PEEKING OVER THE WALL
HackleyStudents VisitCuba andFaculty EighteenHackleystudentsandeleveno{ their teachersvisitedCuba in March,and gainednot onlyan appreciation{or Cuba and lor life underCastro,but perspectiveon their ownlivesasAmericanindependentschoolstudentsf rom WestchesterCounty. Thetrip was{acilitatedthroughthe efforts of JimAbernathy'59,whosework aschairman ol the publicrelationslirm Abernathy MacGregorFrankhasbroughthimto Cuba in recentyears.Hisfascinationwith the dynamicsof Cubancultureandpoliticsledto conversationswith Hackleyheadmaster WalterC. to thiseducational Johnsonand,eventually, expedition, "lt waslikepeekingoverthe wall,"said HackleyseniorDavidAranow.Cuba isa place youngAmericanshaveheardaboutandeven feared their whole lives,so close,yet inaccessible. Thevisitmadeit real. Thestudentssawgreaterracialequality thanin the UnitedStates.Theysawpeopleliving in extremepovertywhoare nevertheless extraordinarily well-educated, andencountered the absenceof freedomswe take for granted,suchasthe {reedomto travel. EleventhgraderAndrewKopelmanwrote in histrip journal,"TodayI went intoa restaurant andsatdownat the barto drink a FiestaCola.I ordered,andgot to talkingwith the bartender, Miguel.Likeme,hewaslearningltalian, and planningto learnFrenchnextyearat the same Havanalanguageinstitutein whichhe was learningltalian.His problemwasthat dueto Cubanlaw,he wasnot permittedto leavethe countryunlessinvitedby someonef rom ltaly, or whereverelsehe plannedto visit.Thissentimentof desireto leavethe island,i{ onlytemporarily,hasbeensharedby othersI havemet, andseemscommon."Thestudentstalkedwith these Cubansaboutthe dailydeprivations people{aceaswellastheirjoysin community andfellowship; theyalso{eltthe burdenol our responsibility asAmericanslor the absenceo{ medicalresourcesin Cuba,andthe envy Cubans{eelfor our freedomandwealth. Thefollowingpagesoffer snapshots of experiencethroughthe eyesandwordsof the participants.
Photography(exceptwhere noted) by Tamara Reichberg'00.
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where were from. 'Argentina?" he asl<sout loud. 'No,' I smile, "The United States." "The United States!"he cries out. "W'ow!" He pulls a seat up next to us and introduces himseHas Jorge. "So what do you think of Cuba?" he asks. He seemed to be proud of his country or at least to want to be proud of his country, so we tell him Cuba's beautiful. And it is, in some ways. In the way the people dance and laugh, the way the old buildings light the streets with their yellows and blues and pinks. We talk about this Cuba, this magical Cuba. "But tell me," he says after a while, "do you love Cuba in every way-in politics too?" And almost in a whisper, he adds, "Do you suppon Fidel?" We pause for a moment. I'm the one to break the silence,probably becauseI krrow the most Spanish. "I suppon you, the people, I mean, the culture. But I can't support your government." I look down when I speak. I'm not sure what hell say. He smiles like a child being told a secret. He nods his head and leans over the table to shake mv hand. It seems as if I've broken some sort of code. 'Yes, mi amiga." His eyes light up. "Were brothers-all of you Americans and all of us Cubanos. Our governmentsmay fight... too many politics, too mru:rypolitics...,"he closeshis eyes and shakeshis head, "but we shouldnt fight. Not the people. We're brothers. We're brothers." I think about the Embargo Act, but dont say anything. "Do you support your government? Do you support Fidel?,"one of my teachers asls him. I study Jorge's face, looking for traces that might give away his answer. He looks around him and over his shoulder. "There are problems in our government,"he says,beginning to fidget with the cup in his hands. 'What kind of problems?" asks my teacher. "Well, the fact that I cant talk about those problems." He smirks a litde, but it's a sad smirk. "They'll put you in jail if they hear you. And sometimes,you dont know who the police are. They go undercover. So 'There are you have to watch yourself" He looks around him again, acting out his point. problems here," he continues, "there are problems. We have cards that promise us food, but when we go to the center, there isnt any. The hospitals are free, but they give us prescriptions and when we go to the pharmary, we have to pay in dollars. In the hotels, the tourists spread butter over their bread, but we dont have butter on our tables. And we cant go to their 'And the worst part beaches,to the tourist beaches." He ga:zesoff, thinking more than seeing. is, the very worst part, is that we cant leave." He wrinkles his head as if it huns to talk, but begins with a new inrensiry. "I want to know what the world's like. I want to travel. I only lcrow Cuba." His voice builds and starts to quiver. "We're prisoners here. Were prisoners." I dont know how many more times he actually repeats that sentence. It seemslike a lot. But maybe it's just in my head. I start to cry. I dont want drem to see me, so I lean forward against the table and put my hands up near my eyes. "I want to be flee," he says. "That's all I want. I want to be able to speak, to think. I want m be able to dream. Even if it means being the poorest man alive, I want my freedom. I want every day of my life to be mine." He looks away again, searching. I undersund freedom then. It becomes more than just that term in my textbook, that note in a song. And I'm sorry I never knew it before. TamaraRcichberg'oo Continues on nertpage
51
PEEKING OVER THE WALL
LaCancionde la Libertad de Cuba FreedomSongfrom Cuba
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extraordinary and breathtaking, but beyond that, the people were unique in both their kindness and their beauty. I'm from New York, where people would rather spit on your dead body than o{fer assistance. Therefore, Cuba was unbelievable becauseeveryone I met
One of my friends wrote down some of the things our friend said in a little notebook. When we passed through Cuban customs to come back to the U.S., the police searched his bag, read the contents of the journal, and demanded the name and address of the person who spoke to us.
