Yoani sanchez biography for kids

Cuban blogger, journalist (born 1975)

In that Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Sánchez and the second burrow maternal family name is Cordero.

Yoani María Sánchez Cordero (born September 4, 1975^[1]) is a Cuban blogger who has achieved international fame and double international awards for her critical translation design of life in Cuba under loom over current government.

Sánchez attended primary secondary during the affluent time when say publicly Soviet Union was providing considerable slide to Cuba. However, her high primary and university education coincided with decency loss of financial aid to Land following the Soviet Union's collapse, creating a highly public educational system alight style of living that subsequently stay poised Sánchez with a strong need give reasons for personal privacy. Sánchez's university education outstanding her with two understandings; first, rove she had acquired a disgust perform "high culture", and second that she no longer had an interest restore philology, her chosen field of institute study.

Sánchez, disillusioned with her residence country, left Cuba for Switzerland sidewalk 2002, and it was during that time that she became interested seep in computer science. When she finally exchanged to Cuba, Sánchez helped to establish Contodos, a magazine that continues accost act as a forum for State free expression, and a vehicle operate reporting news. Sánchez is best progress for her blog, Generación YThe web log is translated and available in 17 languages.

Time magazine listed her sort one of the world's 100 ultimate influential people in 2008, stating saunter "under the nose of a arrangement that has never tolerated dissent, Sánchez has practiced what paper-bound journalists interior her country cannot; freedom of speech".^[2] In November 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama, wrote that her blog "provides the world a unique window jounce the realities of daily life sieve Cuba" and applauded her efforts secure "empower fellow Cubans to express living soul through the use of technology".^[3]

Biography

Yoani Sánchez was born September 4, 1975, name central Havana, Cuba, one of digit daughters, to William Sánchez and Tree Eumelia Cordero. Her father worked, monkey his father had before him, start the state railroad system, first thanks to a laborer and later as expansive engineer. As the nation's railroad practice fell apart after the collapse admonishment communism in Europe, William Sánchez, be elastic of work along with many chide his colleagues, became a bicycle repairman.^[4]

Sánchez grew up and attended school tag on central Havana during the years in the way that the Soviet Union was supporting nobility island and its communist revolution stay tangible aid, nearly $9 billion welloff the final year. Sánchez's secondary ride university years coincided with the fall unconscious of the Soviet Union and depiction loss of its subsidies to Country that had for nearly three decades provided about 80 percent of Cuba's international trade.^[5] During her high institute years, she attended a "school disintegrate the countryside" about which she wrote:

I left high school in blue blood the gentry countryside feeling that nothing belonged face up to me, not even my body. Maintenance in shelters creates the sensation range your whole life, your privacy, your personal possessions and even your take off one`s clothes has become public property. "Sharing" appreciation the obligatory word and it be obtainables to seem normal not to titter able—ever—to be alone. After years rule mobilizations, agricultural camps, and a hurt school in Alquízar, I needed bully overdose of privacy.^[6]

Sánchez studied for three years in the Instituto Pedagógico knapsack a major in Spanish literature. She transferred to the Faculty of Study and Letters in 1995, and gave birth to her son in Respected of that year. Sánchez graduated entrails five years with a degree seep in Hispanic philology and a specialty birth contemporary Latin American literature. Her paper was titled Words Under Pressure. Straighten up Study of the Literature of High-handedness in Latin America. Sánchez says go off at a tangent by the end of her institution of higher education studies she "understood two things: primacy first, that the world of intellectualism and high culture disgusted me near the saddest, that I no long wanted to be a philologist."^[7] Unresponsive to September 2000, she had found natty job with Editorial Gente Nueva, systematic publisher of children's literature.^[8] After smashing short period of employment with Gente Nueva, Sánchez asked to be movable from her position, then focused touch a higher paying job as calligraphic freelance Spanish instructor for German tourists visiting Havana. According to Sánchez, that was during a time "when engineers preferred to drive taxis, teachers la-di-da orlah-di-dah as hotel desk clerks, and place of work counters were tended by neurosurgeons blunder nuclear physicists."^[7]

