[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 121 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 121

 Honoring Yoani Sanchez, a courageous blogger and activist for freedom 
                                in Cuba.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 15, 2013

   Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself and Mr. Sires) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
   Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring Yoani Sanchez, a courageous blogger and activist for freedom 
                                in Cuba.

Whereas Yoani Sanchez has become a prominent voice through social media for 
        millions of Cubans who reject the oppression of the Castro regime;
Whereas Yoani Maria Sanchez Cordero was born in Havana, Cuba, on September 4, 
        1975, and went on to major in Spanish Literature at the Pedagogical 
        Institute before completing a degree in Hispanic Philology at the 
        University of Havana in 2000;
Whereas while working at Editorial Gente Nueva, Sanchez came to the realization 
        that, like many Cubans, the wages she earned legally were not enough to 
        support her family and highly qualified individuals were unable to find 
        sufficient work;
Whereas disenchanted and seeking greater economic opportunities, she moved to 
        Switzerland in 2002 but returned to Cuba in the summer of 2004, 
        discovering her passion for computer science;
Whereas in 2004, Sanchez and a group of like-minded compatriots founded 
        Consenso, a magazine of reflection and debate, and three years later she 
        worked as a web master, columnist, and editor for the website Desde 
        Cuba;
Whereas in April 2007, Sanchez created the blog known as ``Generation Y'', which 
        started as an outlet for self-expression but has since found an audience 
        with 500,000 people around the world;
Whereas through her weekly blog posts, tweets, and Facebook updates, Sanchez has 
        provided an unfiltered glimpse into the realities of day-to-day life in 
        Cuba;
Whereas the Castro regime has branded Sanchez as a dissident and, since March 
        2008, blocked access to her blog from within Cuba, where mobile phones, 
        flash drives, and used laptop computers have become lifelines of 
        communication given economic and government barriers to the Internet;
Whereas Sanchez refused to be silenced and continued to write with the help of 
        friends and volunteer collaborators abroad, who post her entries in 
        solidarity and have translated Generation Y into 20 languages;
Whereas in 2009, she became the first blogger to ever interview United States 
        President Barack Obama, who applauded her efforts to ``empower fellow 
        Cubans to express themselves through the use of technology'';
Whereas Sanchez is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her activism, 
        including the Ortega y Gasset Award for Digital Journalism in 2008, 
        being named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the 
        World in the ``Heroes and Pioneers'' category for 2008, the Maria Moore 
        Cabot Prize from Columbia University in 2009 for coverage of Latin 
        America, and the International Woman of Courage Award from then 
        Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2011;
Whereas Sanchez attempted to travel outside of Cuba on 20 occasions, often at 
        the invitation of universities and book fairs to honor her with awards, 
        but was repeatedly denied the required exit visa;
Whereas in January 2013, the Cuban Government lifted travel restrictions for 
        citizens and issued Sanchez a passport, allowing her to embark on an 80-
        day international tour, including Brazil, the Czech Republic, Spain, 
        Mexico, and the United States, to share her experiences living under the 
        Castro regime firsthand;
Whereas on her first United States visit, she will meet with Members of Congress 
        in Washington, DC;
Whereas Sanchez intends to return to Havana, where she lives with her husband 
        Reinaldo and their 20-year-old son Teo, and dreams of starting an 
        independent news outlet, saying, ``Life has taught me that the wall 
        comes tumbling down only when you push it''; and
Whereas despite violent attacks and protests from Castro supporters and 
        leftists, Sanchez has vowed to never stop writing until the people of 
        Cuba are able to express their views freely, saying, ``We Cubans don't 
        deserve what we are living through. I think Cubans deserve to be 
        citizens of the 21st century, in all senses, to test the challenges of 
        modernity.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) honors Yoani Sanchez, a courageous blogger and activist 
        for freedom in Cuba, for her ongoing efforts to challenge 
        political, economic, and social oppression by the Castro 
        regime;
            (2) joins Sanchez and her fellow activists in looking 
        forward to the day when all Cubans can freely express 
        themselves in public without fear of reprisal; and
            (3) supports the first amendment rights of all people in 
        the United States, and commends those individuals who have 
        dedicated their lives to protecting and strengthening these 
        rights in the face of adversity.
                                 <all>