What did you do on spring break? Work on your tan? Party with friends? Catch up
on your sleep?
From March 17 to 24, Prof. Stephen M. Berk,
the Florence B. Sherwood Professor of History and Culture; and the Henry and
Sally Schaffer Professor of Holocaust and Jewish Studies, traveled 1,500 miles
to participate in a mitzvah – a good deed – in the form of a medical
mission to Cuba.
Although the U.S. strictly regulates travel to the island nation, Berk
explained that religious or humanitarian groups encounter less red tape in
gaining permission. He and his group brought much-needed medications for heart
diseases, high blood pressure, GI reflux, and other ailments. In America, these medications are commonplace and largely
affordable. But in Cuba, they are hard to find and financially prohibitive
for most people. The drugs were delivered to a large synagogue that maintains a
pharmacy and distributes pharmaceuticals to Jews and non-Jews alike who share a
common economic plight.
Berk met with members of the tiny (approximately
1,300) Jewish community. Prior to Castro, some 13,000 Jews lived in Cuba. But after the Revolution, 90 percent of the Jewish
population left – not because of Soviet-style anti-Semitism, but because of a
Soviet-style centralized planned economy that caused widespread economic
hardship. The majority of them lost their businesses and resettled in Miami.
Although the Castro regime retains many elements of the former Soviet system,
there are differences, such as the absence of party-line anti-Semitism.
However, there is no free speech, it is a closed society, government opposition
is forbidden, and a cult of personality nearly beatifies Castro, Che Guevara, and 19th century revolutionary Jose
Marti.
While Berk was there, dozens of people were arrested
for speaking out and writing against the Castro regime. The Cubans Berk spoke
to knew nothing of the arrests. Berk had heard about it on CNN.
The populace does not know its own history or what
transpired before Castro, said Berk. Cubans are not given access to outside
television channels, such as CNN. In the food-rationing system, children over
age 13 cannot get milk unless it is purchased on the black market. Dietary
staples such as rice, beans, and bread are rationed. Additional quantities are
available only on the black market. There is no meat. People are allotted less
than two chickens a month. Even sugar is rationed despite Cuba's celebrated sugar production.
However, Berk reports that the Cuban system does have some notable
achievements. There is social mobility for people who have nothing. The state
guarantees education through ninth grade. University education is free for
those who pass the exams. However, university-bound high school students must
attend rural high schools where they are required to work the land, reflecting
Jose Marti's philosophy that scholars must also be workers.
Cuba also has a relatively good health care system by
Latin American standards, and it is widely accessible. Infant and maternal
mortality rates are among the lowest in Latin America.
Conditions in rural areas are even worse. Berk's
group toured a “model” farm that had no running water or electricity. At a
cigar factory, workers earn $1 a day for rolling their daily quota of 120
cigars. They net $30 a month with overtime – twice the salary of elementary
school teachers. Most people hold two or three jobs so they can earn enough to
supplement their families' needs with black market goods.
In this closed society, there exists a stark economic dichotomy. Luxurious
tourist resorts are strictly off-limits to Cubans. Only service workers are
permitted. The resorts are also the only places on the island that receive CNN.
Berk explained that the Cuban government tells people that all their hardships
are due to American sanctions. At 77, Castro remains remarkably healthy and
very much in control. There is no hint of when he may be replaced or by whom.
Berk met a Jewish community leader who, along with Roman Catholic leaders, once
met with Castro. During that meeting she asked Castro why he never visited a
synagogue and invited him to come celebrate Hanukkah, which was two weeks away.
When he asked, “What is Hanukkah?” she replied, “The Jewish revolution.”
Castro did indeed come. He is intelligent, well read, and a quick study, said
Berk. As a young man, Castro was famous for marathon speeches – some as long as
nine hours. So when it became apparent he didn't know anything about Judaism,
he did his homework. When he visited the synagogue, he delivered a two-hour
speech on Judaism then quizzed the congregation. Few congregants could respond
correctly. Amazingly, Castro exhorted them to study and learn about their own
religion and culture.
Berk said that the Cubans were cordial and expressed much goodwill for
Americans. Initially he was hesitant about going, but he had a wonderful
experience and is glad he went. “I learned a great deal,” he said.