Cubans - The Plague of the New Century

Cubans: The Plague of the New Century / Jeovany Jimenez Vega
Posted on September 17, 2013

Since the Cuban government enacted amendments to an emigration policy
that had remained unchanged for over 50 years, a trend that could have
been foreseen is increasingly apparent: now almost all embassies suspect
that every Cuban is really an immigrant, and consequently they have
turned the process of obtaining a visa into a chimerical enterprise,
translated into requirements that place the bar too high for most
applicants.

These embassies may only exercise the sovereign right of each state to
decide who enters their territory and under what conditions they will
allow it, but there are stories that are so illustrative that they
suspect that within this wood they could also have termites and to
illustrate what I am describing here in broad terms, I have the
testimony of Israel Reinoso Valdés , a Cuban citizen residing in
Guanajay, Artemisa Province.

It turns out that Israel, along with Alonso along Lázaro Gonzáles Alonso
and Gerardo García Álvarez — both also Cubans, residing in Guanajay and
Mariel, respectively — decided to apply for a visa at the Guatemalan
Embassy in January 2013.

The three young men met each and every one of the requirements of the
embassy and consequently each was issued a tourist visa under the
current procedure (Israel was issued visa No. 1,704,909). The three
reserved tickets for February 6 for the price of $599.00 CUC, and flew
to Guatemala on TACA flight TA451, which left Havana at 4:55 p.m. and
arrived at their destination the same day at 8:20 p.m., local time.

Israel says that once at the airport they were taken aside by the Chief
of the Immigration Group, Jose Canisa Valenciaga, who in an extortion
attempt demanded from each of them the sum of $1,200.00 USD, which they
had to pay through an intermediary, if they wanted to clear Customs;
otherwise they would be deported to Cuba.

When they refused, the three Cubans were detained for more than 10
hours, held incommunicado like criminals, and not even allowed to use
the restroom or make a phone call to their consulate.

The three young men were actually deported to Cuba on February 7, 7:00
PM, local time. The following day they delivered a first document of
complaint to Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), in which they
explained the essential details of the abuses committed against them by
the Guatemalan authorities. After over a month with no response, Israel
delivered a second complaint to MINREX and then made several more visits
and multiple phone calls, all unsuccessful.

MINREX is legally, morally, and ethically obligated to represent its
citizens in every country in which there is a Cuban consulate, and to
ensure their rights, as is guaranteed in every Cuban passport that is
issued. Absolutely nothing justifies MINREX ignoring the humiliation,
abuse, and arbitrariness that a Cuban citizen has been or may be
subjected to by any foreign authority.

True, the final decision on entry to a country may be subject to the
discretionary consideration of the customs or immigration authorities,
but here we have the case of citizens who rigorously complied with all
the requirements of the Consulate of Guatemala in Havana — which as a
result issued a visa that gave them the legal right to enter the country
— and who in correspondence submitted all documents in the form
requested by the relevant authority, but this was not sufficient to
avoid being the victims of such arbitrariness.

There are rules, international mechanisms, and tools that can be used to
resolve cases like this, where it is clear that three Cubans were
victims of an outrage, because nobody in their right mind would pay
hundreds of dollars for a ticket and fly thousands of miles just to
drink a glass of water and return the next day without even clearing
customs.

It is indisputable here that three Cuban citizens were subjected to a
tremendous humiliation, were victims of attempted extortion and an
undeniable abuse of power by corrupt officials.

Cuba maintains diplomatic and consular relations with the Republic of
Guatemala and MINREX has an embassy in that country, so it has the
resources necessary to intercede before the competent authorities — in
Guatemala or any other country — to press the appropriate claims in
cases like this where they deem that our rights were violated.

If that is not the case, then why are we paying the 100 CUC (the average
salary for six months of work) we are getting charged for our passport,
which supposedly certifies that, wherever we are, we remain under the
aegis of the Cuban Government?

Or does that only apply during the time when we have to fill the plazas
during grandiose parades, and not at the time when we need actually need
help — away from our land in front of a despotic official? Will they
always leave us in a state of helplessness when we decide to leave this
country, where contrariwise they treat foreigners with kid gloves?

I doubt very much that their counterparts would stand idly by in a
similar situation if a victim in Havana was a citizen of Germany,
France, the United States, or any country whose Foreign Ministry is
respected.

MINREX, the voice of the Cuban government to the world, should be at the
pinnacle of what this moment demands, and it is therefore unacceptable
to abandon us so completely — in this case it should never have been so
slow as to issue its final response almost five months after the
complaint was made, and thus tacitly agreeing that these young men "…
did not meet the requirements of the Migration Act …" when in fact they
met every requirement demanded by the Guatemalan Consulate. Moreover
saying in effect that the three young men lost the money for their
passage without recourse.

What if suddenly this case is not an exception? What if we have
discovered a clear trend to treat us as the new plague, at least those
of us who come to where we want to go?

Today it was Israel, Lazarus, and Gerardo. Tomorrow it could be any
Cuban, including me of course. Because as a result of the brutal reality
in which we live, and the indolence of our Foreign Ministry, we could be
condemned to be seen as outcasts, as those "welcome" in the context of
work missions, but then regarded with suspicion if we decide to travel
to these countries by our own choice.

We, the children from the same land as the one that declared that
"homeland is humanity," something surely unknown to those corrupt
Guatemalan customs officials.

By: Jeovany Jimenez Vega
19 August 2013

Source: "Cubans: The Plague of the New Century / Jeovany Jimenez Vega |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/cubans-the-plague-of-the-new-century-jeovany-jimenez-vega/