Tadias Magazine, Interview, Rebekah N. Kebede, Posted: Jan 09, 2007
SAN JOSE, Calif. – In 1979, under Lieutenant. Colonel Mengistu
Haile-Mariam, the Ethiopian government decided to send thousands of
Ethiopian children to Cuba where they were expected to be educated.
Cuba, an ally of Ethiopia in the Ethio-Somali war, had offered to
provide housing and education for war orphans. The Cuban government
accepted 2,400 Ethiopian students ranging in age from seven to fourteen
to study at the Escuelas Secundarias Basicas en el Campo (ESBEC) - Basic
Rural Secondary Schools - on the small island of Isla de la Juventud.
This new program was initially created to provide urban Cuban students
an opportunity to get involved in agriculture life by having them attend
ESBEC boarding schools. The Ethiopians and other African students were
participants in this program. Upon their arrival their education
involved working in the fields in the mornings and studying in the
afternoon. Photographer Aida Muluneh is currently filming a documentary,
The Unhealing Wound, about their lives in Cuba.
TADIAS: How did you become interested in the "Ethio-Cuban" story?
AIDA: I went to a group photo exhibit in Havana in 2003 and prior to my
trip I had heard about the Ethiopian students in Cuba. After searching
for them, I finally met around 30 students who had been in Cuba for over
twenty years. It was an amazing experience meeting these fellow
Ethiopians. I soon realized that I had to come back. So in 2004, I went
back and begun interviewing them to start telling their story and also
to help them get out Cuba.
TADIAS: Why haven't they left Cuba? And why haven't they returned to
Ethiopia?
AIDA: They have had the opportunity to leave Cuba and return to
Ethiopia; however they have no means of supporting themselves in a
country they left twenty years ago. There is no incentive for them to go
back to Ethiopia and resettle because life would be just as difficult or
worst in Ethiopia. As for other countries i.e. Europe or North America,
the remaining student just recently qualified for their UN refugee
number. This basically means that they can get in line for a chance to
immigrate to those countries.
TADIAS: This was a coordinated effort between the Cuban and Ethiopian
governments. What efforts did Cuba make to help Ethiopian immigrants
adjust to Cuba?
AIDA: The Cuban government has been extremely supportive within their
means from day one. Even prior to the students arriving, Cuba played an
instrumental role in helping Ethiopia during the Ethio-Somlia war.
Therefore, upon the student's arrival, the children were given the basic
necessities in order to become acquainted with life in Cuba. One thing
that needs to be put into perspective is that as a young child, it is
difficult to adjust to any place that is foreign, especially when one is
so far away from home. The Ethiopians expressed to me that as children
they had missed their country more then anything and I believe this
yearning to return is what made it extremely difficult for many. The
Cubans have gone above and beyond in providing support to the Ethiopians
to this day.
TADIAS: Although The Unhealing Wound focuses on those Ethio-Cubans still
in Cuba, I understand there have been a number who have managed to leave
Cuba and live elsewhere. When did they leave and where do they live now?
AIDA: In addition to providing primary education, the Cubans have also
educated University students during this time period. For many of the
Ethiopian students who attended universities in Cuba they have managed
to return back to Ethiopia and find viable means of supporting
themselves. In fact during the Derg period, many of the students that
completed their education were given housing and job opportunities upon
their return to Ethiopia. However, after the fall of the Derg
government, many of the students felt that returning back to Ethiopia
would lead to further economic hardship.
In 1991, the Soviet Block fell and many of the students begun leaving to
countries such as Spain, Greece, Holland, U.S., etc. I am not exactly
sure how many returned to Ethiopia and how many went to other
destinations. My assumption is that the greatest number of Ethio-Cubans
is in Spain.
TADIAS: Is there a network of Ethio-Cubans abroad that help others still
in Cuba to immigrate to other countries?
AIDA: As far as I know, there is no organized effort by Ethio-Cubans
that continuously assists the Ethiopians to leave Cuba and resettle to a
third country. Although it is a tightly knit community in Cuba, once
abroad, it's more so through the efforts of individuals helping new
comers than an established network.
TADIAS: What kind of relationship do Ethio-Cubans have with Cuba? Do
they identify in any way as Cuban?
AIDA: From my observation of the Ethio-Cubans, there is a special
relationship between the Cubans and these Ethiopians. It is clear that
they still identify themselves as Ethiopians but they have fully taken
on Cuban mannerisms and cultural habits in the ways they interact with
others and express themselves.
TADIAS: You mentioned that many Ethio-Cubans faced challenges in
adjusting to their new environment when they moved to Cuba. What were
some of those challenges?
AIDA: The challenges were similar as any immigrant faces when they
arrive to a new country, but imagine that through the eyes of a ten year
old. The first problem that they had was the climate. The temperature
was a big issue. They were moving from the highlands of Ethiopia to a
tropical island. The second was the food. The food in Cuba consisted of
pork, rice and beans in contrast to eating Injera their whole life.
Then, of course, language and homesickness were major issues.
TADIAS: You left Ethiopia as a child as well. Is there a relationship
between your interest in the Ethiopian students in Cuba and your own
experience?
AIDA: There was definitely a relationship to my life. I went to boarding
school at a young age in Cyprus away from my family. One of the things
that attracted me to the whole story and enabled me to empathize with
them was the struggle I faced as a child who felt alone in a foreign land.
TADIAS: Does the Ethio-Cuban story fit into the themes that you address
in your photography work?
AIDA: My beginning as an artist is in photojournalism and this story at
first was supposed to be a series of photographs about these Ethiopians.
However, I decided that their story was too compelling to be told solely
in still photography.
The "Unhealing Wound" is an exploration of themes that captivate me as a
photographer and a filmmaker. It all comes down to capturing life and in
this case it is capturing our past history and also documenting the
history as it is happening. I hope that thirty years from now, anyone
can look back at this film and have a better understanding of our
struggles, triumphs and sacrifices as Ethiopians in the landscape of the
immigrant life.
TADIAS: What is the current status of the film?
AIDA: We are hoping to release the film in the spring of 2008. I am
currently in the process of collecting more interviews and archival
materials to complete the story. Most recently "The Unhealing Wound"
received fiscal sponsorship from IFP, an organization that is in the
forefront of providing support for independent filmmakers to cultivate
their artistic endeavors.
Find out more about The Unhealing Wound at http://www.pastforwardfilms.com
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=e9ea1c47036639ceb747f00f9c87c0ad
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