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MALAYSIAN DIPLOMATS: OUR STORIES

a very Cuban sentiment to have, thinking about fate or destiny, but it is
hard to think otherwise. Over the years, I have learned a lot about Cuba,
from both my daughter and my son-in-law. It was from them I learned that
during my f rst three trips to Cuba, it was at the height of what the Cubans
call “el periodo especial” or “the special period,” when Cuba was hit hard by
an economic crisis made worse by the fall of the Soviet Union, on which
they were very dependent. T is was on top of the unilateral US embargo
on Cuba since 1962. It was during this time my son-in-law, only a young
boy then, endured hardships that were only lessened thankfully due to the
good fortune of his grandfather working on a farm. I had no idea back then.
We only witnessed the glitz and the glamour of the Havana landscape and
history made mythical by their legendary leader.

It is funny how things turn out. Every time I leave Cuba, I always assume it
will be the last. But as it so happens, Amirah and Yoyi now live in California.
Yoyi is now with the US Navy and is based in San Diego. I plan on visiting
them probably in the spring of 2022 for Amirah’s graduation commencement
ceremony. She will have completed her master’s degree at the University
of Nevada in Las Vegas later this year. T is will be the best opportunity
for me to reconnect once more with my Cuban family in Santa Clara. I
have pleasant memories with them that I hope to share in the future. Cuba
def nitely has not seen the last of me.

Dato’ Zulkif i Adnan served in the Foreign Service for 35 years and retired in 2018. He was
Malaysia’s Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany and Singapore. He also previously
served in Sri Lanka, the United States (New York) and the Netherlands.

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