only wanted to help in some way. I was awed, walking down the streets of Old Havarta (Havana Vieja), to seethe overwhelming beauty of mind and spirit emanating from the people. Although the people live under a totalitarian regime, this is almost unfelt by tourists becausethe spirit of Cuba is one of fteedom and life that no government could ever destroy.
Our week in Cuba was one of perpetual action. Indeed, sleepbecamea longed-for commodity that we were rarely afforded. We did so much that week that everyday we were there felt like three or four. As a result, when I came home, I slept for hours; my body felt as though I had spent a month there. Yer, despite all this activity, I had never felt so at easein my life. As a tourist I had the luxury of stapng at a grand hotel with marble everywhere. I had buses to ferry me everylvhere and the money to do as I pleased. However, my idealism faded once I saw the truth beneath the shining facade.
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Contrast perrneatesthe very core of the island, and is seen through the hlpocrisy of the Cuban governmenr. The tourist
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Hackley'schairof the M o d e r nL a n g u a g e s department,Danny Lawrence, wasamongthe participants on the trip to Cuba,and he kept a journalo{ the group's experiences, whichis
Friday,24 March. We meton the HackleyQuad, andI note howmany studentshave not
taken,with a pair of flags, one American,oneCuban, setting a symbolictone for thetrip as a whole.
followedadviceto bring a small amountof luggage as the number of coffin-sizedbags increases.One studenthas broughtat least sevenof everything, including pairsof shoes, for our seven-daystay.The first of many group photographsis
Check-inat the airportis complicatedand chaotic.Bags are checkedand we beginour waitin a specialcordoned-off areaof the terminalafter negotiating themachineryfhat tesfsus and the phalanx for explosives
excerptedhere. 52
of securityguardswho greet us. Our invitationto board our Airbusis precededby a visit from a pair of excitedGerman Shepherdswho take their handlers on a brisktour of the waiting passengers and then the aircraft.
retreats, where the rich from Europe, Asia, and South America vacationed, were remarkably beautiful. Yet the Cubar citizen could never dream of swimming in the natural springs of Las Tercazasor going to the best beaches in Havana becausethey are prevented by the government. We asked ourselveshow it could be that in a Socialistsociery where people are supposedto have equal accessto everything, the government reservesthe best for tourists? When I befriended a native Cuban,
I have derided America and blasted its government. Yet, although I know we sdll have problems in America, the trip to Cuba taught me to value the right America gives me to speak my mind.
