Breaking the Censorship

Breaking the Censorship / Angel Santiesteban
Posted on March 6, 2015

Angel Santiesteban Prats,Jaimanitas Border Patrol Prison, Havana, 12
February 2015 — Today February 12, 2015, precisely the day of opening of
the Havana International Book Fair, various officials have come to me
noting one of the recent complaints concerning the slavery of the
prisoners in Cuba, their cheap labor, and the inhumane conditions with
which they work twelve to fourteen hours a day, including the weekends
or public holidays or non-working days.

To make matters worse, they work with boots and torn and patched
clothes, which they cannot even buy with their minimal, token salary —
which sometimes doesn't arrive on time — and they have to wait until the
following month to cash it. Prisoners, like almost always, are fearful
for reprisals when the inspection officers depart, since they hinted to
them of the deprived circumstances in which they survive their sentence.

I am pleased that, somehow, the blog fulfills the role for which it was
created, which is nothing more than make justice prevail for the
destitute, the fearful, or those who are unaware of the way in which
their voices influence society.

My generation, the vast majority, got tired of receiving the topics
about which we should write, when the repressive government sends them
through cultural officials.

The truth is that somehow they will give you new boots and adequate
clothing. They will not send them to work sick or beaten. Nor, or at
least I suppose, while I am nearby, will they allow them to work well
beyond the established hours. And they noted down in their agendas the
type of job they perform and the fair payment that should receive, since
the officials confirmed that prisoners are being swindled by their
employers.

We know that, unfortunately, a large part of Cubans do not have access
to the Internet, but apparently the government is paying attention to a
part of my complaints. I'm happy for them, but they do it only to
conceal them, we hope they will be eradicating them.

Translated by: Hombre de Paz

4 March 2015

Source: Breaking the Censorship / Angel Santiesteban | Translating Cuba
- http://translatingcuba.com/breaking-the-censorship-angel-santiesteban/