A Return to Roots

In this volume, ’CuBajan’ migrants tell their own stories through oral testimonies, which Sharon Milagro Marshall frames within the context of Barbadian and Cuban history.

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When
thousands of working-class Barbadians left for Cuba in search of better
economic opportunities during the early twentieth century, most of them did so
with the expectation that they would eventually return to their home. They maintained
many of the cultural traditions of their homeland, and they immersed their
Cuba-born children in Barbadian culture by exposing them to the type of
education which they themselves had received in Barbados and teaching them
English to prepare them for life “back home”.

Although
many of the migrants were not able to achieve this dream of returning home,
some of their children and grandchildren have managed to retrace their
ancestors’ journey and find their roots in Barbados. This “reverse migration”
is driven as much by economics as by sentiment for the ancestral homeland. The
basis of that sentiment has sometimes been called into question, since these
“CuBajans” have not always been regarded as true Barbadians by some among the
local population.

The
CuBajans themselves have a sense of pride in what they have been able to
achieve in Cuba, and they count themselves fortunate in having two homelands.
With relatives still in Cuba, they maintain links through frequent
communication, remittances and travel back to the island. In A Return to Roots: “CuBajans” in Barbados,
these migrants tell their own stories through oral testimonies, which Sharon
Milagro Marshall frames within the context of Barbadian and Cuban history.