Expert Comments: Castro's Death and Cuba's Path Forward
Saint Joseph's University
American University experts are available to comment on the passing of Fidel
For Salisbury University business management and information systems major Darrin Reedy, however, this summer was a time to make a difference in the lives of people he had never met in a country where he never dreamed he would travel. The junior spent two and a half weeks teaching deaf children and assisting residents in the small village of Lévêque, Haiti.
Dr. Michael Steinberg, a University of Alabama associate professor in New College and geography, is conducting a study of the coastal mangrove forests in Cuba’s Zapata Peninsula and the Jardines de la Reina Garden of the Queen Marine Reserve national parks. The study is using satellite maps of the park’s coastal mangrove forests from the past 20 years to examine the forests growth or decline during that time frame. The mangrove forests of Cuba are important because they provide natural habitat for many species of aquatic fish, crabs and shrimp. They also serve as homes for migratory birds and stabilize the coast from waves, tides and tsunamis. Without them, coastal erosion would occur. The study is the first cooperate conservation mapping project between Cuba and the U.S. since the Cuban embargo.
While the stereotypical spring breakers throughout the United States flee to far-flung destinations to absorb sun and fun, UC San Diego student Sophie Silvestri experienced something far more breathtaking. “When we approached the plaza in Old Havana and saw an American flag hanging next to a Cuban flag, I will never forget that,” said the School of Global Policy and Strategy graduate student. Silvestri and 15 classmates traveled to Cuba March 18-25 as a conclusion to their winter quarter course “Cuba: Revolution and Reform,” taught by professor Richard Feinberg. A tradition in its fifth year, this trip couldn't have occurred at a better time: the students had a front-row seat to history in the making.
President Obama announced plans to close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Now two scholars are proposing to transform the naval base into a marine research center and international peace park.
The highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Cuba in five decades will lead a delegation Wednesday to Havana to begin talks about normalizing relations. The trip is part of President Obama's effort to ease the embargo with the communist nation.