Blog for Cuba

The lie of workers rights in Cuba

On the one hand, leftist anti-American groups such as Global Exchange, accuse the U.S. of exploiting workers in third world countries, then on the other promote communist Cuba, the Castro brothers slave plantation, the tropical gulag, as a workers paradise. What a bunch of pompous self-serving hypocrites. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Global Exchange knows perfectly well of the Human Rights abuses in Cuba. By promoting this propaganda, she is complicit with a regime guilty of crimes against humanity.

Here are the facts about workers rights in Cuba, from the Cuban Transition Project:

Labor Rights in Cuba

There is only one labor federation in Cuba, the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), organized and controlled by the Cuban government.

All workers must be members of the CTC and pay dues.

Elections are held periodically. Only candidates approved by the Cuban Communist Party are allowed to run for local or national leadership positions.

There is no collective or individual bargaining in Cuba.

Workers cannot change jobs without government permission.

Most businesses/agricultural and industrial enterprises are owned by the government most Cubans work for the State.

All salaries and benefits are determined by the State.

Workers are hired, disciplined, and fired by the government.

Foreign companies doing business in Cuba must apply to the government for workers. They cannot hire or fire workers on their own without government approval.

Foreign companies pay the Cuban government in foreign currencies (e.g. euros, Canadian dollars) for their workers. The government pays the workers in Cuban pesos which are worth 1/20 of a U.S. dollar, pocketing 90% of every dollar it receives.

All Cuban workers in the tourist industry or any industry that comes into contact with foreigners are carefully screened and selected by the government. Lighter skin workers and those loyal to the revolution are picked for hotel, resorts, and other tourist destinations.

The Cuban government hires out physicians, artists, musicians, bartenders, etc. to foreign countries and foreign companies abroad. Cubans usually reside for six months in foreign countries and are paid in hard currency. Yet 40% of their salaries are deducted by their employers and sent to the Castro regime.

All labor arbitration must take place in the corrupt and arbitrary government offices where little protection is given to the worker. There is no independent judicial system in the island and all judges are appointed by and work for the government.

The CTP can be contacted at P.O. Box 248174, Coral Gables, Florida 33124-3010, Tel: 305-284-CUBA (2822), Fax: 305-284-4875, and by email at [email protected]. The CTP Website is accessible at http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu.

Llamado de la Patria por Guillermo Fariñas Hernández

El artículo y más en Miscelaneas de Cuba:

 

La Habana, 16 de abril de 2010

Llamado de la Patria

Lic. Guillermo Fariñas Hernández

Calle Alemán No. 615-A  e/ Hospital y Misionero

 Santa Clara, Villa Clara.

Compatriota y hermano,

Los que suscribimos este Llamado de la Patria, asumimos la responsabilidad de acercarnos a ti una vez más con el propósito de que depongas tu huelga de hambre.

Esta petición está en la misma línea de otras tantas hechas por organizaciones internacionales, instituciones religiosas, personalidades y gobiernos en el sentido de que la vida es el bien más preciado a preservar. Incluye, además, la petición de ciudadanos cubanos de todas las creencias y tendencias.

Compatriota y hermano. La cuestión en juego es la siguiente. Sacrificar tu vida privaría a toda una familia, principalmente a tu hija, de la armonía y el equilibrio que proporcionan el amor, la tutela y el cariño de los lazos afectivos, y nos privaría de un valioso luchador por la vida futura de la nación cubana.  La familia y la nación no pueden darse esos lujos.

La reacción del gobierno ante todos estos acontecimientos dramáticos revela justamente el divorcio cada vez más creciente entre las bases morales que cimentaron a Cuba y las actitudes de quienes con pretensiones manipuladoras, de espaldas a los ciudadanos, hipotecaron el futuro del la nación. Una reacción de Estado que semeja a la del guapo de barrio cogido en falta moral. Este, en vez de responder adecuadamente al desafío ético que se le presenta, amenaza con destruir marcial y violentamente a toda la comunidad.

Esa porfía persistente, esa maldad intrínseca y esa ignorancia alegre que las autoridades se empeñan en publicitar sin el menor sonrojo continúan despertando la capacidad de asombro del mundo, y uniendo a todas las personas decentes, independientemente de sus diferencias, alrededor de los valores básicos que determinan la convivencia moderna.  En medio de nuestras duras peripecias, esto es algo que debemos agradecer a todo el mundo civilizado.  También, gracias a ti.

