Cuba: Reflections after a Visit February 2008
for my Global Citizenship class, Sociology 430, University of British Columbia. by Eileen Dombrowski
for my Global Citizenship class, Sociology 430, University of British Columbia. by Eileen Dombrowski
Dear class,
By chance, I was in Cuba this past week at an historic moment - the day when Fidel Castro announced his resignation as President, almost 50 years after the Revolution that brought him to power. His resignation was not a surprise, given his failing health and withdrawal from public appearances for the past year and a half. The new government leader was selected some time ago and will be announced on Sunday February 24. Yet, even though the transition is likely to be undramatic in practical terms, it still marks the end of an era -- and opens a lot of questions about Cuba's future balance between communism and capitalism and its relationship with the United States.
I've returned with my mind swarming with images and impressions gained from observing, avidly reading conflicting views, and asking a lot of questions. I was fortunate to be staying while there with the Resident Representative of the United Nations, who is also the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for Cuba, so had a rare opportunity to ask for interpretation and explanation. I want to share with you some of my increased awareness - not as obligatory course reading but as my attempt to give some background and stir thoughts on Cuba on topics relevant to this course. These reflections will inevitably be coloured by my own perspectives.
First, though, I'd like to refresh in your minds a few of the topics we've discussed so far in this course in hopes that you'll keep them in mind as you read my comments on Cuba:
1. What is the ideal balance, ethically and practically, between the good of the individual and the good of the group? How is this balance best decided and maintained in a society? In terms of ethics, I think we've looked much more at the rights/entitlements of the individual than at anything that could be considered to be the rights/entitlements of the group - though our discussion of the obligations of citizens verges on the topic.
2. Which rights are most important for citizens - social, civil, or political rights? Is it more important, for example, to give people the vote or to feed them? In what ways do different political systems give priority to different rights?
3. To what extent is a group/a nation's sense of identity created by shared history? by rallying to a cause? by facing opposition? Is a sense of identity necessarily uniform? How much variation is tolerated by the society?
Later in the course we'll also be considering poverty and health, consumerism, and the environment, all of which are also living issues in Cuba.
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