Forbidden Voices

FORBIDDEN vo1cES Travels to the frontiers of expression

I d e to speak when Words can be dangerous. Words can be fatal. Why d o some peop e or . . . t h1s. means ns· k"mg t h eir· 1·1ves? Journa 1·1sts Jan z a hi an d F"inn y ago· met six artists in their cities of refuge and then visited their home countries in a n attempt to underStand why DE some people dare to speak.

The journalists from Stavanger Aftenblad explore the frontlin es of freedom of expression and examine the conditions under which these artists have lived in Cuba, Bangladesh, Turkey, Iran, Palestin e and Sri Lanka. This is also a book about the exile experience and six fates in the cities of refuge: Reykjavik, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Paris, Bergen, and Ithaca.

"I know that today many writers and artists have to leave their country, live in exile. I would tell those people that - yes, it is difficult, but do not despair. We should not despair, but quietly continue our work. Words are not useless. Literature hos a great power. We must believe in it."

SVETLANA ALEKSIJEVITSJ, NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATE 2015, AND ICORN WRITER~N-RESIDENCE JN GOTHENBURG CITY OF REFUGE 2006-2008

p Pelikanen.no PHOTOS: FINN E. VAGA . JACKET DESIGN: STEN E. MOE t:rJ ICORN

INTERNATIONAL CITIES OF REFUGE NETWOAK Forbidden Voices ICORN is on independent international organi sation of cities and regions, offering safe havens for persecuted writers and artists; advancing freedom of expression, defending democratic values and promoting international solidarity.

More than 70 cities around the globe offer a sole space where writers and artists at risk con live and work freely through the ICORN network. Since its foundation in 2006, ICORN member cities hove hosted more than 200 persecuted writers and artists. They are creative writers, non-fiction writers, journal ists, bloggers, musicians, visual artists, cartoonists, editors, translators and publishers. FORBIDDEN VOICES FOREWORD

Free speech is under pressure. Not so long ago, many of us believed The stories these people tell are almost inconceivably powerful it was only a matter of time before freedom of expression, human and dramatic. They are also a useful reminder to those of us living rights and liberal democracy would be the norm throughout the in safe Western democracies with top rankings in all the indices of world. lnstead, we are witnessing the emergence of ever•stronger democracy and freedom of expression: these rights are not a given authoritarian forces, political leaders and regimes, which do not and they are not eternal, but something we must all fight for. Unlike see the value of criticism, opposition and the separation of powers, us, though, living our safe, free lives, and able to make speeches scorn facts and attack the free press. These authoritarian forces are about free expression at no risk to ourselves, these people have first• growing and advancing; liberal values are under attack. hand experience of what it means to be forbidden from saying what This book is about the people wbo refuse to be gagged. The people you think out loud. who say what they think out loud - even if their words expose them This series of articles was printed in Stavanger Aftenblad, which to the risk of persecution, imprisonment and even murder. we wish to thank for its generosity in helping make this global Berween May 2016 and May 2019, we visited six people who were in-depth journalistic project a reality. Our thanks also to Fritt Ord, forced to flee their homeland because they spoke freely. Each of which provided funding for both travel costs and the English trans the six has found a safe haven in a city of refuge - Reykjavik, Ber lations of the texts. We thank Stavanger municipality, which helped C> 2019 Pelllu1nen AS. St1van1eor www.~hkanen .no gen, Gothenburg, Ithaca (NY), Paris and Frankfurt - organized by make it possible for the articles to become a book.. And we thank Covtr dei11n: Sten MOI.' the International Cities of Refuge Nerwork (!CORN). They told us the ICORN organization in Stavanger for the considerable practical Covtr pho10: Finn E. Vi11 Book design ,nd lay-ouL Yngvt Knausgird their own dramatic stories up until the time they were forced to flee assistance and support it offered. Prmtms: GPS Croup, Sloveni, - and about life in exile, which is no bed of roses either. But above all, our thanks go to all the people we met on these Editor; Emk Bo ISBN 97&-82-8383-o66-8 After that, we travelled to the places the six had to leave: Cuba, journeys, to all the people who shared their stories with us - despite Bangladesh, Gaza, Sri Lanka, Iran and Turkey. There we met the the risk.. Thanks to all of you who spoke freely. This publ1at,on has r«e1ved support from s~vanaer !Commune, Friu Ord, ones who were left behind, friends and family. But we also met Stavanger Aftenblad 01 ICOR:N strong voices who either will not or cannot go into exile: people Stavanger, 01.09. 2or9 who believe, on the contrary, that they should remain in their Jan Zahl og Finn E. Vaga homeland and continue to speak out - even if that places them in ~, constant danger. STAVANGER KOMMUNE FRITT ORD $tavanger Aftenblad ICORN CUBA REYK AVIK TH E IS LAN D- H O PP E R FRO M HAVANA

When young scientist Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo was called into his man ager's office one day and fired without warning, any plans he had for the future were swiftly crushed. Orlando had criticised Fidel Castro's Cuba. It was an act that could not be allowed to pass unpunished.

Jan Zahl journalist I Finn E. Vaga photographer

"Perhaps he'd been at La Cabana prison that morrung? Che liked to "I see 'The Beauty of Death.' I see the face of a man who took be present on the nights that his rivals were shot, he pulled the trig the lives of indi\riduals in order to try to create a new commun1t). ger on many of them hunself, he even invited guests to executions Perhaps that's what you have to do. I don't know." from time to time. He wanted to see \vhether his adversanes in the revolution died like men or penshed Wee cowards. Perhaps that's NO PARADISE ISLAND what he's thinking about, · Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo tells us. Cuba was not a socialist paradise for Orlando. While most Cubans, Everyone has seen Alberto Kordas photograph of the 31-year often poor, frustrated and hungry, have chosen to lie low and keep old hero of the revolution, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, taken on the their mouths shut -dreaming of emigrating, making it to Miami, n1orn1ng of the 5th \ttarch 1960 in Havana, Cuba. E\1eryone has perhaps - blogger, author and photographer Orlando spoke out considered his expression. As with the Mona L1sa's smile, man) about the problematic aspects of Life 1n Cuba. That is v,hy he no have \vondered v.•hat lurks behmd the iconic face What thoughts longer lives on the tropical island, but instead on the \Vind-swept, are runnmg through Che's mind beneath his black beret and the Arctic landmass situated just beneath the polar circle: Iceland. gold star on his forehead? Is he thinking about The Revolution? "Perhaps I was always meant to end up here, so far a\vay from the The People. the Soaalist Paradise 1n which nobody should '\Vant island I gre\V up on. I've moved from one island to another. And I'm for anything, the great fello\vship \Vhere ever)rone can find happi an island myself, an island here m Iceland, JUSt as I was \vhen I \\.> as ness? back rn Cuba," Orlando says. It remains a mystef) to all, including Orlando. Many a roman His beard has started to turn grey, but his long, curly hair nc revolutionary srudent, sofa d\•,elling radical. or left)• European remains dark and wild. He has next to no possessions; the book or c1t1zen of any other countr)'. for that matter, has hung a picture shelves in his sparsely furrushed home are almost bare, and the of Che on their \Vall, look111g up to him as a hero of the libera same can be said for the fridge. l lis only belongings are a laptop uon Cuban Orlando has somewhat different associations w1th the computer, a few 1ten1s of clothing and a fold-up chess board pur \VOrld's most famous portrait photograph, a picture that the pho chased in Iceland. tographer lumself atled 'Guernllcro Hero1co' - 'Heroic Guerilla We v1sit rune months after Orlando was first welcon1ed ro Rey Fighter'. kja\1ik. Spring has finally arrived in Norwa)', but late ,vintcr liI1gers

