The old geezer just keeps on ticking.
Cuban President Fidel Castro sent 78 dissidents and independentjournalists to prison last week. He also executed three men whotried to hijack a ferry to Florida earlier this month. Sure, it’snot as exciting as the United States manhandling Iraq, but it didraise some eyebrows in Latin America.
Still, as Northwestern students receive many of theirstudy-abroad application responses this month, administratorscontinue to explore options for student travel to Cuba for nextyear.
Good for them. Students now will be able escape their Evanstonbubble and explore Cuba’s cultural — and politically turbulent –treasure chest. Some Midwesterners might even learn some rhythm byswaying to salsa music in the Caribbean. But more importantly,study-abroad programs offer the most feasible option for increasingdialogue with an island with travel restrictions more complicatedthan NU’s housing lottery.
William Anthony, director of NU’s Study Abroad Office, said theuniversity began looking into sponsoring travel to Cuba two yearsago, but they haven’t finalized any programs yet.
But that didn’t stop Josh Miller from studying in the communistnation Fall Quarter through the School for International Training,a company that offers student programs to dozens of countriesaround the globe.
“I wanted to get a different outlook on things and learn aboutAmerica’s foreign policy in the region,” said Miller, a Medilljunior. “It was an amazing experience.”
Until recently, the vast majority of Cuban Americans hadvehemently opposed travel to Cuba because it supposedly legitimizedFidel Castro’s oppressive regime by pumping tourist dollars intoits economy. But reluctance to interact with Cuba has softened overthe past few years. Many Cuban-American political groups haverealized the importance of reaching out to the Cuban people in thetwilight of Castro’s regime.
“I totally support study-abroad programs to Cuba,” said FeliceGorordo, president of the Georgetown University Cuban-AmericanStudent Association. “But only if they take into account thereality of the island. Unfortunately, some academic and touristprograms only present one side of the country — the government’sside.”
The other side, according to Gorordo, is that Cubans are similarto Americans in many ways. Cuba’s most beloved national hero, JoseMarti, actually studied in New York before applying American idealsof freedom to his fight for Cuban independence in the 1890s.
Edward Gibson, associate professor of political science, said hecompletely supports studying abroad in Cuba because it would engagean otherwise voiceless Cuban population that we know very littleabout.
“If we don’t start talking with the Cuban people now, we’ll haveto be ready for a very violent and uncertain transition once thisregime is over with,” he said.
So as Castro turns 77 this year, it’s time to start interactingwith the people of Cuba. And maybe in a few years, after more thanfour decades under Communist rule, American students will be ableto roam the streets of Havana and mingle with a country rejuvenatedby freedom.
How’s that for a study-abroad option?
