Een Ethiopische generatie in Cuba

Een oral history van internationalistisch onderwijs op het Isla de la Juventud

Samenvatting

From 1978 onwards, tens of thousands of children of ‘promising’ socialist revolutions worldwide were sent to the Cuban Isla de la Juventud to receive free education on boarding schools, the ESBECs (Escuela Secundaria Basica en Campo). Thousands of these children were from Ethiopia, some were as young as five years old at the time of their arrival. This article bridges the gap in the historiography concerning this subject by using interviews of so-called Ethiocubanos, their former teachers and a health professional. It traces their journey to Cuba and details the organizational structure of the ESBECs, the social culture and the ways the children’s respective national identities were preserved.