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MARIO J. TORRES
Highway by the sea
Migratory exoduses have a long
history in the different adventures of mankind. These have normally occurred
due to plagues or diseases, famine, bad conditions of life, political
repression or lack of freedom and the latter have been the result of the
attitude of vile dictators or abusive systems. Many of these exoduses have
been "in slow motion" like the Chinese migration in search of a better luck
in America; some have been by land as in the case of East Germany and others
by the dangerous sea. In Cuba's case, its exodus, that has broken records in
reuniting all the reasons: economical, social, political, hunger,
dictatorship, repression and even lack of water and electric power among
minimal living conditions have been in "fast motion" and in different ways:
in rafts or other floating devices risking life in the middle of the sea and
becoming sure likely candidates to Castro's private cemetery in the Strait
of Florida, by land crossing the dangerous zone near Guantanamo base to risk
being annihilated by the explosion of a mine, staying in other countries as
a result of a visit, sports competition or mission of work or study,
entering foreign embassies illegally, obtaining convenience marriages that
may allow them to leave the island, leaving the country as former political
prisoners (some even causing it to be in order to gain that right),
reunifying with families abroad being legally claimed by them, forcing
invitations with the pre thought purpose of not returning, robbing boats or
hijacking airplanes with the only aim of being free, going to international
tours with the objective of remaining in any country and requesting asylum
there, changing IDs to escape with false passports, gambling with life even
in the undercarriage of an airplane in order to be able to fly away from the
island or finally leaving, this time with more safety, by means of visa
lotteries but in all these cases with the sole goal of saving their lives.
If any average Cuban were asked: Which is your secret ambition in life?,
more than 90% would say: to leave the country. Between Florida mainland and
the keys like Largo, Marathon and Key West, there exists a comfortable
highway where it does not seem people are driving almost over the sea. It
would be good to figure out how many Cubans would stay in their country if
this highway reached up to the island. And besides, how many lanes and
floors should it have!
The chief knows all this but nevertheless he turns the blind eye. Another
kind of leader would have already given up, would not insist any more or
would have even committed suicide being ashamed for all this mess. Will the
"bare face" defect among many others, be the outstanding one in this man ?
MARIO J TORRES JULY 2004
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