Opening Remarks at Trans(Formacion) Conference

On behalf of the conference organizers, I wanted to welcome you to Roots of Hope's 8th Annual National Youth Leadership Conference. Before anything, I'd like to thank our hosts Boston College's Cuban American Student Association and our Programming Team for their leadership in organizing what will undoubtedly be a “transformative experience.”

I'd also like to thank our esteemed keynote and guests for joining us today - His Excellency Archbishop Wenski, and for the first time ever, guests from Cuba - Padre Jose Conrado, y los senores Orlando Marquez y Gustavo Andujar.

Amigos, es un verdadero y gran honor tenerlos aquí con nosotros. Esperamos que un día pronto podremos tener una reunión parecida con nuestros hermanos cubanos en nuestra isla querida – intercambiando nuestras ideas, deseos, y esperanzas para el futuro de Cuba y su pueblo en ambos lados del estrecho de la Florida. De nuevo, muchísimas gracias por compartir con nosotros.

As you might know, we sponsored our first student-run conference eight years ago today – right across the river at Harvard. The conference was entitled "Raices de Esperanza" and the purpose was to bring together dynamic young leaders to connect with their "roots," reach out to Cuba and find a way to empower ourselves and our counterparts on the island.

Today, that continues to be the purpose of this annual conference. When we started, we were a handful of students. Today, we span more than 55 universities with over 3,500 members and have carried out truly historic efforts that have touched and inspired millions. We're honored to have you join us this weekend and welcome you to be a part of a movement that we call a family and that's making a real impact both here and in Cuba.

This year, our conference's theme is all the more relevant than ever before. Trans(Formacion) seeks to analyze the recent events in Cuba – the evolution of the role of the Catholic Church on the island, the release of more than 52 prisoners of conscience, and the proposed economic reforms – in order to come up with innovative projects for furthering our mission: to empower Cuban youth to become the authors of their own futures.

At such a critical time, we're excited to have you participate in this year's conference and encourage you to make the most of this experience that we hope will truly be “transformative.”

Felice Gorordo is co-founder and Chairman of Raices de Esperanza, Inc. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and resides in Miami, FL, with his wife and daughter.

Statement by Conference Organizers

Raíces de Esperanza (Roots of Hope) held our eighth national youth leadership conference entitled: "Trans(Formación): Inspiring Hearts, Empowering Minds” hosted by Boston College’s Cuban American Student Association (CASA) this past weekend, April 7-10, 2011. The event was a huge success and included more than 100 university students and young professionals from the Roots of Hope network focused on empowering youth in Cuba.

Unfortunately, it was brought to our attention after the conference that one of the panelists, Rob Sequin of the "Havana Journal," owns a web site related to sex in Cuba. Conference organizers were not aware of this site nor of its ties to the panelist. This site is absolutely not in line with Roots of Hope's values, and we strongly condemn it.

Had the organizers been aware of the circumstances, Mr. Sequin would not have been invited to participate in the event. After being informed of the existence of this site, the organization strongly urged Mr. Sequin to take it down. At the time of this post, the site was disabled.

Day 2: (Trans)formación: Inspiring Hearts, Empowering Mind

The Second Full Day

By Miraisy Rodriguez

Despite dancing and other fun things late into the night before, Saturday morning at Transformacion found Roots of Hope Conference participants alert and engaged.

During the first panel we tried to understand economic reforms taking place in Cuba through a self-proclaimed leftist, and two other gentlemen, who when compared to the leftist were a bit and quite a bit more conservative. The different perspectives were well received by both panelists and participants. I heard everything from “top down entrepreneurship will be hard to create” – in reference to the Cuban government preparing to eliminate 1 million public sector jobs and instituting microloans, to “Cubans need to be infected with the ability to dream” – suggesting that dreams are what create the entrepreneur.

The participants’ questions were insightful and often difficult for the panelists to answer. They ranged from the technical to the philosophical.

-”What size microloans are likely?”
-”How can the population’s moral and ethical values be reformed? Too many things are excused by the ‘necesidad.’”

The best part for me wasn’t that first panel, it was the second half of the day. I got to fulfill one of the “high expectations” from the day before. During workshops (I attended one on academic travel to Cuba) and time between things I got to enjoy my fellow roots. Guess what?! We’re branching out! Not everyone is from el quinto piso de la Habana…I spoke with at least three other friends from Santa Clara. As always I was impressed by recently arrived Cuban students who were attending honors colleges and major universities and speaking perfect english. But I was equally impressed by the number of non-cuban supporters and enthusiast.