A la altura de los actuales acontecimientos, queda claro que la impiedad del gobierno es su recurso más valioso para preservar el poder. Y como sabes, y nos enseñó Félix Varela, la impiedad es la señal más nítida de ausencia de virtud para el ejercicio ético de la autoridad. Frente a esto, nuestra fuerza empieza por defender la vida.

La grandeza de tu gesto sigue concitando respeto y admiración en todas partes, y en todas las culturas, y ha dejado claro para todos que la representación oficial del Estado no coincide con la representación real de la nación. Cuba está más cerca de ti que del gobierno.

La triste muerte de Orlando Zapata Tamayo, condenada desde todas las civilizaciones; la brutal represión de las Damas de Blanco, vista por todo el mundo, y tu prolongada huelga de hambre han fortalecido la sensibilidad global por los derechos humanos en Cuba, abriéndonos una nueva oportunidad para sensibilizar a la mayor cantidad de cubanos posibles. Y tu liderazgo en esta impostergable misión puede ser más importante que tu capacidad simbólica. O mejor dicho. Tu liderazgo puede ser compartido con esa capacidad que ya tienes por el gesto altruista de anteponer tu vida por la vida de los demás. Una capacidad simbólica que, en su determinación extrema, revela la odisea de un país en desesperación.

Ese nuevo momento para Cuba ha sido captado en todas las latitudes.  Los promotores de la campaña Yo Acuso, han sugerido una iniciativa  que debes liderar dentro de la isla: recoger 10. 000 firmas pidiendo a la Asamblea Nacional la libertad de todos los prisioneros políticos y la inmediata excarcelación de nuestros 25 compatriotas presos  con precario estado de salud. Estas firmas se sumarían a las más de 46 000  que hasta la fecha han sido aportadas por ciudadanos y personalidades de todo el mundo, ─ que han decidido acompañarnos en esta hora difícil para Cuba  y a la condena de numerosas instituciones y parlamentos. 

Los que suscribimos este Llamado de la Patria empezamos a acompañarte en este propósito, que de seguro globalizará dentro de Cuba la conciencia por los derechos de todos.

De hecho eso ya viene sucediendo. Con la fría reacción del gobierno cubano ante la muerte  de Zapata Tamayo y ante tu huelga de hambre, un ciudadano común exclamó, preguntando: !por dios, ¿quiénes son los Castro? Esta pregunta capta y resume un destino que no nos merecemos y, en su dimensión ética, es tan profunda como la ofrenda de Orlando Zapata Tamayo y tu solidaridad vital con los que más padecen: los presos. 

Recuerda esto: Nelson Mandela supo decir, y dijo bien, que un gobierno no se mide por el tratamiento que da a sus ciudadanos más ilustres, sino por el que dispensa a quienes más sufren: esos presos. Y tú has sabido alumbrar estremecedoramente, junto a  Orlando Zapata Tamayo y a las Damas de Blanco, el duro sufrimiento de los marginados.  El juicio de la historia ya está hecho.

Y en el próximo tramo del nuevo proyecto de nación que necesitamos, tu vida es imprescindible. Así de simple.

Acompáñanos.

Por la Sociedad Civil firmamos este Llamado de la Patria  

1. Leonardo Calvo Cárdenas ---------  Activista político, Miembro del Comité Orlando Zapata Tamayo (COTZ)

2. Juan del Pilar Goberna -------------- Activista Derechos Humanos COTZ-CCDHRN

3. Eleanor Calvo Martínez --------------Activista cívico CIR-COTZ

4. Juan Antonio Madrazo --------------- Activista cívico CIR-COTZ

5. Víctor Manuel Domínguez ---------- Club de Escritores de Cuba

6. Jesús Díaz Núñez ---------------------Activista político Arco Progresista

7. Jorge Olivera Castillo ---------------- Club de Escritores de Cuba

8. Fernando Sánchez López ------------ Partido Solidaridad Democrática –COTZ

9. Oscar Mario González --------------- Periodista Independiente

10. Carlos Jesús Menéndez -------------- Activista Derechos Humanos

11. Marcelo López Bañobre ------------- Fotoreportero Periodista Independiente

12. Elizardo Sánchez Santacruz --------- Activista Derechos Humanos-CCDHRN

13. Bárbara Josefa Estrabao -------------- CCDHRN-CA

14. Juan Juan Almeida García ----------- Ciudadano cubano

15. Lázara B. Sendiña Recalde ------------ FLDBOZT

16. Hugo Damián Prieto Blanco ---------- FLDBOZT

17. Francisco Leblanc Anafe-- Director Instituto Cubano Estudios Sindicales Independiente  

18. Víctor M. Gonzélz Buduen ------- Activista cívico –CIR

19. Manuel Cuesta Morúa -------------Activista Político- Arco Progresista-COTZ

20. Carlos Serpa Maceira ---------- Unión de Periodistas Libres de Cuba

21. Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez -------------------- Hablemospress

