A Cuban Cocktail - The Adjustment Act, Remittances, Emigration and Change

A Cuban Cocktail: The Adjustment Act, Remittances, Emigration and Change
Posted on December 15, 2015

Juan Juan Almeida, 27 November 2015 — The delicate subject of Cubans
stranded in Costa Rica was a topic at the fifty-fourth meeting of the
Central American Security Council and the Central American Integration
System (SICA). It is quite clear that these compatriots of ours, driven
by the fear that the Cuban Adjustment Act will be modified or repealed,
are leaving the island with one destination in mind: the United States.

It matters little to me if they see themselves as political or economic
refugees. They are fleeing poverty that has its roots in politics. For
me this is reason enough. But be aware that, if today they manage to set
foot in the United States or if some other country takes them in,
tomorrow they will be traveling and/or sending money back to the island.

So I set aside my own ideological prejudices and, after much effort,
managed to talk to a Ministry of Tourism official, who assured me that
"the government is not encouraging the exodus of anyone and cannot stop
it except through force." He notes, "What we are experiencing is a
transformation. People are emigrating today for various reasons but
tomorrow they will find opportunity here. Some believe this is a
transition to democracy; others do not. This crisis is only the final
stage of a process in which some will win and some will lose. Look,
because of this the tour operator Havanatur is making 60,000 to 70,000
CUC a day selling tickets to Cubans."

But that is not to say the Cuban government has created this crisis to
make money. Advancing such a claim would be a risky proposition, a
dangerous presumption that would, if nothing else, discredit the
intellect of anyone who repeats it.

There is no demonstrable evidence that Cuba is sharing in the huge
profits that this lucrative form of human trafficking is generating.
Furthermore, although I agree that the island's government could not
care less about the fate of its citizens, I venture to say that it is
not involved in either human trafficking, much less drug trafficking. In
the 1989 Cuba sacrificed an important group of people as pawns in order
to cooperate with the United States and international agencies in
fighting this activity.

Protocols have been signed with the United States to ensure and maintain
a legal and safe emigration process, and there are severe sanctions
under Cuban law for trafficking. Conditions have changed so the regime
has had to learn to play within the boundaries of international
jurisprudence.

I threw out the question as to why this emigration crisis is happening
now and got the best response from a crafty and apparently wealthy
trafficker.

"Cubans are used to lying," he says," and those people (referring to the
refugees in Costa Rica) are also hiding the truth."

He adds, "The reality is that on December 17 there was a new sense of
national hope. People thought that there would be change and progress in
three days' time. And what happened? Nothing. We're in the same little
box, or worse. The news articles and news broadcasts were the trigger.
First, Cubans see that the United States and Cuba are talking about
emigration and they conclude that the Cuban Adjustment Act is going to
be repealed. Then there was Raul's trip to Mexico, which was the
starting shot that set off of the race.

"It spread like wildfire. There was an agreement to block the Cubans'
path through Mexico. It's only natural. People listen to news and
gossip. 'Emigration agreements' is the thing everyone is talking about
but at the time no one said anything about it.

"Things are bad in Cuba. People cannot see the light at either the
beginning or end of the tunnel. The Cuban psyche is focused on one
thing: emigration. And no one is talking about this business because
everyone wants to be trafficked."

I recall that historic but vague strategy Fidel Castro outlined in a
long-winded speech given in August 1999 dealing with emigration. He made
no reference to exerting pressure or attempting to overturn the Cuban
Adjustment Act. Quite the contrary. He lobbied, committed resources and
knocked on doors to convince the region's leaders they should demand
that their citizens receive the same exceptional and privileged
treatment from the United States that Cubans received when setting foot
on American soil. In other words, to use our emigrants as missiles, not
to launch attacks but to change American demographics and thus influence
the political decisions of a country that listens to its citizens and
respects those in the minority.

"…no one is talking about trafficking; Cubans want to be trafficked."

Source: A Cuban Cocktail: The Adjustment Act, Remittances, Emigration
and Change | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/a-cuban-cocktail-the-adjustment-act-remittances-emigration-and-change/