Abraham Jiménez Enoa
Born1988
Havana
NationalityCuban
OccupationJournalist
Years active2014-present
Known forSocial activism
Notable workLa Isla Oculta[1]

Abraham Jiménez Enoa (born 1988) is a freelance Cuban journalist. He is the co-founder of El Estornudo and was the recipient of the 2022 International Press Freedom Award.[2]

Early life and education

Jiménez Enoa was born in Havana into a revolutionary family, where almost everyone was a member of the Communist Party. He describes his youth as growing up within the "automatism of the Revolution."[3] He lived mainly with his grandparents. His paternal grandfather was a bodyguard for Fidel Castro, Ernesto "Che" Guevara and other revolutionary leaders and lived around the corner from Castro. His father is a retired colonel in the Ministry of Interior (MININT). A poor student in school, he had to attend a high school in the country. He wanted to be a baseball player growing up, but found his skills were not adequate and chose to become a sports writer. He graduated from the University of Havana in 2012 with a degree in journalism. This was followed by service time at the Ministry of Information as an archivist until 2016. While there he began his journalism career by writing sports articles for OnCuba.[3]

Career

Abraham Jiménez Enoa with María Elena Salinas at 2022 International Press Freedom Award ceremony

He left the MININT in 2016 to found El Estornudo, an independent magazine of narrative journalism. He was sanctioned for leaving the ministry with a regulation that barred him from leaving Cuba for five years. He became an outspoken critic of the regime. He covered taboo topics not otherwise covered, including prostitution, poverty, human rights and racism in Cuba.[4] His writing appeared in both Cuban and international outlets, including The Washington Post (WAPO) and Gatopardo.[5] Jiménez faced increasing harassment because of his writing. His internet was blocked and he and his family were threatened. He was arrested, strip searched, handcuffed and told to stop writing for WAPO.[6] He left El Estornudo in 2020, exhausted and needing to regain his strength.[3] On October 20, 2020, he wrote a column for WAPO entitled "If this is my last column here, it’s because I’ve been imprisoned in Cuba," describing the harassment he and other journalists have been subjected to.[7]In November, 2021, the government gave him an ultimatum: leave or be jailed.[4] He fled to Spain in 2021 where he lives in exile[8] Jiménez Enoa won the 2023 Michael Jacobs Prize for Travel Writing, telling the story of his first year out of Cuba.[9]

Narrative style

Although he has continued to write opinion pieces, his preferred writing style is the contemporary Latin American literary genre crónica. His first book La Isla Oculta used this style. He describes this genre as being in the mold of writers such as Truman Capote and Rodolfo Walsh[5] (believed to be author of the first non-fiction novel in Spanish). He feels this style gives him more time to investigate, meet with sources and "spend time in the places."[5]

Personal life

Jiménez Enoa lives in Barcelona with his wife and young son. He describes himself as a person of the left and not against communism; he just wants to write the truth. His family in Cuba has reconciled with him after a period of estrangement. His activism caused his mother and sister to lose government jobs and his father to retire from MININT.[10]

References

  1. ↑ ""La isla oculta" de Abraham Jiménez Enoa (VIDEO)". Radio y Televisión Martí | RadioTelevisionMarti.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  2. ↑ "CPJ's 2022 International Press Freedom Awards". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  3. 1 2 3 "Abraham Jiménez Enoa: "Professions do not belong to those who study them... but to those who practice them" - No Country Magazine". 2021-08-23. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  4. 1 2 "From Ties With Fidel and Che to Exile for Cuban Journalist". VOA. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  5. 1 2 3 "'Independent journalists in Cuba are dying out and those who are left are tied up': 5 questions for Cuban journalist Abraham Jiménez Enoa". LatAm Journalism Review by the Knight Center. 2023-03-04. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  6. ↑ "Cuba: Threats and harassment to Abraham Jiménez Enoa confirm growing censorship". Pen International. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  7. ↑ "Opinion | If this is my last column here, it's because I've been imprisoned in Cuba". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  8. ↑ "Abraham Jiménez Enoa, Cuba". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  9. ↑ "Award". Michael Jacobs Foundation. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  10. ↑ "Abraham Jiménez Enoa decidió escribir la verdad, y pagó por ello" [Abraham Jiménez Enoa decided to write the truth, and paid for it.]. Radio y Televisión Martí | RadioTelevisionMarti.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-03-29.
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