Cuban Refugees

Currently in our English class we have just finished the book "Refugee" by Alan Gratz. Throughout the book we travel through three different times when a certain group of people were migrating due to their current problems in their country. We start with Joseph who lives in Germany and is trying to escape due Hitler being in charge and wanting all Jewish people dead. Through Joseph we see a little of what some Jewish people were going through during that time, having to leave their homes and travel to a foreign place. The next character we meet is Isabel who lived in Cuba during the 1990s we learn that the country was poor, and they needed to flee to escape the falling country. They too are having to leave their homes behind to go to a foreign country and start a new life from nothing. We continue to meet the next character named Mahmoud who is a Syrian boy whose country is being torn apart by ongoing civil war violence. 

One thing that all these characters have in common is that they are all refugees. It is sad to see how they were treated in these stories and how most are treated today. One issue that I wanted to know more about was what all happened during the Cuban migration. We gathered from the book that they had no choice but to leave due to the horrible conditions the country was in, when the Soviet Union collapsed. In Isabels journey they are trying to get to the United States by a raft that was built out of old material. This is however how most traveled to the U.S. and how many were eventually caught and either taken back to their country or sent to a refugee camp.

Looking farther into this topic I found an article by the New York Times called " Last of Refugees From Cuba In '94 Flight Now Enter U.S. " Throughout the article it discusses how some came to the country and quotes of why they were coming to this country from some. Most said to get a fresh start and work, most were wanting to get jobs and have a better life away from poverty. The article also mentions how there was a mix of Haitians with the Cubans. However, most of the people from Haiti were sent back to their country by the U.S. coast guard. More than 29,000 Cubans and 21,000 Haitians were held at Guantanamo when they arrived. Through the Clinton administration there were refugee camps set up there. However, due to the refugee camps many were more suicidal due to the conditions they left and the ones they were currently in. The camps also ended up costing the government about $150 million dollars. They said that they thought the camps helped solve the Immigration Issue. There are still refugees today, history has shown us that all these people want is a fresh start and somewhere where they can protect their family and succeed. Refugees should not be a threat and should be helped instead of punished for the circumstances that they are trying to escape.

 “How wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but can start right now to gradually change the   world! How wonderful it is that everyone, great and small, can immediately help bring about justice by giving of themselves.”

— Anne Frank