Some truths about Cubans’ illegal migration
- Written by Leidys Maria Labrador Herrera / Granma
- Published in Opinion
- Hits: 3775
Photo: AP
Human migration dates to time immemorial. So much so, that many theories point out that migrations made possible the population of many regions of the planet.
Although there are multiple reasons to migrate, they generally come down to the search for better living conditions. For that reason, wars, extreme poverty or a complex economic environment, either social or individual, can trigger this phenomenon.
Although efforts have been made at a global scale to promote a legal and orderly migration, and to acknowledge and observe the guarantees and rights of those who choose to migrate regardless of their legal status, we are still far from achieving it.
There is no agreement in this issue and, therefore, irregular and disorderly migration is a latent problem which solution is yet to be seen.
IS CUBA AN EXCEPTIONAL CASE?
Given the right of the people to migrate, our country has gradually and accordingly adjusted the legislation in force. Cubans can travel to any part of the world if they comply with the regulations in force in other countries, of course.
However, what makes Cuba an exceptional case when it comes to migration? The answer is well-known. For decades, successive U.S. governments have put obstacles to the legal migration of Cubans to that nation in their eagerness to destabilize the Revolution process, build the myth of the “inefficacy” of the Cuban government to provide a decent level of life to the people and to create the image of a decadent country to the world.
On the other hand, they promote special regulations for those born in this island, stimulating in that way the illegal migration of Cubans, who would attempt to reach the countries by the most dangerous ways such as travelling illegally through several countries of the continent.
The reestablishment of diplomatic relationships between Cuba and the United States during Barack Obama’s term, and the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana, changed a little bit the color of the matter, although the agreed number of visas was never reached. Later, Donald Trump’s administration reversed all what has been achieved so far and he went further by halting consular services and forcing Cubans to travel to third countries to request a visa.
His successor, Joe Biden, has kept this same line of action towards Cuba, and even if he recently announced that certain procedures would be resumed in the Embassy, it seems it will not make a big difference.
These circumstances, added to the difficulties caused by the duet of the pandemic and the tightened commercial, financial and economic blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba, have prompted many Cubans to seek legal ways of migrating to other countries, which serve as their first stop on their journey as illegal migrants trying to reach the United States.
AT THE MERCY OF EXTORTION AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, Cuba has become a pillar on the fight for the eradication of human trafficking. It is a crime severely punished by the law in Cuba, whereas it is a highly profitable business in most of the world and, of course, illegal migrants immediately become an extremely vulnerable group.
Although it is sad to admit, multiple networks of human trafficking operate in our continent. Maybe the best-known figures in this dark framework are the so-called coyotes, whose work is basically to get around or bribe the authorities and lead the migrants through the borders.
These groups, who operate outside the law, move exclusively for monetary interests and are in no way committed to the people they move around. Therefore, if they find themselves lost, they are capable of abandoning, turning in or, in the worst case but in no way the less frequent, kill them.
Consequently, once they begin the illegal transit route, the lives of our fellow country men and women are in their hands. Have Cubans been scammed, terrified or have they suffered from rape to physical aggressions, have they been threatened and some of them have even been killed? Yes, they have. That is the risk they face and, many times, it is the price they pay.
THE JOURNEY IS NOT CHEAP SO, WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM?
It is unbelievable how the obsession with “leaving” deprives people of their common sense. Logically, a journey of this magnitude needs economic support, since it starts with the request for the required documentation, followed by the purchase of the ticket and later, of course, for the payment to those who guide them during the journey.
To pay for this, some people sell everything they own, they quickly get rid of almost all their belongings, sometimes at low prices, to buy time. Since there is no guarantee that they would complete the journey, many of them have found themselves in the difficult situation of returning and having, literally, nothing.
On the other hand, the impossibility to legally reunite with their relatives, makes the Cubans living abroad pay for a journey that is, in every sense, uncertain.
The amount of money, in turn, determines the conditions of the journey. Therefore, some have better conditions of transportation, food and even accommodation while others may face, for example, the real possibility of dying swallowed by the jungle of Darien, in Panama.
Truth is that no matter how much money is paid, it will never be worth a life.
CUBA, ALWAYS ON THE HEADLINES
Migration is also a target of the constant media attack targeted at our country. That is the reason why, although thousands of Latin Americans start this journey every day, none of them make the headlines like Cubans do.
As expected, none of those headlines starts by saying, for example, this: “Unilateral measures of the United States promote illegal migration among Cubans.” Certainly not.
The most common, sensationalist and ill-intended ones are phrased like this: “Cubans flee desperate of the prevailing situation in the island” or “Cubans would rather be swallowed by the Darien than continue to live in their country.”
This helps us understand that nothing escapes manipulation when it comes to Cuba and that always, regardless of the causes of the problem, the preferred hypothesis is to put all the blame on the Socialist system or the Revolutionary Government.
TO MIGRATE OR NOT TO MIGRATE?
It would be naïve and false to deny that Cuba lives a complex situation these days. Undoubtedly, the needed fight against the pandemic, worsened by a policy as cruel as the blockade, have prevented the achievement of some goals aimed at giving a breath of fresh air to the Cuban economy.
However, it would be highly unfair to say this has happened due to the incapacity of the Government, or the lack of political will and efforts to move forward. It is also untrue that Cuba is currently in a critical situation, to the point it forces its citizens to flee, in the same way that people who flee from a war conflict, for example, would do.
Yes, inflation, price speculation, shortages of all types, it is all real and it is also real that the basic services essential to the people have never been cut, that the rationed basic food basket continues to be equitably distributed, that not hospital was shut or that there has not been mass dismissals, that the private sector was provided protection to prevent them from going out of business, that the people have been vaccinated free of charge.
The decision to migrate, even at the risk of their own lives, comes down to the free will of each person. Each one has their reasons, and nobody has the right to put them into question.
It should be pointed out that Cuba does not close the doors to its citizens, so whoever wishes to return can do it.
Some have told their stories. Some will never have the courage to narrate what they have been through, and those who arrive to their destination, will never tell the dark side of their journey.
Above all, there is a reality. Sometimes, what seems not enough to some, is the greatest of wealth to others. Some chase the American dream while for the large majority, Cuba is their biggest dream.
IN CONTEXT:
The United States does not comply with its legal duty to deliver no less than 20,000 visas a year, imposes the heavy burden of the economic, financial and commercial blockade and put pressure on the governments of the region to demand transit visas to Cuban travellers and migrants.
The Cuban part has warned the U.S. government multiple times of their responsibility – which they unilaterally and unreasonably failed to do since they year 2017- to facilitate a regular, orderly and safe migration.
The United States have been exerting pressure for weeks on the governments of the region to take measures against the Cuban travellers, in a cynical attempt to close the doors to the migration they have promoted for decades.
In their desire to hold the Cuban population “hostage of their hegemonic greed,” the United States violates the human rights of Cuban citizens and keep a destabilizing policy that goes against International Law on Cuba.
SOURCE: Twitter account of Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, minister of Foreign Affairs
