http://www.sanpedrosun.net/08-184.html
After a lull following Fidel Castro’s illness last year, Cubans again
are manning homemade boats in bold moves to find better living on trips
to the United States of America, often by way of Mexico. A daring feat,
but for eleven Cuban refugees (three females, eight males) who left
their native land in Cuba for a search of better life in the United
States turned up sea battered, sunburned and with chapped lips on
Friday, April 25th at around 10:26 a.m. on the shores of Ambergris Caye.
The Sun was the first on the scene and from a distance saw the
refugees coming ashore; several of the men held make****ft sticks that
were utilized as paddles and hauled their boat to shore. On land, the
immigrants whose ramshackle, 12-foot vessel was held together by a
wooden and metal framework, was anchored and out came the refugees who
seemed drained but confused as to their destination. By then, a crowd
had gathered, and they informed them that they were on Belizean soil to
which one of the men responded “Adonde? (where?)” and “Que vamos hacer
ahorra?” (What are we going to do now?). Whilst they waited for
authorities to arrive, generous island residents supplied the sea
battered men and women with water. They were informed that the
authorities were on their way and upon their arrival some five minutes
later, the group was escorted to the San Pedro Police Department. There,
they stayed overnight until the next day (Saturday) when they were
handed over to immigration services in San Pedro.
The Sun placed calls to the San Pedro Police Department, the
Director of Immigration and the Embassy of Cuba to find out their
status, but all attempts to obtain comment have been futile and hesitant
to a degree. The San Pedro Police Department confirms that the refugees
were handed over to the San Pedro Immigration Department. Calls placed
to the San Pedro Immigration Department are directed to Belmopan with
Director Murillos. All calls to Belmopan were unsuccessful from Tuesday
until press time Wednesday afternoon as the line was busy at all times.
In an interview with Cuban Ambassador to Belize His Excellency Eugenio
Martinez, correct protocol dictates that authorities should inform his
Embassy of any Cuban refugees landing in Belizean soil within 72 hours
of their arrival. A call placed to Ambassador Martinez on Tuesday was
met with surprise as the Ambassador had not been informed of the arrival
of the 11 Cubans.
According to information by anonymous police sources, the refugees
were given the assistance they needed including water, food, some money,
flash lights and basic supplies for their voyage back at sea. Has the
word gotten out that Cubans can find asylum in Belize and set out to
land here? That is one analogy the Police Department is investigating as
the incidents are becoming a common occurrence on the island. Friday’s
arrival marked the third refugee landing in Ambergris Caye, two at
Holiday Hotel, in a span of four months. Unlike Belize, the United
States of America has a “wet foot/dry foot” policy regarding Cuban
exiles. If the migrants make it to shore, they are allowed to stay in
the US soil. If they are discovered en route, the US Coast Guard returns
them to Cuba. A refugee who manages to make it to shore (“dry feet”)
gets a chance to remain in the United States, and later would qualify
for expedited “legal permanent resident” status and acquire US
citizen****p.
As Cubans see their immigration routes close one after the other,
Honduras offers one of the last, indirect, ways of reaching the US.
Honduras is the only country in the region that does not have an
agreement with Cuba about immediate repatriation of Cuban nationals
arriving in the country illegally. Despite all Cubans needing valid
pass****ts and consulted visas upon arrival, Belizean authorities have
been closing their eyes to the growing tide of Cuban economic immigrants.
As explained by Ambassador Martinez, Cuban refugees are sent back
to Cuba once they arrive in Belizean soil. The Belizean government
counters the US “wet-foot, dry foot” policy with its own “see no evil,
hear no evil policy,” which according to some officials might be
doubling the number of Cubans arrivals in the last year. The increasing
trend of Cuban arrivals has been concentrated on Ambergris Caye.
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