Boston Herald
Sun, Dec 07 1997
U.S. citizens are not supposed to vacation in Cuba, yet the communist island less than 100 miles from Florida is getting a reputation as hot travel destination.
For U.S. citizens, travel to the island is forbidden unless you are a journalist working on a story, have relatives in Cuba who are ill, or are a student or professor traveling for educational purposes. If you fall into these or a few related categories, you still must apply for a special travel license from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
According to New York magazine, though, roughly 84,000 U.S. citizens will visit the island in 1997 via a third country, such as Mexico or Canada. The magazine recently devoted six pages to Cuba tourism.
If you are caught traveling illegally, you could be fined up to $1,000. Safety is a consideration - the New York article mentions recent bombings in Havana - and if you are injured, get sick or otherwise run into trouble, you may have a very hard time getting help from the U.S. government.
However, there are ways students can legally visit the island.
For the past two years, professor John Torgerson of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, has been taking students to Cuba as part of a two-week philosophy course, "Pursuing Social Justice: The View From Cuba."
Students distribute medical supplies and books to needy institutions, all in an effort to experience and better understand Cuba. The four-credit course includes a study of Cuba's approach to human rights and the effects the U.S. embargo has had on the country. Students must keep a journal and submit a paper upon their return.
Interested undergraduates (from any school) can contact Torgerson by calling (515) 271-3748 or by e-mailing jon.torgerson@drake.edu. The next trip is June 12 to 26, and Torgerson says the "the only prerequisite for going is a sense of adventure."
Travelers of any age who want to visit Cuba can ask about trips offered by the Center for Cuban Studies in New York by calling (212) 242-0559.
Other organizations that sponsor educational jaunts and study tours to the island include Global Exchange - Reality Tours Department, (800) 497-1994; and the Eleggua Project, (905) 678-0426.
For complete guidelines on traveling legally to Cuba, check the OFAC's Web site at www.ustrea.gov/treasury/services/fac/fac/html. Travelers can download application documents from this site. Or, for detailed application requirements and instructions from OFAC by fax or mail contact the Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20220; or fax (202) 622-0077.
Copyright 1997, Boston Herald. All rights reserved.