So I’m pretty much keeping the perfect record of being inspired by Raices conferences and can’t wait to get home and get to work!

Miraisy Rodriguez was born in Santa Clara, but raised in Miami. She is a second year law student who likes to blog on her free time and volunteers with the Miami Roots’ Network.

Day 1: (Trans)formación: Inspiring Hearts, Empowering Minds

The First Full Day

By Miraisy Rodriguez

I was so surprised when the first three panelists of the day began their discussion in Spanish that I leaned over to another conference participant and asked “do these people (referring to the rest of the audience) speak Spanish?” She nodded yes, and I thought wow, and was then able to concentrate on the panel.

Being involved with Raices since I myself was in college, I’ve gone through phases where I wished we, as an organization, did a lot more. I’ve also been more or less involved depending on the school year, and other life impacting factors. But yesterday was definitely not a day of wishing we would do more. Yesterday we did something awesome; we had a conversation with three Cubans who live on the island, and like most us, flew into Boston just for our conference. There’s always room for improvement, but listening to conference participants enjoy asking questions related to everything from whether the Catholic Church really enjoys freedom of expression in Cuba to what it specifically meant for Padre Conrado to be the “people’s Cardinal,” directly of representatives and members of the Church on the ground in Cuba felt like a big achievement.

The excitement by no means ended there. The second panel was full of realistic ways in which Cubans on the island are being supported, or will soon be supported by the exile and general international communities. If the Catholic Church representatives of the panel before had suggested that we should ask our counterparts on the island what they need from us before deciding how to help, then organizations represented in this panel, like Friends of Caritas, gave us a way to learn what people need by partnering with the only local NGO (non-governmental organization) in Cuba, Caritas. It was simply encouraging to see pictures portraying Cubans on the island at work with the business that they say would benefit from the microloan programs various organizations are trying to get off the ground. And that was just one of the contexts during the panel when a picture was worth so much more than any words.

When at the end of the day participants were asked for their “highs” and “lows,” the answers were varied. Some of the most memorable “highs” included having panelists directly from Cuba, having found a group of young people with whom to share the experience of having visited an island with so much history and feeling for the first time, and “Felice’s three piece suit.” And the “lows,” well they weren’t so “low” as they were “high expectations for the next two days.” Among them, having more time to meet all of the wonderfully intelligent and passionate people in the room, and having more time to flesh out ideas for action.
And as any good day filled with Cuba enthusiasts should, we brought Friday to a close with our dancing shoes on.

Miraisy Rodriguez was born in Santa Clara, but raised in Miami. She is a second year law student who likes to blog on her free time and volunteers with the Miami Roots’ Network.

My Wish for Cuban Youth: Part 7

This post marks the seventh entry for the current Roots of Hope blog prompt: "My Wish for Cuban Youth."

“…Pero tampoco es difícil”

By Mike Riley

At what point will it stop? When will it be over? Has anything changed lately? If so, is it for the better or for the worse? These are questions that a typical Cuban-American will ask himself whenever “El Canal 23” comes on at 6:00pm EST mentioning the word “Cuba”. For years I have grown up, and learned simple rules from family: No one likes Fidel Castro, you’re his enemy, and that communism is bad. Very simple. Stick to those rules and a Cuban-American can be a real Cuban in the United States without being seen as an outcast or “cubano repentido”. As I got older into the teenage years, everything became complicated with the history and our progress as an ethnicity, because lets face it, most Cuban-Americans are born in the United States yet know very little of the history is to why they were born in the United States and not Cuba. What it didn’t complicate was my wish for Cuban youth and the future of Cuba: To live in freedom, and to ensure that the voices of the Cuban people are never silenced again

I do not mean to say that their current efforts are in vain, but they need support. Their voices cannot fall on deaf ears and we, as a community, need to listen at all times. With that in mind, I also believe we, as Cuban-Americans need to educate the rest of the world about what is going on. I have met many people who have demonstrated poor knowledge of the struggles the people of Cuba face today.

Breakthrough,

I had my moment of clarity.

We need not only to support our Cuban brothers and sisters but also to attempt to educate the world about why change is needed. I can’t help but feel offended when I talk to people who don’t seem to grasp the reality of Cuban life today because, having experienced it, it remains a highly personal issue for me and for most of my family. Incidences life these, however, re-affirm my pride in being a Cuban, and remind me that I should do everything in my power to help. I have family suffering in Cuba to this day, worried about living, eating, and having clothes for themselves. They did not choose this lifestyle and it would be morally unjust to let this continue. I myself am only one of hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans with personal stories of their own and how they connect to Cuba.