I realized how little the govemment a{fords the people. He asked me how my stay was. I said, "Great!"and complimented him on Cuban food. He looked at me and very sternly told me that the food served in the hotels was not the food Cuban citizens had. There is a senseof calm about the island, yet we were very awareof the presenceof police. There is very little crime in Cuba-the violent crimes that occur in the United States are unheard of. However, the low crime is not due to the police but rather to their culture; crimes are inimical to Socialistideology. As a result, the police dont need to do anphing becausethe people have been taught from the cradle that the needsof the sociery come first. In America, the police are supposedto protect citizens from crime. However, in Cuba, the police intimidate and harassthe citizens. At La Canonazo, a Cuban ceremony that has been tumed into a tourist spectacle,I was stopped by the police and asked for my papers. Thanks to the Spanish I had learned I quickly respondedthat I was not Cuban, I was American. As soon as the policeman heard this, he backed away and left me alone. Still, I was shaken by the experience and felt even worse when my Cuban friends told me that it occurs on a aaataataataataaaaaataaatataaatSataaataataaaaataaaaaataatraa!aattStaaataaaaattaataattataaaaatasataataar
SaturdaS25 March. Wearrive at JoseMarti Airport early in themorningand experience baggagehandlingCubanof one style,with the assistance of the many airport workers who grin widely as they hand over bagsand then evenmore widelyas we handover tips. Mostof us negotiatecustoms without a hitch,though a few
hotelis typical of the many handsomebuildings that we will seein Cuba-an elegant white villa with a walledgarden, Iargepublic rooms,a beautiful stainedglasswindow
shadyJookingteachersare stoppedand havetheirbags searched,the X-ray machine having spottedlarge quantities of pensand baseballs.The staffof our hotel, the Hostal Villa Eulalia,is waitingfor us whenwe arrive, around 2:00 AM. Roomsare assigned,our passports are collected. . .
on the staircasethat floodsthe receptionarea with color . . . but showingsignsof age and wear.Our roomsoffer a puz-
someof us wonderwhy. The
they are air-conditionedand equippedwith a large modern TV set,completewith HBO and CNN, buf the sheetson the bedsarethin, sometimes threadbare,andthe bathrooms don't seemto seetheprovision of wateras a basicfunction.
zling combination of facilitiesContinueson nextpage
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PEEKING OVER THE WALL STORY #2daily basis. If a policeman stops them and they do not have their papers, they can be arrested. We met Cubans who were
While I deplore the lack of personal freedoms, I marvel at the apparent lack of discrimination on the island. Discrimination was officiallv outlawed bv the revolution....
aftard rc be seen with us by the police becausethey feared they might be harassedand questioned about things they may have said. Socialism has brought rrralry great changesin healthcare, education and housing - basics that we are still in this country trying to provide for all citizens. Yet although people can visit the doctor for ftee, they cannot afford the prescriptions that the doctors give them becausethey must pay with American dollars at the pharmacy. Although they are assigned an allotment of food, they do not receive enough upon which to survive. Although they are given free housing, their homes are falling aparl This, however, is less the result of a corrupr govemment derynng the people the things they are supposedto have, and more so the eflect of the American embargo. Becauseof the embargo,which has been tightened in recenr years by the Helms-Burton Act, there is very little money on the island. The govemment pays for what it can. Despite how the people felt about the governmenr or Casrro, they all said that things were better ten years ago before the collapse of the Soviet Union becauseof the Soviet subsidiesCuba received. However, since the collapseof the Soviet Union, Cuba has lost billions of dollars in foreign aid. With this loss in revenue,the govemment has been forced to alter conditions in Cuba. Tourism is now the backbone of the Cuban economy-or more specifically, American dollars are the backbone. Despite the tension berween America and Cuba, all the prices we saw were listed in dollars. The government has created such a nice world for tourists in order to convince people to come and spend their money. The specialprivileges have createdtwo social classes:tourists and citizens. For example, there is a club in Havana where, in addition to the cover fee, a foreign passport is necessaryin order to get in. Also, regardlessof the positive advancementsthe government has achieved,Cubans cannot voice their own opinions if they
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Sunday,26 March. In themorning, lim Abernathyand his daughter join us for our visitto the Museum of the Revolution whereChe and Castroare portrayed as demi-godsand Batistaand theAmericansas devils.!glimpse Havanaoutof a windowand thoughtsof Beirut cometo mind. Thewindowsare empty of glass,the facadesare pitted and crum-
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bling-the buildings lookas thoughthey havebeenburned or bombedbut they are just
the Cubans,who seemvery much like themselvesin so many ways-their clothes,their love of musicand friends-but
shabbyandin a very poor state of repair.
who seemhappy to spendthe restof their livesin the country of their birth and who seem Iargelyindifferent to their povertyin materialterms.
Monday,27 March. A truly unforgettableday.ln the morningwe visitthe lnstituto Pedag6gicofo meet sfudenfs trainingto be teachers.Some
theArts, whereall students developtheir talentas dancers as well as following a normal high schoolcurriculum.I am impressed and movedby the dancers'discipline and talent, but alsostruckby the backdrop provided by the shabbyfurniture, pittedwallsand broken door-frame.
A magicalafternoon.We visit ENA, the National Schoolof
of our studentsare confusedby
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That evening,we celebrate
...the Cuban citizen could never dream of swimming in the natural springs of Las Terrazas or going to the best beaches in Havana because they are prevented by the government. We asked ourselves how it could be that in a Socialist society where people are supposed to have equal accessto everything, the government reserves the best for tourists?
