|
Two Millsaps students
will be traveling to Cuba from March 21 to 30 to experience firsthand
the nation's people, culture, government and economy, and to better understand
how that country is affected by the United States and its policies.
Meg Hyneman and Wesley
Kelley, both sophomores from Jackson, will participate in an Encountering
Contemporary Cuba tour sponsored by the Associated Colleges of the
South and coordinated through the Center for Global Education at Augsburg
College. The program is designed to allow students and faculty to look
beyond the headlines to see the real Cuba.
Although the country
is only 90 miles off the U.S. coast, travel restrictions have kept Cuba
a mystery to many Americans. "I think it is incredible that Cuba
is so geographically close to the United States and so deeply affected
by the U.S. embargo, and yet most of us still know almost nothing about
the country, its people and its history," said Hyneman, who studies
religion, philosophy and Spanish at Millsaps. "I studied in Mexico
last summer and it dramatically changed my understanding of politics in
Latin America, as well as in the United States. I hope that by traveling
to Cuba I will be able to learn about the political and economic situation
of Cuba without the typical U.S-biased slant."
Kelley, a business
administration major, said that as a student at a Methodist college she
was "interested in Cuba's social and religious culture. Being a woman
studying business, I am intrigued in the role that women play in Cuban
society."
The tour includes
six to seven days in Havana and two to three days at the Bay of Pigs and
Santa Clara, burial site of the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. The
group will have the opportunity to interact with ordinary Cubans, learning
about their lives and the effects of the U.S. embargo. Participants will
be exposed to Cuba's history, traditions and socio-political structure,
and they can learn about the socialist nation's economic development.
The program includes
visits to Old Havana, museums, family businesses, farms and markets, as
well as the chance to hear Cuban music. Lectures and itineraries are based
on the interests of the participants, who will be able to observe health
and educational systems with visits to hospitals, clinics and schools,
speak with a human rights specialist and U.S. foreign service officials,
and learn about the role of women in Cuban society. They can also meet
Cuban artists and musicians.
"Educational trips like these are important because it would be impossible
for me to really understand the injustices present in the United States
without experiencing the struggles happening elsewhere in the world,"
Hyneman said. "I want to learn how the way I live — the way
the U.S. middle class lives — really affects people in other parts
of the world."
The trip "was
conceived based on interest from our Latin American Studies faculty-planning
group," said Teresa Wise, the ACS director of international programs.
"There is a great deal of interest in Cuba on many of our campuses."
ACS has tentative
plans to offer another trip in January 2004. All participants travel under
a license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign
Assets Control.
|