9 CLaA , alTI.J.f.WI~ ORLANDO LU IS PARDO

in Jcdand The rolling h1II> •rr -i,tcklcd wnh p.ichcs of Sl10" md mo . and pcppcnng the Land>apc arr dad. ruw-colourtd dump,, , ha Above u,, • blanket of Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo (b. 1971) of gr.w remmJJCcnt of Don,ld Trump• ir. , grty cluud, hnger1 low m tlu: ky The liCC11t of rottr.'ll • fills the Award-winning Cuban author, blogger and photographer, originally qualified as a biochemist. Jir, Sulphur Over the mu,-., of the followm~ days, the tcmpmnurc IJ lort=t Arrested on nu merous occasions for exp ressing criticism about the to n,ach a hog), of s' C ,n RrykpvtlL In H,vm.i, 11 ...,n be •c Cuban regime.

"The wrathtr 1m·1 an IJ>UC ,.hen you li,i: Ill theory Plus. I W\'I: Left Cuba in 2013 and became a Cities of Refuge writer in Rekjavik in 1h1· hght hw The d.irl.ncss, tilCJ It rmght be drr,= for some 2015. f'<'"PI< when II get, a d.

J dJy Chess has been a passion fo r Orlando ever since his f.lther taught hi m to pl ay - and I doo,., like to frel tuo lull I Ii= t leamrd the bngu.a JU>t a also taught him about the ft·w wwJ I'm nut onr filf tdnUJon. I don t to bm or panic>. I ,penJ nw I of my t1n1r v.-n I Jo m 11-ntmg from home at FROM OBEDIENCE TO CRITICISM night, hut d1111ni; the JJJ I ~ tin I cafc to ,.'Ol'k. he eh= O rlando was not a defi ant young man and he was no political 10 hvr hk, J hmmt Ln m m I dand .. m, chmct, to complete mi oppositionist. As a stu dent at the University of Havana, he gave ltr t anJ pn,bJbl) I• no, I no thought to the fact that he could or should dem onstrate against Wht n you fir. t c11mr htTt' ur goal "' to fall m the regime. Quite the contrary, in fact: the only demonstrations low w11 h I rl,nJ I Ja !hat happcncd" he participated in were those that the authori ties demanded stu I w••m le"< "1L11 lcebnd and bcfon, I ni:n amved dents atteryd . I'vc had • ,pt·UJI rdJth •n hop v.1th du, pLacc = duldhood " J complied with the dem ands, just like everyone else. If the US had done som ething that Cuba chd,n't like, wed receive our orders CHESS WITH BOBBY to turn up and demonstrate, to shout 'Down with the US!' and 'Viva OrlJnJo \\ ,h horn in JiJ~I .1nd r m Lav.'tOn. tU\"'Zn3 TY.dvc: revolutio n! ', and we always did what we were told." yc a1> had P·'"'·J >111tt Fodd luJ 1op;,ltJ Fu! B.111>1a Wen- the seed,, of Orllndo's sub equenr oppos1ao n sown here a strike in the cold war between east and west, communism ver Orlando trained as a molecular biochemist and started work at a w11h th< hr lp of Ju brother Raw and Che, Gun-ara. among orhen O\er the che::i. boan:i~ sus capitalism, the Soviet Union versus the United States. No chess research institute in 1994, where he connibuted towards the devel 11.ttost.t h,,d bcrn a US ba,krd dt

system. He had set a course for his life. Like a bolt from the blue, The home of Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo was once a pearl. The city is now affected by many years of decline. his entire future crumbled before him. Out of nowhere, everything

changed. . . . . done totalitarian society in a manner reminiscent of George Orwell's "I knew that I had broken th e rules, but I d,dn t think I d 1984. He was informed by his publisher quite unexpectedly that they anythmg serious enough to get me thrown out, and I certainly would not be publishing his work after all. When it was eventually didn't unagme that everyone would rum their backs on me the way published, it was by another publisher, and after a short while the 1 they d,d. I wasn 't a dissident, I ;ust 100k an analytical approach, book was banned in Cuba, despite having won the Czech-financed thought for myself, I asked quesnons. I thought that in a scienafic Franz Kafka Prize in 2009 in the country. serang, among well-informed people, there would be enough cna "By that time, I'd published several books. I enjoyed a certain cal mass ro allow for free dtscuss,on " degree of prestige, I'd become visible. I was an active blogger, but I To take one example: every now and then, colleagues travelling didn't think that anyone in Cuba had been reading what I was writ overseas on work rnps would c!,sappear and subscquendy seek asy ing. But the Cuban federal agency had been - quite thoroughly, as it lum in coun1ries outside of Cuba Wbenc,.n this happened, the happened." rest of the scienufic staff withm the department were called Ill by And so the same thing happened that had first occurred nine management and made to rake part ,n a collecovc smcarmg of the years earlier: Orlando became isolated. His publisher wanted noth 1ra1torous souls who had betrayed the revoluaon, their country and ing more to do with him, most of his friends turned their backs on most likely also their field of srudy him, with even those who he knew sympathised with his point of "It d1dn'1 stnke me as tha1 much of a big deal tf the odd person view failing to come out in support of him. left, and I said that." "I was let down by those around me all over again. People were "It sound) tnv1al ." scared. I was labelled a dissident by the state. I was a virus. I had to "Yes. Bui we were required to demonstrate our loyalty to the State be quarantined. It would have been dangerous, contagious, to be every day, and when I failed to do that, I was idenafied as ·no id6- around me. Once again, I had believed that there were enough of neo·, 'not 10 be truSled' In Lgh1 of that fact. I couldn"t be allowed us that we could stand behind our criticism and effect change. But to work wuh vacones I thought 1 could beat the System, but the the police and the system as a whole prevailed. The threats made System beat me." people hold their tongues." 'We weren't actually all that concerned with political themes. DISSIDENT? FROM SCIENTIST TO AUTHOR We viewed ourselves as a ghetto of sorts, like textual guerrillas with This was precisely what Orlando did. Like headstrong teenagers, he HELD BY THE POLICE So. wha1 became of the unemplo)·ed biochemist who found hunself a longmg to wnte on all manner of themes. We might, for instance, and Generation Zero wrote, printed and distributed their writing or And now an example was to be made of him. Other headstrong unexpec1edly excluded from a career in science? He began to wnte. d,scuss the reasons why there are novels featuring the strong man - published the group's work online, in spite of the severely restricted individuals were going to see what might happen to them if they But ;ust as importantly, he tned to keep a low profile m order to the d,crator - in every other south American country but Cuba. Or access to the internet in Cuba. They were no angels, but neither weren't careful. Orlando was detained by the police for interview. avoid sanctions. we might want to write about the body, the psyche, sex, ethnicity, were they devils, according to Orlando. They were well aware that On the first occasion he spoke as he d,d with us in his apartment "I beca me an author. I published four books between 2001 and we might want to use literature 10 get close to the real world; to use they were challenging the system, breaking the rules and playing in Reykjavik: no holds barred, argumentative, insistent, lively and 2008, sat on numerous literary ;unes, eruted work for others. I ficoon and lies to reveal the truth. Because the truth can be found in with fire . All the same, Orlando didn't view himself as any kind of intense. became part of a young, literary milieu m the underground scene lies, as Nobel pnze-winner Mario Vargas Llosa pointed out." dissident, certainly not on a level with Yoani anchez, the overdy "We've learned from Fidel, you see. We've learned to talk a lot," that would become known as "Gencra• 6n Zero', 'Generation "So there was - and still is - a critical milieu in Cuba?" critical blogger who Time magazine declared one of the world's he says, smirking. Zero'. all happened under the radar of the services- I This scrum, There are many people living there who take a critical stand 100 most influential people in 2008, and who President Obama paid But following the five-hour-long interview, he realised that this was invis,ble," Orland says. pomt, but they operate underground. You can't speak operily about homage to the following year. was the wrong strategy; the more he said, the more information he Then he starred working on a freelance basis for ,·anous web these dungs m Cuba, mstead you have 10 publish abroad, online. or But then things changed. gave to police, the more he helped to build a case against himself. sites. taking phot0graphs. bloggmg, and publishmg amholog,es that print and distribute your own texts." In 2008, everything came to a halt. Orlando was due to release his What's more, the police would never be won over by what he had were later translated mto English, German and French. book Boring Home, a collection of short stories portraying Cuba's to say.