22. Magali Norvis Otero Suárez ---------------------- Hablemospress

23. Fidel Mojena Rivero ------------------------------- Partido 30 de Noviembre

24. Carlos Ríos Otero ----------------------------------- Hablemospress

25. Roberto Ávalos -------------------------------------- Hablemospress

26. Dulce María Díaz Quintana ------------------------ Dama de Blanco

27. Eriberto Liranza Romero -------------------- Colegio de Pedagogos Independiente

28. José Antonio Sánchez Santoyo ------------- Movimiento Alternativa Republicana

29. Maritza Castro Martínez -------------------------- Dama de Blanco (Apoyo)

30. Ivonne Malleza Galano ---------------------------- Dama de Blanco (Apoyo)

31. Luis Cino ---------------------------- Periodista Independiente-Periódico Primavera

32. Amalia López Morera -------------------- Ciudadana cubana

33. Julio César Jorrin Campos --------------- Liga Cívica Martiana

34. Sergio García Argentel -------------------- Partido Democrático 30 de Noviembre

35. Jeydi Coca Quesada -- Dama de Blanco (Apoyo) Partido Dem. 30 de Noviembre

36. Moisés Leonardo Rodríguez Valdés -- Corriente Martiana-Unidos por Cuba Libre

37. Jaime Leygonier Fernández -------------------- Periodista Independiente

38. Edel González Hernández ----------------------- Ciudadano cubano

39. Jorge Luis Quicutis Romero --------------------- Bibliotecario Independiente 

40. Lisbán Hernández Sánchez ---------------------  Periodista Independiente

41. Liuba N. Kawooya Toca ------------------------ Cuba Independiente Democrática

42. José Antonio Martínez Márquez --------------- Cuba Independiente Democrática

43. Lucía Hernández Farah ------------------------- Activista político-Arco Progresista

44. Carlos Romualdo Purniel Ramos -------------- Cuba Independiente Democrática

45. Ricardo Santiago Medina Salabarría ---------- Sacerdote

46. Vicente Rodríguez Hernández ----------------- Cuba Independiente Democrática

47. Katia Sonia Martin Vélez ---------------------- Cuba Independiente Democrática

48. Lizbuz Marina Posada Licea ------------------- Ciudadana cubana

49. Xiomara Sujo Fernández ------------------------ Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

50. Raúl Velásquez Valdés -------------------------- Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

51. Héctor Cruz Hernández --------------------------- Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

52. Ricardo L. González ------------------------------ Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

53. Jimmy Jaime Jorge -------------------------------- Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

54. Humberto José Bello Laffita --------------------- Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

55. Lázaro Jaime Martínez -----------------------------Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

56. Roberto de Miranda Hernández ------------------Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

57. Soledad Rivas Verdecia --------------------------- Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

58. Yasea Pineda Alfonso ----------------------------- Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

59. Ruviere González Mia ---------------------------- Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

60. Rafael González Ruiz -------------------------------- Partido Liberal Cubano

61. Walter Miguel Lahens Rodríguez --------------- Colegio Pedagogo Independiente

62. Lucas Garve ----------------------------------------- Periodista Independiente

63. Fernando Palacio Mogar ------------------------ Partido Liberal Nacional Cubano

64. Ronald Mendoza Méndez ----------------------- Partido Liberal Nacional Cubano

65. Pedro A. Bello Méndez -------------------------- Partido Liberal Nacional Cubano

66. Iván Valdés Rodríguez --------------------------- Partido Liberal Nacional Cubano

67. Gerardo González Morales ---------------------- Partido Liberal Nacional Cubano

68. Eroisis González Suárez ------------------------ Partido Liberal Nacional Cubano

69. Esther González Pérez -------------------------- UPCI

70. Roberto Díaz Morales --------------------------- FUN

71. Juana Vázquez González ------------------------ Ciudadana cubana

72. Evaristo Pérez Rodríguez ------------------------ FUN

73. Carlos Trujillo Goicochea ------------------------ Ciudadano cubano

74. Clara Mendoza Méndez --------------------------- UPCI

75. Faustino Suárez de la Nuez ----------------------- UPCI

76. Fernando Concepción Pérez --------------------------- FUN

77. Caridad González Vázquez --------------------------- FUN

78. Misleydys Rodríguez Páez -------------------------- Ciudadana cubana

79. Magdalena Rojas Espinosa -------------------------- UPCI

80. Miguel Castellanos Sánchez -------------------------- FUN

