and medicine," she said.
Nongovernmental organisations, community projects, and people with no
particular affiliation are now part of a movement that helps animals in
a country where no shelters exist to facilitate adoptions of stray cats
and dogs.
"A source of financing needs to be found for an animal shelter," Nora
García, president of the nongovernmental Cuban Association for the
Protection of Animals and Plants (ANIPLANT), told IPS.
"However, the solution needs to be more comprehensive and must include a
programme of massive sterilisation of both male and female animals," she
added. "We advocate the prevention of undesired animal births, instead
of killing dogs and cats that nobody wants."
Her group has championed and put into practice this idea since 1992.
In 2012, ANIPLANT neutered more than 4,000 animals (both paid and free
of charge), mostly in the capital and in the provinces of Holguín,
Artemisa, Matanzas, Camagüey and the Isla de la Juventud island, where
the group also has members. Other groups, such as the Cuban Association
of Cat Lovers, also carry out free health campaigns.
A sad fate awaits stray animals in Cuba.
Government vehicles regularly pick up stray dogs and aggressive dogs to
prevent the spread of diseases like rabies, which can be deadly for
humans. The animal health authorities take them to dog pounds, where
they are put to sleep if nobody claims them within a given period.
Stray animals, especially puppies, are often used to train or simply
entertain dogs used in dog fighting. Underground dog fights, which have
fans in outlying urban and rural areas, are associated with illegal
gambling, which is punishable by fines or two to three years in prison.
Animals on the streets are also at risk of being hit by cars, and they
often suffer from cruelty, as well as untreated diseases, which make
them a public health threat.
"Animals are mistreated, both consciously and unconsciously. That is why
we emphasise the education factor, and the need to raise children and
adolescents to take care of and love animals. We promote effective
protection, which goes beyond feeding and includes aspects such as
vaccination and spaying/neutering," García said.
However, the activists are working in a legal vacuum, as the few
regulations that exist in Cuba apply to draught animals.
Because of that situation, since 1988 ANIPLANT has been systematically
introducing a draft law for the protection of animals to the Ministry of
Agriculture, she said.
The most recent proposal was presented in 2007, with the support of the
nongovernmental Veterinary Science Council.
The proposed law would penalise abandonment, irresponsible ownership,
and the use of painful methods for putting down dogs at shelters and for
killing animals at slaughterhouses, García said.
In Neida González's opinion, a law specifically addressing these
questions would make it possible to counter "a lack of understanding
among human beings."
Despite the work of these organisations and the "invisible army," as
García refers to the network of animal rescuers, much remains to be
done, especially outside of Havana.
"When people abandon animals or fail to control their reproduction, the
number of stray animals grows," she said.
High prices for food and medicines make pet ownership expensive.
Rosario Tio, a resident of the Havana municipality of Cerro, beefs up
the diet of her German shepherd, Chagui, with leftovers donated by her
neighbours. "My finances took a turn for the worse. I can't always buy
him meat or pay for vaccines, which are only sold in CUC," she told IPS.
Not everyone in Cuba has access to CUCs, the Cuban currency in
circulation in place of the dollar.
The Heritage, Community and Environment Society of the Havana City
Historian's Office (OHC) conducts free public worming campaigns in the
old city.
For years, the OHC has been trying to create a shelter where people can
adopt dogs. It has also allowed city museums and gardens to take in
stray animals.
Many of these dogs stroll through Old Havana wearing collars and tags
with their photo and name, and the name of the animal protection
organisation that sponsors them.
The Casa de la Obrapía museum has had Canela, a dog, and Junípero, a
cat, for eight and two years, respectively. "We feed them and give them
veterinary care. They are also an attraction, because visitors are
surprised to find them here," museum director Janet Quiroga told IPS.
The City Animals Protection project has a Facebook page, PAC-Cuba, where
it describes itself as "a group of people who work to reduce the number
of animals living on the streets of Havana."
Source: "IPS – Cuba's Stray Dogs Have Their Champions | Inter Press
Service" -
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/cubas-stray-dogs-have-their-champions/
Monday, September 2, 2013
Inventory Adjustment
Inventory Adjustment / Frank Correa
Posted on September 2, 2013
HAVANA, Cuba , August, www.cubanet.org – Among the best thought-up
institutional ways of stealing was, for a long time, the "Inventory
Adjustment," a concept introduced in commercial enterprises, which
allowed them to absorb a kind of black hole of countless "oddities,"
which were not being analyzed and much less being called by their name:
Theft.
Inventory Adjustment was a standing item on the agenda of the Board of
Directors. Masking multiple benefits through misappropriation, that no
one dared to denounce, for fear of being frowned upon by the other
leaders of the company.
At the end of the month, all the warehouses undertake a count of their
products, but there was always a disconnect between the records of the
department of Economics and what really existed. This is called
"Inventory Difference," a concept where losses occur due to
deterioration, breakage, confiscation… in numbers that reached tens of
thousands of pesos, which added up between all the companies in one
province could amount to millions, and which grew each year, to an
uncontrollable point.
The difference in inventory was a complex economic event where several
factors converged. From broken roofs which let the rain in which in turn
spoiled many products, with the reports doubling or tripling (and with
the "losses" later sold on the black market), to unpunished "credit
notes," where the sole signature of the Head Manager justified spending
money from a bill in the cash register directly to the pocket.
In the wholesale companies one anecdote became proverbial, which
occurred in warehouse 637 in Guantanamo, when surprise inspection found
a half ton of rice accounted for as "sweepings," that is not fit for
consumption, having been spilled during the downloading. With irony,
inspectors congratulated the warehouse workers, "for having collected
the spilled rice to pack it back into the bags, and then seal them, as
if they had just left the producer in Brazil."
The ultimate of these company directors, deputy directors, accountants
and financial managers, was to institute an internal call for "Inventory
Adjustment," which , at the end of the month, magically erased 14% of
the difference issued in inventory. That is, of every hundred thousand
pesos, twenty-eight thousand are automatically subtracted first day of
each month.
Very few of these authors of authorized embezzlement ever paid for their
crimes. Today almost all are retired, or dead. Those who survive look
askance at the new Comptroller, and — although they know that corruption
is alive and kicking – the take as their greatest enemy the new
discourse that calls for a fight against it. They dream of the happy
times when no one talked about the issue, when everything was easy and
everything was resolved with "Inventory Adjustments."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Frank Correa, born in Guantanamo in 1963. Storyteller, poet and
freelance journalist. He has won prizes in the Regino E. Boti, Ernest
Hemingway and Thomas Savignon contests, all in 1991 . He has published a
book of stories, La elección. beilycorrea@yahoo.es
30 August 2013
Source: "Inventory Adjustment / Frank Correa | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/inventory-adjustment-frank-correa/
Posted on September 2, 2013
HAVANA, Cuba , August, www.cubanet.org – Among the best thought-up
institutional ways of stealing was, for a long time, the "Inventory
Adjustment," a concept introduced in commercial enterprises, which
allowed them to absorb a kind of black hole of countless "oddities,"
which were not being analyzed and much less being called by their name:
Theft.
Inventory Adjustment was a standing item on the agenda of the Board of
Directors. Masking multiple benefits through misappropriation, that no
one dared to denounce, for fear of being frowned upon by the other
leaders of the company.
At the end of the month, all the warehouses undertake a count of their
products, but there was always a disconnect between the records of the
department of Economics and what really existed. This is called
"Inventory Difference," a concept where losses occur due to
deterioration, breakage, confiscation… in numbers that reached tens of
thousands of pesos, which added up between all the companies in one
province could amount to millions, and which grew each year, to an
uncontrollable point.
The difference in inventory was a complex economic event where several
factors converged. From broken roofs which let the rain in which in turn
spoiled many products, with the reports doubling or tripling (and with
the "losses" later sold on the black market), to unpunished "credit
notes," where the sole signature of the Head Manager justified spending
money from a bill in the cash register directly to the pocket.
In the wholesale companies one anecdote became proverbial, which
occurred in warehouse 637 in Guantanamo, when surprise inspection found
a half ton of rice accounted for as "sweepings," that is not fit for
consumption, having been spilled during the downloading. With irony,
inspectors congratulated the warehouse workers, "for having collected
the spilled rice to pack it back into the bags, and then seal them, as
if they had just left the producer in Brazil."
The ultimate of these company directors, deputy directors, accountants
and financial managers, was to institute an internal call for "Inventory
Adjustment," which , at the end of the month, magically erased 14% of
the difference issued in inventory. That is, of every hundred thousand
pesos, twenty-eight thousand are automatically subtracted first day of
each month.
Very few of these authors of authorized embezzlement ever paid for their
crimes. Today almost all are retired, or dead. Those who survive look
askance at the new Comptroller, and — although they know that corruption
is alive and kicking – the take as their greatest enemy the new
discourse that calls for a fight against it. They dream of the happy
times when no one talked about the issue, when everything was easy and
everything was resolved with "Inventory Adjustments."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Frank Correa, born in Guantanamo in 1963. Storyteller, poet and
freelance journalist. He has won prizes in the Regino E. Boti, Ernest
Hemingway and Thomas Savignon contests, all in 1991 . He has published a
book of stories, La elección. beilycorrea@yahoo.es
30 August 2013
Source: "Inventory Adjustment / Frank Correa | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/inventory-adjustment-frank-correa/
Petition To the National Assembly of People’s Power of the Republic of Cuba
Petition To the National Assembly of People's Power of the Republic of
Cuba / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada
Posted on September 1, 2013
Havana, 26 June 2013
To the National Assembly of People's Power of the Republic of Cuba:
The Constitution of the Republic of Cuba in its Article 63, reads verbatim:
All citizens have the right to lodge complaints and petitions to the
authorities and to receive attention or pertinent responses within a
reasonable time, in accordance with the law.
And in accordance with its letter and spirit, we the undersigned are
addressing that maximum level of government in the nation with the
following.
CITIZEN PETITION
According to principles reflected in the Preamble to the Yogyakarta
Principles with regards to the application of international law of human
rights in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, and
establishing that:
"RECALLING that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights, and that everyone is entitled to the enjoyment of human rights
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status;
"DISTURBED that violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion,
stigmatisation and prejudice are directed against persons in all regions
of the world because of their sexual orientation or gender identity…
"NOTING that international human rights law imposes an absolute
prohibition of discrimination in regard to the full enjoyment of all
human rights, civil, cultural, economic, political and social, that
respect for sexual rights, sexual orientation and gender identity is
integral to the realization of equality between men and women and that
States must take measures to seek to eliminate prejudices and customs
based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of one sex or on
stereotyped roles for men and women…"
Considering that in our country such conceptions are still very far from
being met within Cuban society and are not reflected in the legislation,
we believe it appropriate to REQUEST:
The official acceptance and compliance with the Agreements of Yogyakarta.
That national authorities undertake a wide investigation of everything
related to that negative event in our history known as Military Units to
Aid Production (UMAP) and the results be published in the national media .
That those responsible for these adverse events are brought to justice
for the repeated and massive violation of human rights violation of an
indefinite number of Cuban citizens.
That the use and arbitrary application of the concept "state of
dangerousnous" in the existing Criminal Code against persons for the
sole "crime" of sexual orientation be publicly explained.
That a public debate is opened on the forced exile many homosexual
citizens were subjected to.
That the violent deaths of some homosexuals on the streets or other
locations be explained.
And, for your information, we are are submitting this issue to the
People's Power at that same time we open this document for signature by
citizens who want to do so.
Wendy Iriepa Díaz
Ignacio Estrada Cepero
8 July 2013
Source: "Petition To the National Assembly of People's Power of the
Republic of Cuba / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada | Translating Cuba"
-
http://translatingcuba.com/petition-to-the-national-assembly-of-peoples-power-of-the-republic-of-cuba-wendy-iriepa-and-ignacio-estrada/
Cuba / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada
Posted on September 1, 2013
Havana, 26 June 2013
To the National Assembly of People's Power of the Republic of Cuba:
The Constitution of the Republic of Cuba in its Article 63, reads verbatim:
All citizens have the right to lodge complaints and petitions to the
authorities and to receive attention or pertinent responses within a
reasonable time, in accordance with the law.