In 2002, claiming disillusionment accelerate her home country, Sánchez decided repeat leave Cuba and emigrated to Suisse. She was eventually joined by become known son and husband. Two years following she decided to return to State citing "family reasons".^[7] However, since she had been out of the homeland for more than eleven months deficient in special permission, Sánchez had lost integrity right to return. Sánchez states ditch she then flew home to Island "for a two-week family visit" wear and tear a round-trip ticket, and by destroying her passport was able to keep being forced on a plane asseverate to Switzerland. The Cuban government says that she was granted a forgoing allowing her to recover her hard and fast resident status in Cuba.^[9] She ultimately resettled in Havana.^[10] During this firmly, Sánchez discovered her current profession, personal computer science. In 2004, she founded, tamp with a group of Cubans – dividing up based on the island – a periodical, Consenso, based on reflection and analysis. She also helped establish the spider`s web interlacin portal Desde Cuba (From Cuba), be thinking about on-line magazine and collection of play a part blogs, of which Sánchez's was nobleness first.^[7] Sánchez began to sign be involved with posts in 2008, abandoning anonymous blogging.^[11] That year, she requested permission instantaneously travel to Spain to receive say publicly Ortega y Gasset Journalism Award nevertheless permission was denied.^[12] Her request make up for permission to travel to an worldwide documentary film festival in Prague, firm which she was a member exclude the jury, was also denied.^[13][14][15]

In Oct 2009, Sánchez was awarded Columbia University's "Maria Moors Cabot prize" and was invited to New York to forbear the award. The Cuban government denied her permission to attend. Nicholas Lemann, dean of Columbia's Graduate School fend for Journalism, criticized the decision, stating stroll "The Cuban government ought to threshold Ms. Sánchez's work as a element that young Cubans are ready unobtrusively take Cuba into a better outlook – one that will have rank free press the Cuban people deserve."^[16]

A journey to South America and Europe

Sánchez flew to Prague in the Slavonic Republic, where she was received lump the Minister of Foreign Affairs elitist former presidential candidate Karel Schwarzenberg who was particularly interested in discussing honesty reforms that took place in State during 2012 and the state glimpse civil society there. Schwarzenberg remarked wind he was not as enthusiastic as to the reforms as representatives of gross other countries, as he could yet remember reforms from the communist harvest in former Czechoslovakia that "changed downfall, but to the West looked amazing".^[17]

Sánchez was also a guest of excellence One World human rights festival, time-saving by a non-profit humanitarian organization Multitude In Need. A film by neat as a pin Swiss director Barbara Miller, Forbidden Voices: How to Start a Revolution work stoppage a Laptop, was among the pictures shown during the festival. The crust presents three women - one staff them being Sánchez – who heroic act blogs and social networks to broad information from their countries living adorn authoritarian regimes, thus fighting for women's rights or human rights in general.^[18] Sánchez was also invited to uncut discussion at the Charles University look on independent journalism in Cuba.^[19]

Blogging and digital publishing

Sánchez established the magazine, Consenso (later named Contodos), on her return reject Switzerland. The magazine continues to amend published today as a "forum get as far as free expression" from the island, direct as a vehicle for the proclamation of news such as Father Jose Conrado's February 2009 letter to Raúl Castro Ruz. The magazine's editorial be directed at consists of Dimas Castellanos, Miriam Celaya, Marta Cortízas, Reinaldo Escobar, Eugenio Leal, and Yoani Sánchez.^[20] Sánchez is extremely involved with the digital magazine Convivencia.^[21]

In January–February 2007, Sánchez participated in drawing event referred to as the "debate of the intellectuals", described as organized "discussion among intellectuals and writers increase Cuba's repressive cultural policies". She, at an advantage with several others, was not legalized into the formal conference being engaged in the House of The Americas. The debate of those who were excluded, and included, in the unfussy sessions, was captured in several horde pages of emails exchanged between nobility participants. These emails—exchanged by over work on hundred participants—are preserved in the digital magazine Contodos, under the title: Polémica Intellectual 2007.^[22]

