UMaine Teach-in April 12 to Explore Myths, Realities About Cuba
Contact: Barbara Blazej, (207) 581-2625, George Manlove (207) 581-3756
ORONO — A group of UMaine students and faculty who recently returned from an educational tour of Cuba over spring break will hold a public “teach-in” on April 12 to discuss their trip and impressions of the small socialist country 90 miles off the coast of Florida.
The discussion, titled “Cuba: Myths and Realities,” starts at 7 p.m. in 100 Neville Hall and is free and open to the public. The program is sponsored by the Peace Studies Program.
Among the faculty at the teach-in will be Gail Dana, director of the Wabanaki Center, Barbara Blazej, an instructor in the Peace Studies Program and Youth Violence Prevention Project director at UMaine, Phyllis Brazee, director of the Peace Studies Program, and Alex Grab, professor of history, all of whom went to Cuba during spring break. Student participants include Jeff Lowell, Sarah Stewart, Dallas Anderson, Britta Livonius, among others.
To many Americans, Blazej says, Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro is a dictator. To Cubans, he is heir president, elected by a general assembly. Such is the difference in perceptions of Cuba, says Blazej, who holds a view of Cuba based on discussions with members of the Cuban public, visits to schools, farms, churches, businesses and government institutions.
Last year, Blazej took a dozen students to Cuba in a special travel-study class to learn objectively about Cuba, which the United States regards as a political adversary. The US has both a travel and trade embargo against Cuba, now in place more than 40 years. This year, Blazej organized and led a group of 22 people on a delegation to Cuba, nine of whom either study or teach at UMaine.
“Both trips were phenomenal,” Blazej says, noting that the groups were able to travel freely in Cuba without government oversight.
The “teach-in” on U.S.-Cuba relations and the effects of U.S. foreign policy on Cuban life “will hopefully give the public a different view of Cuba, one that most of us don’t get in this country,” she says. “We want to share what we saw and bring a little bit of balance to the conversation. Part of what is so interesting about Cuba is you have this group of people who have been struggling to survive in the face of what they see as continued US aggression,” she says.
Questions about the forum on April 12 can be directed to the Peace Studies Program office, at 581-2625.