In order to stay current with the news from Cuba, I follow numerous news feeds.  The name Yoani Sanchez has been coming up on these feeds more and more.  Yoani is one of a group of Cuban bloggers who have been writing about the present conditions on the Island.  The Castro government and their sympathizers have labeled them dissidents.

I first started hearing about Yoani when she was denied permission to leave Cuba to receive the the Ortega y Gasset Journalism Award in Spain for her critical portrayal of life in Cuba, and has been recognized by other journalistic organizations for her fearless blog posts.  Her Blog “Generacion Y” is published  via e-mail entries through friends in other countries. Time magazine listed her as one of the world’s 100 most influential persons in 2008.

Castro’s government is not happy with her views and has taken measures to censor her efforts.  First by denying her permission to leave the counntry and now by arresting her when trying to attend a peaceful rally.  Cuba has never handled criticism from its citizens well.  The Cuban jails are full of “dissidents” who have disagreed with the government.

I suppose that in Cuba “dissident” is the term used to describe someone who has been denied basic human rights.  For us who live in a free society this may be difficult to comprehend.  We can write and express our feelings in any manner we choose without fear of repercussion.  Yet this brave young lady and her fellow bloggers must resort to subterfuge and deception to express their feelings and then be prepared for whatever consequences the government wishes to impose on them.

In a previous post, I wrote on the Cuban embargo and how the politicians on both sides were to blame for the suffering the embargo has caused.  Back in April President Barack Obama chose to continue with the Cuban embargo and recently the United Nations voted against this US stance.  But now with what is happening in Cuba to Yoani Sanchez, I can truly understand the problem with human rights.

The internet has changed the way the world communicates.   Through the use of blogs that information can spread across the internet at lightning speed.  Bloggers such as myself write about ideas and opinions that are important to just a particular sector of the population.  But Yoani Sanchez is writing about human rights, which is important to all of us, and she writing for her life.

Yoani Sanchez has been able to do what journalists in her country have not been able to do.  And that is to tell the world the true story of the suffering that the Cuban people have had to endure.  Yoani, we who look from afar salute you.  We can only pray that this Cuban dissident blogger thing will someday come to an end.

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