Florida Keys Cuban Crisis

 go to http://youtu.be/PvNuxTM19Dk  to see the above Cuban Refugee Boat video on YouTube
(if you can't get this to play on this page....)

Every Friday the volunteers have a happy hour at John and Thel's site...I think it's at their spot because they are veteran volunteers and kindly shepherd us "new kids" when we need it.  This Friday one of the park rangers started telling the story of an unsinkable refugee ship that was paddled ashore not long ago on Bahia Honda State Park.  It was not unbelievable that they made it safely here from Cuba, as their "ship" did not even sink when it was shot through with a bullet or two.  It's "secret for success" was masses of styrofoam encased in sturdy gunny sacks, reinforced with steel reebar.    No, the amazing part of the story was that every Cuban who puts a foot on dry ground is awarded $10,000 (kids, too) and given every assistance to set up a new life in Florida.  If they didn't get all of the way up on the beach, they were taken back to Cuba, where they would be put in Cuban prisons.  But then the stories really started flowing.  There was the refugee who collected for his entire family, used $5,000 of the cash award for a down payment on a new boat, which he promptly used to haul 28 more Cuban refugees back to Florida, charging them $5,000 cash per person!  I thought if any of this could be true, I should have heard something about it before.

I checked out Catholic Charities of Central Florida to confirm the "wet foot/dry foot" stories we'd heard.  Another ranger said the Cubans were so anxious to be quickly picked up by authorities that once they came on shore at this park, they'd go right to the concession stand and wait for someone to "turn them in".  What?  Why would that be?   John, our host, told us that one night he heard a large group of refugees coming ashore right behind his trailer...cheering, because they had stepped on dry ground.  Another day John saw one in an inflatable boat, lined with spray-in foam, unable to land and he threw him a rope.  Was this refugee guaranteed a $10,000 grant and full services?  ...or were these just happy-hour-stories?

Here's what I found out:  "Once a person or family is enrolled they receive the following services:

• community orientation services
• financial assistance
• employment assistance
• referrals to local agencies for additional services

Eligibility for services is limited to those individuals with Refugee, Asylee, Cuban/Haitian entrant or Amerasian status. Program enrollment must occur within 30-days of arrival or in the case of asylees, within 30-days from the date asylum was approved."  [So that would explain why the rush to be apprhended.]  But I couldn't find specified cash award amounts.

Wouldn't it be cool 2B Cuban?  Viva los Cubanos!

In one sense it almost seems like a bribe for Cubans to risk their lives to reach our shores.  But isn't the aim to relieve suffering and oppression?  I admit I have a bias here.  My own grandparents were immigrant "refugees"... wanting religious freedom.   They certainly struggled.   I wonder how different life would have been for them if they'd received assistance.

Viva Cuba Libre!