The Cuban Embassy in Quito Accuses Migrants of “Seeking Points” From The US

The Cuban Embassy in Quito Accuses Migrants of "Seeking Points" From The
US / 14ymedio, Mario Penton

14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 2 July 2016 — With the language of the
Cold War, the Embassy of Cuba in Ecuador has responded through an
official statement to the situation of thousands of migrants from the
island who are undocumented in Ecuador and are asking for a humanitarian
bridge that allows them to reach the United States.

The answer comes after dissimilar attempts to obtain information from
the embassy that kept a veil of silence over the protests carried out by
migrants which included a demonstration in front of the Mexican Embassy
and requests to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and
the embassy of the United States in the Ecuadorian capital for assistance.

"The embassy of Cuba wishes to clarify to public opinion that these
people left our country, overwhelmingly in a legal way, and none of them
is persecuted for their political ideas," says the document, which also
accuses the undocumented "seeking points" from the US government.

The document, which was published unsigned on the embassy's social
network site, directly accused the Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy of being
responsible for the current wave of migration affecting Central and
South American countries. "Once again it is demonstrated that the
current immigration policy of the US government towards Cuba is
inconsistent with the current bilateral context."

Reactions to the embassy statement by the Cubans in Ecuador were not
long in coming. The social networks are filled with messages of both
repudiation and support of the statement.

A migrant living in Ecuador, Carlos Ramirez Durades, explains that "it
such is the disappointment that, even being in situations unfavorable
for their lives, no one decides to return to Cuba." That is a sign, he
says, that "the sheep are not as tame as they want to paint them."

A political organization established in Ecuador to support freedom in
Cuba, the X Cuba Movement, issued a statement in solidarity with the
undocumented migrants and asked the Cuban embassy to stop being "an
instrument of the regime and put yourself on the correct side of history."

Ephraim Mateo Sanchez, leader of the Cubans who installed themselves in
front of the embassy of Mexico in Quito, said meanwhile that they are
preparing "a clear and strong response" to the statement issued by the
Cuban embassy.

Several Cubans living in Ecuador, such as Lucía Camacho Ríos and Karel
Gómez Velázquez, have expressed agreement with the statement issued by
the embassy. Some have also come out against the actions of the
protesters. "They want to be put on plane, shouting 'down with Fidel' in
the streets of Quito, but they didn't do that in Havana. All my friends
who went to the United States, took the 'little road,' it is best that
they do the same," Maritza Suarez, a Cuban who has lived in Ecuador for
26 years, told 14ymedio.

"With or without the Cuban Adjustment Act Cubans will continue leaving
Cuba. When one goes sometimes we don't know if they do it for political
reasons, because on the island we don't even know what freedom is.
Finally, whether for economic reasons or not, when the essence goes, the
people leave Cuba because the system doesn't allow them to be what they
want to be. In the end, everything has to do with politics," said Lazaro
Ramos, a Cuban who is a member of the Cuban National Alliance of Ecuador
(ANCE) who emigrated to Ecuador less than a year ago.

Recently, Cuban migrants who have been evicted from outside the Mexican
Embassy in Quito, received authorization to move to El Arbolito Park in
the Ecuadorian capital. There they have established what they call "The
Cuban Encampment," or "The Mambí Encampment." Several hundred people
live in tents in precarious conditions in hopes that some country will
serve as a trampoline to enter the United States, where legislation
allows natural persons from the island to be admitted.

Source: The Cuban Embassy in Quito Accuses Migrants of "Seeking Points"
From The US / 14ymedio, Mario Penton – Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-cuban-embassy-in-quito-accuses-migrants-of-seeking-points-from-the-us-14ymedio-mario-penton/