By Yoani Sanchez

What is happening in Iran and its dissemination through the Internet is a lesson for Cuban bloggers. The authoritarians of the court also must be taking note of what great dangers result from—in these events—Twitter, Facebook, and mobile phones. Seeing those young Iranians use all the technology to denounce the injustice, I notice everything that we lack to support those who maintain blogs from the island. The acid test of our incipient virtual community has not yet arrived, but maybe it will surprise us tomorrow… with the aggravation of low connectivity.

In our blogger meetings, which we hold every week, we watched a small video about the Iranian cybernauts. I watched it again today in lieu of the images of the demonstrations that our official television refuses to show. I haven’t contemplated the faces painted green, nor heard any announcer speak of the seven dead, but with this brief animated short I can imagine everything. I visualize an entire generation weary of old structures that it wants to change, a people—like me—who has ceased to believe in enlightened leaders who lead us like cattle. In the midst of all this, to our satisfaction, are the bytes and screens modifying the form of protest.

On days like this I greatly regret not being able to be online; I feel like I’m choking having to wait to hear all the news. If there’s still time for me to extend my solidarity to the Iranian bloggers, then here is a post to tell them: “Today it’s you, tomorrow it could well be us.”

Editor's note: Yoani also has a great video with Spanish subtitles of the Iranian protests posted, right here.