And in accordance with its letter and spirit, we the undersigned are
addressing that maximum level of government in the nation with the
following.
CITIZEN PETITION
According to principles reflected in the Preamble to the Yogyakarta
Principles with regards to the application of international law of human
rights in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, and
establishing that:
"RECALLING that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights, and that everyone is entitled to the enjoyment of human rights
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status;
"DISTURBED that violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion,
stigmatisation and prejudice are directed against persons in all regions
of the world because of their sexual orientation or gender identity…
"NOTING that international human rights law imposes an absolute
prohibition of discrimination in regard to the full enjoyment of all
human rights, civil, cultural, economic, political and social, that
respect for sexual rights, sexual orientation and gender identity is
integral to the realization of equality between men and women and that
States must take measures to seek to eliminate prejudices and customs
based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of one sex or on
stereotyped roles for men and women…"
Considering that in our country such conceptions are still very far from
being met within Cuban society and are not reflected in the legislation,
we believe it appropriate to REQUEST:
The official acceptance and compliance with the Agreements of Yogyakarta.
That national authorities undertake a wide investigation of everything
related to that negative event in our history known as Military Units to
Aid Production (UMAP) and the results be published in the national media .
That those responsible for these adverse events are brought to justice
for the repeated and massive violation of human rights violation of an
indefinite number of Cuban citizens.
That the use and arbitrary application of the concept "state of
dangerousnous" in the existing Criminal Code against persons for the
sole "crime" of sexual orientation be publicly explained.
That a public debate is opened on the forced exile many homosexual
citizens were subjected to.
That the violent deaths of some homosexuals on the streets or other
locations be explained.
And, for your information, we are are submitting this issue to the
People's Power at that same time we open this document for signature by
citizens who want to do so.
Wendy Iriepa Díaz
Ignacio Estrada Cepero
8 July 2013
Source: "Petition To the National Assembly of People's Power of the
Republic of Cuba / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada | Translating Cuba"
-
http://translatingcuba.com/petition-to-the-national-assembly-of-peoples-power-of-the-republic-of-cuba-wendy-iriepa-and-ignacio-estrada/
Father Conrado: Evangelist or Politico?
Father Conrado: Evangelist or Politico? / CID
Posted on September 1, 2013
By Karel Becerra *
The compatriot José Conrado Rodríguez Alegre, known as Father Conrado,
Catholic but above all Cuban, visited Argentina and among his activities
he met in Buenos Aires with a group of Cubans and Argentinians who carry
Cuba in their hearts.
I went to the meeting with great interest because the Father Conrado —
who has been free to come and go from Cuba for years — knows the Cuban
problem from different perspectives. The meeting lasted several hours,
during which we talked about the Cuban Catholic Church, the opposition
and the regime.
Father Conrado expressed "concern about the current situation of the
Cuban people, social pressure has been increasing," and he does not rule
out the possibility of an explosion. According to what he said, this
concerns the government, given the question of changes. On lifting the
embargo the Father Conrad said, "we need some preconditions ."
On the role of the Catholic Church, he said that Francisco, "is a Pope
we have been waiting for, the church removes the superfluous and comes
down from the altar, the church is needed in Cuba. It is the church I
want because I'm a priest of the people."
He said Bishop Jaime Ortega and the Church have always been on the side
of the Cuban people and that,"Bishop Jaime is really worried." Father
Conrado also referred to Jaime's forthcoming retirement and his
confidence that the Pope will bless us with the election of a new Cuban
bishop; it seems that this is a question of months.
In his opinion, the place for the Cuban opposition is on the island
where the people will have the last word. He highlighted the "opposition
groups and leaders who today are making a move with perspectives of the
future, members of UNPACU and opponents such as Jose Daniel Ferrer, Coco
Guillermo Fariñas, Antonio Rodiles and the talented young Eliezer Avila.
He made a special mention of Yoani Sanchez for whom he "keeps a personal
affection, along with her husband Reinaldo." He spoke of the talent and
dedication shown by Yoani, whom he considers a charismatic leader with a
future within the island.
He didn't address the potential for the Christian Liberation Movement
(MCL) nor a mulatto doctor that one of those identified as Dr. Oscar
Elias Biscet, nor did he mention the extensive organization of the
Independent and Democratic Cuba (CID) in Cuba. I left that memorable
meeting with the impression that the Father Conrado has already chosen
his political activism.
Karel Becerra is the Deputy Secretary of International Relations and
Coordinator of the blog CID Cuba Advisory
24 August 2013
Source: "Father Conrado: Evangelist or Politico? / CID | Translating
Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/father-conrado-evangelist-or-politico-cid/
Posted on September 1, 2013
By Karel Becerra *
The compatriot José Conrado Rodríguez Alegre, known as Father Conrado,
Catholic but above all Cuban, visited Argentina and among his activities
he met in Buenos Aires with a group of Cubans and Argentinians who carry
Cuba in their hearts.
I went to the meeting with great interest because the Father Conrado —
who has been free to come and go from Cuba for years — knows the Cuban
problem from different perspectives. The meeting lasted several hours,
during which we talked about the Cuban Catholic Church, the opposition
and the regime.
Father Conrado expressed "concern about the current situation of the
Cuban people, social pressure has been increasing," and he does not rule
out the possibility of an explosion. According to what he said, this
concerns the government, given the question of changes. On lifting the
embargo the Father Conrad said, "we need some preconditions ."
On the role of the Catholic Church, he said that Francisco, "is a Pope
we have been waiting for, the church removes the superfluous and comes
down from the altar, the church is needed in Cuba. It is the church I
want because I'm a priest of the people."
He said Bishop Jaime Ortega and the Church have always been on the side
of the Cuban people and that,"Bishop Jaime is really worried." Father
Conrado also referred to Jaime's forthcoming retirement and his
confidence that the Pope will bless us with the election of a new Cuban
bishop; it seems that this is a question of months.
In his opinion, the place for the Cuban opposition is on the island
where the people will have the last word. He highlighted the "opposition
groups and leaders who today are making a move with perspectives of the
future, members of UNPACU and opponents such as Jose Daniel Ferrer, Coco
Guillermo Fariñas, Antonio Rodiles and the talented young Eliezer Avila.
He made a special mention of Yoani Sanchez for whom he "keeps a personal
affection, along with her husband Reinaldo." He spoke of the talent and
dedication shown by Yoani, whom he considers a charismatic leader with a
future within the island.
He didn't address the potential for the Christian Liberation Movement
(MCL) nor a mulatto doctor that one of those identified as Dr. Oscar
Elias Biscet, nor did he mention the extensive organization of the
Independent and Democratic Cuba (CID) in Cuba. I left that memorable
meeting with the impression that the Father Conrado has already chosen
his political activism.
Karel Becerra is the Deputy Secretary of International Relations and
Coordinator of the blog CID Cuba Advisory
24 August 2013
Source: "Father Conrado: Evangelist or Politico? / CID | Translating
Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/father-conrado-evangelist-or-politico-cid/
Celebrating the Third Anniversary of the Founding of Free Peasants Committee of CID
Celebrating the Third Anniversary of the Founding of Free Peasants
Committee of CID / CID
Posted on September 1, 2013
On the morning of Sunday August 25, 2013, members of different
organizations met at the home of Rolando Pupo Carralero, President of
the Committee of Free Peasants of the Independent and Democratic Cuba
Party (CID), at the headquarters of this organization home to celebrate
the third anniversary of its founding.
Several days earlier, it had already been decided by the members of the
Committee of Farmers that celebrating this date was very important to
them. Then the preparations began. Everyone was invited, with the news
passing by word of mouth and with great care, so that it would not
filter out to the repressive dictatorship.
With much work they managed to get everything they needed for a great
celebration and finally the day arrived for everyone. From early in the
morning, the dictatorship's dogs were already circling, but the guests
were smarter, they all came with muddy shoes and pants rolled up to the
knee, as they had to leave the main road guarded by the henchmen, to
take to the verges, ditches and rice fields and even crossing mountains,
but in the end, all together as God intended.
The meeting began with the singing of the notes of our National Anthem,
Rolando Pupo Carralero then spoke and said that the Free Peasants
Committee is an organization which was founded on August 20, 2010, with
the aim of bringing together all those peasants who one way or another
do not want to remain under the yoke imposed by the Castro regime and
who are willing to break the chains that binds them to a production
model that has enslaved them for over 50 years.
He also listed the complaints and the needs of tobacco industry and the
abuses of the farmers in the area. Also, Roberto Blanco Gil, Chairman of
the CID Steering Committee Against Abuse took the opportunity to
distribute 20 copies of the weekly The New Republic.
At the meeting Noralys Martin Hernández, provincial delegate to the
Federation of Rural Latin AmericanWomen (FLAMUR) in Pinar del Rio,
congratulated the members of the Committee of Peasants for all the work
they've done in this time and urged them to continue fighting for a free
and Democratic Cuba .
José Rolando Cáceres Soto, provincial director of the Cuban
Revolutionary Party (PRC) congratulated all the farmers with a big hug
and said he felt proud to know that there are peasants fighting for a
Cuba of all and for the good of all. The meeting ended with cries of
Down with Fidel! Down with Raul! LongLive the United Opposition!
Present at the meeting, all from CID, were Rolando Pupo Carralero,
Yuliet Rivas Lugo, Yamilys Valdés Rodríguez, Yusniel Pupo Carralero,
Luis A Ruiz Calderón, Orleans Bentos González, Berta Irene González,
Yordan Pupo Carralero, Islei Bentos Gonzáles, Pedro L Hernanz Rodríguez,
Edisbel Forteza, Wibi Alvares Gonzalez, Domingo Hernández, Yoandris
Hernández Ceballos, Andy González Hernández, Belkis Pérez Pérez, Víctor
Pérez Martínez, Roberto Blanco Gil, Rogelio Loases Fuentes, Hermes
Rodríguez and Vidal Barrios Pérez.
Guests from the People's Revolutionary Party (PRC) were: José Rolando
Cáceres Soto, Idalberto Abascal Quintana, Osnier Reyes Jaime, Pedro A
Padrón Amor, Esteban Ajete Abascal, Luis A Hernández Arencibia, Danés
Benítez, Rasbel Espinosa Caraballo, Lázaro León Alvares.
From FLAMUR Noralys Martin Hernández, Olga Lidia Torres Iglesia, Ana
Maris Mérida Serra, Irina C León Valladares.
From the Pedro Luis Boitel Party, Eliosbel Garriga Cabrera, Pedro L
Sabat Valdés, Maikel A Hernández Perdigón, Aramis Hernández Perdigón,
Yamirka Ledesma Santana, Yancarlos Hernández Perdigón.
From 10 de Octubre, freelance journalist José Martinez and Luis A.
Hernández Marrero.
29 August 2013
Source: "Celebrating the Third Anniversary of the Founding of Free
Peasants Committee of CID / CID | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/celebrating-the-third-anniversary-of-the-founding-of-free-peasants-committee-of-cid-cid/
Committee of CID / CID
Posted on September 1, 2013
On the morning of Sunday August 25, 2013, members of different
organizations met at the home of Rolando Pupo Carralero, President of
the Committee of Free Peasants of the Independent and Democratic Cuba
Party (CID), at the headquarters of this organization home to celebrate
the third anniversary of its founding.
Several days earlier, it had already been decided by the members of the
Committee of Farmers that celebrating this date was very important to
them. Then the preparations began. Everyone was invited, with the news
passing by word of mouth and with great care, so that it would not
filter out to the repressive dictatorship.
With much work they managed to get everything they needed for a great
celebration and finally the day arrived for everyone. From early in the
morning, the dictatorship's dogs were already circling, but the guests
were smarter, they all came with muddy shoes and pants rolled up to the
knee, as they had to leave the main road guarded by the henchmen, to
take to the verges, ditches and rice fields and even crossing mountains,
but in the end, all together as God intended.
