By Saundra Dobbs

I am graduating in two weeks and as a result this is my last column for the newspaper. I spent several weeks trying to decide what I wanted to write about. If you have read my past columns or seen me in the student center fundraising for a trip to Ghana this summer, you may have picked up on the fact that I went to Africa last year and got malaria. I have used this experience to raise awareness of the devastating effect that malaria has in Africa. However, my malaria experience has exposed me to more than just the disease. While I was hospitalized I met a man who challenged my stereotypes and opened my eyes to a population I have been poisoned against.

My fiancé and I were the only two Americans who went on our volunteer trip to Ghana last summer. The other 12 volunteers were Canadians. Throughout the summer, we discussed various political issues and I was shocked when I realized four of the volunteers had traveled to Cuba for vacations within the last few years. As I probed further, I began to realize that Canadians vacation in Cuba, like Americans sunbathe in Puerto Rico. My impression had always been that Cuba was off limits to all of the western world.

My view of Cuba was further challenged when I woke up in the hospital after collapsing from dehydration during my malaria episode and met my doctor. My doctor was Ruben and he was from Cuba (hence the nickname, Ruben the Cuban). I also had another doctor, Nancy the Cuban, but that name was not as funny. Anyway, in Ghanaian hospitals, food and bedding is not provided. My fiancé and I had traveled many hours to get to the hospital and had no idea how to obtain the supplies needed. Ruben gave me blankets, directed my fiancé to food, and even invited him stay at his home while I was in the hospital. After my stay, I went back to the rural village and spoke fondly of my doctor.

Right before I left Ghana, I had to go to the hospital again because I was bitten by a dog. There were rabid dogs in the village and I needed to be given rabies shots. Rabies shots are given in a series of five shots that must be taken in set intervals. My third shot was scheduled for the day I was leaving. My bus was departing at 4 a.m. and the hospital would not open until 10 a.m. Upon seeing the panic on my face when I realized I had no way to get my shot, Ruben the Cuban immediately offered to take the shot home with him and invited me to his house before my bus left and he personally gave me the shot in his kitchen.

It seemed strange to me that I had not just one, but two, Cuban doctors while I was in Western Africa. According to the United Nations, Cuba contributes more doctors to Ghana than any other country. Cuba has a partnership with Ghana and several other third world countries and requires its doctors to practice medicine for two years in an impoverished country prior to becoming certified to practice medicine in Cuba. I was incredibly shocked to learn that the “evil Cuban government” sponsored such a seemingly humanitarian based program.

After spending some time with Ruben and after I began to understand his broken English I shyly asked, “Ruben, is Castro good or bad?” (Using the thumbs up and thumbs down sign for emphasis). Ruben smiled broadly and proclaimed “Very good!” And gave me two thumbs up. I explained to him that, in America, we are taught that Cuba is corrupt and evil because of our history with Cuba’s leadership. He laughed and proclaimed that health care was free and he felt safe in Cuba. I told him about stories I had heard about people being punished severely for speaking out against Cuba’s leader, Fidel Castro. Ruben told me that was not true. After a short lull in our conversation, he looked around conspiratorially and said, “Bush – good or bad?” I laughed and shrugged. I asked what he thought and he gave me the thumbs down symbol. I asked him why people will risk their lives to run away from Cuba if Cuba was so great. He nodded and pointed out that some Americans do not like the president and that many Americans move out of America too. He said that did not mean that America was bad. “It means that some Americans do not like to live in America. Some Cubans do not like to live in Cuba,” he said.

I understand that this was only an encounter with one person and there are plenty of Cuban Americans that would disagree with Ruben’s opinion of Cuba. However, the fact that Ruben’s version of Cuba is not discussed in America is a problem. As Americans, we are bombarded with the idea that Cuba is evil and that nothing good can come from the country (except maybe cigars, if enjoyed quietly). We are a part of the information age and there is no excuse for us to be blinded by propaganda. I am not suggesting we normalize relations with Cuba tomorrow but there must be dialogue to explore whether or not our impressions of Cuba are still warranted. Maybe Cuba is the evil beast we are taught it is, but maybe Canada is right about the small country. There is no way to find out if we do not explore the possibility.