Cuban Migrants Embark From Mexico On The Last Leg Of Their Odyssey To The US

Cuban Migrants Embark From Mexico On The Last Leg Of Their Odyssey To
The US / 14ymedio, EFE
Posted on January 14, 2016

14ymedio/EFE, Tapachula (Mexico), 14 January 2016 — The first 180 Cuban
migrants covered by an agreement to help them reach the United States,
set off on the final stage of their odyssey after entering Mexican
territory from Guatemala this Wednesday.

The 139 men and 41 women reached the southeastern Mexican state of
Chiapas aboard four buses, guarded by the National Civil Police and the
Guatemalan Office of Human Rights.

The Human Rights Ombudsman in the municipality of Coatepeque, Jose
Maldonado, said that "the accompaniment and verification for twelve
hours" through Guatemalan territory was carried out in the framework of
a pilot program following the agreement with Costa Rica, El Salvador and
Mexico to help Cubans on their way to the US.

The migrants were received on the premises of the National Institute of
Migration (INM) located in Ciudad Hidalgo, a few yards from the
border. In these offices, staff conducted the process by which the
Cubans received a pass allowing them to travel through Mexico for 20
days by which time they should have made it to the United States. The
measure is covered in Article 42 of the Immigration Law that permits
foreigners to be authorized to enter the country for "humanitarian reasons."

Also participating in the process were personnel from the National
Commission of Human Rights (CNDH), the Red Cross and several
non-government organizations that defend migrants.

On their arrival at the federal facility at the Rodolfo Robles border
crossing at Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas, the travelers expressed their goal
of reaching the United States to reunite with their families, as in the
case of Olanis Diaz, a native of Havana, who will see her father in
Miami, Florida, after a hard journey.

The Mexican press, which is covering the journey of the Cubans,
printed several testimonies from the migrants who expressed their
gratefulness to the country.

"What we want is to be on our way as soon as possible. We don't want to
stay in Mexico, not because we don't like it, but because in Miami part
of my family is waiting for me, my sister, my nephew, whom I haven't
seen for a long time," one migrant told the newspaper Milenio.

The newspaper also reflected the desperation suffered by the Cubans when
they saw their path cut off in Costa Rica last November, when the
migration crisis began. "I tell my compatriots left behind, don't forget
your dreams, and keep going," said one of the newcomers to North America.

"We are grateful to the town of La Cruz and the Government of Costa
Rica; thanks to them this dream has become possible," another of the
migrants, a young man of 27 who hopes to join his mother in Miami, told
the Mexican newspaper El Universal.

After the two hours required by the immigration process, Cubans left the
offices and boarded four other buses, contracted for by the INM to take
them the 27 miles from Ciudad Hidalgo to Tapachula, where they can buy
plane or bus tickets to continue their journey to the north.

After being stranded for two months on Costa Rica's border with
Nicaragua amid a diplomatic dispute between the countries, the Cubans
considered it "an achievement to arrive at Mexico's southern border."

Although they still do not know the steps they will have to take to
continue their journey, they expect the rest of the journey to be
organized by themselves and, on reaching the United States, expect
benefits under the Cuban Adjustment Act.

Leonel Chirino, a 30-year-old baseball player, who arrived on the first
bus, sent a message of "peace" to the more than 7,000 if their
compatriots who are still in Costa Rica, from where the first group left
Tuesday night by air to El Salvador, and from there by land through
Guatemala and then Mexico.

I assure you "that you will all be able to leave, everything is well
planned, everything is well coordinated, we are first in line for visa
and we are all going to reach the United States."

The journey from Costa Rica to Mexican territory was coordinated by the
International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The Costa Rican Foreign Minister congratulated El Salvador, Guatemala
and Mexico for the flexibility they showed and added that they will
continue working "very hard on behalf of all Cuban migrants who remain
in the country."

"Our opinion, which will have to be taken into account by other
countries, is that this process has met all expectations. People have
arrived safely, healthy, happy and on time. Everything has gone very
well and we hope that the region will say the same," he said at a news
conference.

This coming 18 January a technical meeting is scheduled in Guatemala
which will be attended by representatives of Central American
governments, to assess the first transfer of migrants.

Source: Cuban Migrants Embark From Mexico On The Last Leg Of Their
Odyssey To The US / 14ymedio, EFE | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-migrants-embark-from-mexico-on-the-last-leg-of-their-odyssey-to-the-us-14ymedio-efe/