Paper short abstract:

Focusing on the experiences of Mozambicans who studied in Cuba in the 1970s and 80s, this paper will ask in which way their education overseas served as rite of passage and whether Turner’s concept of the liminal helps to better understand their experiences.

Paper long abstract:

Since 1961 more than 30.000 Africans of different nationalities studied in Cuba a wide variety of subjects. Being part of bilaterally designed programs, this educational migration is conceived by Cuban officials as their country's development aid to African nations. As such it is embedded in a discourse of internationalist South-South solidarity and presented as an alternative to neo-liberal globalization. Based on fieldwork in Cuba, Mozambique and South Africa, this paper will focus on the experiences of Mozambicans who studied in Cuba in the 1970s and 80s on the island and after their return to Mozambique. An overview will be given of Cuba's cooperation programs with different African countries and its accompanying discourse of internationalist solidarity. I will discuss in which way the Mozambicans' experiences of crossing the Atlantic served as a rite of passage initiating them to a modern, Socialist society, present the everyday life and experiences of African students in Cuba and in which way Turner's concept of the liminal may help to understand the students' experiences.