Much has been said about the extraordinary Cuban blogger, Yoani Sánchez. Her blog, Generación Y, has sparked a significant revolution among both opponents and supporters of the Castro dictatorship. Recently, she received the prestigious Ortega y Gasset literary award. Moreover, Yoani has been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine. It’s no surprise then that I wanted to make the most of my visit to Cuba and arrange to meet her, to determine for myself whether the stories written about her are true or not. We met at a café near her building, where the elevator buttons included two fives, two tens, and the eleventh button took us to the thirteenth floor—perhaps to ward off bad luck. Her husband, writer Reinaldo Escobar, also shared some thoughts.
Yoani is just another example of an ordinary citizen, as she refers to herself, who has a tremendous impact on society, even here in this beacon of repression and authoritarianism. She mentioned that she has never once written the words democracy, human rights, or freedom, even though her blog is precisely about that. I had many questions in mind; however, the first one was:
– People are saying you are a Cuban agent. What do you have to say about that?
– Yoani Sánchez (YS): Well, I’ve been accused of many things, but mainly they see me as a Castro agent or a pawn of ‘The Empire’. Regarding both accusations, I take the same approach, meaning I ignore baseless gossip. I welcome people who come and debate ideas. However, one must understand the reasons that lead both sides to such opinions. Those who oppose this regime may feel threatened in some way, uncomfortable because I am doing something from here that most haven’t dared to. Clearly, this insecurity, or lack of imagination and ingenuity if you will, must be understood in its proper individual and collective context. As for the accusations from the other side, I suppose they just proved my point by not allowing me to travel to Spain to collect the award. It would have been awkward traveling there and facing questions like, ‘Ms. Sánchez, how do you reconcile your argument about the lack of freedoms in Cuba and the permission you were granted to travel to Spain?’ Not only has the regime confirmed my claims regarding the systematic violations of civil and political rights here, but they have also validated my cause, and for that, I am grateful. Reinaldo adds that some have argued Yoani has been subject to manipulation. In his view, the moment someone decides to leave the privacy of their life and enter the public sphere, they become subject to manipulation by the very exchange of ideas and debate.
– Do you really think the Castro brothers are that foolish?
– YS: I applied for a travel permit, and my visa wasn’t granted due to a technicality, we believe. Any Cuban living continuously outside the island for more than eleven months loses their Cuban nationality. Or so the law states. Upon returning from living in Switzerland, I decided to stay and informed the authorities that I had lost my travel documents. This placed me in legal limbo: although I was born, raised, and lived all but two years of my life here, technically I lost my Cuban nationality, which is the only one I have. Therefore, it was no surprise that the regime would not allow me to travel. Reinaldo and I completed all the necessary paperwork for it, even alerting the authorities about the scandal it would cause if I were denied travel. The Ortega y Gasset award and TIME magazine contributed to proving what we were discussing. However, the regime didn’t want to hear any of that; the decision was made at the highest level, not by some obscure bureaucrat.
– Why do you think this decision was made from the top?
YS: I believe they fear that meeting with other journalists, bloggers, and media-savvy individuals would enhance my communication skills and certainly improve my network and the attention people are paying to my cause.
– So, what is your cause?
– YS: I am completely open to debate, to creating a space where Cubans and interested parties can discuss the issues that affect us in a mature and respectful way.
– But doing so could open a can of worms. You know, in Venezuela someone created a website called noticierodigital.com that became a place where people from all walks of life vented about basic and political issues. Its founder ended up selling it, and the new editor resigned. Considering the difficulties they face in connecting, how will you keep the fanatics at bay and moderate the comments?
– YS: It’s funny you mention that. The site has encouraged interesting things, including a group of extraordinary contributors from around the world who maintain peace in the comments section. I assigned them three tasks: no copying and pasting, read without reprinting content from other places for personal gain; no identity theft in the comments, and moderators can’t post comments themselves to avoid conflicts of interest. Often I post something, and the comments section veers off into completely unrelated discussions, although I enjoy that; I relish debate as much as any true democrat.
– I recently read that you couldn’t access the site and that it had been hacked.
– YS: The Cuban regime has quite a few good hackers, that’s for sure. In terms of access to the site from here, I don’t really care. We have developed a way to publish my posts regardless of hackers’ attempts, and every few days I receive a summary of the comments and screenshots of the site to keep track of everything. With the help of the citizen network we’ve built, I’ll overcome whatever they throw at me. Blogging is an entirely new phenomenon here, and the regime doesn’t know how to compartmentalize me, but I suppose when they do, I’ll be at risk like all the other democrats.
– I find it interesting that the motives driving your e-crusade are very similar to those that drove me. Do you feel represented by any of the political actors in Cuba?
– YS: No, I don’t. The decision to start this stemmed from my total frustration at the lack of anyone addressing the issues that concern me and many other Cubans. It’s a citizen initiative. As I mentioned before, I’ve never written the words democracy, human rights, and freedom on my blog; however, their absence and the lack of interlocutors effectively commenting on what I consider relevant led me to this (Reinaldo jokes about how humble his beloved wife is).
– Speaking of that, how many visits does your blog get?
– YS: Over the course of this month, it has received more than 9 million visitors.
– That’s quite impressive. However, don’t you think the curve will eventually flatten out and people will lose interest, as often happens with blogs?
– YS: Indeed, undoubtedly, articles in major newspapers, the Ortega y Gasset award, and TIME contributed to the blog’s success. Yet, none have done more to make it a
celebrity case than the regime’s decision to prevent my travel. Frankly, I would have thought they were smarter.
– So, what do you plan to do with
€16,000?
– YS: We are looking into ways to bring it in.
– I understand that the regime imposes a ‘fee’ of 20% on all transactions in dollars.
– YS: Yes, that’s the case. However, since what I was awarded is in euros, it’s different but not easy.
– Finally, how could other bloggers collaborate with you or your cause?
– YS: By connecting with us; by making thoughtful and coherent comments; by spreading the word. Unfortunately, Cubans in general are computer illiterate, and it’s hard for them to grasp the absolute power of the Internet. That’s why most people don’t understand what I’m doing or how I do it. I wish more Cubans would start blogging, but for that to happen, we need to overcome the obstacles related to information technologies, which isn’t easy due to the restrictions in place. In any case, we are trying to educate others so that blogging becomes a permanent fixture in Cuba, a means of democratizing citizen expression, like in the free world.
I left thinking that I had met two extraordinary individuals. Regardless of the suffocating living conditions in Cuba, Yoani and Reinaldo are just two of the many people here who demonstrate through daily actions that no amount of repression can dissolve the intrinsic human determination to live in freedom. Because Yoani and Reinaldo are free, even in Cuba.