Being an American student studying in Cuba is still a rare thing despite the recent Cuba fever that has swept the United States. There are just under a hundred of us currently spending the semester in Havana from about seven or so different programs. My own program, a consortium comprised of many different top universities in the U.S. headed by Brown University, counts for twenty-nine of those students, making us by far the largest program operating here. The small nature of the American community in Cuba, specifically in Havana, means we are all quite interconnected. This was particularly evident when, last week, our program was invited to the residence of the current charge d’affaires (a.k.a. man in charge) of the U.S. embassy that just opened in Havana, Jeffrey De Laurentis, a Georgetown alumnus, to have a discussion about U.S.-Cuba relations and ask him questions, a fact that made us the first group of students to be invited to do so since relations were restored this past summer.
After settling into the grandiose dining hall, chatting excitedly about the fact that the bathrooms had both toilet paper and soap (score!), and introducing ourselves, we spent an hour and a half taking turns asking questions on everything having to do with U.S.-Cuba relations from tourism to environmental accords to Guantanamo Bay. It was incredibly valuable to hear everything that he had to say and not to mention impressive the sheer amount of knowledge that Mr. De Laurentis has when it comes to Cuba that allowed him to give a thorough answer to each and every question we asked, no matter how obscure. However, of the immense amount that he shared with us, there were four main things that stood out to me; four important realizations that I walked away with.
- U.S.-Cuba relations truly hang in the balance. Throughout the conversation, Mr. De Laurentis was, for the most part, unable to give us his thoughts on the future and how diplomatic relations will shape up to be due to the shaky foundation that the current relationship stands upon. In addition, there were underlying implications that the work being put in now and within the next year is more going through the diplomatic motions than actually beginning to fully engage with Cuba again. This is because both the U.S. and Cuban government are fully aware of the potential consequences of the impending presidential election in November of next year on how relations between the two countries will progress. Should a Republican be elected, it is likely that much of the work that had been done to that point will be either halted or reversed. As a result, the two governments don’t seem to be beginning to tackle the bigger issues at play between them, such as the embargo, and are, instead, focusing on smaller projects as they wait to see the outcome of the 2016 election.
- There is a script and Mr. De Laurentis has to follow it. In international politics, and especially in delicate diplomatic situations such as the U.S. is in with Cuba, it is important that each side remains consistent in its position and message in order to present the strongest case to get what each wants. At various moments throughout the event, it was evident that Mr. De Laurentis’ answers were the official policy of the U.S. and maybe not his own personal opinion. Even the language he used, such as pointedly using the term ‘embargo’ instead of ‘blockade’, was indicative of the underlying constraints and regulations on what he could say and how he was allowed to say it.
- We, as American students in Havana, are more in touch and personally familiar with Cuban realities than the U.S. diplomatic personnel stationed here. While they may be incredibly well-versed in the issues that Cubans face on a daily basis and well-educated on the ins-and-outs of the country, it still remains that they move in the privileged upper echelons of Cuban society, just by nature of their status as diplomats from the United States of America. When it comes to where they live, what they eat, and whom they know, they don’t experience Cuba as it is for the average Cuban person. As a result, the amount of interaction that they have with the hard realities of life in Cuba is largely limited to what they hear and are told, while our experience as students, even though we are certainly still very privileged, is more in line with what life is truly like in Cuba for Cubans.
- Studying abroad truly is a special thing. Especially in Cuba where the number of American students is so limited, the kinds of experiences that we get to have, such as meeting the first man in charge of the new U.S. embassy in Cuba, are awesome and unique. There are so many doors that get opened to us through study abroad and I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity to do so, and that I took full advantage, because I never would have had the experiences that I’ve had otherwise, and I, likely, will not get the opportunity to experience a place, a culture, and a people like this again.
