Now and then we try to offer a “bridge report” in between monthly posts, and this month we are delighted to share Ruth’s thoughtful, poetic piece in Cuba Counterpoints on the ways that the normalization of political ties between Cuba and the U.S. has affected lives and forged connections on both sides of the Florida Straits—and the ways these changes have left many behind.

Watching President Obama on Cuban television

“Much as I admire projects supporting dialogue and reconciliation, I recognize that these bridges are for relatively privileged Cubans on both sides of the ocean, who have the talent and the resources to be able to move back and forth and enjoy the best that Cuba has to offer. Years ago, in the fall of 1994, when I held a conference at the University of Michigan with participants in the Bridges to Cuba anthology, we were aware that our bridges were taking place in the aftermath of the balsero crisis that led thousands of Cubans to take to the sea in flimsy rafts in hopes of reaching the coast of Florida. In much the same way today, as dialogues about Cuban art take place, and young Cuban-Americans find their roots on the island, there are Cuban migrants stranded in Central America who are desperate to make their way across the border before immigration laws change.”

Read more here.