Cubans deprived of the INTERNET
Cubans deprived of the INQ
You say you want a revolution?
By Nick Farrell: Tuesday 20 June 2006, 08:53
CUBANS ARE GETTING a bit confused over their President Fidel Castro's
plans to turn the nation into the next big Silicon Valley.
Castro's computer classes for the youth of Cuba are doing well, with
lots of kids learning all the latest computer skills. Some say that with
the skills that young programmers have in the country, it could be an
excellent place to outsource.
However the whole thing is being stymied by the fact that Fidel wants
his computer revolution to take place without the Internet.
Cubans are allowed to send email and have a look at government Web sites
on topics from the weather to literature. But if you want to have a
wibble round the world outside you can forget it.
Unless you are a foreigner with a big bank balance or a member of the
government elite you can't use the Internet. Even if you could, few
Cubans could afford it.
According to SiliconValley.com, the government's fear of the Internet is
dooming the country to being third or fourth world for decades.
Reporters without Borders says that the Cuba uses the US embargo as a
"pretext for a repressive policy toward the Internet. The chief reason
for keeping citizens away from the Internet is to prevent them from
being well-informed."
In fact it is easier to get Internet information in China than Cuba,
which is saying something.
L’Inq
www.sun-sentinel.com
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32512
Cuba: Cubans deprived of the INQ