The meeting began with the singing of the notes of our National Anthem,
Rolando Pupo Carralero then spoke and said that the Free Peasants
Committee is an organization which was founded on August 20, 2010, with
the aim of bringing together all those peasants who one way or another
do not want to remain under the yoke imposed by the Castro regime and
who are willing to break the chains that binds them to a production
model that has enslaved them for over 50 years.
He also listed the complaints and the needs of tobacco industry and the
abuses of the farmers in the area. Also, Roberto Blanco Gil, Chairman of
the CID Steering Committee Against Abuse took the opportunity to
distribute 20 copies of the weekly The New Republic.
At the meeting Noralys Martin Hernández, provincial delegate to the
Federation of Rural Latin AmericanWomen (FLAMUR) in Pinar del Rio,
congratulated the members of the Committee of Peasants for all the work
they've done in this time and urged them to continue fighting for a free
and Democratic Cuba .
José Rolando Cáceres Soto, provincial director of the Cuban
Revolutionary Party (PRC) congratulated all the farmers with a big hug
and said he felt proud to know that there are peasants fighting for a
Cuba of all and for the good of all. The meeting ended with cries of
Down with Fidel! Down with Raul! LongLive the United Opposition!
Present at the meeting, all from CID, were Rolando Pupo Carralero,
Yuliet Rivas Lugo, Yamilys Valdés Rodríguez, Yusniel Pupo Carralero,
Luis A Ruiz Calderón, Orleans Bentos González, Berta Irene González,
Yordan Pupo Carralero, Islei Bentos Gonzáles, Pedro L Hernanz Rodríguez,
Edisbel Forteza, Wibi Alvares Gonzalez, Domingo Hernández, Yoandris
Hernández Ceballos, Andy González Hernández, Belkis Pérez Pérez, Víctor
Pérez Martínez, Roberto Blanco Gil, Rogelio Loases Fuentes, Hermes
Rodríguez and Vidal Barrios Pérez.
Guests from the People's Revolutionary Party (PRC) were: José Rolando
Cáceres Soto, Idalberto Abascal Quintana, Osnier Reyes Jaime, Pedro A
Padrón Amor, Esteban Ajete Abascal, Luis A Hernández Arencibia, Danés
Benítez, Rasbel Espinosa Caraballo, Lázaro León Alvares.
From FLAMUR Noralys Martin Hernández, Olga Lidia Torres Iglesia, Ana
Maris Mérida Serra, Irina C León Valladares.
From the Pedro Luis Boitel Party, Eliosbel Garriga Cabrera, Pedro L
Sabat Valdés, Maikel A Hernández Perdigón, Aramis Hernández Perdigón,
Yamirka Ledesma Santana, Yancarlos Hernández Perdigón.
From 10 de Octubre, freelance journalist José Martinez and Luis A.
Hernández Marrero.
29 August 2013
Source: "Celebrating the Third Anniversary of the Founding of Free
Peasants Committee of CID / CID | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/celebrating-the-third-anniversary-of-the-founding-of-free-peasants-committee-of-cid-cid/
Yelky Puig Released in Pinar del Rio After Eight Months in Prison
Yelky Puig Released in Pinar del Rio After Eight Months in Prison / CID
Posted on September 1, 2013
In December 2012 the CID Provincial Coordinator in Pinar del Rio was
sentenced to one year in prison in a trial that was a travesty. Yelky
Puig was a member of the State Security who, after leaving their ranks,
joined the CID and joined other former employees of the repressive
apparatus of the organization.
The regime saw in Yelky Puig's opposition activism a very dangerous
precedent and decided to punish him no matter what.
Yelky Puig named Provincial Coordinator for the Ricardo Medina National
Executive Committee (CEN).
This past week Yelky was released on parole. Yelky expressed thanks for
the support his family received during his time in prison and said that
his faith in the CID is unwavering and that during his imprisonment he
was about to mature ideas and projects.
After his conviction the CID responded with more delegations and further
growth of activists in the organization.
The response exceeded expectations. So far in 2013 three successful
projects have been implemented: The weekly The New Republic (LNR), the
Ombudsman of the People of Cuba and the Cuba Advisor blog.
1) Ten CEN branches nationwide are given the responsibility of defending
people with regards to on their most pressing problems, for which they
have appointed ten regional ombudsmen. Work has been intense, consistent
and successful.
2 ) Another ten delegations were made responsible for the weekly work
party: The New Republic and this effort have been successful. Week after
week this has been published weekly with news of interest to Cubans on
the island.
LNR has been reinforced by the supplement by the Information Blockade to
the Cuban People, which consists of a critical analysis of the censored
news published by the regime and others.
Simultaneous to this work another 10 delegations were held responsible
for increasing the number of activists in their areas of influence and
creating new delegations. We could not be more pleased with the
results.3) The Cuba Advisory blog is a website where information is
published weekly in English addressed to Canadians who may be interested
in traveling to Cuba. This was a project carefully planned and has been
a success since it was made public. Before the end of this season, and
according to conservative estimates, the blog must have will have caused
a loss to the Castro regime of two million dollars in four months.
If the dictatorship believed the Yelky Puig's unjust sentence would
weaken the CID organization they made a serious error in judgment. The
CID has been consolidated in the westernmost province of Cuba through
the efforts of delegates and activists and the dedication of the
Ombudsman Onelsy Díaz Becerra and National Executive Committee member
and Chairman of the Free Peasants of the CID Rolando Pupo Carralero.
1 September 2013
Source: "Yelky Puig Released in Pinar del Rio After Eight Months in
Prison / CID | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/yelky-puig-released-in-pinar-del-rio-after-eight-months-in-prison-cid/
Posted on September 1, 2013
In December 2012 the CID Provincial Coordinator in Pinar del Rio was
sentenced to one year in prison in a trial that was a travesty. Yelky
Puig was a member of the State Security who, after leaving their ranks,
joined the CID and joined other former employees of the repressive
apparatus of the organization.
The regime saw in Yelky Puig's opposition activism a very dangerous
precedent and decided to punish him no matter what.
Yelky Puig named Provincial Coordinator for the Ricardo Medina National
Executive Committee (CEN).
This past week Yelky was released on parole. Yelky expressed thanks for
the support his family received during his time in prison and said that
his faith in the CID is unwavering and that during his imprisonment he
was about to mature ideas and projects.
After his conviction the CID responded with more delegations and further
growth of activists in the organization.
The response exceeded expectations. So far in 2013 three successful
projects have been implemented: The weekly The New Republic (LNR), the
Ombudsman of the People of Cuba and the Cuba Advisor blog.
1) Ten CEN branches nationwide are given the responsibility of defending
people with regards to on their most pressing problems, for which they
have appointed ten regional ombudsmen. Work has been intense, consistent
and successful.
2 ) Another ten delegations were made responsible for the weekly work
party: The New Republic and this effort have been successful. Week after
week this has been published weekly with news of interest to Cubans on
the island.
LNR has been reinforced by the supplement by the Information Blockade to
the Cuban People, which consists of a critical analysis of the censored
news published by the regime and others.
Simultaneous to this work another 10 delegations were held responsible
for increasing the number of activists in their areas of influence and
creating new delegations. We could not be more pleased with the
results.3) The Cuba Advisory blog is a website where information is
published weekly in English addressed to Canadians who may be interested
in traveling to Cuba. This was a project carefully planned and has been
a success since it was made public. Before the end of this season, and
according to conservative estimates, the blog must have will have caused
a loss to the Castro regime of two million dollars in four months.
If the dictatorship believed the Yelky Puig's unjust sentence would
weaken the CID organization they made a serious error in judgment. The
CID has been consolidated in the westernmost province of Cuba through
the efforts of delegates and activists and the dedication of the
Ombudsman Onelsy Díaz Becerra and National Executive Committee member
and Chairman of the Free Peasants of the CID Rolando Pupo Carralero.
1 September 2013
Source: "Yelky Puig Released in Pinar del Rio After Eight Months in
Prison / CID | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/yelky-puig-released-in-pinar-del-rio-after-eight-months-in-prison-cid/
Orange Juice Runs Through My Veins
Orange Juice Runs Through My Veins / Mario Lleonart
Posted on September 1, 2013
Not even I understand how much those nearly eight months — from 30
November 1993 to 28 July 1994 — affected the rest of my life. I was used
as cheap and reliable labor, exposed to hard labor in the citrus
harvest, to the substantial economic benefit of the Cuban regime and the
Grupo B.M. y Waknine & Berezovsky Co. Ltd. Over the years now I hve come
to understand that it was a chapter God had for me. The experiences I
went through had to do with things far beyond what I imagine, given all
that I have been and done since then.
My friend Omar Lopez Montenegro whom I met last June on my trip to
Poland excitedly tells his experience at the famous Pre-University of de
la Víbora, a site which has also been immortalized thanks to another of
its graduates, the writer Leonardo Padura Fuentes, who turned this
mythical place into the origin of the backstory of his character
detective Mario Conde.
The joint non-violent resistence of Omar and other friends prevented
some gatekeepers from cutting their long hair during a period of
mobilization in the field. I lived something similar in Boom 400 of the
EJT (Ejercito de Trabajo Juvenil, or the Youth Labor Army) and above all
the vivid outrages will stay with me forever.
After walking for three months among the concentration camps adjacent to
the towns of San Jose Torriente and San José de Marcos, they made us
return to that of Socorro en Pedro Betancourt. Supposedly from this Boom
400, which was our original camp, the suppliies assigned to us should
have arrived, but we received nothing during those three months during
which we wandered on some supposed mission whose high work goals were
never met.
During those three months we didn't even get a pass to go to our homes.
We felt sorry for ourselves. Our clothes were dirty and ragged as could
be. Most of us were walking barefoot, a few with broken boots. One of
the generals named Acebedos came by for inspections and called us "the
shirtless", and a relaxed captain in the camp next to Torrientes,
seemingly moved by compassion, told us — pointing at his massive gut:
"Don't be discouraged boys, I lost this belly in the army".
On returning to our original camp, we held out the hope that things
might change, but on arrival, a new unit chief met us: a Navy captain
whose punishment was being sent to the EJT. And I became aware of
another characterisic of this invincible army: it was the punishment
site for MININT, Armed Forces, and even Navy officers.
For us, the officer's reception was to inform us that we'd just arrived
at Boom 400, and we had to earn all we asked for. An additional answer
to our worries was the delivery of immense Chinese machetes, and after a
miserable lunch, he made us go to some place infested with the invasive
marabú weed that we had to pull up and prepare for the planting of citrus.
That was more than a humiliation. Supposedly, in those conditions we
didn't cut even one marabú, our patience having completely dripped away,
so even better we organized and so it was like that night in May 1994
when, in protest, the complete squad deserted and we agreed that nobody
would return for at least a week. The silent exit from the camp and the
trip, one by one, through the orange orchards towards the national
highway where in a matter of minutes we undertook a course towards Las
Villas, were the most glorious moments of those eight months of abuse.
On our return, at least those who returned — some never did — we were
subject to trial in the camp's ampitheater, seeking an answer: "Who had
been the leader?" The end of the trial consisted in the delivery of the
supplies they'd deprived us of for the last eight months, our manner of
nonviolent protest showed the vulnerability of those who thought they
had power and made us discover that power was really in our hands.
The en masse desertion of an EJT squad had made the news all over the
island and uncovered corruption in high places. Although I was
liberated, that unforgettable July 28, 1994, I can't deny that since
then, orange juice runs through my veins.
Translated by: JT
12 August 2013
Source: "Orange Juice Runs Through My Veins / Mario Lleonart |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/orange-juice-runs-through-my-veins-mario-lleonart/
Posted on September 1, 2013
Not even I understand how much those nearly eight months — from 30
November 1993 to 28 July 1994 — affected the rest of my life. I was used
as cheap and reliable labor, exposed to hard labor in the citrus
harvest, to the substantial economic benefit of the Cuban regime and the
Grupo B.M. y Waknine & Berezovsky Co. Ltd. Over the years now I hve come
to understand that it was a chapter God had for me. The experiences I
went through had to do with things far beyond what I imagine, given all
that I have been and done since then.