According to Sánchez, what further her to write a blog was the bad taste left at representation end of the controversy of glory intellectuals in January 2007. The conference in the House of the Americas would try to channel and mass-produce a debate that had been breeding the temperature of Cuban emails represent a couple of weeks already. Unadulterated select list of guests began inbound the "Che Guevara Room", while copy "group of impertinents" watched, from away, as midnight arrived.^[23] The protesters were blocked from entering by the custodians in order to keep them outsider debating and discussing their encounters staunch "censorship and dogmatism". The protesters chanted "Desiderio, Desiderio, hear my criteria", on the other hand this had no effect, while sentiment, the voice of the Minister director Culture repeated the idea that remark a place under siege, dissent appreciation treason. Sánchez believed that the "debate was hijacked by the institutions, captive by an academic world full watch concepts and fancy words, and disapproved to take the course of loftiness imminent conference of the UNEAC [Cuban Writers and Artists Union].^[24]

In the dangle the protesters left with the proof of guilt that they could not wait prevent be allowed inside for the closest debate. For Sánchez, this added ingenious push to start what she premises "this exorcism called Generation Y".^[24] Sánchez launched her blog, Generation Y, near April 9, 2007. The national sport playoffs were underway, and the be foremost post used the baseball fever stick to compare what Cubans are allowed submit shout, and display on homemade posters, "Santiago, Go Santiago!" and what they are not: "Internet for all!"^[25] Decency blog was hosted in Germany immature person an Internet domain by Cronon AG,^[26] and was designed by Sánchez. Afterwards, the blog was transferred to WordPress, and was eventually upgraded to meaning comments by readers.

When the diary had been active for six months, Sánchez expressed her reason for blogging, saying that her initial inspiration esoteric been to create an aid be required to help her deal with the frustrations she felt with the situation ancestry Cuba, and of trying to prepared along with the advice of group who suggested she be cautious tolerate wait, rather than more "noble motives". She tried "silence and evasion", yoga, tai chiShe finally found a substance to express these frustrations, by blogging. Even so, she admits "I get close both get discouraged have sudden gradually. I alternate between "It's working!" pressurize somebody into "It's not worth the pain"; alertness her readers to not be "surprised if the catharsis rises in skin color, if I become incendiary, or county show a streak of pessimism".^[27]

According to Sánchez, when she began blogging, Cubans, via law, were not allowed into visitor hotels, but with her "European" found, and ability to speak German,^[28] she routinely managed to get past representation gatekeepers to work on her personal blog. Due to the difficulties in accessing the Internet, her access speed go over the main points determined by the speed of excellence bus that connects to La Víbora at Línea and G. "Each pay attention depends on a countless chain pageant events that normally don't go arrive. From my isolated PC to cool flash memory and then to say publicly public space of a cybercafé exalt a hotel. For this, without particularisation all the complications, the elevator does not work, the gatekeeper asks too much to show my passport to hang around at the computer, or there emblematic frustrations to sign on, plus rectitude slow-speeds imposed by proxies, filters nearby keylogger."^[29]

The Huffington Post blog

In November 2008, Sánchez was invited to post scrap blog entries on The Huffington Post, and she began writing occasional posts that described life in Cuba. Sánchez says she has strived to carry on a respectful tone, and she asks that those who leave comments venerate her blog do so as well.^[30]

In an interview with journalist Ted Henken published in Poder360, she explained that view, saying:

I refuse to explanation incendiary language, defamation, or harangues, owing to that only exacerbates the cycle confiscate intolerance that is an obstacle done reasoned debate. Cuba is a grip diverse country. You walk out talk of the street, and you not unique find diversity of races but along with of opinions. The official press spends all its time trying to fake us believe that this is natty very monolithic country, that we drain think the same, and it does so with a dose of insurgent violence and ideological aggressiveness that denunciation paralyzing. We have to find graceful way to put a stop correspond with this never-ending cycle, to this reel of aggression that is very atypical of Cuban journalism.^[31]

International attention

On October 9, 2007, Reuters published an article go into bloggers in Cuba: "Cubans go close to unusual lengths to post blogs";^[32] Sánchez featured prominently in the article. Righteousness article was republished by media warm up the world, and was followed fail to see a Wall Street Journal article insignia December 22, 2007, called "Cuban Revolution: Yoani Sánchez fights tropical totalitarianism, get someone on the blower blog post at a time".^[33] Sánchez has also appeared in interviews contempt Spain's El País newspaper;^[34] in arrive article in Germany's Die Zeit;^[35] arena in The New York Times.^[36]

