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Island of Failed Promises
By the end of the year, discontent was rising. Student protests at Santiago University, set off by a rape on the decaying campus, quickly expanded to encompass complaints about the school's miserable housing conditions, inedible food and other chronic grievances. Student leaders collected 5,000 signatures on a petition demanding greater autonomy from the Education Ministry. A few weeks ago Ricardo Alarcón, longtime president of Cuba's rubber-stamp Parliament, was blindsided by students at Havana's elite University of Information Sciences when they turned a routine speaking engagement into an open indictment of the regime. One student stood up to denounce this January's legislative elections as a sham; another asked why Cubans weren't allowed to take vacation trips abroad. A clandestine video of the session was soon in circulation, and people who have seen it say Alarcón's performance was less than inspiring.
No one took to the streets last week to test the limits of the regime's forbearance. "You're starting to see more and more examples of dissidence, but they are still not very organized or united," says prominent human-rights activist Laura Pollán, 60, whose husband has been jailed since 2003. Still, change is coming, Yoani Sánchez is convinced. Although most Cubans still have no Internet access, she says fans of her blog sometimes recognize her on the street now, and about 200,000 of the 800,000 hits on Generación Y last month came from computers on the island. "I want to see how far we can push the walls of this regime," she says. Fidel Castro may not like the answer—if he lives that long.
With Monica Campbell in Mexico City
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: Q-Tex1966 @ 04/19/2008 4:12:32 PM
Comment: A great article. Most people that live in the United States do not realize how hard daily life is in Cuba, for the average citizen. Having been born in Cuba, and presently looking from the outside, I can only imagine, but I do remember the good days, while growing up. People ask me "why can they revolt?" What the citizens in this great country do not realize is that while one can purchase a weapon, of almost any kind in the US, in Cuba a weapon is owned by the army, and it would be almost impossible for anyone that lives in the island to get one. We (in the US) take a lot for granted, but just imagine if your teenage son or daughter did not have access to the internet, or if they could not drive 20 miles to see a friend. Small things like that do not happen in Cuba, since there are very few cars available to the public, and is costs a lot of money to get on the internet. Of course, you would have to own a PC for that, and probably over 90% of the people in the island do not. Be glad you can post a comment, just as I am doing now, it means you, as well as I, are FREE, something else you do not have in Cuba, freedom.
One last thing, while the article mentions the newspaper Granma, the word does not mean grandmother. Granma was the name of the boat that Fidel Castro and his group used to go from Mexico to Cuba. A lot of people also ask me why they have a newspaper called "grandmother." They don't. Finally, just imagine living under the same government for 50 years, same head honcho, same news, same TV, and all is owned by the state. It would get old after a while, wouldn't it? Now, for those under 40 years old, imagine no MTV, no HBO. Ho wlong would it take you to make a rubber rafgt and try that risky trip to the US. Lets not forget, you have to make it to land, if not they will send you back to the island, what a bummer! I grew up there, loved it then, but now I would even be concerned about visiting.
Posted By: Q-Tex66 @ 04/19/2008 4:11:25 PM
Comment: A great article. Most people that live in the United States do not realize how hard daily life is in Cuba, for the average citizen. Having been born in Cuba, and presently looking from the outside, I can only imagine, but I do remember the good days, while growing up. People ask me "why can they revolt?" What the citizens in this great country do not realize is that while one can purchase a weapon, of almost any kind in the US, in Cuba a weapon is owned by the army, and it would be almost impossible for anyone that lives in the island to get one. We (in the US) take a lot for granted, but just imagine if your teenage son or daughter did not have access to the internet, or if they could not drive 20 miles to see a friend. Small things like that do not happen in Cuba, since there are very few cars available to the public, and is costs a lot of money to get on the internet. Of course, you would have to own a PC for that, and probably over 90% of the people in the island do not. Be glad you can post a comment, just as I am doing now, it means you, as well as I, are FREE, something else you do not have in Cuba, freedom.
One last thing, while the article mentions the newspaper Granma, the word does not mean grandmother. Granma was the name of the boat that Fidel Castro and his group used to go from Mexico to Cuba. A lot of people also ask me why they have a newspaper called "grandmother." They don't. Finally, just imagine living under the same government for 50 years, same head honcho, same news, same TV, and all is owned by the state. It would get old after a while, wouldn't it? Now, for those under 40 years old, imagine no MTV, no HBO. Ho wlong would it take you to make a rubber rafgt and try that risky trip to the US. Lets not forget, you have to make it to land, if not they will send you back to the island, what a bummer! I grew up there, loved it then, but now I would even be concerned about visiting.
Posted By: eddiewhere @ 02/29/2008 2:12:10 AM
Comment: IN THIS ENVIORNMENT OF ECONOMIC FEUDALISM WHERE THE MIDDLE CLASS MUST SUFFER IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE pROFITS OF MULTINATIONAL CORpORATIONS, WHO BENEFIT FROM CHEAp LABOR, THE AMERICAN DREAM HAS BEEN LOST.
MULTINALTIONALS FROM INDIA HAVE BROUGHT THEIR CHEAp WAyS TO AMERICA. WE NOW HAVE AMERIANS GOING TO GET HEART SURGERy IN INDIA BEAUSE IT IS CHEApER. OUR INFORMATION TECHNOLy JOBS HAVE BEEN OUTSOURCED TO INDIA.
CHINA WAITS UNTIL WE INVENT IT AND THEN THEy STEAL IT. WHy REINVENT THE WHEEL.
ARABS FINANCIERS OWN OVER TWELVER pER CENT OF OUR ECONOMy AND IN RECENT MONTTHS HAVE "BAILED" OUT OUR BANKS. IN ADDITION, ARAB INTEREST FROM DUBAI AND KUWAIT HAVE FINANCED OUR pOLITICAL LEADERS ENDEVOURS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE pOLITICAL SpECTRUM.. IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE.
We have been fooled by our own government and there is no way any Republican is going to win this election. THE Middle class has had it with all this Bin LADEN terrorist crap. WE are now scared of our own government more than we are of the terrorist because the decisions this government is making on our behalf is not in our best interests and it is killing us. The government is now dominating our civil liberties. They are giving the states millions for Real ID Cards. This is just the start of government intrusion. Combine this with the misuse of the Patriot Act and the future Plans of insurance comPanies and corporations to have full access to our personal records and we have a real crisis.
Credit Card companies have already started selling and sharing our personal information with the private sector. We really have to wake up and protect our constitution it is all we have to defend ourselves against interests that become too rich and powerful in this country. The government keeps expanding and is being predominantly controlled by special interest and lobbyist. The middle class is being weakened and our civil liberties are being threatened. Real ID Cards will not make "us safer" infacat terrorists can obtain fake ones and move about freely. The American people did not vote on Real ID Cards, we need a vote. Our constitution would have to be ammended in order for Real ID's to become legal. I do not know what has happened in Washington but it is getting out of hand. They know what they are doing is unconstitutional so they are trying to bribe the states by offering them money. I hope every state agrees with me and Prevents the federal govenment from imPosing THIS unconstitutional law. If the states allow the government to do this then they would have set a bad Precedent that could lead to further government violations.
WHy IS THERE A NEED TO WIRE TAp EVERy CITIZEN. ARE yOU KIDDING ME. yOU NEED A WARRANT. THIS IS MADNESS. GOVERNMENT IS USING TERRORISM AS AN EXCUSE TO INTRUDE ON OUR CIVIL LIBERTIES. THIS IS INSANE.
McCain will continue to implementt these misguided REpublian policies. McCain's ONE HUNDRED year agenda is not in AMERICA"s BEST INTEREST.