They can be imprisoned for saying negative things about the government. One example is my Cuban friend who came with us to many of the places we went and answered all of our questions truthfully. One of my friends wrote down some of the things our friend said in a little notebook. When we passedthrough Cuban customs to come back to the U.S., the police searchedhis bag, read the contents of the joumal, and demandedthe name and addressof the person who spoke to us. Luckily, my companion had not written the addressin the journal, so the police did not get it. This encounter shattered my deluded idealism and any remaining admiration I had for the government; the experience,my last vision of Cuba, Ieft a sour taste in my mouth. I now truly appreciatethe risk to his life our friend took just to speak his mind and tell the truth. I take this especially to hean because,as a gay youth, I thlnk of how di{ficult it is for gay people around the world who cannot speak out against injustice. I have derided America and blasted its government. Yet, although I larow we still have problems in America, the trip to Cuba taught me to value the right America gives me to speak my mind. I can blast the government and our leadersto my hean's content and nothing will happen to me. Cubans do not have that right. I saw fear'in people'seyeswhen we started talking about the government. Yet, even in this, contrastsand contradicdonsemerge. \oaaaaaataaaaattataaaraatlttaataaaaaaataatatraattattaataatoaaaSlaatiatalatiatfaaaaaaaaataataaatataaaaa
the birthday of oneof our students,and lotsof Cuban studentsarrive. Theirdancing putsus to shame....Theylove to discuss,explain,and question; they arearticulate, wellinformed, curious. Namesand are exchanged,on addresses the minimum amount of paper in the caseof the Cubans. Tuesday,28 March. We travelto
LasTerrazas,an eco-community comprisingan estatewith a hotel,wonderful Iandscape,a
dinner peoplespendtheir time ...atLa Casade la Musica,a local musicclub where the goal
village anda school.We visita
of findingCuban musicto lis-
schooland tiny children sing and recitefor us, alwayson a nationalistic themeand/orto the memoryof loseMarti. I am struckby the tiny bit of rough paper that eachof them hasto work on and the shabby,bro-
ten to andto danceto is at lasl achieved. IBarelya trickleof water in the shower.l
ken tablesand chairs.After
Wednesday,29 March. /n fhe morningwe meet representativesof theCuban healthcare system,who are[surely?] too
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insisfenton ifs effectivenessbut seemutterly committedto their mission.Cuban healthcare stressesprevention and a holistic approach.The speakers revealthat Cuban doctorsearn Iittlemorethan bus driversand owe any kindof statusthey achieveto thestandardof the work they do anctthe results they achieve.Wego on to visit Continueson next pdge
PEEKING OVER THE WALL While I deplore the lack of personal freedoms, I marvel at the apparent lack of discrimination on the island. Discrimination was officially oudawed by the revolurion, which called for gender and racial equaliry. While these may not have been fully achieved across the sociery, and while aspectsof the macho culture of traditional Cuba persist, I senseda virtual lack of homophobia in the people I met. There is litde to no gay bashing becausediscrimination is an o{ficial taboo. This overwhelmed me. In America, I have rwo strikes against me because I am black and becauseI ^
gy.