My friend Omar Lopez Montenegro whom I met last June on my trip to
Poland excitedly tells his experience at the famous Pre-University of de
la Víbora, a site which has also been immortalized thanks to another of
its graduates, the writer Leonardo Padura Fuentes, who turned this
mythical place into the origin of the backstory of his character
detective Mario Conde.
The joint non-violent resistence of Omar and other friends prevented
some gatekeepers from cutting their long hair during a period of
mobilization in the field. I lived something similar in Boom 400 of the
EJT (Ejercito de Trabajo Juvenil, or the Youth Labor Army) and above all
the vivid outrages will stay with me forever.
After walking for three months among the concentration camps adjacent to
the towns of San Jose Torriente and San José de Marcos, they made us
return to that of Socorro en Pedro Betancourt. Supposedly from this Boom
400, which was our original camp, the suppliies assigned to us should
have arrived, but we received nothing during those three months during
which we wandered on some supposed mission whose high work goals were
never met.
During those three months we didn't even get a pass to go to our homes.
We felt sorry for ourselves. Our clothes were dirty and ragged as could
be. Most of us were walking barefoot, a few with broken boots. One of
the generals named Acebedos came by for inspections and called us "the
shirtless", and a relaxed captain in the camp next to Torrientes,
seemingly moved by compassion, told us — pointing at his massive gut:
"Don't be discouraged boys, I lost this belly in the army".
On returning to our original camp, we held out the hope that things
might change, but on arrival, a new unit chief met us: a Navy captain
whose punishment was being sent to the EJT. And I became aware of
another characterisic of this invincible army: it was the punishment
site for MININT, Armed Forces, and even Navy officers.
For us, the officer's reception was to inform us that we'd just arrived
at Boom 400, and we had to earn all we asked for. An additional answer
to our worries was the delivery of immense Chinese machetes, and after a
miserable lunch, he made us go to some place infested with the invasive
marabú weed that we had to pull up and prepare for the planting of citrus.
That was more than a humiliation. Supposedly, in those conditions we
didn't cut even one marabú, our patience having completely dripped away,
so even better we organized and so it was like that night in May 1994
when, in protest, the complete squad deserted and we agreed that nobody
would return for at least a week. The silent exit from the camp and the
trip, one by one, through the orange orchards towards the national
highway where in a matter of minutes we undertook a course towards Las
Villas, were the most glorious moments of those eight months of abuse.
On our return, at least those who returned — some never did — we were
subject to trial in the camp's ampitheater, seeking an answer: "Who had
been the leader?" The end of the trial consisted in the delivery of the
supplies they'd deprived us of for the last eight months, our manner of
nonviolent protest showed the vulnerability of those who thought they
had power and made us discover that power was really in our hands.
The en masse desertion of an EJT squad had made the news all over the
island and uncovered corruption in high places. Although I was
liberated, that unforgettable July 28, 1994, I can't deny that since
then, orange juice runs through my veins.
Translated by: JT
12 August 2013
Source: "Orange Juice Runs Through My Veins / Mario Lleonart |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/orange-juice-runs-through-my-veins-mario-lleonart/
To Live in a Tenement, Without Hope
To Live in a Tenement, Without Hope / Leon Padron Azcuy
Posted on September 1, 2013
Havana , August, www.cubanet.org – Over a year ago, the Havana news
channel reporter, Graciela Resquejo, tried to report the terrible living
conditions, life-threatening, in which many families live in the solar —
tenement — at No. 12 Jesus Maria between San Ignacio and Inquisidor, in
Old Havana.
But to no avail. That report was censored by political commissars of
Cuban television.
Resquejo apologized days later to neighbors and urged them to
relentlessly pressure the institutions responsible for housing, so that
one day they might get out of this hell.
The solar at No. 12 Jesus Maria is a disaster. Its tenants live in fear
of a collapse, or the spread of disease, because when it rains, the
water penetrates the roofs and walls, leading to a steady drip, even
hours after the sky clears. Nor do they have drinking water, which comes
through a pipe installed between sewer pipes, and rats and cockroaches
swarm everywhere.
Neighbors have appealed, time and again, to the government. But the
problem persists in every session of the Popular Power. Finally they
went to the Department of Citizens Support of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party, who toss the ball back to the municipality.
One of the biggest frustrations of tenants, was in 2007, when they were
assigned to some old offices in a four-story building near the tenement.
They only had to wait until the bathrooms and kitchens were put in. But
while waiting for the arrangements, the government itself gave these
offices to other victims who had lost their homes because of a cyclone.
Back to square one.
Year after year, this miserable citadel of San Ignacio Street waits for
the fulfillment of the promises of the authorities. But promises are
always empty .
One of the neighbors of the tenement, whose husband recently had a heart
operation, said, "The authorities remember us every time a hurricane
comes," adding, "their cynicism knows no bounds, at times we've been
asked to find our own shelters, on others they've taken us to a
multipurpose room at Avenida del Puerto, and as soon as the weather
improves, we returned to our citadel, ignoring the building collapses
that happen when the sun comes out."
A young woman who works as a waitress at the pizzeria at 264 Prado and
who has lived in the tenement for seventeen years said, "We are not
asking for a palace in Miramar or Vedado, we want at least a roof with
better conditions, but we are always victims of deceit and manipulation."
The nine families the No 12 Jesús María tenement, living without hope,
victims of government neglect .
Leonpadron10@gmail.com
Source: "To Live in a Tenement, Without Hope / Leon Padron Azcuy |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/to-live-in-a-tenement-without-hope-leon-padron-azcuy/
Posted on September 1, 2013
Havana , August, www.cubanet.org – Over a year ago, the Havana news
channel reporter, Graciela Resquejo, tried to report the terrible living
conditions, life-threatening, in which many families live in the solar —
tenement — at No. 12 Jesus Maria between San Ignacio and Inquisidor, in
Old Havana.
But to no avail. That report was censored by political commissars of
Cuban television.
Resquejo apologized days later to neighbors and urged them to
relentlessly pressure the institutions responsible for housing, so that
one day they might get out of this hell.
The solar at No. 12 Jesus Maria is a disaster. Its tenants live in fear
of a collapse, or the spread of disease, because when it rains, the
water penetrates the roofs and walls, leading to a steady drip, even
hours after the sky clears. Nor do they have drinking water, which comes
through a pipe installed between sewer pipes, and rats and cockroaches
swarm everywhere.
Neighbors have appealed, time and again, to the government. But the
problem persists in every session of the Popular Power. Finally they
went to the Department of Citizens Support of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party, who toss the ball back to the municipality.
One of the biggest frustrations of tenants, was in 2007, when they were
assigned to some old offices in a four-story building near the tenement.
They only had to wait until the bathrooms and kitchens were put in. But
while waiting for the arrangements, the government itself gave these
offices to other victims who had lost their homes because of a cyclone.
Back to square one.
Year after year, this miserable citadel of San Ignacio Street waits for
the fulfillment of the promises of the authorities. But promises are
always empty .
One of the neighbors of the tenement, whose husband recently had a heart
operation, said, "The authorities remember us every time a hurricane
comes," adding, "their cynicism knows no bounds, at times we've been
asked to find our own shelters, on others they've taken us to a
multipurpose room at Avenida del Puerto, and as soon as the weather
improves, we returned to our citadel, ignoring the building collapses
that happen when the sun comes out."
A young woman who works as a waitress at the pizzeria at 264 Prado and
who has lived in the tenement for seventeen years said, "We are not
asking for a palace in Miramar or Vedado, we want at least a roof with
better conditions, but we are always victims of deceit and manipulation."
The nine families the No 12 Jesús María tenement, living without hope,
victims of government neglect .
Leonpadron10@gmail.com
Source: "To Live in a Tenement, Without Hope / Leon Padron Azcuy |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/to-live-in-a-tenement-without-hope-leon-padron-azcuy/
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Some Uncertainties
Some Uncertainties / Fernando Damaso
Posted on August 31, 2013
Though it has no leading role in socialism as it is practiced in this
country, the self-described "new Cuban left" is trying to find its place
in the current economic, political and social debate, one in which no
one is participating. Perhaps it is inertia that leads it to simply
repeat certain well-worn arguments put forth by the government, which
are far removed from historical reality.
When referring to the Cuban Republic, the "new left" accepts as fact
that it was a neo-colonial and subjugated pseudo-state, constrained by
the Platt Amendment and subject to foreign interference. It assumes that
only a tiny minority lived well while the rest of the population
suffered in misery without education, health services or employment
opportunities. It also believes that discrimination against racial
minorities and women was rampant. The current authorities have been
incessant in their demonization of past eras, facts and historical
figures, while some have accepted these claims as absolute truths and go
on repeating them.
The reality is that the situation was not quite so gloomy. Cuba was one
of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of agricultural and
industrial production, health services, education, salary levels and
labor rights. Its gross domestic product was also one of the highest in
the region, making it an attractive destination for immigrants from
other countries. It had an established and thriving middle class, and
both its population and cities were continually growing, both from an
economic and urban standpoint as well as in terms of infrastructure.
In fact, most of what we still have of value we owe to the republican
era. To ignore this truth — even keeping in mind the political situation
as well as other shortcomings and problems that existed at the time, and
that still have not been resolved — is like listening to only half the
story.
When referring to the disastrous years of socialism, however, the new
Cuban left characterizes it as true, authoritarian, statist and
Stalinist. It focuses attention only on its distorted features, blaming
them for all its failures, as though it were not the system itself —
independent of its atrocities and its leaders — which has failed
wherever it has been tried.
When discussing the future, the "new left" rejects a return to the past,
presuming it might lead to something as ridiculous as a return to
pre-1959 capitalism. It accuses those who propose abandoning Raul
Castro's model of being responsible for a possible loss of independence
and sovereignty (language which daily falls further out of use in a
globalized world) or for subjugation by the neighbor to the north. It is
a perhaps unintentional reprise of an official rhetorical phrase: "You
are either with me or against me."
The only thing that Cuban socialism has distributed equally throughout
the population — which does not include of the tiny elite which hangs
onto wealth and power — is poverty. This is the equality that its
domestic and foreign supporters applaud. Cuban socialism has enjoyed
fifty-four years of missed opportunities, which makes it highly unlikely
that the population will be inclined to give it further opportunities
either in the present or in the future.
As the popular saying goes, the Castro model's "last fifteen minutes are
up." Therefore, new opportunities present themselves to other political,
economic and social initiatives which can and must include all citizens
who care about Cuba. They cannot, however, impose narrow concepts,
whether or not they are what we call socialists, democrats,
participatives, critics, conservatives, liberals, capitalists,
anarchists, rationalists, centrists, decentralists, pluralists,
reformers, etc.
It is only natural that this political opening would occur after years
of living under a single economic, political and social ideological
mindset. The wide variety of new ingredients should produce a dish
capable of satisfying the palates of most of our citizens. But this dish
cannot be prepared by one single chef. It has to take into account the
opinions and participation of those who will consume it, and must
include economic development, freedom and social justice.
The goal is to enter the current global jet stream and advance along
with it in ways to be determined by citizens exercising their full
democratic rights, with participation by everyone but without new and
ridiculous political, economic and social experiments or the kind of
one-party nationalism that has left us light years behind the world's
democracies.
29 August 2013
Source: "Some Uncertainties / Fernando Damaso | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/some-uncertainties-fernando-damaso/
Posted on August 31, 2013
Though it has no leading role in socialism as it is practiced in this
country, the self-described "new Cuban left" is trying to find its place
in the current economic, political and social debate, one in which no
one is participating. Perhaps it is inertia that leads it to simply
repeat certain well-worn arguments put forth by the government, which
are far removed from historical reality.
