Fine Sand

By Yoani Sanchez

Finally we are beginning the planned journey of the bloggers. The shouts delivered at the police station, the constant agent we’ve had with us since last Thursday, and the prohibition on travel to Pinar del Río weren’t much use. We ended up finding the cracks between the fingers of the censors, between which the fine sand of information and knowledge has managed to slip through.

The start of this encounter, which none of the participants wanted to call an event, has happened quietly, without any fuss in the media or clandestine pretensions. In no way has it been similar to those congresses, conferences and symposia where a table is placed before a presidential backdrop. We haven’t stooped to creating one of those cardboard signs that lists the rules to be followed, nor do we wear credentials or special pins.

We managed to take the first step because “they” just waited for the challenge or the cancellation, but did not anticipate that in the blogger phenomenon there are a thousand ways to camouflage oneself. They used their old methods of coercion without realizing that nobody can put real reins on virtual creatures. By prohibiting the inaugural session, they’ve only managed to unveil how many possibilities there are to blur the itinerary without the need of moving from one province to another.

In a few days a website will be inaugurated to host the discussions that have been happening and to launch a blog contest for 2009. These tiny particles of cyberspace that are our blogs have already opened channels in the hands of the intransigents; particles so small that they haven’t even seen them pass.

Here is the press release drafted jointly by all the participants.

This was originally written and published in Spanish by Yoani Sanchez and translated and posted in her English version blog. Since the castro regime continues to curtail her internet access and continues to block access to her blog and other internet sites in and out of Cuba, we are posting Yoani's work in its entirety in solidarity and to help promote and distribute same.

Posted by Val Prieto at December 8, 2008 07:19 AM

Comments

Posted by: Henry Agueros at December 8, 2008 01:37 PM

Posted by: Memomachine at December 8, 2008 03:36 PM