12 13 I CUBA, R6YKJAVIK

And so the next time the police wanted to talk to him, he kept quiet, giving vague replies and refusing to enter into discussion with them. "What kinds of thing did they ask you about?" "Everything imaginable. I'd used the Cuban flag in a lot of my photographs and they wanted to know why. They asked me about things I'd written in my biog, about my friends, everything." The police told Orlando that they wouldn't be detaining him, but he was issued with a caution. They wanted him to sign some papers. He declined, and they threatened him with a double sen tence if he ever found himself arrested for any other offence in the future. He was arrested three times after that point, always without due cause, explanation or documentation. "They would just pick me up and hold me for a few days. They were sending a message to anyone else who felt the way I did. When Pope Benedict came to Cuba for three days in March 2012, I was detained for the duration. It's not good for a person's men tal well being, but I'd learned that the less I said. the quicker I'd be released." What did all this do to Orlando? Well, in addition to experiencing the grief that comes with realising change isn't possible in Cuba, plus the painful experience of havmg been rejected by those around him, his growing isolation and the constant police harassment brought Orlando to the point that he stopped trusting people. The best way to avoid further betrayal and punishment or risk that those he loved be punished instead was to avoid other people altogether. "I had friends from across the specrrum of society before I was labelled a dissident by the police, but afterwards I mixed almost exclusively with counter-revolutionaries such as Yoani S3.nchez. Eventually the police were proven correct. Evenrually I was a dissi dent. But it was the police themselves who made a counter-revolu tionary of me." Is Orlando a biner man? No. "I was sad at the time, but nowadays I feel at peace with everyone - myself included. I've seen volcanoes and glaoers. I've played chess in Reykjavik. There's not one person who has done those things who can feel bitter. Exile has been good for me and good for my

Ernesto «Che» Guevara gazes out over Revolution Square in Havana.

14 I CUBA, RSYKJAYIK

DEPARTURE . . h I ever could have ltterarure. I've managed to be useful ma way t at 11 Orlando left Cuba on 5 March 2013, just after th Wh en . , e count been back in Cuba." ed its criteria for leavmg, he wasn t aware that h ry had eh ang e Would b seeking exile elsewhere. e CUBANS AS CHILDREN "I rook my seat on the plane, and 40 minutes later I I . . anded· Orlando believes that the Cuban system has a detrimental effect . nu· When people rurne d on t hetr mobile phones th h IJl Mia . ' ew olc I on the i landers. 'When the state takes charge of everything, every erupted. 'He's dead! He's dead!' people cried. 1 thought p· Pane aspect of your life from cradle to grave, you're never required to . h . b tdelhad assed away when we were m t e atr, ut they were acru 11 make an independent decision or be accountable for anything. You P , . a Y ta lki about Hugo Chavez, the pres,dent of Venezuela," Orland . ng never rruly grow up in Cuba, you remain like a child there, never o expla ined Orlando had been invited to speak at va1ious venues thr h · questioning anything, just doing wha tever it is that you're told to oug 0Utth US and was only supposed to be there for three months B e do.' ...... ur then he received one mv1tatt0n after the next, culmmatmg in th Orlando feels that he's become freer, more responsible and . . ree months living 111 P,nsburgh and a semester spent at the prestig· marure by getting away- whether for better or worse. . ious Brown University on Rhode Island, after which he heard about h '·Nobody else takes responsibility for me, it's all down to me t e Inter nowadays. I've been given the opporrunity to become independent, national Cities of Refuge Network from a fellow Cuban author· he applied and was accepted, and assumed he would be h d. ' I've been given the chance to write. It makes no difference whether . ea tngto what I write is any good or not, whether I use my time well or fiitter Spain or France before bemg offered a place in Reykjavik, which he it away; freedom is no guarantee of success." accepted without a second thought. "Is it the socialisr ideology or the system and application of that "I hadn'r planned on living in exile when I was still in Cuba, but it ideology which causes problems in Cuba?" was a feeling that developed the longer I spent away from the island. I was never in any doubt about the fact that I would rerurn. Now "The problem is conrrol. The revolutionary rhetoric, the propa 1 ganda and the lies, they're the same as they were back in the 1970s, wonder if I' ll ever go back. My fa ther is dead. My mother is so years but nowadays it's all about managing and controlling things within old. I'm her only child. I don't know if we'll ever seen each other a system with no tolerance for diversity. We have one leader, one again," Orlando says. party, one newspaper, one country. It's a tyranny, a dictator hip, and He speaks co his mother on the phone regularly, crediting her that won't change, even if President Obama has been to visit. If telephone card with 20 dollars, which allows her to ring him when there are going to be economic changes, there also need to be nor ever she likes. One of the biggest surprises for Orlando has been the fact that he is not the only Cuban in Iceland. Luis Castillo and Yasmin Garcia fl~ Cuba and prove to be good partners for discussion. mal conditions for freedom of expression, freedom of choice, reli "! tell her about the good things going on here, but I don't men gious freedom, sexual freedom, freedom of discussion. But that's tion any problems I'm having. It's not always easy, obviously." A few cars rumble by, ancient Ladas from the 1970s, and the occa We've come to the land of the political slog;m. The only adver not going to happen. I'm not sure I believe that Fidel Castro will Orlando left the Caribbean island behind, but we're going there. sional more recent Chinese model. The colourful, veteran Ameri tisements permitted here relate not to things you can buy, but ever acrually die." We are on our way to Castro's socialist paradise. can automobiles from the 1950s spew our inconceivable volumes of instead take the form of insistent references to the glorious fightmg "What do ordinary Cubans make of things?" black fumes and hark back to the days when Havana was the Las spirit and success of the Cuban revolution. "If you were to ask the average man on the streer, he'd tell yo u REVOLUTION SQUARE, HAVANA Vegas of the Caribbean and the breeding ground of the American Is Cuba really a free country, with liberated, happy citizens, as the that everything is fine, he'd praise the healthcare and ed ucation sys Che gazes out from hi s position on the wall . His expression is dark mafia. The fumes are so dense that you can almost chew them. authorities insist is the case? Or is it more like Orlando suggests a tems and Fidel himself But in reality, everyone dreams of making and steely. The hero of the liberation watches over Revolution ·'Hasta la vicroria, siempre!" Che calls out from his wall: 'Ever tyranny, a dictatorship, a controlled sta te in which people are scared it to Miami. But if you're going to do that, you need to keep a low Square in Havana. The proudly-titled square is where Pidel Castro onward to victory!' Over by the ational Library, on the other side to death of expressing their criticism of the regime? profile and demonstrate loyalty- both at home and out and about. The National Geographic guidebook we've brought with us lists held so many of hi s endless speeches, and is an expansive, desolate of the wall, an oursized poster bears the image of the old revolu Because if you break away from the system, it's over for you. That's tionary heroes, the Cuban flag billowing overhead alongside waving ten things to avoid doing in Cuba. Some of the points are predicta wilderness of asphalt where the only sign of life is the odd tourist why it might be dangerous for someone 10 be seen in a photo with hands, adorned with the words 'Viva Cuba Libre! ', 'Long live a free hie, such as protecting yourself against the blazing sun and avoidmg on the hunt for a se lfi e with the world's best-known and most enor me, for instance," Cuba!' the company of crooks and prosrirutes. The guide also warns us mous portrait photo.

