Cubans in Panama Ask Obama’s Help in the Immigration Crisis

Cubans in Panama Ask Obama's Help in the Immigration Crisis / 14ymedio,
Mario Penton
Posted on March 23, 2016

14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 22 March 2016 — "If it were not for the
many who have died trying, it would be funny: Obama is in Cuba and we
Cubans are leaving it." In his sweaty mestizo face you can see small
wrinkles, no doubt accentuated by the days spent in the journey along
the dangerous route from Ecuador to Colombia. "I had to, I was
desperate, no papers, no money, I had no other option to not go back to
Cuba or die," says the migrant.

For several weeks thousands of Cubans have been flocking to the
Panamanian border, both in the east (Puerto Obaldia) and west (Paso
Canoas), hoping Costa Rica and Nicaragua will allow the migratory flow
to pass and offer them humanitarian safe conduct passes. Costa Rica
closed its borders to Cuban migrants after negotiating with Mexico the
departure of thousands who were stranded late last year when Nicaragua
closed its borders. Something similar is happening now in Panama, only
the solution is far off.

Orislandy Diaz Marrero, a young Cuban of 26 who recently managed to
cross the jungle through the Darien Gap, in the central area of the
country, tells 14ymedio his opinion about the visit of the president of
the United States to the island. "I don't know what Obama's intentions
are, but I am sure that nothing good is going to come of it. Those
people (the Cuban government) have nothing good in mind." He explains
that his decision to abandon the country is the same as "everyone
else's." Orislandy pauses for a long moment, sighs and adds, "It's
because they don't let us breathe there."

For Adrian Cedeño, a communications specialist who decided to emigrate
to Ecuador, Obama's visit "marks a before and after," but he questions,
beyond diplomacy and protocol, what the real benefits are to ordinary
Cubans. "The Cuban people want to believe that this is a hope," said
Cedeno while pointing out that the issue of emigration on the island
goes beyond a purely political matter. "It's about the dignity they have
taken from us. They have left a people, a culture, a country with
nothing," he says and asks that the rulers think "the about common good
and not political interests of yesteryear."

Yordanis Garcia is one of the representatives of the Cuban National
Alliance of Ecuador, a civil society group that has recently been formed
to defend the rights of migrants from the island in that
country. "Actually, I would like to believe that the arrival of Obama
in Cuba would be a big change for my Cuba" he says. "His arrival has
shocked Cubans on the island as well as those who are not there." Garcia
adds that he feels "proud" that an American president is in Havana
because of the powerful message of freedom that gesture sends.

Dozens of Cubans have held vigils, rallies and protests, both in Panama
and Ecuador in recent days, asking to be allowed to continue their trip
to the United States. On Monday, a group of them sent a letter to
President Obama and his wife Michelle asking them to intervene in the
current immigration crisis.

A video accompanying the letter was filmed on 19 March, in the middle of
a vigil called "Towards Freedom." The video, just two minutes long,
contains the main reasons why they decided to leave Cuba. "We want to
make them (the authorities) understand that we are fleeing from Castro's
dictatorship in which for half a century we have never voted, where
there are no free elections (…) where we can not speak out as we do
here. The only thing we saw for ourselves was fleeing from our country
leaving many of our loved ones behind." The message ends quoting José
Martí between shouts of freedom: "When the people flee, the leaders have
no purpose."

In the past fiscal year (between October 2014 and September 2015) more
than 43,000 Cubans reached US territory, taking advantage of the
so-called Wet foot/Dry Foot law, that allows them to stay legally until,
at the end of a year and a day since their arrival, they can submit an
application to reside in the United States. Since last October, 2,420
Cubans have been intercepted at sea by the Coast Guard and more than
10,000 have entered through the southern border.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9j9NOs9R0I

Source: Cubans in Panama Ask Obama's Help in the Immigration Crisis /
14ymedio, Mario Penton | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cubans-in-panama-ask-obamas-help-in-the-immigration-crisis-14ymedio-mario-penton/