I was traveling with 15 Charlotte high school students in Cuba when Fidel Castro died
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A Cuban flag in Havana. Photo by Adalberto ROQUE / AFP
(Scott Waybright is the Assistant Head of School at Charlotte Country Day School.)
We all woke up very early this past Saturday morning, and there was sadness in the air. Overnight, Fidel Castro passed away.
We have spent the last seven days traveling from central Cuba toward Havana as we visit schools, printing companies, urban gardens, and meeting some incredible people along the way.
As a child of the ’70s and ’80s, Cuba was a one dimensional entity for me.
An oppressed people, controlled by a tyrannical dictator, their poverty represented all the evils of communism. Now as an adult, I struggle to define truth for myself, let alone for others. Causes and effects quickly transpose themselves creating loops that can lead to endless suffering.
Traveling with 15 high school students keeps my particular biases in check as we learn a new perspective on pre-revolution Cuba, the heroes of their revolution, and the decades under Castro.
Cubans are very proud of their history and strength through the difficult relationship with the United States. It’s complicated for all of us. We have learned so much about their perspective in history and have become very close to real, intelligent, caring people that have a completely different view of the world than our own.
What do we do with that?
Students at the “Che” Guevara School of the Arts shared their passions with us in song, dance and the visual arts.
Urban farmers taught us about sustainability through organic gardens in the middle of bustling cities all across Cuba.
Doctors gave us a tour of their local offices that serve as a first line of free health care for everyone.
The director of Le Mujenje discussed the role his venue plays in welcoming the many diverse people within Cuba, and how it is helping to slowly changing the culture of acceptance in Cuba.
And two random strangers I met on the street invited me into their homes to sit and talk about, not politics or the world, but our children and our hopes and our dreams.
No one mentioned the US embargo, the dictator, socialism, or Mr. Trump.
Maybe that’s what we do.
Keep taking kids around the world. Look in our own cities for opportunities to see a new perspective. And stop talking like we have it all figured out.
Listen to others.
I’ll be honest. I was nervous Saturday morning. How would we be received as we traveled two hours to the airport for our return flight to Charlotte? Turns out, that was a bit arrogant. No one in the country cared at all about our little trip. They were hurting.
What better life lesson than to be together and understand the pain that others are feeling while still acknowledging that the world is complicated and we don’t “get it.”
I may not have shifted far from my concerns about the effects of the leadership in Cuba, but I saw enough to have a little hope.
Editor's note: This piece was updated by removing all personal photos.