Help Sought for Independent Journalist and Professor in Critical Health Condition in Havana

Activists have issued an urgent plea for assistance on behalf of Reinaldo Emilio Cosano Alén, an 82-year-old independent journalist and professor from Cuba, known as "El Profe." Currently, he is in a dire state of health and living under harsh conditions in Guanabo, Havana. Yenier Toledano Torres, who leads a humanitarian initiative, took to social media to request donations of sheets and disposable diapers to aid Cosano, hoping to alleviate his "critical situation."

“It pains me every time I receive a help request and sometimes can’t respond due to a lack of resources,” Toledano lamented on his Facebook profile, where he also shared a video depicting the somber reality faced by the Cuban intellectual. The appeal has resonated with many, and several individuals have already expressed their willingness to contribute, offering various forms of material support.

José Batista Falcón, a former political prisoner and exile, has also joined the campaign, urging support from exile organizations and compassionate individuals. Those interested in helping can reach out to Toledano at +53 5023 3912.

Born in Havana in 1943, Reinaldo Emilio Cosano Alén holds a degree in Philology from the University of Havana and spent 20 years teaching within the general education system. He taught Spanish and Literature at the Amador López Mosquera Secondary School in Guanabo, Habana del Este. In 1991, a school secretary reported him for authoring a letter that outlined the problems within Cuba's education system. As a result, he was dismissed for lacking "political suitability," a decision upheld by the Ministry of Education.

The incident became a pretext for his removal, although the State Security had been monitoring him due to his involvement with the human rights movement, according to the Observatory of Academic Freedom (OLA), which commented on the professor’s situation on social media platform X. After his dismissal, Cosano dedicated himself fully to intellectual activities within the political dissidence, playing significant roles in initiatives like Concilio Cubano and the Independent Educators College of Cuba. He also contributed to the Cuban Committee for Human Rights and was involved with the Cuban Democratic Coalition.

From the island, he worked for over a decade as an independent journalist for CubaNet and Martí Noticias until his health and age no longer allowed him to do so. “Like many educators in Cuba who are marginalized because of their beliefs, he is not entitled to a pension, despite his two decades of uninterrupted teaching and impeccable service record while he was permitted to teach,” OLA denounced.

Cosano’s situation is emblematic of a broader national crisis: the elderly—the most vulnerable and unprotected members of society—are surviving in dire conditions, grappling with food shortages, inflation, and a lack of medications and adequate medical care.