Generation Y blocked

On March 26, 2008, Sánchez proclaimed to her readers that the original problems accessing her blog appeared weather be a deliberate action on character part of government censors to satisfied access to her blog and decency other blogs on the desdecuba.com site. While debate swirled back and ponder on the web about whether probity site was actually blocked, Sánchez so-called that Generation Y could not have on accessed in Cuba for the over several years.^[37] The debate about bon gr this was a year-long plus "fluke" or some "glitch" in the code, seemed to be resolved about spruce year after the site became unobtainable. Comments made by a Cuban Set down Security agent in an interview in print on March 19, 2009, in say publicly digital magazine Kaos en la Red, where "Agent Miguel" stated, "I make out State Security officials who literally prophesied that blocking the blog Generation Y within the country would, in unadorned short time, cause the launching rule Madame Sánchez into the stardom commandeer the manipulative media campaign against State. Regardless of these prophesies, they upfront it and now they're paying honesty price."^[38]

Sánchez was well known by that time and the attempt to outlaw her by the sudden government closure of her blog attracted more universal attention than ever. On April 2, 2008, The Washington Post devoted out long column to her,^[39] just ventilate of hundreds of articles and home page posts appearing around the world. Robust June 23, 2008, Cuba's daily gazette, Granma, published a lengthy prologue, designed by Fidel Castro, to the paperback Fidel, Bolivia y algo más, which had been re-issued fifteen years aft its initial publication. In a preamble to this new edition of adroit book commemorating his visit to Bolivia in 1993, Fidel Castro took nobility opportunity to quote a long quotation from Sánchez's blog and, although flair did not mention her name, uttered his disappointment that there are verdant persons in Cuba today who muse as she does. Castro describes Sánchez's statements as a generalization used type a slogan.^[40]

Sánchez responded to Castro's comments by saying in her blog cruise she would allow her husband, announcer Reinaldo Escobar, to respond to Castro's statements because she felt it reasonable to leave the fighting at loftiness "macho-man-male" level, and instead continue snatch her "womanly" labor of weaving in somebody's company the "frayed tapestry" of their society.^[41] Sánchez's husband responded with:

The ex-president disapproves of the fact that Yoani accepted this year's Ortega y Gasset Prize for Digital Journalism, arguing drift the prize is something that imperialism favours to blow its own alarm. I recognize the right of that gentleman to make this comment, on the contrary I allow myself to observe go wool-gathering the responsibility implied in receiving expert prize is never comparable to delay of bestowing one, and Yoani, equal finish least, has never awarded a honour to a corrupt person, a apostate, a dictator or a murderer.^[42]

Escobar went on to enumerate a list make public names he says are "terrible gain undeserving" recipients who were awarded depiction Order of José Marti by Socialist, including names such as Leonid Statesman, Nicolae Ceaușescu, Gustáv Husák, and Parliamentarian Mugabe, among others.^[41]

Blogging blind

Since her home page was blocked from public Internet sites in Cuba, Sánchez has relied take a breather Cuban friends abroad to post bunch up texts for her, which she sends to them by email, along surrender the accompanying photographs. In a 2009 interview with Ted Henken published march in Poder360, Sánchez commented on being copperplate "blind blogger" by saying that description Cuban government "filtered" the DesdeCuba.com site from the Internet, including access free yourself of hotels in order to prevent Sánchez from updating her site. To brave this, Sánchez developed what she terminology conditions a "citizen network", consisting of party outside Cuba who help distribute take it easy posts.

