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MARIO J. TORRES
Migration
(Part I)
Migration started when Castro took
power, but it has gone on increasing and becoming massive throughout the
years. The different migration events that have taken place on the island
during these forty years are summarized like this:
(1) Late 50's: Migration to the United States of Batista’s Government
officials and upper-class society (Fulgencio Batista was the President
overthrown by Castro) as soon as Castro took the power.
(2) Early 60's: Migration to the United States of middle-class Cubans
who already had relatives abroad (Camarioca -Varadero operation)
and migration of middle-class kids to the United States (Peter Pan
operation).
(3) From Late 60's on: Illegal migration in boats, rafts, tires or any
floating
or inflated device where many were caught and sent to prison or others were
eaten by sharks or drowned in the sea. This was not massive at the
beginning.
(4) Middle of 70's family reunion and invitations:
They have taken place throughout all these years where people in exile claim
for their closest relatives(spouses, children, brothers and sisters) to live
permanently in the United States or they can invite them to spend several
months with them and then return to the island although many stay.
(5) Late 70's: Migration of former political prisoners due to an agreement
between the United States and the Cuban Government to give the right to
political prisoners to travel to the US after being released from Cuban
jails. In
this way thousands of people could escape from the system and lead a better
life in the U.S.
This agreement and also the visa lottery and the like were the beginning of
the called Law of Cuban Adjustment which allows Cubans to migrate from the
island to the US recognizing the violations of human rights in the country.
(6) Early 80's : Illegal massive entrance to foreign embassies in Havana.
In 1980, the Peruvian Embassy in Havana held hundreds of Cubans who got into
it by force and stayed inside for several weeks asking for political asylum
and for the right to migrate to Peru or anywhere in the world. Many of these
changed their minds and got out of it since they could not stand the anxiety
of so much waiting for a decision and due to the bad living conditions
inside. However, the majority had their way and could leave to go to Peru
and later to the United States or to other third countries.
Other embassies were also affected and threatened to become packed in those
days, but the government took measures after the Peruvian Embassy events and
made them come out by force. After that, they provided a twenty-four-hour
military surveillance on all embassies to prevent other similar incidents.
Demonstrations against these events were organized by the government in
every city or town in the island in which they would condemn these actions,
protesting, walking in parades or listening to speeches; all of this with
mandatory attendance with retaliations for the absent ones in what was
called “Revolutionary Reaffirmation Rallies”. As a result of all this
embassy adventure and to let off all the steam contained in the island, the
government instituted what was called the massive Mariel migration.
(7) Early 80's : MARIEL migration.
Mariel is a small coast town at northwestern Havana and is one of the
closest
spots to the Florida peninsula.. In one of his speeches after the
embassyproblems, Castro encouraged Cubans in exile to come to Cuba in small
boats and pick up their relatives through Mariel.
He then allowed, with the consent of the American Government, anyone who
would like to leave the country to do so and get into those boats too. Soon
lots of boats of different kinds with relatives looking for his family in
Cuba sailed to the island from the United States, and whole families
migrated in this way. The dictator also released criminals, thieves, and
common prisoners from jails and in an attempt to harm American society by
sending these people to the United States and he forced them to leave the
country in those boats and also putting that as a condition to the
Cuban-Americans owners of the boats.
He called all immigrants scumbags including criminals and serious people as
well. Many people who had no relatives in boats waiting for them started
claiming to be criminals, thieves, or homosexuals, and they had letters from
their CDRs or other special offices prepared for this purpose, so they were
allowed to leave by Mariel due to their “felon” status. Even professionals
and decent people made use of this procedure to leave the country. Castro,
whose government has always agitated and manipulated masses and in an
attempt to lift the little morale existing, gathered the population again in
every city and town in the country for more massive mandatory “rejection”
rallies, once more! to condemn and reject the events that were taking place
and to put the blame on the evil Yankee Imperialism.
This was called the March of the Struggling People. It was a long mandatory
parade with speeches and slogans, and in Havana, it took place in front of
the Office of Interests of the United States in Cuba, sort of American
Embassy. The following slogans were used:
<> Let the weak ones leave!
<> Let the scumbags go!
<> Let them go!
<> Long live the Revolution!
<> Down with the Yankees!
The funny thing in these parades and what illustrates the double morality
the population has been forced to acquire is that many of the people who
cried, screamed slogans in the parades, threw stones at the houses of the
people who were leaving, offended and insulted them during the rallies, had
boats waiting for them in Mariel! As soon as the rally ended, they set forth
to leave the
country. Thousands of people migrated through Mariel in the early 80's,
leaving behind everything they had, showing the world that something really
serious was going wrong in the island.
( to be continued)
MARIO J TORRES
FEBRUARY 2004
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