16 17 I CUBA, RDYKJAVIK

·nst assuming our travel plans will unfold as expect d . Olt.l.ANDO LUIS PAllDO I agat e ' given h or management of the state-run travel industry Yo t e po . · u are Warn as very ordinary such as potatoes or planks of wood. Mobile phones inst expecting good food or service, and are told ed What becomes of a society when you never quire know if you're aga to expe have scarce ly been available at all in Cuba in official terms, yet every queues and long delays due to low wages and general inefficiencct talking to an informant ready to report you ro the authorities? one has one, many smuggled in by relatives and friends in the US. ·• Reykjavik, according to the book. Y, We arrive in Cuba at the beginning of the busy season. Book lcetand Everyone is aware of the existence of the black marker, and most A few more unusual points follow, such as the fact that ing a hotel room has been a challenge, and the cost of any remain · b · CPS · you are purchase goods through it. Why don't the authorities crack down on ing rooms is almost laughably sieep. The standard of Cuban hotels • Havana, not permmed to nng eqwpment or walkie talk· Cuba ies to th this? Well, one theory we hear several times over the course of the fol varies a great deal, and the room capacity is our-of-step with the island, and that any equipment of this nature will be fi e con sea ted lowing days is that the authorities are likely to be gathering informa increasing number of tourists who wish ro see Cuba 'before it 's too Most importantly of all, you are warned not ro speak . . · tn dispar tion on you as you make Wegal purchases, adding this information to late' - before the country eventually undergoes the modernisation aging terms about Fidel or Raul Castro, as the Cuban h . · . . aut 0nties their file on you. However, they choose not to do anything with this and development that wealthy tourists are so happy to enjoy in 'have zero tolerance for public declarat10ns of a counter- . information - until the day they eventually bring you in, that is, per . revo 1Ut1on. their own countries. When we eventually check in ro our relatively ary nature.' Further to this: you must nor associate with d· . haps in connection with something entirely unrelated. At that point it recently-opened hotel, the booking and payment has been routed Cuba 15S1den1s Doing so will ensure that _you are_ placed on the first plane home. · can work in their favour to have something to pin on you. via a European country - the same country from which the capital We've come here to discuss Ftdel and Raul Castro's C b Republic in the Caribbean. u a. We used to renovate the hotel originated. Nonetheless, both the fa~ade will be pretending to be tourists rather than identifying ourselves as A SOCI ETY OF INFORMANTS and the official owners arc Cuban. 11.4 million inhabitants. journalists when speaking to islanders. In addition to this, we have How exactly do the authorities gather all of this information? Well, Judging by the appearance of the buildings in Havana, it would Capital: Havana. arranged to interview others who know our real reason fior . that can happen in various ways. If you look for it, you see one of seem that Cuba is in trouble. The cracks and general sense of commg the methods in action even during your initiaJ taxi ride and on the Classified as an authoritarian regime. individuals who know Orlando, speak openly and who use thei; decline make this once glorious Caribbean pearl appear mostly to own names. These include a number of self-confessed and city streets. In pretty much every district in Havana, you see the be a ruin. Position in The Economist's Democracy Index in 2018: 169 (of recog. nised dissidents. letters ·coR· painted onto houses or on stand-alone signs. 'CDR' is 167 countries). short for 'Comite de Defensa de la Revoluci6n' 'Committee for the IN HEMINGWAY'S REALM Position in the Reporters Without Borders' World Press PARALLEL MARKETS Oefense of the Revolution' - whose slogan is 'iEn cada barrio, Rev Cojimar is a small fishing village just east of cenrral Havana. Tour oluci6n!' ('In every neighbourhood, Revolution!'). The CDR was ists have flocked here since 1953, when Ernest Hemingway won the Freedom Index in 2019: 172 (of180 countries). Your first step upon arriving in Cuba is to purchase Cuban pesos. established by Fidel Castro in 1960, and serves as an effective wel Pulitzer prize for his novel The Old Man and the Sea. The following Not the standard kind used by the locals and received as pay for fare and surveillance organisation, where neighbours observe and year he would receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, and this made their work - and worth almost nothing at all, as it happens_ bur Iceland report on one another. Cojimar all the more popular as a tourist destination. Cojimar and tourist pesos. With these you are able to pay to rake a taxi from the Do you unexpectedly step out in a new pair of expensive running the surrounding coastline form the backdrop for the poetic novel Republic in the North Atlantic. airport to tbe city centre. shoes? Well, it's very possible that the local CDR headquarters want about the old man and the enormous fish he attempts to land before Without necessarily knowing it, you are already in the midst of a 338,000 inhabitants. to know where you found the money for such a purchase. it is ultimately devoured by sharks. Cuban paradox: the sum paid to the taxi driver is almost equivalent Capital: Reykjavik, a city that has participated in the Cities of Have you made comments about Fidel or the revolution in recent "His boat, Pilar, was moored just over there. Gregorio Fuentes, to an ordinary Cuban's average monthly earnings, around 29 dollar. Refuge Network since 2011. days that could be construed as containing criticism or doubt? If so, Hemingway's faithful guide and possibly the figure upon whom the A doctor in Cuba's world-famous, free healthcare system receives you might be called in to explain yourself. protagonist was based, lived just over there," Ahmel Echavarria tells Position in The Economist's Democracy Index in 2018: 2 (of a monthly wage of around 46 dollar. The taxi driver is paid many You have ro tread extremely carefully in Cuba, because you can us, pointing first across the shimmering bay, and then in the direc 180 countries). times this. never be sure who's listening to the things that you say. You need to tion of the low, dilapidated buildings. Classified as completely free. There are two or three parallel markets in Cuba: the official mar be extra careful if you mention Fidel by name, because people tend Ahmel is not a dissident, but one of Cuba's most important ker, the black marker and the tourist market. In the official mar to pay closer attention at this point, according to those we meet young authors. He also happens ro live here, at the centre of Hem Position in the Reporters Without Borders' World Press ker, your wage represents no more than small change, regardless of over the course of the following week. We also see concrete expres ingway country and the heart of the literary landscape. Freedom Index in 2019: 14 (of 180 countries). your contribution and level of education, and you may spend it on sions of this caution: rather than referring to Castro by name, peo Ahmel became acquainted with Orlando at a literary workshop a hmited selection of legally-available goods. On the black market ple bring a hand to their face and make a pinching motion with their in 1999, the same year that Orlando was fired from his job at the you can purchase goods nor officially available to individuals, each fingers from the chin outwards. Their gesture is meant to depict a research institute. At that workshop, young people with literary more or less illegal than the next, including things one might regard large beard. Seeing this, everyone knows who you're talking about. interests would learn to write fiction .