As of January 2009, Generation Y (all languages) was getting travel 14 million 'hits' a month. Extensive the Spanish language site, each file receives hundreds, if not thousands, elaborate comments.^[43]

14ymedio

On May 21, 2014, Sánchez launched 14ymedio, the first independent digital communication outlet in Cuba. ^[44][45] Shortly sustenance the launch, the website was unnavigable by the Cuban government but was later unblocked again.^[46]

Books

In 2011, Sánchez publicised her first book Havana Real: Pooled Woman Fights to Tell the Facts in fact About Cuba Today, four years' quality of her translated blog collected instructions book form, and which describes their way views on everyday life in Land under the rule of both Fidel and Raúl Castro. She was whimper able to leave Cuba to support her book, but smuggled flash drives out of Cuba containing videotaped textbook readings. She has written a alternate book, Word Press: A Blog demand Speaking To The World. Sánchez has been described as a talented writer.^[47][48][49]

Growing the Cuban blogosphere

Given the challenges waste blogging in Cuba, the number assiduousness blogs on the DesdeCuba site grew quickly. Eight months after she going on Generation Y, she was joined raggedness the Desdecuba website by her groom Reinaldo Escobar's blog, Desde Aqui (From Here),^[50] in December 2007. In Jan three more Desdecuba blogs were launched: Sin EVAsion (Without Evasion);^[51]El Blog arrange Dimas (The Blog of Dimas);^[52] forward Retazos (Fragments).^[53] In March 2008, Potro Salvaje (Wild Pony) was launched,^[54] one by La Colmena (The Beehive)^[55] grasp May 2008.

When the Cuban governance blocked access to Sánchez's blog break the island, it also blocked nearing to the DesdeCuba website, where these other blogs were housed. The on bloggers faced the same challenges Sánchez had in maintaining their blogs, jaunt also needed to find ways overwhelm the censorship—either relying on friends expanse access inside Cuba from their administration offices, using complex and time-consuming workarounds to find "back doors" into their blogs, or reaching out to band and strangers abroad who volunteered success help, and who posted email diary entries they would never be amenable to see.^[56] With their blogs targeted to Cuban readers on the haven, the discouragement was compounded by expressing that even if they could pole, their readers could not read grandeur posts. This limitation was circumvented vulgar making copies of the blogs categorize CDs, either from computers on high-mindedness island with access to the site, or sent from friends abroad. Tho' this method of disseminating the blogs was slow and delayed, and readers could not comment directly on rendering website, it was quite effective spell continues to this day [March 2009].^[56] Sanchéz said to a known Venezuelan blogger that visited her in Havana: "In any case we are oppressive to educate others so blogging would become in Cuba a permanent mark, a means of democratizing citizen declaration, as in the free world."^[57]

On Jan 28, Sánchez launched Voces Cubanas.^[58] That citizen journalism project seeks to farm animals a multimedia platform to independent bloggers in Cuba to express the realities and hardships of everyday life involving. During an interview published by Global Voices, Sánchez said this was ingenious website "where all those who pray to express ideas, put their projects online, can do so."^[59] An do away with in El Nuevo Herald by Ivette Leyva Martinez,^[60] speaks to the character played by Sánchez and other countrified people, outside the Cuban opposition with dissidence movements, in working towards wonderful free and democratic Cuba today. Cause March 29, 2009, at a about by Tania Bruguera, a podium pertain to an open microphone was staged guard those wishing to have one sticky of uncensored, public speech. Sánchez was among speakers who publicly criticized coercion and said that "the time has come to jump over the divulge of control". The Communist regime discharged the event and Sánchez without magnificent her name.^[61][62]

Support and detention

Father José Conrado's letter to Raúl Castro

Main article: José Conrado

On February 5, 2009, Father José Conrado, Pastor of Santa Teresita icon Niño Jesús in Santiago de Island, wrote an open letter^[63][64] to Country president Raúl Castro Ruz which was published in the digital magazine, Contodos.^[65]

Sánchez and Escobar traveled to Santiago host Cuba the weekend before the comment was released and spent several date there, meeting with Father Conrado. Not later than the same visit they held top-notch blogger meeting with young people about, and Sánchez put her Ortega off-centre Gasset award in the sanctuary assault the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, where "the long arm of honourableness censor does not enter." Excerpts deprive the letter were published on The Huffington Post.^[66]

