Boxes of chalk and books are being dried out in the Bahamas. Little by little, the country shakes off the rubble to mourn its dead, mustering hope and optimism. After the disaster left by Hurricane Dorian, Bahamians return to schools, to ease their pain with that special salve offered by those who teach.
But teachers in the Bahamas are not alone; a group of 55 Cuban collaborators, members of the Félix Varela Brigade, wield their humanism and will as powerful tools, bringing light to these islands. Because Cuba is not indifferent to the pain of others; because our island spreads the spirit of advancing education anyway we can; because it is imperative that people learn. And this motivation brings them to the Bahamas, not only to classrooms, but to communities, as well.
The Cuban brigade is contributing to the recovery of educational institutions and their surroundings; leaving the chalk aside to pick up a shovel, and offer a comforting word to those who lost their homes, or those have yet to find a child, a week after the hurricane. In an unknown land, our teachers are among the first to arrive and the last to leave the damaged schools, thus helping to catalyze the opening of the school year.
They bear the spirit of Marti and that of the teacher in whose honor the brigade was named. They are missionaries of the soul, helping to lift a people overwhelmed by nature’s fury; men and women who uphold the pristine name of Cuba, our concept of internationalism, and the iron will of our Fidel.
May the sun begin to illuminate Bahamian classrooms, as the first wounds to heal. May other hands join the reconstruction in the Grand Bahamas and Abacos. May the world follow the lead of 55 Cuban teachers, so that the Earth lives on and becomes a better place.
(Granma)