18 19 CU BA , ll li YICJA\' IIC

h ed passion for "Our fnendsh1p was strengthened throug h ours ar hreraturc. We started work.mg together on vanous literary pro;ects. We pnnted c0Uec110ns, published Journals and digital magazines, wrote about literature, film and rheacre." A)unel says th He's mv1ted us 10to his rmy wnung room. His home 1s fiUed w• art and photographs blown up 10 large dimensions. Ahmet's partner 1 a photographer "We were part of a group that started out pubhshmg our work in the year 2000. Orlando thought we ought to come up with a name, some k.md of rag or label. and that's where Gcneraaon Zero came from." Ahmel tells us. "Most members of Generaaon Zero ha,·e gone on to wm vanous literary pnzes, both m Cuba and abroad Many have as commentators covenng a broader range of issues, wnung about culture, polmcs and social conditions," Ahmel tells us Just like Orlando "Do members of Gencraoon Zero soil live 10 Cuba, or have the ma1onty left the country'" "WeU, 1f you look at developments 10 Cuba over ome, you'll see that emigration ha been constant. There have always been lots of people who leave, and the same can be said for thlS generation. Many of them have deaded to le3\-e and settle elsewhere for a vari ety of reasons The ma;onty of them arc in the US now," Ahmel says.

' BETTER OFF IN CUBA' Personally, Ahme1 has never considered leaving Cuba. He has trav elled abroad, even meeting up ""th Orlando at literary events m order to discuss Cuban literature 'The type of literature I wntc IS best wntten here, when I'm present and paroapanng in soaety. states Ahmel , who IS. a qu al - ified mechamca1 eaginecr in addiaon to being a wnrer. He opted to become an author, editor and ;ournalist rather than following a pathway mto engineenng. "What's the lay of the land m Cuba today- arq, ou fr ee to wnte and say what you lik.e?" "Bueno," Ahmel says thmk.m full way I see things th ' ruJ g care y before replying: "The , ere are es that apply topublishmgin Cuba,;usr

The digital revolution has barely reached Cuba. Access lo the .internet is strictly limited.

20 I CUIA, Rl!YKJA\'IK d he believes that the books he's had publi h in Cu b a an . . s ed COnfi h . dividual whether , He has written an award-wmnmg novel La . rn, like there are rules m every country. Jt's up to t e m . that ,act. · nona (lne . . ts and I've wnt· they follow those rules or not. I have my own mteres ' . . for instance, which charts the years the years Big W h eel ), , , . 1971 to I [] BJ BJ . bout the siruaoon m 'The Five Grey Years ( Qumquenio Cris') , 976, ten a genre of literature that poses quesaons a . known as or Sta[· . Cuba from cultural, social and political perspectives. These. texts . d' an extremely difficult episode in Cuba. During h 1n1st Peno , t ese ye have been controversial to greater or lesser enents, but rhe maJonty ts were made to bring Soviet thinking to Cuba . ars, attemp in a nian of them have been published here in Cuba. 1think that freedom reSrs • condemned by the authorities nowadays. Op . ne, . k here might be th at 1s press1on cluefly with the individual, ,n the choices one ma es. . 'd nt and La noria tells the story of a homosexual h "'as 11 ev1 e , . . . . aur or wh some rules that the individual dislikes, but when it comes down to ' experiences sigmficant issues and censorship m later life. 0 you have to find a sense of freedom ,vithin yourself." "Would you say that freedom of expression exists in C b "So, Orlando was arrested for practising his own version of free- u a todayr Ahmel chuckles briefly. dom by writing what he believed?" .. "Every action causes a reaction. Orlando chose to r, "Orlando chose his pro6Je as an author, but also as an acnVISt. o 11 ow the athway of an activist. And, well, then a number of th · That had consequences for his relaoonship to Cuban instituoons. P . mgs hap. pened. There were a number of negative consequences." He got mto trouble." we all fall silent. I accompany my follow-up question . h "Do you understand why he got into trouble, based on what he Wit an innocent smile. wrote?" "Well there was more than one dash of opinions, things built 'Was that an answer to my question? I notice you weren't quite up over ~e. In that sense, I understand why things turned out the direct." way they did. Orlando is a clever man, I think he knew what he was "You're asking me about issues you're already familiar with. doing." What difference does my response make?" "Orlando told me that he didn't realise that he was a dissident Js this how Cubans react to direct, critical questions on the sit that he felt pressured 10 become what the authorities had defined uation in the country? Indirectly? Evasively? Or is this really how him as being." Ahrnel feels? Could he possibly really believe that he's unrestricted Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, on his way to mttt friends in Reykjavik. "Well, if that's what he says then that's what he says. I can't con by the system, that you reap what you sow, that activism has logical tradict what he believes to be true. I never viewed bun as a dissident consequences, as it once had for Orlando? ALL CHANGE IN CUBA? "I think it's positive that individuals have the opporruniry to my.self, more as an author who took an avid interest m the sociery As a journalist, I find myself in an impossible situation. I cannot I change rack with my questions, taking a diffe rent, less risk-y engage in economic life. Increased earnings equal increased tax rev• in which he lived. He wanted to participate in poliacal and social know for certain what Ahmel is thinking, whether he's responding approach: the recent changes in Cuba. Ahmel thinks these are dear enue too, which in turn helps others. But exactly where it all ends? life," says Ahrnel, who thinks Orlando is one of the country's most with tactical vagueness or with intellectual honesry and openness. I for anyone walking the ciry streets to see. Since the authorities I'm not sure. We have to hope that the changes ,viii al so mean that distinctive authors. have to consider that the latter might be true, I have to trust Ahmel changed the rules in certain areas so that people could run their Cubans are allowed to invest in sectors other than the service sector, "He wntes in a voice that is truly his own, his use of language in the same way that I trust others who respond in ways that bet• own small businesses, things have happened - most noticeably in that the economy has the chance to grow." is marvellous. His writing 15 enremely mterestmg. It draws a line ter fit the critical narrative of my report on freedom of expression the service sector. ln the streets of Old Havana, new bars and res• I decide to steer the conversation back into more dangerous berween the private sphere and the bigger picture, creating an intense in Cuba. I'm obliged to trust that the subjects of my interview are taurants are popping up. Several people are renting our rooms. waters. literary universe and offenng an alternative view of Cuba. Boring speaking truthfully, regartlless of what they might say. umerous individuals have opened th eir kitchen windows to sell "But that same level of development hasn't been observed on the Home contains some fantastic examples of his wnting, for instance." But I cannot ignore my doubts. When you've heard and read food and bottled beer or soft drinks to people outside. democratic front, has it? Here in Cuba there is still no opposition, "But you can't get a hold of that book m Cuba because it's in advance of your trip that Cubans are afraid of speaking openly "It's brought a different dynamic 10 life in Cuba, a different inten no alternative, no freedom of choice, no democracy." banned, isn't that right?" about the regime and the situation on the island for fear of the con· siry and a number of fresh options. I see it as a change for the better. "We have a voting system, but exactly what happens at that point, "That's correct, but 1t was published here." sequences that might await them, you find yourself in a strange Individuals no longer have ro wait on the state, as before, but can well ... " There is a long pause for thought. Ahrnel falls silent. "Would you like to be offered different political alternatives?" and unfamiliar situation, both as a journalist and as a human being take the initiative and make decisions for themselves," Ahmel says. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION? He believes that change also flourishes on a social level, encourag "More than anything, I'd like more people to be more aware of How are you supposed to act when you can't be sure if people are Ahmel tells us that he doesn't feel that his wnting,s limited by living ing development throughout the country as a whole. political issues. I'd like more people to participate in the discussion speaking freely or strategically?

