BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THERE are many misconceptions about Cuba and studying in Cuba in the minds of many living in the Federation.
Dr. Dail Crawford, President of the Cuban Alumni Association has decided to shed some light on life studying in Cuba.
It may seem to be a frightening place; one may think there is much violence or that living there will be a tough experience, but according to Crawford, it is important that people find out first before making such assumptions.
“People need to educate themselves about Cuba first. We cannot live by propaganda; knowledge is power; people must first try to get knowledge before making comments about Cuba.
“A lot of us went and have come back in our right minds. Those who have gone and come back have been assisting in the development of this country. We knew what our goal was and we went and we did what we had to do,” he said.
Crawford spent a total of 12 years in Cuba to finish his first degree in medicine and his second degree where he specialized in Gynecology and Obstetrics.
He completed his studies in November 2011.
“Anyone who wants to go to Cuba, please don’t look at the distractions, look at the final goal that one day you’ll have a university degree that will take you to another level,” he said.
University life in Cuba is like a Caribbean melting po,t according to Crawford as various nationalities come together for one common goal.
“We were like on a Caribbean integration; we were among different people from not only the Caribbean but from all over the world - St. Lucia, Jamaica, Nigeria, Mali, China. It was like a global village; we were able to gain knowledge about the culture of different countries.”
“Although we didn’t have all the commodities we would have liked to have, we were able to adapt. They have their own four television stations but one of the things we enjoyed there was no violence. You don’t really hear about violence… maybe machete cutting but nothing about guns, so we were able to walk anytime without fearing we may be shot,” he said.
One of the things about Cuba, he said, was their zero tolerance for illegal drugs.
“We would hear that someone received 20 years for a ‘spliff’ of marijuana.”
Crawford said they were able to look past whatever challenges Cuba had to accomplish their goals.
“Like any other country Cuba has challenges; one of the things Fidel Castro would say was that while other countries were sending out people to fight war and kill, he is sending out Doctors to save lives.
“We are so very grateful to Cuba because we have gained our education and we’re able to come back home and contribute towards our own country’s development as opposed to studying in other places where you’ll find a lot of people who study overseas stay there,” he said.
Another myth about pursuing studies in Cuba is that persons think that they do not fail foreign students and that those in the medical field are not well qualified.
The Cuban Alumni Association President said that students do fail and do have to leave. He said there have been cases where people were studying medicine, have failed and were sent home. If they fail once they may be given a chance to recuperate, if not, they will be sent home.
He said they also have a no-tolerance policy for fights and sometimes people are expelled or banned for five years for fighting because of their strict zero tolerance for students fighting.
Crawford said there may have been about six persons that were sent back home to the Federation for failing in Cuba.
“In terms of the degree, it’s not like we cannot work in other countries with our Cuban degrees; people have gotten scholarships to do post grad studies around the world, so it’s not like we cannot go to other places to work, but we find it fitting since our country sent us, we come here to give back and to develop.”
It takes a student about six years to complete studies in Cuba, and seven years for the medical students.
One year is used for the students to learn the language.
At first students would take canned stuff to Cuba when they went off to study but after a while they would quickly adapt to the lifestyle.
“Cuba has everything; they buy stuff from America as well; they also have stuff from Latin countries, also, certain infrastructures may not be up to standard for some because of certain restrictions that they have, and certain people may not be accustomed to that kind of life.
“I was in a dorm with ten persons. We shared together; it was like five bunk beds for ten persons, and we lived together as one. Some people may not appreciate living in that environment, maybe from where they came from, but you can survive, once you set your mind to your goal you will survive.”
In terms of the cost of living, he said for the Cubans it may be a little high because of their salaries, however, it is very comfortable etc. but for the students it was very comfortable. Persons could purchase an orange for US five cents or three bananas for US five cents.
He said the school also provided food for the students.
Due to the fact that many parents are unable to travel to Cuba for the graduation ceremony of their son/daughter, a graduation ceremony including government officials and the Cuban embassy officials is held each year in St. Kitts.