When referring to the Cuban Republic, the "new left" accepts as fact
that it was a neo-colonial and subjugated pseudo-state, constrained by
the Platt Amendment and subject to foreign interference. It assumes that
only a tiny minority lived well while the rest of the population
suffered in misery without education, health services or employment
opportunities. It also believes that discrimination against racial
minorities and women was rampant. The current authorities have been
incessant in their demonization of past eras, facts and historical
figures, while some have accepted these claims as absolute truths and go
on repeating them.
The reality is that the situation was not quite so gloomy. Cuba was one
of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of agricultural and
industrial production, health services, education, salary levels and
labor rights. Its gross domestic product was also one of the highest in
the region, making it an attractive destination for immigrants from
other countries. It had an established and thriving middle class, and
both its population and cities were continually growing, both from an
economic and urban standpoint as well as in terms of infrastructure.
In fact, most of what we still have of value we owe to the republican
era. To ignore this truth — even keeping in mind the political situation
as well as other shortcomings and problems that existed at the time, and
that still have not been resolved — is like listening to only half the
story.
When referring to the disastrous years of socialism, however, the new
Cuban left characterizes it as true, authoritarian, statist and
Stalinist. It focuses attention only on its distorted features, blaming
them for all its failures, as though it were not the system itself —
independent of its atrocities and its leaders — which has failed
wherever it has been tried.
When discussing the future, the "new left" rejects a return to the past,
presuming it might lead to something as ridiculous as a return to
pre-1959 capitalism. It accuses those who propose abandoning Raul
Castro's model of being responsible for a possible loss of independence
and sovereignty (language which daily falls further out of use in a
globalized world) or for subjugation by the neighbor to the north. It is
a perhaps unintentional reprise of an official rhetorical phrase: "You
are either with me or against me."
The only thing that Cuban socialism has distributed equally throughout
the population — which does not include of the tiny elite which hangs
onto wealth and power — is poverty. This is the equality that its
domestic and foreign supporters applaud. Cuban socialism has enjoyed
fifty-four years of missed opportunities, which makes it highly unlikely
that the population will be inclined to give it further opportunities
either in the present or in the future.
As the popular saying goes, the Castro model's "last fifteen minutes are
up." Therefore, new opportunities present themselves to other political,
economic and social initiatives which can and must include all citizens
who care about Cuba. They cannot, however, impose narrow concepts,
whether or not they are what we call socialists, democrats,
participatives, critics, conservatives, liberals, capitalists,
anarchists, rationalists, centrists, decentralists, pluralists,
reformers, etc.
It is only natural that this political opening would occur after years
of living under a single economic, political and social ideological
mindset. The wide variety of new ingredients should produce a dish
capable of satisfying the palates of most of our citizens. But this dish
cannot be prepared by one single chef. It has to take into account the
opinions and participation of those who will consume it, and must
include economic development, freedom and social justice.
The goal is to enter the current global jet stream and advance along
with it in ways to be determined by citizens exercising their full
democratic rights, with participation by everyone but without new and
ridiculous political, economic and social experiments or the kind of
one-party nationalism that has left us light years behind the world's
democracies.
29 August 2013
Source: "Some Uncertainties / Fernando Damaso | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/some-uncertainties-fernando-damaso/
Shoal Philosophy
Shoal Philosophy / Miriam Celaya
Posted on August 31, 2013
HAVANA, Cuba , August, www.cubanet.org – Every Cuban must have heard
countless times a compilation of phrases that try to encompass all the
Island's popular wisdom: "don't bother", "you're not going to solve
anything", "what the heck, you are not going to change anything", "don't
look for trouble" , or this next one, which is the paradigm of evading
commitment: "I don't care about politics", though the ones who utter it
ignore that mere membership in the Committee for the Defense of the
Revolution implies a direct relationship with the politics of government.
All of them, without exception, could be part of a manual on how to
better serve the interests of the dictatorship because they appeal to
passivity, to limitless waiting, to subordination, and to complicit
subterfuge. But, without a doubt, the crown jewel and the one most
frequently used is "don't call attention to yourself". It is the
quintessential advice, and it serves to brake the spontaneous impulses
of any dissatisfied individual in any circumstance, because "to call
attention to yourself" in Cuba is to leave the flock, to rebel against
absolute power, to fault at the most elementary prudence, and it can
manifest itself even in the smallest sign that could set the individual
apart from the rest.
It is interesting that such a no-nonsense phrase should be the currency
in a country where people don't think twice about hurling themselves
into the sea and crossing the Florida Straits on board any artifact
buoyant enough to take them to the other shore, to another realm, where
calling attention to yourself isn't necessarily an imprudence, but just
the opposite, most of the time.
But let someone express his intention to stop paying the syndicate, the
MTT (Territorial Troops Militia), not attending the May Day parade or
the assembly of accountability for the well-known phrase "don't call
attention to yourself" to make its appearance.
Recently, a young man working in a private restaurant told me about a
visit an official of the national union made to his place of employment,
to educate employees about the importance of "creating" a union,
affiliated to what she called" the national union movement", to "defend
the workers' interests."
It's beyond the absurd, only possible in Cuba, that a State official
will interrupt the work of a private business to encourage employees to
organize to make a stand against management – the prime and essential
reason for unionizing — with the complacent consent of that same
management, and with the independence that a true syndicate must have as
its premise the freedom to associate, which doesn't exist in Cuba. The
strangest thing of the matter is that the vast majority of workers in
those private businesses have joined the "syndicates" created from and
by the same power that has unleashed a wave of layoffs at State workplaces.
My young friend insists that, initially, some workers were reluctant or
undecided, and there were those who naively asked if membership was
compulsory, but, here and there, an infiltrated delegate would drop the
little phrase "don't call attention to yourself" and the stirrings of
rebellion were diluted, wrapped in the protective anonymity of the
collective.
"It is the philosophy of the shoal, the school of fish," says my friend,
a definition that is based on the tactics of the sardine or anchovy in
which the individual is diluted in the group so he'll have a better
chance at survival, which, however, does not prevent predators from
feeding on them.
I acknowledge that my friend is somewhat cynical, but this does not
negate the gist of his remark. And the civic abandonment and the lack of
rights in Cuba is such that it has developed a kind of slavery syndrome
of thought, so that when some people have a modicum of freedom, they
refuse to make use of it and continue to be subjected to the snare and
the master.
Nevertheless, the emergence of private initiative could mark a major
turning point in the resurgence of sectors that might strengthen the
weak fabric of civil society, a reality which the independent unions
that exist in Cuba cannot ignore. This requires implementing a program,
or at least for these groups to make specific proposals which are
attractive to this new labor force. It would be an essential step to
achieve union autonomy.
Government's interest in keeping this labor force subjugated indicates
the recognition of the risk implied by the potential autonomy of the
sector; an opportunity that activists could well take advantage of in
order to fight that widespread social evil, the shoal philosophy.
From Cubanet
Translated by Norma Whiting
29 August 2013
Source: "Shoal Philosophy / Miriam Celaya | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/shoal-philosophy-miriam-celaya/
Posted on August 31, 2013
HAVANA, Cuba , August, www.cubanet.org – Every Cuban must have heard
countless times a compilation of phrases that try to encompass all the
Island's popular wisdom: "don't bother", "you're not going to solve
anything", "what the heck, you are not going to change anything", "don't
look for trouble" , or this next one, which is the paradigm of evading
commitment: "I don't care about politics", though the ones who utter it
ignore that mere membership in the Committee for the Defense of the
Revolution implies a direct relationship with the politics of government.
All of them, without exception, could be part of a manual on how to
better serve the interests of the dictatorship because they appeal to
passivity, to limitless waiting, to subordination, and to complicit
subterfuge. But, without a doubt, the crown jewel and the one most
frequently used is "don't call attention to yourself". It is the
quintessential advice, and it serves to brake the spontaneous impulses
of any dissatisfied individual in any circumstance, because "to call
attention to yourself" in Cuba is to leave the flock, to rebel against
absolute power, to fault at the most elementary prudence, and it can
manifest itself even in the smallest sign that could set the individual
apart from the rest.
It is interesting that such a no-nonsense phrase should be the currency
in a country where people don't think twice about hurling themselves
into the sea and crossing the Florida Straits on board any artifact
buoyant enough to take them to the other shore, to another realm, where
calling attention to yourself isn't necessarily an imprudence, but just
the opposite, most of the time.
But let someone express his intention to stop paying the syndicate, the
MTT (Territorial Troops Militia), not attending the May Day parade or
the assembly of accountability for the well-known phrase "don't call
attention to yourself" to make its appearance.
Recently, a young man working in a private restaurant told me about a
visit an official of the national union made to his place of employment,
to educate employees about the importance of "creating" a union,
affiliated to what she called" the national union movement", to "defend
the workers' interests."
It's beyond the absurd, only possible in Cuba, that a State official
will interrupt the work of a private business to encourage employees to
organize to make a stand against management – the prime and essential
reason for unionizing — with the complacent consent of that same
management, and with the independence that a true syndicate must have as
its premise the freedom to associate, which doesn't exist in Cuba. The
strangest thing of the matter is that the vast majority of workers in
those private businesses have joined the "syndicates" created from and
by the same power that has unleashed a wave of layoffs at State workplaces.
My young friend insists that, initially, some workers were reluctant or
undecided, and there were those who naively asked if membership was
compulsory, but, here and there, an infiltrated delegate would drop the
little phrase "don't call attention to yourself" and the stirrings of
rebellion were diluted, wrapped in the protective anonymity of the
collective.
"It is the philosophy of the shoal, the school of fish," says my friend,
a definition that is based on the tactics of the sardine or anchovy in
which the individual is diluted in the group so he'll have a better
chance at survival, which, however, does not prevent predators from
feeding on them.
I acknowledge that my friend is somewhat cynical, but this does not
negate the gist of his remark. And the civic abandonment and the lack of
rights in Cuba is such that it has developed a kind of slavery syndrome
of thought, so that when some people have a modicum of freedom, they
refuse to make use of it and continue to be subjected to the snare and
the master.
Nevertheless, the emergence of private initiative could mark a major
turning point in the resurgence of sectors that might strengthen the
weak fabric of civil society, a reality which the independent unions
that exist in Cuba cannot ignore. This requires implementing a program,
or at least for these groups to make specific proposals which are
attractive to this new labor force. It would be an essential step to
achieve union autonomy.
Government's interest in keeping this labor force subjugated indicates
the recognition of the risk implied by the potential autonomy of the
sector; an opportunity that activists could well take advantage of in
order to fight that widespread social evil, the shoal philosophy.
From Cubanet
Translated by Norma Whiting
29 August 2013
Source: "Shoal Philosophy / Miriam Celaya | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/shoal-philosophy-miriam-celaya/
The Golden Age
The Golden Age / Regina Coyula
Posted on August 31, 2013
In a very short video lasting less than a minute and a half, Javier
Castro (about whom I have found no additional information) discusses one
of Cuba's social icebergs. Boys (and girls, to be politically correct)
of primary and secondary school age reply on camera to an often-asked
question. In the style of Cuban television news, their responses were
narrowed down to match only what the producer wanted to show.
Furthermore, the boys (and girls) were interviewed in what appeared to
be a poor neighborhood; in Miramar or Vedado the responses would likely
have been different. Nevertheless, the answers were still disturbing.
Hustlers (and hookers) or moving overseas, some said. Others aspired to
be a DJ or a singer, a hotel manager, to own a money-making business, to
be a flight attendant, a sailor, an economist, a chef, a restaurateur, a
baseball or soccer player.
Except for the boy who wanted to be an astronaut, all the responses
pointed to an overwhelming economic need that supersedes any ethical
concerns. Policemen don't count because they are very well paid, even
without the money they make from extortion or bribes. And there was one
that was particularly unsettling. It was the boy who would take
everything for himself as he has already seen happen, the boy who wanted
to be a dictator.
These boys (and girls) are quite used to hearing money being discussed
at home. And although they are not included in the conversation, having
to get by without it affects them. They learned very quickly that it
couldn't be helped, that wishes had to be postponed, lessons more
valuable than any to be found in a book.
At this point anyone should be able to realize that not only education
and health care are free, that there are other things that are also free
and also worthwhile that were lost in the process of forging the New
Man. They will not be recovered over the short term in the headlong rush
to rebuild this odious variant of capitalism without democracy.
