About "CUBA: The Blue Bird Dreams about the World beyond the Sea"

There are two types of people in this world: those who are happy with their everyday life and those who can but dream of finding their ideal home somewhere far away. The same difference can be seen even between two siblings who grew up in the same family. Sometimes their views of happiness are so different that they look as if they were from different families. Why is that? What is the meaning of our happiness? The conclusion of The Blue Bird written by Belgian author Maeterlinck is that the blue bird of happiness resides at home. The message of this story is the happiness is not somewhere far away but that it is always in your heart. That may be true. But hope for happiness in a faraway place still clings to some people. They believe that something good will wait for them if they go somewhere far away. Their wish would be stronger if they had grown up under strict rules and regulations.

In February, 2014, I stayed in Cuba, having a lot of conversations with the local people. Cuba, an island country in the Caribbean, is a socialist state. Only a very limited number of people are allowed to cross the sea. The state is well advanced in education and social welfare. People can receive education and medical care for free. The basic food supply is guaranteed for everyone unless something like a food crisis occurs. However, some people still hang their hopes on another place beyond the sea. “What is the place that is truly ours?” “What is happiness?” These were the questions that most frequently came to my mind during my stay. The answer to these questions differs from person to person, yet there is one thing that somehow remains in all our heads. That is the story of The Blue Bird, the journey to find a place of happiness. Wherever “the blue bird” might be, we may just want to see that place with our own eyes.

On December 17th in 2014, news about the US-Cuba relationship broke all over the world. Both countries decided to begin the process of normalizing diplomatic relations for the first time in fifty-four years. If the process goes well, the living environment will surely change in Cuba though we have yet to see what effect it brings to the country’s socialist system. But if the day comes when the ordinary Cubans can look for “the blue bird” of their own will, their stories about happiness will truly begin.

Reiko Imoto