81. Sandro Tersidor González ----------------------------- FUN

82. Leonardo Padrón Comptiz ---------------------- Activista político-Arco Progresista

83. Javier Helbello -----------------------------------Activista político-Arco Progresista

84. Yusnaimy Jorge Soca -----------------------------------Activista cívico 

85. Aida Valdés Santana ------------------------------------Activista Derechos Humanos

86. Raúl Borges Álvarez ------------------ Partido Unidad Demócrata Cristiana-COTZ 

87. Mayra Sánchez ---------------------------------Activista político- Arco Progresista

88. Rigoberto Rodríguez Capaz -------------------Activista político-Arco Progresista 

Lies, lies, and more lies!

And dictators never lie:

Chavez denies elite Iranian forces in Venezuela

Las elecciónes en Cuba

Foto por Cubanos Mex
 

Dania Virgen García is now a political prisoner in Cuba

Human Rights Cuba:

Sunday, April 25, 2010
Today there is a new political prisoner in Cuba

by Carmen Ferreiro
April 24, 2010

I met Dania Virgen García towards the end of 2009, an independent journalist and human rights activist; she was referred to our news bureau by a fellow journalist. She, like fellow independent journalists, are courageous enough to report news from Cuba, free from the bias and control of the state-run press.Dania, like the other journalists who I am privileged to work with, wants to be a good journalist. And so she without trepidation, enthusiastically, despite limited resources and living under the continuous persecution of government agents in Cuba, with dedication sent me her writings on daily life in the island and on the activities of freedom and democracy movements in Cuba.

She wanted a blog and I created a news blog for her, something that I happily do for any Cuban on the island who wishes to exercise their right to free expression and to inform the world of everyday life in Cuba. For journalists in Cuba, those who are not officially appointed or belonging to the current government in power, there are no news agencies or outlets were they can publish their work. Censorship dominates not only the press and culture in Cuba, but also every aspect of freedom of expression, opinion and even simple conversations between Cubans of what happens on the island.For these journalists, living in a country without a free press and under the absolute control of the State; blogs have become the newspapers and magazines in which they can publish their news stories. Without blogs, they would be the silenced, this would allow the totalitarians to absolutely do and destroy anything they please with total impunity; meanwhile the free world would be blind, deaf and mute to this sad reality in Cuba.

The blog allowed Dania to write and print her articles and share them with other Cubans; some of them supportive of her ideas and writings, and other non-supporters but perhaps interested by this cyber world which is inaccessible to many of them. What I did notice was the more she wrote, the more she wanted to do to help achieve freedom in Cuba.

It is inevitable not to have ties of affection with those one has constant contact with in Cuba.  Through them we learn about what happens in our suffering country, which is located so close yet is unattainable for many of us.  But we also come to know about their lives through the emails exchanged.  This is how in a short time I came to know that Dania was very devoted to her Catholic faith, that she spoke affectionately about her family, that she enjoyed photography and struggled despite limited resources for human rights in Cuba.

A week ago she wrote me concerned because she had been alerted at a center she occasionally went to use the internet (I intentionally omit the name to avoid compromising others who may use this center) that a State Security Agent had there been asking about her. Days later I received another email in which she expressed with alarm that State Security Agents had mounted a surveillance operation at her home and she said: “things in Cuba are not well at all, but I am going to continue this struggle to the death or until whatever they want happens, I will continue to support the Ladies in White, even if they continue to beat us, because what they want is for us to be afraid and we are not going to allow that to happen.”I replied that she should be careful, expressing my concern over the threats from Section 21 State Security Agents warning Laura Pollan and the Ladies in White, that "they would only be allowed to walk in the area of the Church of Santa Rita of Casia, from 30 to 22 Street, without affecting traffic... with the participation of the Ladies in White and only 10 of the Ladies who Support them". I told her that if she needed anything to let me know.