30 August 2013
Source: "The Golden Age / Regina Coyula | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-golden-age-regina-coyula/
Posted on August 31, 2013
In a very short video lasting less than a minute and a half, Javier
Castro (about whom I have found no additional information) discusses one
of Cuba's social icebergs. Boys (and girls, to be politically correct)
of primary and secondary school age reply on camera to an often-asked
question. In the style of Cuban television news, their responses were
narrowed down to match only what the producer wanted to show.
Furthermore, the boys (and girls) were interviewed in what appeared to
be a poor neighborhood; in Miramar or Vedado the responses would likely
have been different. Nevertheless, the answers were still disturbing.
Hustlers (and hookers) or moving overseas, some said. Others aspired to
be a DJ or a singer, a hotel manager, to own a money-making business, to
be a flight attendant, a sailor, an economist, a chef, a restaurateur, a
baseball or soccer player.
Except for the boy who wanted to be an astronaut, all the responses
pointed to an overwhelming economic need that supersedes any ethical
concerns. Policemen don't count because they are very well paid, even
without the money they make from extortion or bribes. And there was one
that was particularly unsettling. It was the boy who would take
everything for himself as he has already seen happen, the boy who wanted
to be a dictator.
These boys (and girls) are quite used to hearing money being discussed
at home. And although they are not included in the conversation, having
to get by without it affects them. They learned very quickly that it
couldn't be helped, that wishes had to be postponed, lessons more
valuable than any to be found in a book.
At this point anyone should be able to realize that not only education
and health care are free, that there are other things that are also free
and also worthwhile that were lost in the process of forging the New
Man. They will not be recovered over the short term in the headlong rush
to rebuild this odious variant of capitalism without democracy.
30 August 2013
Source: "The Golden Age / Regina Coyula | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-golden-age-regina-coyula/
IC professors brave bureauracy in Cuba for research opportunity
IC professors brave bureauracy in Cuba for research opportunity
Posted: Sunday, September 1, 2013 6:00 am
BY DARRIN BURNETT, Journal-Courier
In his career as a biology professor and orchid enthusiast, Lawrence
Zettler has shared space with alligators and poisonous snakes to get
glimpses, and whiffs, of his beloved specimens.
But in early August, Zettler and fellow Illinois College professor
Steven Gardner faced dangers of a different kind — paperwork and
bureaucrats. They traveled to Cuba to research orchid preservation on
the island.
After numerous delays, plus a persistent trio of Cuban government
workers at the airport who questioned the professors three different
times for a half-hour at a time — "You're here to look at orchids?" one
imagines them saying — they were able to continue their visit.
"My first impression as we stepped into the hot, night air and I saw two
old 1950s cars was, 'This is real. We are here.'" Zettler said.
Travel to Cuba is severely restricted for Americans, although research
projects can usually find a way. Zettler and Gardner, a professor of
Spanish, were there to study the Ghost Orchid, which grows in south
Florida and Cuba.
There were no alligators or water moccasins on the trip, one difference
between Cuba and Florida. However, there were razor sharp rocks and a
frightening looking shower to contend with. Zettler refused to shower in
one guest house after spotting a wire coming out of the shower head. The
wire connected to an electric water heater.
Zettler and Gardner are, they hope, the first of many in the IC
community who get to go to Cuba. They hope to lead a group of students
there in January 2015. Another group of students, including junior Ellen
Radcliffe, are planning to work in an orchid lab in Ecuador later this
year and she hopes to be on the Cuba trip as well.
"She is the perfect person to go," Gardner said.
It will likely be easier to take a group of students than to take two
professors, Gardner said. The National Geographic Society, the
Smithsonian and a San Francisco-based group called Global Exchange all
work to facilitate trips. That looks like a field trip.
Two professors going looks, well, not like a field trip. And that raised
the suspicions. Add to that just the hassles of going to a nation closed
off to most Americans. Credit cards issued in U.S. banks do not work in
Cuba. So, one must take cash, a lot of it.
They flew from Chicago to Cancun to Havana. They were questioned before
immigration, after immigration and before getting their luggage. "You
could see them huddling," Gardner said. "We didn't fit the typical mold."
On the way back to the United States, there were no problems. They had
plenty of proof they'd done research, but it really wasn't examined.
They were asked about rum and cigars and that was it.
"Cuba is not part of the drug trade like other places in Latin America,"
Gardner said.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, which cut off most of Cuba's foreign
aid, the nation has had to fend for itself. It did that in part by
laying off government employees, setting them up with small business
licenses, and telling them to go forth and multiply. Zettler and Gardner
stayed at guest houses and at small cafes started through that policy.
Western influence permeates the culture. Teenagers have iPhones and, in
style and dress, are little different from the students the professors
see daily. Younger people dissent more and are less afraid of the
government. Many want to get out, but can't. Not until the country opens up.
Zettler saw a country where people are taken care of, but it does come
at a price.
"I saw no sign of people without food and they had clean water," he
said. "They had good health care. It's the safest Latin American country
I've ever been in. The government is doing this. But they say, 'Don't go
out of that box. We'll take care of you. Just don't come out of the box.'"
Source: "IC professors brave bureauracy in Cuba for research opportunity
- Journal-Courier: Local News" -
http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/local/ic-professors-brave-bureauracy-in-cuba-for-research-opportunity/article_e881a38a-12c0-11e3-9f46-0019bb30f31a.html
Posted: Sunday, September 1, 2013 6:00 am
BY DARRIN BURNETT, Journal-Courier
In his career as a biology professor and orchid enthusiast, Lawrence
Zettler has shared space with alligators and poisonous snakes to get
glimpses, and whiffs, of his beloved specimens.
But in early August, Zettler and fellow Illinois College professor
Steven Gardner faced dangers of a different kind — paperwork and
bureaucrats. They traveled to Cuba to research orchid preservation on
the island.
After numerous delays, plus a persistent trio of Cuban government
workers at the airport who questioned the professors three different
times for a half-hour at a time — "You're here to look at orchids?" one
imagines them saying — they were able to continue their visit.
"My first impression as we stepped into the hot, night air and I saw two
old 1950s cars was, 'This is real. We are here.'" Zettler said.
Travel to Cuba is severely restricted for Americans, although research
projects can usually find a way. Zettler and Gardner, a professor of
Spanish, were there to study the Ghost Orchid, which grows in south
Florida and Cuba.
There were no alligators or water moccasins on the trip, one difference
between Cuba and Florida. However, there were razor sharp rocks and a
frightening looking shower to contend with. Zettler refused to shower in
one guest house after spotting a wire coming out of the shower head. The
wire connected to an electric water heater.
Zettler and Gardner are, they hope, the first of many in the IC
community who get to go to Cuba. They hope to lead a group of students
there in January 2015. Another group of students, including junior Ellen
Radcliffe, are planning to work in an orchid lab in Ecuador later this
year and she hopes to be on the Cuba trip as well.
"She is the perfect person to go," Gardner said.
It will likely be easier to take a group of students than to take two
professors, Gardner said. The National Geographic Society, the
Smithsonian and a San Francisco-based group called Global Exchange all
work to facilitate trips. That looks like a field trip.
Two professors going looks, well, not like a field trip. And that raised
the suspicions. Add to that just the hassles of going to a nation closed
off to most Americans. Credit cards issued in U.S. banks do not work in
Cuba. So, one must take cash, a lot of it.
They flew from Chicago to Cancun to Havana. They were questioned before
immigration, after immigration and before getting their luggage. "You
could see them huddling," Gardner said. "We didn't fit the typical mold."
On the way back to the United States, there were no problems. They had
plenty of proof they'd done research, but it really wasn't examined.
They were asked about rum and cigars and that was it.
"Cuba is not part of the drug trade like other places in Latin America,"
Gardner said.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, which cut off most of Cuba's foreign
aid, the nation has had to fend for itself. It did that in part by
laying off government employees, setting them up with small business
licenses, and telling them to go forth and multiply. Zettler and Gardner
stayed at guest houses and at small cafes started through that policy.
Western influence permeates the culture. Teenagers have iPhones and, in
style and dress, are little different from the students the professors
see daily. Younger people dissent more and are less afraid of the
government. Many want to get out, but can't. Not until the country opens up.
Zettler saw a country where people are taken care of, but it does come
at a price.
"I saw no sign of people without food and they had clean water," he
said. "They had good health care. It's the safest Latin American country
I've ever been in. The government is doing this. But they say, 'Don't go
out of that box. We'll take care of you. Just don't come out of the box.'"
Source: "IC professors brave bureauracy in Cuba for research opportunity
- Journal-Courier: Local News" -
http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/local/ic-professors-brave-bureauracy-in-cuba-for-research-opportunity/article_e881a38a-12c0-11e3-9f46-0019bb30f31a.html
Every Night, The Night
Every Night, The Night / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo
Posted on August 31, 2013
People without God and the State, after the incessant media deaths of
Fidel Castro, as in a classroom-cage that's been left without their
despotic teacher, our society is doomed to becoming unhinged overnight.
Even in a single night, without having to wait for the morning, our
little lives can experiment the one thousand, nine hundred and
ninety-nine anecdotes and extract from them a single significance.
In effect, Cuba is beginning to resemble a tele-play, class Z
revolutionary themed. An uncaptioned series. Pasture for foreign
productions. Scenario where all the characters are extras: scraps of the
script floating in the wind of an unbearable island dullness.
Nothing is old under the same post-socialist sun. Ecclesiastical
guidelines. Newspeak, newhistory, New. Cuba is not the tedium of a
cinematic Moebius strip with no inside, no outside, but rather it is an
empty adventure in the style of The Matrix, where the despotic power is
unseen but present. And where all that still shines in the middle of the
barbarity are the glasses of the General President, whose clapperboard
controls not the fraud change but the unchangeable fraud. Ad islinitum.
Much of this televised velocity is included in the copy-and-paste of a
New York film, One Night, from the director Lucy Molloy, a film made in
Manhattabana that even its actors mistook for a reality-show, using it
as a springboard to escape the Castro catacombs of our Caribbean North
Korea.
Here in the beginning and at the end it is the verb: the action, the
persecution whose only purpose is to take away from Death a few minutes
of film, cut to Che. Poetics of the video-clip, of the ephemeral
gimmick, of the superficial that almost always is a symptom much more
sincere than so-called profundity.
The rush-rush of faked sequences, anger and haste, sometimes with hints
of a fake police documentary. Words like kicks. Free, crazy and
loquacious language, as befits a professionally amateur cast. And, in
the background, in addition to the redundant Cuban music, it's not even
necessary to voice-over Desnoes' rudeness that our capital "looks like
Tegucigalpa." And it doesn't seem so at this point in the story. The
ironies of Memories of Underdevelopment confronting the illusions of the
Left, at half a century of totalitarianism, is already an inevitable
background, spontaneously occupying even the worst of tourist
photographs of official propaganda.
One Night is not a bad story-board for when Lucy Molloy returns to
Havana one night, not only to recreate but to create the tragedy. We
need that, a culture without capitalist guilt resulting in an "unjust"
dessert for the Cuban people. Or "inappropriate" before the altar of
American academia (without the Revolution there would be no PhD theses
nor copyrighted textbooks). I fear that we need a reactionary
filmography. From the indecent Right. Neocon. Movies disposed to
precipitate the debacle not from art, but from the disaster.
The other would be another half century of kitsch.
Cubansummatum est!
From Diario de Cuba
27 August 2013
Source: "Every Night, The Night / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo | Translating
Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/every-night-the-night-orlando-luis-pardo-lazo/
Posted on August 31, 2013
People without God and the State, after the incessant media deaths of
Fidel Castro, as in a classroom-cage that's been left without their
despotic teacher, our society is doomed to becoming unhinged overnight.
Even in a single night, without having to wait for the morning, our
little lives can experiment the one thousand, nine hundred and
ninety-nine anecdotes and extract from them a single significance.
