Speaking out in Cuba

The Cuban government has finally blocked access to a web log written by Yoani Sanchez...

The Cuban government has finally blocked access to a web log written by Yoani Sanchez, a young woman who has caused a sensation on the communist-ruled island with her daily postings about life in Havana. But she says she has found a way to outsmart her censors. In the spirit of Soviet-era samizdats and Czechoslovakia8217;s Charter 77, her blog, desdecuba.com/generaciony, lives on8230;

In order to blog, Sanchez has been sneaking into internet cafes in hotels reserved for foreigners. A typical visit involves quickly uploading her blog entries from a flash memory card to her website, which is linked to a server in Germany. Since only 200,000 Cubans 8212; out of a total of 11 million 8212; have access to the internet, it is unclear how many of her compatriots read her postings. But apparently many do. Apart from legal users, mostly government employees and researchers, there are countless clandestine internet links in homes around the country. The blog has become so popular inside and outside Cuba that it received 1.2 million visits in February alone. A measure of her popularity is how quickly the word spread that the government had blocked access to the blog last week8230;

It is ironic that the clampdown should have taken place precisely when Raul Castro is lifting restrictions on the sale of computers, DVD players and cell phones. After all, the brother of Fidel Castro has been encouraging Cubans to debate problems openly8230; What has probably unnerved the regime is not so much her attacks on the Castro brothers as her vivid description of daily life 8212; how Cubans register their cows as oxen to avoid having to sell the milk to the government, how people get paid in worthless Cuban pesos but have to obtain 8220;convertible pesos8221; on the black market in order to buy soap8230;

Where does this woman get her courage? A little anecdote from a recent entry in her blog perhaps contains a clue. Referring to her family8217;s Easter celebration, she regretted that there would be an empty chair because of a missing relative 8212; Adolfo Fernandez Sainz, one of the 75 independent journalists jailed by the Castro regime five years ago. And she expressed the hope that no one would deserve the phrase hurled at her by her young son when he learned of those detentions: 8220;So, you are still free because you are a bit cowardly.8221;

Excerpted from Alvaro Vargas Llosa8217;s 8216;Freedom blogger8217; in The New Republic, April 2