Recently, the world has watched as the people of Tunisia, Egypt, and currently Libya, have revolted against oppression and dictatorship. Egypt and Tunisia have successfully and peacefully had their voices heard and are now rebuilding their governments respectively. Lives have been lost that should not have been. The people of Egypt and Tunisia, however, have changed their futures forever. With the backing of the international community and networking sites like Facebook/Twitter, they did what I thought was impossible.

The million dollar question now arises: Why can’t we do the same for Cuba?

This is how it all starts. Much like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Dream”, Cuba’s dream has become a nightmare that she hasn’t woken up from in over 50 years. Although opinions on how to best go about it differ from person to person, the Cuban people cannot be afraid to pursue what they want. Some people say military action is needed, others say peaceful protests, but I say we need everyone involved. The people of Egypt received help from the world because everyone heard their voices and sympathized with them. Yoani Sanchez’s voice needs to be heard by everyone so that everyone will know what really is going on. Ours, and more importantly the voices of the Cuban youth need to be heard so that we can prove to people around the world the following: Our cause is just, and we need to do something now. The world was watching Egypt and now Libya. It’s time to bring focus on the terrors that have been done on our people. So that one day, in our lifetimes, we can truly say what we have wanted to mean: “Viva Cuba Libre!”

I like the idea of having the Cuba Conferences because it brings all of us Cuban-Americans or anyone interested in the future of Cuba together to unite with one another and support ourselves while we discuss with experts and guest panelists on the Cuba situation as well as doing the best we can to support the future of Cuba with their Cell Phones for Cuba program in which they ask for donations of old cell phones not in use, so that the people of Cuba can have them. This is my wish for Cuban youth in 2011: to have the world’s attention finally directed toward them, to let them know that they have an audience, and that their actions will have even greater meaning as people recognize that change can and must occur in Cuba. I titled this essay as such because it is a phrase I hear constantly in Miami and in Havana. People start by saying “No es fácil,” but then they go on to say, “…pero tampoco es difícil,” meaning it’s not easy, but nor is it hard. We know change will not be easy, but as the numbers grow and the voices get louder, perhaps then it won’t be so hard to see the change that is due for Cuba.

Mike Riley was born in Miami, FL to Cuban parents, has visited Cuba several times, and will continue to make the effort to give his family and the people of Cuba hope.

The views expressed by individuals on this forum do not necessarily represent the positions held by Raices de Esperanza.

My Wish for Cuban Youth: Part 6

This post marks the sixth entry for the current Roots of Hope blog prompt: "My Wish for Cuban Youth."

Basta Ya

By Tatiana Garcia

"La libertad es, en la filosofía, la razón; en el arte, la inspiración; en la política, el derecho." - Victor Hugo

"Un hombre libre es aquel que, teniendo fuerza y talento para hacer una cosa, no encuentra trabas a su voluntad." -Thomas Hobbes

La capacidad humana de obrar o no de acuerdo con su voluntad, eso es libertad, y eso es lo que deseo para los jovenes no sino para todos los cubanos. Pero no es solo un sentimiento o un anhelo, es una necesidad que los cubanos estan expresando de mil maneras, contrario a los que muchos piensan, no estan cruzados de brazos y esto se refleja en la literatura, la musica, la plastica, el humor,y el vestuario. Pero solo con desear algo no se logra,hay que contruir el futuro y el futuro se construye en el presente y con acciones y cambios.

La libertad no es tangible, no existe una pildora para consequirla, se lucha con sangre, fuego y este es el momento ideal para consequirla. Basta Ya de de la nostalgia barata por la Habana de los 50, Basta Ya por algo que no esta, en ves de lamentarnos por lo que fue y mirar hacia el pasado y fotos amarillas veamos la gran oportunidad que el tenemos ahora, Basta Ya de decir que la culpa es de la sangre de nuestros ancestros, de la idiosingracia cubana, todas la piezas para construir algo Nuevo, Libre,Demogratico, Trascendente estan en juego:

1. La inevitable (y ojala que pronto) muerte de los "lideres de la revolucion"
2. La gran repercusion de la muerte de Zapata Tamallo
3. La incanzable y admirable lucha de las Damas de Blanco por los derechos humanos
4. El apoyo internacional que organizaciones sin fines de lucro estan brindando al pueblo cubano.

Todo esto conspira para que digamos, Basta Ya de excusas, esta es la hora de hacer algo que nos libre de la opresion, el miedo, los atropellos, no es una utopia, la libertad no ocupa espacio, ella llega y contruye un amanecer puro y eterno. No creo pedir mucho, solo espero que 11 milliones de personas encuentren lo que yo, y disfruten de Libertad, no, no, creo pedir mucho.