In effect, Cuba is beginning to resemble a tele-play, class Z
revolutionary themed. An uncaptioned series. Pasture for foreign
productions. Scenario where all the characters are extras: scraps of the
script floating in the wind of an unbearable island dullness.
Nothing is old under the same post-socialist sun. Ecclesiastical
guidelines. Newspeak, newhistory, New. Cuba is not the tedium of a
cinematic Moebius strip with no inside, no outside, but rather it is an
empty adventure in the style of The Matrix, where the despotic power is
unseen but present. And where all that still shines in the middle of the
barbarity are the glasses of the General President, whose clapperboard
controls not the fraud change but the unchangeable fraud. Ad islinitum.
Much of this televised velocity is included in the copy-and-paste of a
New York film, One Night, from the director Lucy Molloy, a film made in
Manhattabana that even its actors mistook for a reality-show, using it
as a springboard to escape the Castro catacombs of our Caribbean North
Korea.
Here in the beginning and at the end it is the verb: the action, the
persecution whose only purpose is to take away from Death a few minutes
of film, cut to Che. Poetics of the video-clip, of the ephemeral
gimmick, of the superficial that almost always is a symptom much more
sincere than so-called profundity.
The rush-rush of faked sequences, anger and haste, sometimes with hints
of a fake police documentary. Words like kicks. Free, crazy and
loquacious language, as befits a professionally amateur cast. And, in
the background, in addition to the redundant Cuban music, it's not even
necessary to voice-over Desnoes' rudeness that our capital "looks like
Tegucigalpa." And it doesn't seem so at this point in the story. The
ironies of Memories of Underdevelopment confronting the illusions of the
Left, at half a century of totalitarianism, is already an inevitable
background, spontaneously occupying even the worst of tourist
photographs of official propaganda.
One Night is not a bad story-board for when Lucy Molloy returns to
Havana one night, not only to recreate but to create the tragedy. We
need that, a culture without capitalist guilt resulting in an "unjust"
dessert for the Cuban people. Or "inappropriate" before the altar of
American academia (without the Revolution there would be no PhD theses
nor copyrighted textbooks). I fear that we need a reactionary
filmography. From the indecent Right. Neocon. Movies disposed to
precipitate the debacle not from art, but from the disaster.
The other would be another half century of kitsch.
Cubansummatum est!
From Diario de Cuba
27 August 2013
Source: "Every Night, The Night / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo | Translating
Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/every-night-the-night-orlando-luis-pardo-lazo/
Over 1.5 Billion Pesos to Fund Credits
Cuba: Over 1.5 Billion Pesos to Fund Credits
The deputy president of the Central Bank of Cuba, Francisco Mayobre,
announced that the country has allocated over 1.5 billion pesos to
finance loans to the population. Since Law 289 came into force in
December 2011, about 271 loan requests have been approved, local media
reported today.
The majority of those requests are related to construction works in
houses, including the purchase of building materials and the payment to
the labor force, said the vice president of the Central Bank.
According to Mayobre, the loans given to the self-employed, as the
private sector workers are known in Cuba, have increased due to the
facilities granted to the trade banks to give loans.
The vice president of the Central Bank announced the approval of 91
funding for the non agricultural cooperatives, chiefly for initial
working capital, which is expected to promote those new ways of
businesses in Artemisa, Havana, Mayabeque, and Sancti Spiritus provinces.
Source: "Cuba: Over 1.5 Billion Pesos to Fund Credits - Radio Angulo" -
http://www.radioangulo.cu/en/news/cuba/20556-over-15-billion-pesos-to-fund-credits-cuba-allocates-.html
The deputy president of the Central Bank of Cuba, Francisco Mayobre,
announced that the country has allocated over 1.5 billion pesos to
finance loans to the population. Since Law 289 came into force in
December 2011, about 271 loan requests have been approved, local media
reported today.
The majority of those requests are related to construction works in
houses, including the purchase of building materials and the payment to
the labor force, said the vice president of the Central Bank.
According to Mayobre, the loans given to the self-employed, as the
private sector workers are known in Cuba, have increased due to the
facilities granted to the trade banks to give loans.
The vice president of the Central Bank announced the approval of 91
funding for the non agricultural cooperatives, chiefly for initial
working capital, which is expected to promote those new ways of
businesses in Artemisa, Havana, Mayabeque, and Sancti Spiritus provinces.
Source: "Cuba: Over 1.5 Billion Pesos to Fund Credits - Radio Angulo" -
http://www.radioangulo.cu/en/news/cuba/20556-over-15-billion-pesos-to-fund-credits-cuba-allocates-.html
Cubans nostalgic for Soviet era cartoon heroes
Cubans nostalgic for Soviet era cartoon heroes
Published: 1 Sep 2013 at 12.49
Online news: World
More than two decades after they vanished from Cuban TV with the fall of
the eastern communist bloc, quirky Soviet-era cartoons are fueling a
wave of nostalgia for middle-aged Cubans.
The "Russian cartoons" as Cubans tend to call them -- though they were
from several different allied countries -- have inspired T-shirts
honoring old shows like the Soviet "Mashinka and the bear", Poland's
"Lolek and Bolek", and the Hungarian hit "Gustavo."
Of course, it is a generational thing. The shows were broadcast in Cuba
from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Some older Cubans remember Disney characters from before the 1959
revolution, like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck who, not surprisingly,
never won the Cold War Cuban government's seal of approval.
And today's kids see a few Cuban cartoons -- and some select
international programming.
But for middle-aged Cubans, their childhood heroes came from the Warsaw
Pact.
These Soviet-era characters -- along with more made in East Germany or
Bulgaria -- are touchstones that still hold a surprisingly warm place in
the hearts of Cubans who grew up in a far-flung ally of the Soviet Union.
But, despite their communist roots, the revival of interest in the
cartoon characters was driven by commercial ambitions.
"I realized that people were getting really into it, and I thought it
might go OK as a business," said Darwin Fornes, who designed the
brightly colored T-shirts cranked out at a factory in colonial-era Old
Havana.
Despite tough economic times in Cuba, "sales have been better than
anybody would ever have guessed," he told AFP.
Cubans are relentless punsters, and Fornes named his business
"Chamakovich" -- a mix of the Cuban slang for a kid "chamo" and the
Eastern European-sounding "kovich."
"These images mean so much to me. They bring my childhood flooding back.
That's what happens to everybody who gets caught up in them," said the
designer, 28, wearing a yellow T-shirt with the wolf and hare from "Nu,
pogodi!" -- translated as "I'll get even, eh".
He had a first lot of 300 T-shirts made and was happy to see them sell
out fast -- though Cubans earn the equivalent of under 20 dollars a month.
"People see what we are offering, and I send them to our stand at the
street fair," said Fornes whose idea mushroomed out of the interest
people had when he spotlighted the cartoon characters on his Facebook page.
"Chamakovich" has drawn enough attention to have earned a spot on a
state news program, which in the only Communist-run country in the
Americas has not until now put much focus on local business development.
Cuba's government under President Raul Castro, 82, still controls most
of the economy, but Cubans are allowed to seek self-employment in a wide
range of professions.
Some older Cubans never cared for the artistically uncomplicated
Soviet-era cartoon imports, and many parents at the time joked that
naughty kids would be punished by being forced to watch them.
But "those of us who were kids when they were on TV enjoyed them a lot,"
smiled Fornes.
Plenty of Cubans on the island and abroad who agree with him have
started collecting images, T-shirts and videoclips of their childhood
classics.
Dainerys Machado, a journalist, said she recently downloaded 10
gigabytes of the Soviet-era cartoons as a blast from the past.
Source: "Cubans nostalgic for Soviet era cartoon heroes | Bangkok Post:
news" -
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/367435/cubans-nostalgic-for-soviet-era-cartoon-heroes
Published: 1 Sep 2013 at 12.49
Online news: World
More than two decades after they vanished from Cuban TV with the fall of
the eastern communist bloc, quirky Soviet-era cartoons are fueling a
wave of nostalgia for middle-aged Cubans.
The "Russian cartoons" as Cubans tend to call them -- though they were
from several different allied countries -- have inspired T-shirts
honoring old shows like the Soviet "Mashinka and the bear", Poland's
"Lolek and Bolek", and the Hungarian hit "Gustavo."
Of course, it is a generational thing. The shows were broadcast in Cuba
from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Some older Cubans remember Disney characters from before the 1959
revolution, like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck who, not surprisingly,
never won the Cold War Cuban government's seal of approval.
And today's kids see a few Cuban cartoons -- and some select
international programming.
But for middle-aged Cubans, their childhood heroes came from the Warsaw
Pact.
These Soviet-era characters -- along with more made in East Germany or
Bulgaria -- are touchstones that still hold a surprisingly warm place in
the hearts of Cubans who grew up in a far-flung ally of the Soviet Union.
But, despite their communist roots, the revival of interest in the
cartoon characters was driven by commercial ambitions.
"I realized that people were getting really into it, and I thought it
might go OK as a business," said Darwin Fornes, who designed the
brightly colored T-shirts cranked out at a factory in colonial-era Old
Havana.
Despite tough economic times in Cuba, "sales have been better than
anybody would ever have guessed," he told AFP.
Cubans are relentless punsters, and Fornes named his business
"Chamakovich" -- a mix of the Cuban slang for a kid "chamo" and the
Eastern European-sounding "kovich."
"These images mean so much to me. They bring my childhood flooding back.
That's what happens to everybody who gets caught up in them," said the
designer, 28, wearing a yellow T-shirt with the wolf and hare from "Nu,
pogodi!" -- translated as "I'll get even, eh".
He had a first lot of 300 T-shirts made and was happy to see them sell
out fast -- though Cubans earn the equivalent of under 20 dollars a month.
"People see what we are offering, and I send them to our stand at the
street fair," said Fornes whose idea mushroomed out of the interest
people had when he spotlighted the cartoon characters on his Facebook page.
"Chamakovich" has drawn enough attention to have earned a spot on a
state news program, which in the only Communist-run country in the
Americas has not until now put much focus on local business development.
Cuba's government under President Raul Castro, 82, still controls most
of the economy, but Cubans are allowed to seek self-employment in a wide
range of professions.
Some older Cubans never cared for the artistically uncomplicated
Soviet-era cartoon imports, and many parents at the time joked that
naughty kids would be punished by being forced to watch them.
But "those of us who were kids when they were on TV enjoyed them a lot,"
smiled Fornes.
Plenty of Cubans on the island and abroad who agree with him have
started collecting images, T-shirts and videoclips of their childhood
classics.
Dainerys Machado, a journalist, said she recently downloaded 10
gigabytes of the Soviet-era cartoons as a blast from the past.
Source: "Cubans nostalgic for Soviet era cartoon heroes | Bangkok Post:
news" -
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/367435/cubans-nostalgic-for-soviet-era-cartoon-heroes
Spain’s ‘universal’ obligation to pursue Cuban dissident’s death
Spain's 'universal' obligation to pursue Cuban dissident's death
By Editorial Board, Sunday, September 1, 12:36 AM
THE MYSTERIOUS car wreck that took the life of Cuban dissident Oswaldo
Payá and his associate Harold Cepero last year occurred on an isolated
road outside Bayamo, in Cuba's eastern Granma province. Mr. Payáand Mr.
Cepero were heading to Bayamo to meet with members of the Christian
Liberation Movement in a blue 2010 Hyundai Accent, a rental car driven
by a young Spanish politician, Ángel Carromero, who was visiting Cuba to
support Mr. Payá and his movement. Mr. Carromero survived, as did Jens
Aron Modig, of Sweden's Christian Democratic Youth movement, who had
joined him on the trip to Cuba.
The official Cuban version of the accident was that Mr. Carromero was
driving too fast, lost control and hit a tree. But a detailed complaint
filed by Mr. Paya's widow, Ofelia Acevedo, and his daughter, Rosa Maria,
before the Spanish National Court earlier this month tells a different
and more ominous story.
They say that when Mr. Carromero and Mr. Modig met in Havana with Mr.
