It’s time to change our warped view of Cuba: Guest commentary

[Judi Lynn]

It’s time to change our warped view of Cuba: Guest commentary
By Rachel Bruhnke
Posted: 01/02/15, 9:16 AM PST |

I welcome the apparent willingness of the U.S. government to thaw its relationship with Cuba, and I applaud the exchange of prisoners between our countries. However, I have been consistently disappointed and frustrated by reporting about Cuba in the U.S. press. There has always been a purely negative view of the country, and a complete blackout, in fact, on its impressive, very human-centered, development policies. The Cuban people have done much to develop their country along equitable, progressive lines that American visitors find thought-provoking, and at times, heart-wrenching in their prioritization of the most vulnerable segments of society.

I have taken more than 300 Americans to Cuba, as an academic researcher and later as Eco-Cuba coordinator for the U.S.-based human rights organization Global Exchange. Not one of our American participants found the country they thought they would. It is not full of oppressed, downtrodden, emaciated people to be pitied. On the contrary, Cubans are extremely proud of their particular model of development that for one has brought a single payer, cradle-to-grave, health care system to the island — to stay. Mothers and babies are cared for during pregnancy and afterwards. Children grow up in safe, nonviolent communities. Adults, young and old, are part of an economy whose purpose, although admittedly deficient, is to employ all people in meaningful, non-exploitative work. Cuba is at war with no one.

Cubans are also extremely proud of their educational achievements. They are coming on the third generation in their country to be educated, free of charge, in an internationally recognized school system where truly, no child is left behind. There are no “urban slum,” violence-ridden schools. There are no forgotten rural villages in Cuba, filled sadly with illiterate children with no hope for the future. Not one. They are so dedicated to education, in fact, that they have disseminated their literacy project, Yo Si Puedo, to dozens of countries around the world. Several of these countries are now approaching full literacy because of that collaboration.

To undo 55 years of a virtual blackout in the U.S. press about Cuba is far too great a task for a newspaper commentary. Americans themselves need to take charge of the information they are receiving on this much-maligned country, a country that is actually seen as heroic and beloved by much of the world. Who knew? Maybe we weren’t ready during the Cold War. Maybe things weren’t bad enough in the United States to think outside the box on how to solve our problems. Unfortunately, however, our problems may be bad enough now.

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/opinion/20150102/its-time-to-change-our-warped-view-of-cuba-guest-commentary

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