Alfredo Fernandez’s Diary

Cyber-indigence in Cuba

It’s not uncommon in Cuba to see those people who have the enormous fortune of being able to access e-mail from their home or at work, sending emails in which they plead to people who they barely know or those with whom they’ve hardly dealt with in their lives.

Freedom in the Bat of an Eye

Actually I didn’t expect this latest news. I’ve spent so much time longing for it that I could barely process it. In just one day, I’m now free to leave the country. It seems I can now spread my stunted wings before a world that I’m still not sure really exists.

Cuban Workers Could Sue Foreign Companies

The day that the rule of law is finally established in Cuba, the workers here will be able to take legal action against foreign entities operating on the island, or wherever they are, to return to them what was robbed with impunity: their labor power.

Cuba Shouldn’t Have an Army

Cuba shouldn’t have an army. From my point of view, that would be the most important step we Cubans would take if we wanted to build a nation with a future, a country with opportunities.

Tiananmen II

These days the official Cuban press is “delighted,” since it is successfully carrying out one of its usual disinformation actions. This time it involves one of the biggest scandals in China since “the Tiananmen Square protest” of June 1989.

A Gruesome Video

The video camera of a cell phone can help break the siege of misinformation, especially in countries where ignoring news items is the norm imposed by a state on its citizens. A government that misinforms, spoon feeds (at best) or just hides the news.

Looking for Lacy

I firmly believe that a country and its people can also end up lost, no matter how superior a sense of direction its members appear to have. A country can wind up like Lacy or whatever beloved pet with barely the possibility of finding its way home.

The Out-of-Date Updating

Recently, I read with amazement about the news of Professor Elaine Diaz announcing the “farewell” of her blog. The fact somewhat dismayed me, because — though I don’t share her faith in the salvation of the Cuban regime, I do respect her for the seriousness with which she generally presented her writings.