Payá and Mr. Cepero on July 20, 2012, they were monitored and followed
by Cuban security agents. They were followed again when they departed
Havana for Bayamo two days later. On the road, the Hyundai was rammed
from behind "premeditatively, deliberately and following the plan
orchestrated by the authorities," which was to kill all four of them,
the complaint says. Mr. Carromero told us in March that the vehicle that
rammed the Hyundai had government license places. Soon after the crash,
the ramming was reported to a person in Sweden by a text message sent
from Modig's cell phone.
The ramming was not part of the Cuban official version. Mr. Carromero's
"confession" that he was at fault was coerced by the Cuban authorities,
according to the complaint. Two Cuban security agents, identified as
Col. Salinas and Col. Llanes, pressured Mr. Carromero "in a direct,
deliberate and conscious way" to falsify testimony during a subsequent
trial that was a "farce," according to the complaint. Mr. Carromero was
convicted of vehicular homicide; he later was released to serve out his
sentence in Spain. In his comments to us, Mr. Carromero recalled a
nightmarish aftermath of the crash in which he was drugged, interrogated
and forced to make a videotaped confession in which he read words
written out for him by a Cuban security agent.
The Spanish National Court, La Audiencia Nacional, is empowered to order
investigations abroad under the concept of "universal jurisdiction,"
that some crimes are so egregious they must be pursued across borders,
including genocide and crimes against humanity. Spain has an obligation
to Mr. Payá, who was a Spanish citizen; his family argues the Castro
regime has not only silenced a critic but attempted to wipe out his
movement. The Spanish court ought to order an investigation. It is
unlikely that the thugs who rammed Mr. Payá's car will be called to
account, but an investigation would show the world, and the Castro
brothers who rule Cuba, that a beacon of hope like Mr. Payá cannot be
simply extinguished in a violent car wreck on a lonely road.
Source: "Spain's 'universal' obligation to pursue Cuban dissident's
death - The Washington Post" -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/spains-universal-obligation-to-pursue-cuban-dissidents-death/2013/08/31/53ddcbaa-0f19-11e3-bdf6-e4fc677d94a1_story.html
By Editorial Board, Sunday, September 1, 12:36 AM
THE MYSTERIOUS car wreck that took the life of Cuban dissident Oswaldo
Payá and his associate Harold Cepero last year occurred on an isolated
road outside Bayamo, in Cuba's eastern Granma province. Mr. Payáand Mr.
Cepero were heading to Bayamo to meet with members of the Christian
Liberation Movement in a blue 2010 Hyundai Accent, a rental car driven
by a young Spanish politician, Ángel Carromero, who was visiting Cuba to
support Mr. Payá and his movement. Mr. Carromero survived, as did Jens
Aron Modig, of Sweden's Christian Democratic Youth movement, who had
joined him on the trip to Cuba.
The official Cuban version of the accident was that Mr. Carromero was
driving too fast, lost control and hit a tree. But a detailed complaint
filed by Mr. Paya's widow, Ofelia Acevedo, and his daughter, Rosa Maria,
before the Spanish National Court earlier this month tells a different
and more ominous story.
They say that when Mr. Carromero and Mr. Modig met in Havana with Mr.
Payá and Mr. Cepero on July 20, 2012, they were monitored and followed
by Cuban security agents. They were followed again when they departed
Havana for Bayamo two days later. On the road, the Hyundai was rammed
from behind "premeditatively, deliberately and following the plan
orchestrated by the authorities," which was to kill all four of them,
the complaint says. Mr. Carromero told us in March that the vehicle that
rammed the Hyundai had government license places. Soon after the crash,
the ramming was reported to a person in Sweden by a text message sent
from Modig's cell phone.
The ramming was not part of the Cuban official version. Mr. Carromero's
"confession" that he was at fault was coerced by the Cuban authorities,
according to the complaint. Two Cuban security agents, identified as
Col. Salinas and Col. Llanes, pressured Mr. Carromero "in a direct,
deliberate and conscious way" to falsify testimony during a subsequent
trial that was a "farce," according to the complaint. Mr. Carromero was
convicted of vehicular homicide; he later was released to serve out his
sentence in Spain. In his comments to us, Mr. Carromero recalled a
nightmarish aftermath of the crash in which he was drugged, interrogated
and forced to make a videotaped confession in which he read words
written out for him by a Cuban security agent.
The Spanish National Court, La Audiencia Nacional, is empowered to order
investigations abroad under the concept of "universal jurisdiction,"
that some crimes are so egregious they must be pursued across borders,
including genocide and crimes against humanity. Spain has an obligation
to Mr. Payá, who was a Spanish citizen; his family argues the Castro
regime has not only silenced a critic but attempted to wipe out his
movement. The Spanish court ought to order an investigation. It is
unlikely that the thugs who rammed Mr. Payá's car will be called to
account, but an investigation would show the world, and the Castro
brothers who rule Cuba, that a beacon of hope like Mr. Payá cannot be
simply extinguished in a violent car wreck on a lonely road.
Source: "Spain's 'universal' obligation to pursue Cuban dissident's
death - The Washington Post" -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/spains-universal-obligation-to-pursue-cuban-dissidents-death/2013/08/31/53ddcbaa-0f19-11e3-bdf6-e4fc677d94a1_story.html
68 Cuba-trained doctors join health sector tomorrow - Jamaica
68 Cuba-trained doctors join health sector tomorrow
Sunday, September 01, 2013
A batch of 68 doctors, who finished training recently in Cuba, will be
deployed into Jamaica's health sector starting tomorow.
The doctors, all Jamaicans, represent the latest and largest batch of
medical graduates to have been trained in the Socialist Republic since
the Cuba/Jamaica Bilateral Programme began over 30 years ago.
The doctors, who graduated from the University of Santiago de Cuba's
medical faculty in July, will be deployed to hospitals across the
island, with the bulk of them assigned to the Kingston Public Hospital
and the Cornwall Regional Hospital, as well as the Spanish Town
Hospital, May Pen Hospital, Mandeville General Hospital, St Ann's Bay
Hospital, Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, and Annotto Bay Hospital.
Graduate Heron Grant is anxiously awaiting the day when he will be able
to give back to residents in his community in Byndloss, Linstead, St
Catherine, by offering affordable and quality care to children.
The 27-year-old doctor said he also plans to positively impact the
locals there, so "as soon as I am able I would like to see how I can
serve my community in paediatrics and make it as affordable as possible".
Grant and his collegues spent seven years at the university.
The newly trained doctors were officially welcomed and congratulated by
Health Minister Fenton Ferguson and outgoing Cuban Ambassador Yuri Gala
Lopez during a reception hosted by the ministry of health at its office
in downtown Kingston on Thursday.
Minister Ferguson, who abandoned his speech and instead opted to have a
conversation with the doctors, urged them to display the skills that
they had learned and to add value to the current work of the local doctors.
The minister also implored the doctors to recognise that their position
comes with tremendous responsibility and urged them to serve with humility.
"I know that many of you want to wear that doctor (title) on your
forehead but that's not it, that is just like a person who walks around
and boasts that he is a Christian and Christianity must be manifested,"
he said.
"Being a good doctor should be manifested by your compassion, how you
see your patients, how serious you take your oath. It's not about how
quickly you're going to drive the Mercedes Benz or live in Cherry
Gardens or Beverly Hills," Ferguson stated.
He advised the doctors that once they are steadfast and have a sense of
mission and fixity of purpose, all the material things that they desire
will be achieved.
"Becoming a doctor is a great achievement, but becoming a servant of the
people is a greater achievement," said the minister, who also expressed
gratitude to the Cuban Government.
Ambassador Gala Lopez for his part said that Cuba is committed to
continue assisting Jamaica.
Over 200 Jamaican students are currently studying in Cuban universities
as a result of the programme, Gala Lopez said.
The ambassador said that although the current economic condition had
impacted the programme, it will not be discontinued, as four students
left the island in July to study medicine.
"For Cuba, it is not just giving others what we have to spare, but
moderately sharing with them the little resources that we have," he said.
Chief medical officer in the health ministry, Dr Michael Coombs, told
the doctors that they were joining the health system at a critical time,
but urged them to call on God for guidance and strength when the job
becomes too much for them to bear.
Dr Matthew Lloyd O'Connor expressed gratitude to the Cuban and Jamaican
government which made their studies possible.
"The group is determined to revolutionise medicine in Jamaica and in the
Caribbean. We have decided to turn our backs on the commonplace and the
ordinary and drastically improve health care across the 14 parishes of
the island," Dr O'Connor said.
Source: "68 Cuba-trained doctors join health sector tomorrow - News -
JamaicaObserver.com" -
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/68-Cuba-trained-doctors-join-health-sector-tomorrow_14970514
Sunday, September 01, 2013
A batch of 68 doctors, who finished training recently in Cuba, will be
deployed into Jamaica's health sector starting tomorow.
The doctors, all Jamaicans, represent the latest and largest batch of
medical graduates to have been trained in the Socialist Republic since
the Cuba/Jamaica Bilateral Programme began over 30 years ago.
The doctors, who graduated from the University of Santiago de Cuba's
medical faculty in July, will be deployed to hospitals across the
island, with the bulk of them assigned to the Kingston Public Hospital
and the Cornwall Regional Hospital, as well as the Spanish Town
Hospital, May Pen Hospital, Mandeville General Hospital, St Ann's Bay
Hospital, Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, and Annotto Bay Hospital.
Graduate Heron Grant is anxiously awaiting the day when he will be able
to give back to residents in his community in Byndloss, Linstead, St
Catherine, by offering affordable and quality care to children.
The 27-year-old doctor said he also plans to positively impact the
locals there, so "as soon as I am able I would like to see how I can
serve my community in paediatrics and make it as affordable as possible".
Grant and his collegues spent seven years at the university.
The newly trained doctors were officially welcomed and congratulated by
Health Minister Fenton Ferguson and outgoing Cuban Ambassador Yuri Gala
Lopez during a reception hosted by the ministry of health at its office
in downtown Kingston on Thursday.
Minister Ferguson, who abandoned his speech and instead opted to have a
conversation with the doctors, urged them to display the skills that
they had learned and to add value to the current work of the local doctors.
The minister also implored the doctors to recognise that their position
comes with tremendous responsibility and urged them to serve with humility.
"I know that many of you want to wear that doctor (title) on your
forehead but that's not it, that is just like a person who walks around
and boasts that he is a Christian and Christianity must be manifested,"
he said.
"Being a good doctor should be manifested by your compassion, how you
see your patients, how serious you take your oath. It's not about how
quickly you're going to drive the Mercedes Benz or live in Cherry
Gardens or Beverly Hills," Ferguson stated.
He advised the doctors that once they are steadfast and have a sense of
mission and fixity of purpose, all the material things that they desire
will be achieved.
"Becoming a doctor is a great achievement, but becoming a servant of the
people is a greater achievement," said the minister, who also expressed
gratitude to the Cuban Government.
Ambassador Gala Lopez for his part said that Cuba is committed to
continue assisting Jamaica.
Over 200 Jamaican students are currently studying in Cuban universities
as a result of the programme, Gala Lopez said.
The ambassador said that although the current economic condition had
impacted the programme, it will not be discontinued, as four students
left the island in July to study medicine.
"For Cuba, it is not just giving others what we have to spare, but
moderately sharing with them the little resources that we have," he said.
Chief medical officer in the health ministry, Dr Michael Coombs, told
the doctors that they were joining the health system at a critical time,
but urged them to call on God for guidance and strength when the job
becomes too much for them to bear.
Dr Matthew Lloyd O'Connor expressed gratitude to the Cuban and Jamaican
government which made their studies possible.
"The group is determined to revolutionise medicine in Jamaica and in the
Caribbean. We have decided to turn our backs on the commonplace and the
ordinary and drastically improve health care across the 14 parishes of
the island," Dr O'Connor said.
Source: "68 Cuba-trained doctors join health sector tomorrow - News -
JamaicaObserver.com" -
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/68-Cuba-trained-doctors-join-health-sector-tomorrow_14970514
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
