Laritza Diversent, Translator: Raul G.
Yordanka uses the internet to look for friends and to find ways of
escaping the island. However, she believes the arrival of the fiberoptic
cable will not improve her possibility of freely accessing the web.
Laritza Diversent
"I don't think that the cable connection will improve internet access
for Cubans, and I also don't believe that it represents more freedom in
Cuba", assures Yordanka Rodriguez. The young 23 year old navigates the
web at midnight by using her house phone line and logging in through one
of the accounts belonging to a state institution. In the online world,
she tries to make new friends.
"In the internet I look for invitations or weddings. I want to live like
a person, without having to think that I'm going to get in trouble every
5 minutes. To live like that, I have to leave here," Rodriguez confesses.
In 1996, Cuba officially connected to the internet, and the government
declared that "access to information networks with global reach will be
selective and will be regulated". In 2000, the government established a
single access point to the international network in order to control the
connections of national users.
According to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC),
international software "raises the service costs and reduces reliability".
"I have to use proxy software to access certain pages, none of which are
made up of political content, because if that's the case then I will
seriously get myself in trouble," affirms Yordanka.
One of the constant worries of the government is that the information
found on the internet must be "worthy" and that all of the information
which is actually allowed be "in correspondence with ethical principles
and that it will not affect the interests or the security of the country".
In 2000, the government also regulated the access of entities onto the
internet as well, in order to avoid any compromise of official
information. From the very beginning, the government's policies have
been aimed at prioritizing only those "connections, lawful people, and
institutions of superior relevance for life and development of the country".
For more than a decade now, the directors of the State Central
Administration Agency (OACE) ask, by way of a letter to the Ministry,
authorization for certain workers to access the internet from their homes.
"Web access is solely for those who are politically committed to the
system and for those who have enough money to pay all the expenses
associated with it," the young woman says. In her own case, for the
monthly payment of 150 convertible pesos (CUC), the Internet
Administrator of a specific work center provides her with internet access.
"The account I use belongs to a business, which, in other words, is
something illegal. It is dial-up services, so I have to find ways that
they cannot find my telephone number," Yordanka explains.
The government also authorized the Telecommunications Company of Cuba
S.A (ETECSA) to use all the necessary technological means to impede
phone lines which operate with national non-convertible currency from
accessing navigation systems.
These measures intend to prevent password theft, "intentional
degradations, and fraudulent and unauthorized means of accessing this
service". This was not applied, however, to the authorized phone numbers
of the OACE chiefs, meaning that they can access the internet.
Despite the restrictions and the excessive control, the islanders view
the internet as a means of broadening their horizons — starting from
anything like leaving the country, to the promotion of certain services,
and or merchandise. "Internet offers Cubans a new life, and that's why
access to it will continue to be selective and tightly controlled",
concludes Yordanka.
Translated by Raul G.
April 30 2011
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