Wheel Summer Dispatch: Exploring Religion and Reconciliation in Cuba

[Mika]

Wheel Summer Dispatch: Exploring Religion and Reconciliation in Cuba
http://www.emorywheel.com/detail.php?n=27123

Shortly after wrapping up finals, I threw myself into preparations for my Journeys of Reconciliation trip to Cuba, a nine-day trip to explore the country.

Journeys of Reconciliation is a program that was started by Oxford College’s first full-time chaplain, Sammy Clark. Today, it is an opportunity for members of the Emory community to learn outside of the classroom. I feel that the primary purpose of these trips is to provide students a firsthand experience of a different culture in the world that has a rich, complex and violent history. On a deeper level, these trips engage students and probe them to think deeper about what reconciliation means and how it is achieved. This program has taken students to places such as Northern Ireland, Jordan and Israel.

We were a diverse and dynamic group of 14. Half of the participants were undergrad students, but there were also two graduate students from the Candler School of Theology and five faculty members. Although most of us were Christian – with the exception of one Jew, one Muslim and a Hindu – we were diverse when considering race, age and field of study.

During our stay there we met with two professors from the University of Havana as well as with leaders from the religious community of Jews, Muslims and various Christian denominations. We were surprised to find out that members of the religious community were well-traveled and generally more global than the average Cuban. This is because members of the religious community would get invited to talk in the United States or countries in Latin America or be sponsored to go to their holy cities.

But in addition to exploring the religious climate of the country, we got a good feel for what life is like in the country, specifically in the capital city of Havana. Cuba is somewhat like a snapshot of the 1950s. The cars are mostly from around then. There is not a lot of traffic, and the roads are in relatively good condition (no potholes, but still bumpy). The architecture is beautiful, and the many different colors of the buildings accentuate Havana’s character.

Cuba has a very strong, free educational system. You can study to any level of education completely free of charge. The country’s system also focuses on children who have special needs. For example, we visited a school for blind children where the teacher-student ratio was 1 to 2.

Politics are very prevalent in Cuba; everywhere we went, we saw Cuban flags, Che Guevara drawings and various signs that can be considered propaganda. We went to the biggest fort in Cuba where we saw Che’s office. We also visited a hotel called Havana Libre, which is where we saw Fidel Castro’s presidential suite, from which he planned and coordinated the revolution.

But to even out the politically-centered sightseeing, we were exposed to several landmarks from Ernest Hemingway’s life, including his house, the bar where he drank his daiquiris and another bar where he drank his mojitos.

We were treated well wherever we went and the Cuban public is optimistic regarding the political and economic relationship between Cuba and the United States. The trip provided a realistic and enlightening look into the religious, political and social atmosphere of one of the most controversial countries.

Note: we in the US face "various signs that can be considered propaganda" every day..