22 23 I CUBA. ROTKJAVJK

ORLANDO LUIS PARDO I C ba This means that she lives under constant sur ill around political and social matters, and with increased knowledge. u . ve anc b authorities. She is the type of person our guidebook e Ythe And I'd like that participation not just within the four walls of their · · "hd · verystricI advises a""inst assoaat1ng wit unng our stay on the . t y perfect for that: it's free, simple on a technical level, and in principle ''Artists are averse to defining themselves too explicitly or signing homes, but our on the streets. That would open up new room for b-- _ . _ 1sand.1 it can be read anywhere in the world," Lia says. Lia rerurned from M1am1 the previous day and h up to one specific viewpoint. Artists like to be free, they like to avoid discussion. It would be nice if more people played an active role in The dilemma is that hardly anyone in Cuba reads the biogs given unpacked her suitcase. She is in possession of a five- as _barely taking too distinct a position on things, they like to cultivate ambiv discussions," Ahmel concludes. year CJot . that internet access on the island is so restricted. Wi-Fi can be found and paradoxically enjoys greater freedom to come d visa, alence and doubt. There's a degree of opporrunism about that, but We leave. A man selling postcards and picrures of Hemingway, . an goth only in the larger hotels, for the most part, and in certain parks and also a degree of fear in a closed society like Cuba. When a musician many others in the country. She lives on an income fr , an picrured both with fish he's caught and standing alongside Fidel, om Pnnc streets, where people sit on the kerbside and lean against walls, like Gork.i Aguila from Porno para Ricardo or the graffiti artist El University in the US intended to support her in the gathe . eton wonders if we need a taxi to take us back to the city centre. I ask glued to their smartphones. In order to get on!ine, you have to pur Sexto are arrested on political grounds, their fellow artists don't pro material on the cul rural scene in Cuba. nng of what it would cost. chase a card that costs the equivalent of a few days' wages, and this test their arrest. The reason for that is that they're afraid." "25 tourist pesos." allows you an hour's access. An internet connection in the home This mentality can be observed throughout Cuban society, in He wants 29 dollars. ORLANDO THE CONVENTIONALIST costs several thousand dollars each year, making it an entirely unre Lia's view. People don't engage in the fight for fundamental human Like Ahmel, Lia also became acquainted with Orland . alistic facility for the average Cuban. As a result, most Cubans are 'We paid 12 to get out here." o at a litera rights such as freedom of expression or the right to demonstrate "25." workshop a number of years beforehand. ry very poorly informed about the world outside of the country, and political opposition. Many are barely even aware of the rights they "12." "Orlando looked totally different back then. He had h most are unaware of the critical biog posts written about the island lack, but still they hold their tongue for fear of reprisals. s Ort hair "25." and wore a shirt, he looked like a scientist working in s kin on which they live. "Cuba is a dictatorship. But the worst part is that nobody cares," ome dof We rake the local bus. It costs us just 0,03 dollar. office. But in actual fact he was extremely talented and . ''A Cuban biog is really aimed at the world outside Cuba. It can Lia says. creanve he wanted to write and speak openly about the good and b d • have an indirect effect on things at home as well," Lia says, suggest So: Are Cuban art and artists political) Luis, an artist himself, . . a aspects ing that Cubans are effectively net-illiterate. A DISSIDENT WITH BASS of Cuban soaety. Exactly the kinds of things people avoid talkin thinks not. He believes his art is about himself. When Lia pulls out Our plan was to visit Orlando's mother in Lawton, to see the house about here," Lia says. g "To the extent that the internet is used at all, it's for communi a photograph of a Cuban flag planted in a beautiful Cuban lady's cating with friends and acquaintances on Facebook, not for becom bottom. which does seem to resemble a political image, he replies he grew up in and where be left his dogs, cats and books behind. Both she and Orlando began blogging. They met other dissi ing better informed about anything. Srudents at the university don't that it is an image of "a Cuban landscape." However, since our visit to lcdand, Orlando bas accepted a place on dents, including the best-known of the dissident Cuba bi a doctoral degree programme for international authors at Washing Yoani Sanchez. n oggers, have access to the internet, and neither does the health service. I "But you can't deny that this picrure is impossible to display in ton University in St. LoUIS and has moved to the US. The week we don't know how it's possible to claim that Cuban education and Cuba because it's considered to be politically incorrect," Lia adds. "Sanchez has become visible in a way that no other Cuban blog are in Cuba, his mother is visiting her son in the promised land. The health services are of a high standard when there's no access to dig "That's true. The man who was supposed to print it declined to ger has succeeded in doing. But there are plenty of others our rwo of them were reunited aJi:er all. ital technology. It's nothing but propaganda." do so. He ran his own business and had frequent visits from surveil there," Lia says. lance officers. If they'd found this print, he'd have been in trouble," Instead we travel to Vedado, another neighbourhood in Havana. "Was it dangerous doing what they did to start out with?" THE DISSIDENT Luis says. It's more modern than Old Havana, having been established in "I didn't think it was dangerous. The very first critical blogger had Lia is at her happiest in the hammock that hangs in the srudio "That's just what it's like being a dissident. You can be denied any the first half of the 1900s. The area lies berween the old town a few problems, I think." belonging to artist Luis Trapaga, with whom she shares a home. number of services just because people are afraid of being associ and Miramar to east and west with the sea to the north, and is The bloggers learned from one another when it came to techni Their flat is filled with paintings and photographs signed by Luis, ated with you. It might not even have anything to do ,vith politics, enclosed by the world-famous Malec6n seawall that stands firm cal solutions and other techniques. another oppositional voice in Cuba. but still you become isolated from society," Lia says. against the Caribbean waves, where Cubans meet when the sun "My first biog was essentially a webpage for the band, Porno "It's an interesting process being labelled a ·dissident"', Luis says, Plus, you have to put up with harassment from the security ser goes down and the day begins to cool. This is probably the second para Ricardo. I published images, snippets of writing and videos, before explaining: 'To begin with, people ,~o mix in culrural cir vices. most-photographed location m Havana aJi:er the iconic image of Che. but it was more visual than textual," Lia says. But even though the cles, artists and the like, met for creative purposes. Then the polit "Everybody knows who the dissidents are)" ical dissidents followed, because they felta sense of freedom in "Not if you keep a low profile. But if you're well-known in any _ Lia Villares lives in Vedado. She is a friend of Orlando and an band adopted a critical, oppositional stance, and her writing directly that environment, where it was possible for them to discuss things way, people are aware of who you are. And the security services important voice in the critical Cuban blogosphere. She is also bassist expressed things people say only when they're sure no informants openly. But then the artists who were afraid of being labelled politi definitely know who we are." m the punk band Pomo para Ricardo (Porno for Ricardo), which is are listening, her biog wasn't especially political at the time. "M _ Y goal was to show another side of Cuba: young Havana, cal dissidents stopped coming. We found ourselves left with a group particularly cnt1cal of Castro. The band can 1 . . never p ay gigs u, Cuba of politically-minded individuals and artists who weren't afraid, all ARRESTED ON OBAMA DAY If they ever want to play live, they have to do so abroad. . Viewed from the perspective of a punk band, from a more liberated st It was global news when Barack Obama announced that he would But in addition to playing bass, Lia is also d dared . . andpoint. I wanted to reveal the kind of perspective from which of whom are now defined as political dissidents." a e diss1denr in Lia takes the reasoning one step further: be embarking on a state visit to Cuba. Not since Calvin Coolidge's you can say things that otherwise can't be said. The blogosphere is ORLANDO I UIS PARDO