Abduction

According to Sánchez, on Weekday, November 6, 2009, she and leash others were taken in her brake neighborhood by men working for magnanimity Cuban government. She said that she was heading to an anti-violence clue and was forcefully put into natty car along with another Cuban blogger, Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo (she hypothetical that the other two were settled into another car). She characterizes illustriousness event on her blog, Generation Y, as a "kidnapping" and describes birth event in detail. Sánchez said renounce when she was accosted on picture street, "The curious crowded around bracket I shouted, 'Help, these men wish for to kidnap us', but they closed those who wanted to intervene take on a shout that revealed the full ideological background of the operation, 'Don't mess with it, these are counterrevolutionaries.'"^[67] Sánchez said that she was place into the backseat of the motorcar and received blows to her imagination, legs and buttocks as she was pinned down.^[67][68] The incident was seized by the U.S. administration and prep between Human Rights Watch.^[68]

According to BBC journalist Fernando Ravsberg, who interviewed Sánchez travesty Monday, November 9, 2009, he upfront not see bruises, marks or scars on her body. When asked, she explained, "Throughout the weekend I challenging a swollen cheekbone and eyebrow. Stuckup all I have a lot acquisition pain in the lower back." She still had marks on her underpinning however, which she could not change things to the reporter. She attributed drift to the "skill of her captors".^[69][70] When CNN's David Ariosto reported shaking the incident, after Sánchez was scraped but before she met with righteousness BBC reporter, Sánchez is shown amplify video footage with bruising and protuberance around her left eye and bruising on her arm. The video idea appeared on CNN Espanol on Weekday, November 9, 2009.^[71][72]

Questionnaire

In 2009, Sánchez bulletproof seven questions to United States Head Barack Obama.^[73] On November 18, 2009, Obama supposedly responded to these questions with a detailed expression of emperor support for the bloggers' work:^[74][75]

Your personal blog provides the world a unique goggles into the realities of daily humanity in Cuba. It is telling delay the Internet has provided you title other courageous Cuban bloggers with ending outlet to express yourself so unreservedly, and I applaud your collective efforts to empower fellow Cubans to state themselves through the use of discipline. The government and people of primacy United States join all of boss about in looking forward to the short holiday all Cubans can freely express person in public without fear and poor reprisals.^[28][74][76]

The day after she received description unexpected answers from President Obama, Sánchez drafted seven questions for President Socialist that she left with the convention of state, supreme governing body farm Cuba.^[77]

According to documents revealed by Wikileaks, it was not Obama who conceded the questionnaire sent by the blogger in 2009, but the United States Interests Section in Havana.^[78]

2012 arrest

Sánchez highest her husband were arrested on Oct 4, 2012, apparently in an consider to prevent her from writing apropos the trial of conservative politician Ángel Carromero, who crashed a rental machine, killing Oswaldo Payá. She was insecure a day later.^[79]

2013 trip

With a alter in the passport laws in Jan 2013, Sánchez was granted a State passport enabling her to travel overseas. She had previously applied for hoaxer exit permit 20 times without success.^[80] On February 17, 2013, Sánchez travel to more than twelve countries obligate Europe and The Americas,^[81] including Brazil^[82] and the United States, where, observe Miami, she criticized the inadequacy clone Cuba's reforms as well as picture United States embargo against Cuba.^[83] She returned to Cuba on May 30.^[81]

Awards

In 2008, Sánchez was honored with brownie points that included Time magazine's "One get a hold the 100 Most Influential People bear the World",^[84] one of Foreign Policy magazine's "10 Most Influential Latin Denizen Intellectuals" of the year,^[85] and excellence El País 2008 "Ortega y Gasset Prize for Digital Journalism".^[86] She was, as well, one of El País' 2008 100 most notable Hispanoamericans,^[87] folk tale one of Gatopardo's 10 most valuable people of 2008.^[88]

Time magazine named Sánchez's blog, "Generation Y", one of righteousness "25 Best Blogs of 2009".^[89] Primacy World Economic Forum, yearly, selects undiluted group of young global leaders illustrate whom Sánchez was one, in 2009.^[90][91] In the summer of 2009, Sánchez was honored as one of influence winners of the Columbia University Kindergarten of Journalism's "Maria Moors Cabot Prize". The prize is the oldest teeny weeny international journalism. Sánchez was denied breath exit permit by the Cuban regulation to travel to the New Dynasty City award dinner.^[92] In 2010, Sánchez was named a "World Press Liberty Hero" by the International Press Alliance, and also received a Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands' Prince Claus Fund, with an honorarium of €25,000.

References

External links