Stories about Cuba from May, 2009
Cuba: Sex Change Operations
Repeating Islands notes “that Cuba is reinstating sex-change operations that had previously been banned on the island.”
Jamaica, Cuba: Amnesty International Report
Iriegal and Jamaica Salt comment on Amnesty International’s criticism of the Jamaican police force, while Havana Times notes that the organization”recognized…that the US blockade on Cuba has a negative effect on the general population.”
Cuba: Gay Expression
Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense says of the arrest of the President of the Cuban Lesbian, Gay, Transexual and Bisexual Foundation: “After 50 years, the Castro dictatorship has yet to get over its hang-ups over Cubans – gay or straight – expressing themselves.”
Cuba: Antúnez Arrested
“Former Cuban political prisoner Jorge Luis García Pérez ‘Antúnez’ and six other anti-government activists were arrested in Havana…”: Uncommon Sense has the details.
Cuba: “Cubans Can Connect”
“I’m coming to believe that the influence of the Internet on our reality is bigger than I thought”: When it comes to limitations imposed on Cubans having online access, Generation Y says: “We need to make the most of the situation, now they are saying ‘Cubans can connect’, and take...
Cuba: Blossoming Blogosphere
“A lot has changed in the ‘Made in Cuba’ blogosphere,” reports Generation Y, for whom there is “no greater happiness than to see the rise of so many plural, different and free spaces.”
Cuba, U.S.A.: In Solidarity
Blog for Cuba and El Cafe Cubano support Cuba Solidarity Day.
Guyana, Cuba: Day Against Homophobia
“What did it mean that there were no openly lesbian women where I lived in Guyana, a little over 20 years ago?” asks Signifyin’ Guyana, as she acknowledges the recent International Day Against Homophobia; Repeating Islands, meanwhile, notes that the occasion was recognized in Havana.
Dominica, Cuba: Bird Festival
“I just discovered—to my absolute delight—that the VII Festival of Caribbean Endemic Birds is being celebrated throughout the region”: Repeating Islands provides details.
Cuba: Human Rights Council
Havana Times reports that “Cuba has been re-elected for a second three-year period as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council” in a move that Cuba Journal calls “a rebuff to the policies of the United States” by UN members.
Cuba: Cultural Events on World Day Against Homophobia
Bloggers Cuba [es] publishes information regarding the cultural events to take place on the World Day Against Homophobia on May 16 and 17.
Cuba: First Case of Swine Flu
Both Havana Times and Repeating Islands report that Cuba has identified its first case of the Swine Flu.
Cuba: Blogging from Prison
Uncommon Sense reveals that “Cuban independent journalist Pablo Pacheco Ávila…has started a blog”, while Octavo Cerco fills in the details on how he's managing to get his voice heard from behind prison walls.
Cuba, Jamaica: Examining the Revolution
“What has the Cuban Revolution achieved for the people of the country, the Caribbean and the wider world after 50 years in power?” Jamaican diaspora blogger Mark Lee, writing at Abeng News Magazine, attempts to find out.
Cuba: Internet Access Restrictions
Generation Y visits a Cuban hotel to determine whether rumours of increased Internet access limitations for locals are true.
Cuba: Swine Flu Reporting
Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense links to a story in which he learns that “the Cuban secret police was a wee bit hypersensitve last week when officers arrested Cuban photojournalist Sandra Guerra Pérez after she reported on swine flu outbreaks around the world and advised her neighbors on how they...
Cuba: Internet Access
Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense learns that the authorities have “cracked down on one of the few ways most Cubans can use to access the Internet.”
Caribbean: On Press Freedom
Yesterday - May 3 - was World Press Freedom Day - declared by the United Nations General Assembly in order to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press. Many Caribbean bloggers noted the significance of the occasion in their posts...
Caribbean: Hurricane Names
Repeating Islands reports that “three Atlantic hurricane names—Gustav, Ike and Paloma—have been retired after those storms killed more than 200 people in the Caribbean region during the 2008 season.”
Cuba: Ladies Attacked
Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense links to a report that says the Damas de Blanco were attacked by both police and private citizens following a Mass in the Cuban province of Matanzas.
Cuba: May Day
As Havana Times blogs about the traditions of May Day in Cuba, complete with photos of the festivities, Generation Y does something non-traditional: “The limited drumming arose from the smallness of the individual who dared, and not from the massive automatism of those who paraded in the morning..in spite of...