the Sunday march, which was particularly aimed at the American a camera set up outside their home, hke vocalist and songwnter president and aU of the many international journalists on the island. Gorki from Lia's band. For Gorki, the surveillance is constant. It was clear that rhe Cuban leaders weren't the only ones who had "We're not as important as that," Lia says. considered the image of Cuba that would be projected to the world ''.Actua lly, it's kind of an honour having a camera rrackmg your that day. every move," Luis says, smirking. "I went out, but in no time at all I was accosted by two large men The way that the securiry services keep track of Lia and Luis' in civilian clothing. I walked to the corner and tried to hail a taxi. activities is by speaking to their neighbours. When the car stopped, the men pulled out identificarion cards and "That's how they monitor who visits us, who we're meeting up showed them to the driver. He understood what was going on and with," Lia says. drove off without letting me in. Not one taxi wanted to pick me up "The neighbours will tell them that you were here, that we had that day, not with those men at my side." rwo foreigners come to visit us," Luis says. Lia never made it to the demonstration. Instead, a police car "People are always watching. They might be standing our on picked her up and rook her to a cell in the police station. They did the street, looking as if they're busy doing nothing in particular, the same thing to more than 50 women in white. but actually they're just acting as human cameras, documenting "They held me there until evening fell and it was dark outside. I everything that happens around them," Lia says. think the idea was to keep us away for as long as Obama was in the "Is it dangerous for you robe speaking to us like this?" ciry centre." Lia's response is forthright, and ever so slightly scary: This was far from Lia's first arrest. Luis has also been detained on "No. It's much more dangerous for you. If they find out what numerous occasions. you're up to, you'll be sent packing and you won't be allowed back. "What do they do with you? Are you brought in for interview, or Probably after a few rounds of interviews. They might confiscate do they simply lock you up?" your belongings." "There's always a bit of fear factor involved. The message is "So, there's no freedom of expression in Cuba?" always: 'Why are you getting involved in things you ought to be "No." steering clear of?' They act like a father punishing a young daugh "But you practice freedom of expression here all the same?" ter, it's like you're a child who has to be reprimanded and raised a "Yes, because even though there's no freedom of expression here, certain way," Lia replies. there are free people. People like us." "Doesn't it scare you?'' "Sure, but I don't think I'm important enough that things could NO BELIEF IN CHANGE really go badly for me. A person like Oswaldo Paya, a high-profile Does Lia believe there will be changes in Cuba after Fidel and Raul oppositional voice nominated for the peace prize who I believe the Castro? No. visit in 1928 had an American president ,·is1ted the country's neigh• authorities killed, he's the kind of person who'd have to watch his "They have their order of succession all planned out. They'll bour to the south. Almost 60 yem of cold war between the rwo female relatives of imprisoned Cuban dissidents, and holds demon· back. But I'm not as important as that." hand over power to their family. I call the Castros Cuba's royal fam str looked to be drawing to a close Raul C h d ations every Sunday which see them walking the streets in ily. What's more, the military holds all of the economic power here, . · astro a ensured that Oba- mas route was recently-tarmacked and the building facades en silence, aU dressed in white. The group first appeared during 'the CONTINUAL SURVEILLANCE? they own every single large business. They're nor going to hand route had been given a fresh lick of painL black spring' of 2003, when 75 journalists, human rights activists and ''As an open dissident, are you under constant surveillance?" over that power or income to the people." On the day that Obama landed in H . librarians were arrested and sentenced to up to 28 years in prison. "My friends think so, but it's not the case. They don't watch us 24 Lia doesn't have much faith in the notion of economic reform, a,ana, Sunday 20th March 2016, Lia wanted to go d0\,11 to rh The organisation received the Sakharov Prize in 2005, though ics hours a day, just part of the day," Luis replies. "But it's enough that either. If you manage to establish a business with any degree of suc . . . e centre to Join a demonstratio cess, you'll be looked at very closely, and fresh stare taxes and charges organised by the opposmon group 'Damas d bi . . n leader, Laura PoUan, was unable to travel ro France in order to many of our friends are afraid to come, they're scared of being seen white'. The organisation is made up f .. e anco' Women m accept the award. here." Luis is quick to laugh and tells us that he finds that attitude a are sure to follow, never allowing you to accrue any real capital. o wnes, mothers and other linle paranoid. People who are truly living under surveillance have ''.All that Cubans really want is to get away. Everyone is fighting to Bur returning to the point: Lia was on her way to participate in 26 27 I CUBA, REYKJAVIK

