Stories about Cuba from November, 2009
Cuba: Call to Respect Human Rights
As four Cuban dissidents are reportedly arrested in Havana, Uncommon Sense profiles political prisoner Oscar Biscet's call for his compatriots “to join an international campaign set for next month to demand that the Castro dictatorship respect human rights.”
Cuba: Ongoing HIV/AIDS Education Efforts
Even though Cuba has one of the lowest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the region, there are still ongoing education efforts to reduce the number of new infections, as well as to break down the stigma of the disease.
Cuba: Here Comes The Rain Again
Cuba's Generation Y longs for “what seems to be a pipe dream for so many, when the city will not collapse because of a simple shower that falls in the tropics.”
Cuba, U.S.A.: Questions for Obama
Cuba's Generation Y sends a questionnaire to U.S. President Obama “with some of the issues that keep [her] from sleeping” and publishes his responses.
Cuba: Courting Change
“There are a good number of ministers still under sixty, but the largest share of power is concentrated in the hands of septuagenarians and octogenarians”: Cuba's Generation Y suggests these veterans are unable “to hear the new generation knocking at the door, coming like a whirlwind to dismantle everything.”
Bahamas, Cuba: Fair Trade?
Rick Lowe issues a few words of warning to the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce when it comes to doing business with Cuba: “The Chamber stands for ethics in business and I believe they are on shaky ground recommending we do business with a regime in Cuba that apparently does not...
Cuba, U.S.A.: Bloggers & Violence
Both writing for Havana Times, Circles Robinson reports that the U.S. government has criticized the recent seizure of blogger Yoani Sanchez and two of her peers, noting that “Cuba maintains its rejection of any interference of the US government in its internal affairs”, while Pedro Campos suggests that “to reject...
Cuba: Of Victims & Violence
In the aftermath of her seizure by state authorities, Generation Y admonishes those who may be adopting a “blame the victim stance, while Claudia Cadelo says she prefers being a victim to being the executioner. Havana Times, meanwhile, posts a piece about the march against violence on the way to...
Cuba: Facebook Support for Yoani
Along the Malecon reports that supporters of Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez are “hoping to start a trend” by “using the blogger's photo as their profile picture on Facebook in a show of solidarity.”
Cuba: Yoani Sanchez & Other Bloggers Seized
Yoaní Sánchez, Cuba's most famous blogger, who has received countless international awards for her activism, was detained briefly and beaten by Cuban authorities on November 6, along with fellow bloggers, Claudia Cadelo (a Global Voices contributor) and Orlando Luís Pardo Lazo. Bloggers make their feelings known about the incident.
Cuba: Details of the Sánchez detention emerge
The detention, beating and subsequent release of bloggers Yoaní Sánchez, Claudia Cadelo and Orlando Luis Pardo by Cuban state security on November 6, is receiving widespread coverage in both the mainstream media and the blogosphere and twittersphere. Yoaní has written (es) about the incident on Generación Y, her blog, and...
Yoaní Sanchez & other Cuban bloggers detained, beaten
On the evening of November 6, Babalú blog linked to a post by Penultimos Dias (es) reporting that a number of prominent Cuban bloggers, including Yoaní Sánchez and Global Voices contributor Claudia Cadelo, were detained by state security forces. An update from Penultimos Días reported that Sanchez and Orlando Luis Pardo...
Cuba: Blogging Prejudice
Late one night, a Cuban taxi driver stops for Yoani Sanchez because of the colour of her skin, but when he learns that she's a blogger, his unease reveals another kind of prejudice: “His spectrum of classification stigmatizes not only some shades of color, but also certain leanings of opinion…that...
Cuba: Gays Arrested
As six Cuban homosexuals are reportedly arrested, Uncommon Sense says: “their real ‘crime’ — like that committed by all Cubans, gay or straight, labeled as ‘pre-criminal social dangers’ — is that with their lifestyle, [they] have chosen to not conform with the ‘revolutionary ideal.'”
