ShirleyAnneLanger

My husband and I wanted to be somewhere where a whole society was being transformed by a social movement. We stayed because it was fascinating to be a part of a revolutionary process.

Married for 44 years then divorced. I consider that a successful marriage. He was and is a great guy.

I think he was a leader with a very great vision. His early reforms transformed Cuba through education, public health, anti-racism measures, and the encouragement of women to seek education and realize their potential. Like all leaders and politicians he may have made mistakes, but he had the political will to try to make his vision a reality.

Two years into the revolution, the country reduced illiteracy in the whole country from 25% to 3.9%. One million illiterate Cubans learned to read and write in seven months. Canada doesn't have a lot of completely illiterate people, but 40% of Canadians are functionally illiterate. We could say that's unacceptable and do something about that, don't you think?

Many times--to keep up with friends there, to keep up with what's going on, and to do the research that was required for my novel about Cuba, Anita's Revolution. What most astounds me is the ability of Cubans to be resourceful in the face of shortages--example--keeping cars manufactured prior to 1958 running.