Tatiana Garcia is 20 years old, studied Sociology at Havana University, and is happy to now be in the US, a great country.

The views expressed by individuals on this forum do not necessarily represent the positions held by Raices de Esperanza.

My Wish for Cuban Youth: Part 5

This post marks the fifth entry for the current Roots of Hope blog prompt: "My Wish for Cuban Youth."

Listen closely, Cuban youth are speaking

By Kenneth Sinkovitz

What does it mean to be a young Cuban today? What do they believe in, what ideology, if any do they subscribe? What platform do they have to express their opinions, share their ideas and participate in the global dialogue that their international peers have developed. Young people around the world have been empowered as never before through twenty-first century networking technology like the internet and sites like Facebook, Twitter and blog channels. With Cuba's limited internet connectivity and government-sponsored, censored intranet, it seems that young Cubans are being left behind...one would suspect that they want to catch up and participate. When it comes to Cuban youth, there are many more questions than answers.

Life in Cuba isn't easy, that is clear to almost anyone. "No es facil" is a common catch-all phrase for Cubans, often expressed with a big grin and wink. Cubans are a happy people by nature after all. Sure the majority of people are adequately clothed, housed and fed off a meager $20 monthly salary, but there must be more to life than just scraping by. Are we to assume that this is enough for Cubans, who are we to assume anything? How are we to know anyway, it seems like we cannot hear them, we cannot freely speak with them and they have no platform to freely express themselves or associate independently of the omnipotent government. Despite the limitations of young Cubans' ability to mobilize and leverage 21st century to press for change and share their perspective, they are talking and its up to us to listen, carefully. We are seeing cracks in the system which will inevitably help harness their energy and ultimately help them to work together and become authors of their own futures.

It's easy for foreigners to visit Cuba and comment on how happy the people are; Cuba is a natural paradise with a rich culture, proud history and vibrant social scene at every level and that is what visitors see and like to takeaway. But a deeper dive yields a much more complex and confusing existence guided by an unclear path or future. Young people in Cuba seem to be part of a society that lacks purpose and aspiration - the driving force of any individual and progressive society. Education may be free, but how does one motivate his or herself if there is no job after to apply skills and talents in a meaningful way. It's peculiar that the highest paying jobs in Cuba are in the service industry which takes in foreign currency, specifically taxi driving, hospitality and restaurant service which cater to wealthy tourists (many of them American!). It is equally challenging to be motivated in a humanities subject like literature, philosophy, history and sociology since in practice one may ultimately have to betray his or her true beliefs to match the "collective" Cuban credo or way.

By default many Cubans do work hard in school with the hope of perhaps landing a job in the service industry or perhaps propogating the collective idealogy of Cuban-branded liberal arts and humanities through education or civil service. At the same time, many have chosen to find more inspired and liberating paths. Paths that include a more defined purpose where they can become the authors of their own futures independently of a collective mandate or ideal.

Many Cubans choose to part ways with their families and friends to settle in la yuma (USA) where they can find work, freedom and a chance to realize their dreams. Others, however, remain on the island and carve out a niche for themselves where they can push the boundaries of freedom and expression. Young bloggers like Yoani Sanchez are helping young Cubans to access the internet and express themselves via blogging and Twitter so that the outside world can really appreciate who they are and what they want out of life. Others meanwhile are adopting music and art as a way to subtly express themselves and challenge the status quo. Just as the rap & hip hop phenomena in the USA has leveraged real life experiences and inspired lyrics to press for change, a growing uniquely Cuban music movement is doing the same on the island.

Young Cubans may not be able to afford the internet or have access but this is not the only way to express oneself, share ideas or mobilize to demonstrate a shared vision or dream which diverges from a collective ideology dictated from the top down. Young Cubans are not satisfied to scrape by a living on meager salaries and they are finding ways to share this sentiment with the world in many different ways including immigration, resourceful technology use and music & culture and more. Hopefully with more technology and continued courage, young Cubans can build on the progress they have already made and really show the world and their country what they are made of and what they want.

Kenneth Sinkovitz graduated Princeton in 2007 with a degree in History and Spanish, writing his senior thesis on race relations in revolutionary Cuba and how Afrocubans experienced the 1959 revolution differently from their white counterparts; it was called "The Afrocuban Revolution: A Study of Revolution's Impact on the Afrocuban Experience." He currently lives and works in Europe and has been involved with Raices de Esperanza for almost seven years.