Yet, in Cuba, my di{ferences meant
nothing. People actually thought I was Cuban. I felt accepted by the people as one of their own. A womrur even came up to me and told me how beautiful my skin was, that I looked like her son. That would never happen in America. For me, the word "contrasts" summarizes my experiencein Cuba. The utopian aspectsof the island, such as equaliry for a]l, co-exist with such contradictionsas special
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embargo, which allects the Cubans' abiliry to feed their families, obtain medicine, and secureadequatehousing; yet these conditions have no bearing whatsoeveron the policies the Cuban govemment maintains. People cannot speak their mind. Their voices are removed, their opinions suppressed. This is a horrible evil. One week is not time enough to learn all about Cuban sociery. I need to return, possibly to study language at the University of Havana. However, I am certain of this: I would want to retum as a tourist, not a citizen. That way, if I disagree, I can always leave. 3 Josephllurchinson'oz r I
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a local doctor [who] has responsibilityfor 150 Iocalfamilies,c.600 patients.lam struckby hisdedicationand by the clean but primitivesurgical facility, wnh its handwritten noticesand posters. Thursday,30 March. Weset off very early to explorethe eastern part of the islandof Cuba, fand finishat] a nearby ranchon
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of the representationof local tra ditions and rit uals?- but energeticand lively. Dancing followsand it's jusfgreaf to see studentsup on stageactually doing the salsaand the
front of us. Almost immediately a fog of TwilightZone or X Files proportionsdescendsandwe are obligedto proceedat snail's paceon the unmarkedand unlit roads. Wearrive at the hotel at 4:45 AM, announcethat breakfasthasbecomebrunch andtumbleinto bed.[The shower,whenturned on,pro-
merenge. We leaveat 11:15 PM, with a 3-hour journey in
ducesa cutegurgling sortof soundbut no waterl
Thecabaret that followsit is a bit confusing-are they really slaughteringa chickenas part
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Friday,31 March. Our lastday. Studentsare already asking when the next Cuba trip will take place. Someof us go to a Santeriamuseum.There are manypracticing Christiansin Cuba, both Prolestantand Catholic,and many practicing Jews.Santeriaexistsalongside all these,a belief ratherthan a religion,and redolentof AfroCaribbean traditions, with its
Our visitto Cuba coincidedwith the struggleover ElianGonzales,as American couris debatedwhether the boy would be returnedto his laiher in Cuba, Elian'sfuture wasan emotionallyloadedissuefor andAmericanshadreasonto Cubansaswellasfor Cuban-Americans, {irst time many thinkaboulcuba for the in years,Elian'ssituationseemedto embody belie{that freeCubanexiles'lonqstandinq dom in the Americansenseis preferableto
embargopolicywhichhurtsa kindandinnocentpeople,a downtrodden, yet survivingpeople.In an interestingturn ol events,one daybelore Elian'sreturn flight, the HouseRepublicanleadersagreedto end four on food salesto Cuba decadesof sanctions Duringthe Cuba trip,a groupo{ leachers belriendeda Cubannamed"FastEddie"one evening.We askedhimaboutthe spiritof the peopleandhowandwhytheydelighted in their musicso. He said,"We look happy, you see,is our don'twe? Well,happiness, weapon.'Thatquickcommentfrom our new lriend at a Cubanclubenabledusto beginto
life in a socialiststate,albeitwith his{ather. Cuba,wilh Thecasefor understanding isdilandcontradictions, all itscomplexities {icult. Eachday o{ the trip, we learnedmore aboutCuba,gatheringinsightinlo the mystery ol Cuba, yet we {oundit increasingly "isCuba bad? Are we right? hardlo assess
seeandunderstandhowthe Cubanshave and how survivedCastroandembargoes, go theywill on to delightanyonewho gets the chanceto penetratethe thick barrierso{
Are theyevil?" Over the courseol the Elian struggle,Americanscameto sympathize with Elian'sfather. Theyalro beganto reconsideroutdatedCold Warfearsandan
their country. John Leistle4History DepartmentChair
Hackley in Havana: (front row) VanessaDuffey, lennie Lyons, HelenErickson,Diane Remenar, Nina Nacher;EddieAppelbaum '02, '01, Belma lna Groeger Hakirevic'02, EdmundBurke '00, '00, Chaz Julie Freeman '00, Charles TamaraReichberg '01; '00, Andrew Kopelman (backrow) TonyMaisonet,Dave '01, Olson, Aquilla Ramos JheramisHernandez'01,Gaby '01, Long'02, NickFanell Jackie Bodine'00, JosephHutchinson '02, Ben Alper02, AlyssaPratt '01, Danny Lawrence, Mikko '00, Taylor'02, David Aranow John Leistler,WalterJohnson, Andrew Frishman, JohnGannon, '59 and Nell Jim Abernathy Abernathy.
J o @ A c
own deitiesand feasts.We comeawayunderstanding somethingof the importanceof Santeriaand fascinatedby its artifactsand rituals We reassemblein Old Havanabefore returning to the hotelfor the excitementof packing, Thereis no water when we arrive but the pipa
rant, and thebagsof clothesand possessions that studentsand teachershavedecidedto leave behindfor theirnewJound friendsare loaded intoa taxi.
arrives soonand cold, dribbly slrowersareavailableto all, Addresses and promisesof a reunionare exchanged.Many of the f riends made during the weekare at the hoteland there is a tangibleair of gloom as we contemplatesayinggoodbyeto
After dinner we return to the hoteltofind someof our Cuban friends stillwaiting to saya final goodbyeand we
themtoo. Wehavea final dinner togetherin a local restau-
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leavefor the airport at midnight. Wearrive at an eerily emptyKennedyat 6:00 AM and are back at Hackley around8:00 AM on Saturday the lst of April. The promiseof a long hotshowergoes some way towardsrelieving the alreadydeeplyinstallednostalgia for Cuba ... but not far. *