Three days later (on April 22nd) Dania was arrested and 1 day after (on April 23rd) sentenced and imprisoned in Manto Negro; the same prison that houses the women who were sent to repress and beat the Ladies in White during their walks commemorating the 2003 Black Spring Crackdown in Cuba.

I ask of all who value human rights, in particular freedom of expression, to let the world know what the regime in Cuba has done to Dania Virgen García. We will maintain the same determination and courage that she exhibited during that week she suffered harassment and vigilance, and we will not cease defending her and all Cuban women, freedom fighters in today’s Cuba.

Dania Virgen García is an independent journalist and the Representative in Havana for the Freedom and Democracy Party of Holguín.

This is the link to El Blog de Dania http://daniavirgengarcia.blogspot.com/

The Real Cuba's New Blog

Good news, The Real Cuba has a brand new blog, here's a sample:

Campaign-to-identify-those-who-abuse-the-Ladies-in-White-and-other-Cuban-dissidents.

April 24 - Four Cuban American lawyers and a Miami-based television station have launched a campaign to identify and publicly name Cuban state security agents and pro-government militants who attack dissidents on the island.

Called "Cuba, Repression ID," the project that began this week solicits public support from the Cuban exile community in the United States and also from people inside Cuba to identify, through photographs and film footage, individuals seen beating or harassing unarmed critics of Cuba's communist government.

In recent weeks, TV footage of Cuban state security agents and mobs of pro-government supporters heckling, harassing and forcibly breaking up dissident rallies and marches has drawn widespread international criticism of Cuba's rulers and renewed calls for them to free political prisoners on the island. The promoters of the "Repression ID" initiative backed by Spanish-language Channel 41 AmericaTeve say they want to name and shame identified persecutors of Cuban dissidents, both as a historical record, for possible future legal action, and as a way of trying to halt such violence and intimidation.

"Here are the images, the faces of repression," reads the advisory on AmericaTeve's website, above a gallery of 28 photographs of men and women who were captured on film breaking up peaceful rallies by Cuba's Ladies in White dissidents. Members of the public are requested to e-mail or call in the identities of those shown.

"Who are they? What are their names? Where do they work? Where do they live?" the website asks. The Washington Post

Click here to visit the America TeVe website to see if you can identify any of those who are abusing the dissidents in Cuba.

Read The Real Cuba Blog here.

Castroite Gamberros

Acto de Repudio a la Dra. Hilda Molina, Buenos Aires:

lanacion.com-El momento del escrache a Hilda Molina en la Feria del Libro

24.04.2010 | Manifestantes procastristas irrumpieron en la sala Jorge Luís Borges y hostigaron a la médica cubana que decidió retirarse antes de la presentación de su libro.

Más aquí:  http://www.infobae.com/politica/512942-101275-0-Gritos-insultos-y-empujones-la-Feria-del-Libro

H/T: Frank

Let them eat cake

While Cubans go hungry, castro inc. spends millions to whitewash the dictator's image.

Y Tu Firma

Sign the petition, you'll be in good company:

The problem is Islam

There's an outstanding Q/A interview with Dr. Wafa Sultan, a remarkably brave woman who is trying to transform the Muslim world at Aish.com

Excerpt:

The world has to understand that this is the root of the problem. It’s Islam. It’s not fundamentalist Islam. It’s not political Islam. It’s not Wahhabi Islam. It’s not militant Islam. Growing up in Syria I never heard any of these terms. The problem is with Islam itself. It is violent by nature.

If you leave the Koran aside for a moment and look at the life of Mohammad, the role model for every Muslim man, you will see what I mean. In one “heroic” story, the prophet beheads 80 Jewish men, rapes their women and kills their sons and fathers in front of them. Tell me, how can you interpret this story in a humane way? Islamic third graders have been learning that story for the last 1,400 years.

The problem with Islam is that it is lacking a moral code. There are no ethics. The only responsibility a Muslim has is to worship Allah; nothing beyond that. The most important human values are missing here – feeling responsible for and regretting bad deeds. If you don’t take responsibility for your bad deeds, what else is left for human beings to build a good life?

It follows that the problem in Islamic countries is not only with our governments, not only with poverty and lack of education. Islamic societies fundamentally lack ethics. This problem is deeply rooted in Islam. Once you are able to solve the religious part of it, the political part will be easily solved.