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"Humanities
in Cuba" Program Ignores Artist Persecution
Tanya S. Wilder. NewsMax.com,
Tuesday, May 18, 2004.
As a college language professor, I fully
understand the desire to provide students
with opportunities that expand their knowledge
of language, culture, art, literature, and
the humanities. I acknowledge the benefits
that only travel to a foreign country can
provide in terms of a wealth of new experiences,
and I value the opportunity for self-awareness
and expansion that one can only understand
by having studied or lived in another country.
However, when educators offer students
the opportunity to study abroad, it is our
responsibility to be totally honest and
informative about the parameters of the
culture we plan to visit. We owe it to our
students to paint a truthful and realistic
picture of the society in which the artists,
dramatists, dancers, writers, architects,
and other creative individuals (as well
as common citizens) our students will study
live.
Beyond that, when a program glorifies a
government that denies or defines freedom
of expression on all levels for its citizens,
and when we promote participation in studies
that do not reflect the suffering of individuals
who live within the framework of such a
society, we become little more than self-serving
academics. We blatantly choose to overlook
a reality which is of greater significance
than the artistic and "humanitarian"
focus of the program itself.
Such, I fear, is the case with Florida
International University's Humanities in
Cuba program, which does not address the
reality of life and the total lack of respect
for freedom of expression and basic human
rights under a totalitarian regime. A regime
which has repressed its citizens for over
four decades now.
I wonder if part of the humanities segment
of the week in Cuba covers an inclusive
study of the many ways in which the Cuban
government violates all 31 articles of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I
wonder if students would be allowed to visit
the island if a component of their studies
included analyses of the poetry, essays,
and drawings of the many men and women who
are incarcerated for trying to defend the
freedom of expression and the right to live
in a democratic society.
Are participating students aware of the
contemporary culture of clandestine writings
by distinguished Cuban poets such as Raúl
Rivero and Manuel Vázquez Portal?
Do participants realize that the many interesting
works of art they will see are for their
viewing only because the works are sanctioned
and approved by the Cuban government?
When the students visit museums and libraries,
will they go with the knowledge that independent
librarians who attempt to offer reading
material to people within their neighborhoods
are constantly harassed and threatened and
their books confiscated? Will the students
be able to name or identify the 75 individuals
who were arbitrarily arrested and summarily
tried in March/April of 2003?
More importantly, will they know WHY these
noble, creative, and courageous individuals
are serving sentences of up to 28 years?
Only if in-depth attention is given to matters
such as these could one justify offering
a course entitled "Humanities in Cuba."
The Institutional Values Statement of Florida
International University states, "Florida
International University is committed to
(among other things):
-Freedom of thought and expression
-Respect for the dignity of the individual
and
-Honesty, integrity, and truth.
It seems to be a contradiction that the
FIU would approve and sanction a study program
entitled "Humanities in Cuba"
to a country whose totalitarian regime has
deprived its citizens of the aforementioned
values for 45 years.
Tanya S. Wilder is Associate Professor
in the Spanish department at Washington
State Community College in Marietta, Ohio.
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