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Caribbean-Latin America | |||
Editor Who Wrote of Racism in Cuba Loses His Post | |||
2013-04-07 | |||
MEXICO CITY — The editor of a publishing house in Cuba who wrote a critical article in The New York Times opinion section about persistent racial inequality on the island, something revolutionaries proudly say has lessened, has been removed from his post, associates said on Friday.
On Friday, The Havana Times blog reported that Mr. Zurbano had told a gathering of Afro-Cuban advocates that he had been dismissed from his post at the publishing house of the Casa de las Americas cultural center, leaving the implication that the dismissal was connected to the article. Other associates said Mr. Zurbano told them he had been removed but would continue working there. Reached by telephone in Havana, Mr. Zurbano would not comment on his employment.
The article’s headline, which was translated from Spanish, was “For Blacks in Cuba, the Revolution Hasn’t Begun,” but Mr. Zurbano said that in his version it had been “Not Yet Finished.” “They changed the headline without consulting me,” he said. “It was a huge failure of ethics and of professionalism.” Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for The Times, said the editor stood by the article’s preparation. “We worked very hard to ensure that the wording in the piece was translated properly and accurately reflected the writer’s point of view,” she said in a statement. “There were numerous versions of the piece sent back and forth, and in the end, Mr. Zurbano and our contact for him (who speaks fluent English) signed off on the final version.” “We knew,” she added, “that Mr. Zurbano was in a sensitive situation, and we are saddened if he has indeed been fired or otherwise faced persecution, but we stand by our translation and editing, which was entirely along normal channels.”
A major tenet of the revolution has been leveling the playing field for all Cubans, and its defenders point to racism that was a striking feature of the country before 1959, but also to what they say are many black doctors, scientists and intellectuals. Mr. Zurbano wrote in his article that Cubans have a strong safety net of housing, education and health care but that most blacks had been left behind by recent economic advances, a topic that is taboo to discuss. “To question the extent of racial progress was tantamount to a counterrevolutionary act,” he wrote. “This made it almost impossible to point out the obvious: racism is alive and well.” | |||
Posted by:Steve White |