The book might appear autobiographical_ it wil] b th O RL AN D O LU I S PAM.DO I scrape together the resources to leave. That's the real proof of e uments and follows the story of 'Orlando Luis' b e filled Withd""' siruation here, the fact that so many people want to get away. That • Ut ttaJs 0 "'-· story of opposition politician and Sakharov Priz chatts 1h appears once again. The portrait of a revolutionary hero. The everybody wants to go to the US. obody believes they can live a e-,vinner o ' has plenty of problems of its own - has decreased. Living conditi Paya who supposedly drove into a tree on 22Ju1y SWaJd image that follows Orlando, wherever he goes: ons in Cuba have not improved. The shortages and queues are at good life here." , 2012, dyin o age of 60. g at the "The more people rurn Che into a popular icon, the more he is least as bad as before. 'Why haven't you left?" "That was no accident," Orlando says. destroyed - and quite right, too. It's good that Andy Warhol created In February 2019, Orlando published his book "Espantado de Lia laughs. She tells us that's a very good question. But even though the novel takes real-life eve pop art out of him, it's good that Madonna rurned him into pop todo me refugio en Trump" ("Scared of everything, I seek refuge in "It's very difficult living here, but it's al.so very difficult to leave. . nts as its . st music. It's good that gay rights activists use his image in the colours Trump"). This is a different book from the one he was working on It's easier if you have family in the US, but if you're all alone, it's not point, and even though it looks at everything that has arting in Cuba, it is a fictional work. It is also the only n gone Wrong of the rainbow flag- even though Che was a rampant homophobe. in Reykjavik. A parody. A playful pastiche, full of quotations. The simple. Just like it wasn't simple for Orlando." I ove that O I Use him in the fight for whatever it is that you stand for; it's one way book is Orlando's way of processing a difficult time. Besides, Lia is defiant. She doesn't want anyone else to make a can see himself writing. r ando to separate him from what he acrually represented. Che might have Because although the course is good for Orlando's writing, the decision on her behalf that she should have to leave. She has no "I don't view myself as a writer of fiction but I fi th ' ee I at I o been a hero, but he was a tragic hero." move to St. Louis has been tough for him. In Iceland, the island-hop desire to leave Cuba simply because somebody there wants her Cuban people this book." We the per from Havana was a hermit, outside the world. But he felt at gone, and she won't be forced to leave because she's deemed a troU· He doesn't yet know whether he'll publish the b k . 00 With home in the barren island landscape. In St. Louis he can see neither blemaker. ditional publishing company, or whether he'll mak . . a 113• Epilogue mountains nor sea. He has come to a poor, violent and divided city free online. e It available for "They don't own this country. They don't own me. They don't unlike anything he's ever seen before; a place where the summer is get to decide what I do. And instead of giving in, I want to stay to 'Tm fascinated by the logic of the internet, 1 see bi Orlando moved to St. Louis, US, in September 2016. He won a scho unbearably hot and humid, in a country he didn't acrually like. It has · · c d. · • b g 0 PPonu. fight on, not give up," she says. runes ,or 1sserrunanng rh e ook via my biog and al larship from Washington Universiry and was accepted onto a PhD been psychologically challenging. But Lia admits that things might change. She's 32 years old. Per where I have a lot of followers." so Facebook, programme in comparative literature for international writers. Orlando has found that it can also be complicated to speak freely haps the world will look cliJferent by the time she reaches 40. Cyberspace has also become the most important , Orlando recently became an American citizen. He doesn't expect and critically in a democracy like the US; even in what should be the "It's extra complicated for women. Many choo e not to have smonal.. Cubans ro spread their thoughts writing and=m~ h to be able ro travel back ro Cuba on his American passport until the stronghold of free speech and tolerance, the university - which has . . ' p 0tographs. country becomes a democracy. become an arena in the ongoing US "culture wars". children. Many choose to leave, having children overseas. That's In ReykJavik, Orlando shows us oppositional music vid h eos, sue as And there is little to suggest that Cuba will become a democracy Whenever Orlando has criticized the Democrats or political cor another symptom of the real-life siruation in Cuba: the population Carlos Varelas' 'Foro de Familia' (to which Orlando h dd d isn't just going down because people are leaving, but al.so because as a e Eng- any time soon. Miguel Diaz-Canel rook over as president from Raw rectness, made statements that could be interpreted as supportive lish subtitles on Yourube so that people beyond the s · h women don't want ro have children here." . parus -speak. Castro in April 2018. Diaz-Canel rose through the ranks of the com of Trump, or spoken dismissively of Cuba, it has made him a con mg ~orld can understand the criticism contained within the lyrics) Lia believes that the average Cuban can see that rhe system munist parry and was handpicked for the job. The new president troversial figure - especially among anti-capitalist students with and El comandante', a political punk song by Lia's band, Porno doesn't work, and that most are against Castro's communism represents the continuity of the Castro regime, even though he has a positive image of Castro's Cuba who romanticize the socialist para Ricardo. within the safety of their own four walls. All the same, people rurn a different surname. utopia. Anonymous complaints have been made against him, and "This is the reason people don't have access ro the internet in up at Revolution Square when they're instructed to demonstrate on The new constirution, which came into effect in April 2019, he has been accused of behaving like a white supremacist. In lite Cuba. It would allow them to watch videos like these. Those of us behalf of the regime, and they report on those around them when allows private property but retains the socialist economic system. It rary discussions, he has been accused of oppressing women. But they witness suspicious behaviour. living outside Cuba know more about what's happening there than permits homosexual marriage although the government continues Orlando insists that when he refers to the US as United Socialism of tho e living in the country, because they've got no source of infor to arrest homosexual activists. The fact that the vision of a commu• America, he is being ironic. ::Why do people support a regime that you claim they oppose?" mation other than what the state provides. I know more than my nist society is no longer mentioned made the headlines. Nor can a On one level, Orlando has become a dissident again. But whereas Because Cubans are scared. They think they have something to lose - even though they have nothing at all Wh h mother does about what's happening in Cuba," Orlando says. president now remain in office for more than rwo five-year periods. that gave him a certain status in Cuba, there is no prestige attached . , - en you ave noth- mg, there s nothing ro lose." And then he shows us Youtube videos of Fidel, standing at a But Cuba remains a one-party system. Opposition is forbidden. to being a dissident in the US academic community. UN podium in 1959 and stating that he and his comrades aren't Donald Trump's foreign policy has reversed President Obama's "But it's my writing that is angry. I'm not angry myself," Orlando REYKJAVI K, ICELA ND communists. Orlando tells us that the first thing a dictator does cautious normalization of the relationship ,vith Cuba, instead intro says. ducing fresh sanctions. Aid from allies such as Venezuela - which Back in Iceland, and to our meeting with Orland . h b is introduce censorship and obstruct the free press. 'There is no f th I o. e ecame one o e peop e who would defy the authorities a d ak doubt that a free press is the first enemy of any dictatorship,' Cas· b n spe out. He ecame one of those ro leave. When we meet h . I I tro says. He died just a week after our return from Cuba, the 25th ll hi un m ce and, he's November 20 6. we on s way with the novel he never managed to Write in Cuba. 1 And contained within the stream of old, flickering images, he 28 Finn E. Vega is t~e feature ana f>hoto eclito~ at Stavanger Aftenblad. He has previously flUDlished a book about the labour movement in Sauda. He is a trainee flKotagrap~er.