By Yoani Sanchez
They left Cuba before January 12 and are now stranded on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela. They arrived with the advantage of not needing a visa, but they have lost hope of reaching the borders of the United States after the cancellation of the policy of dry feet / wet feet.
Unofficial figures estimate that more than a thousand Cubans have arrived in Trinidad and Tobago waiting to be able to leave for the United States. Some received refugee status at the time conferred by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but have difficulty obtaining a work permit.
Recently 15 Cubans detained in Trinidad and Tobago for being undocumented, including 12 men and 3 women, stated that they preferred death rather than return to their country
Zenaida, a fictitious name, still has a son in Cuba and fears to give his real identity to accompany the story that has lived in recent months, but the desire to tell what happened sometimes has something of reckless.
"The voice that they are giving asylum has run, and if the immigration authorities do not turn back a considerable number, we would be many more." Those who are caught when their visa expires are sent to jail.
Recently 15 Cubans detained in Trinidad and Tobago for being undocumented immigrants, including 12 men and 3 women, stated that they preferred to die rather than return home. They are trapped on an island and trying to keep them from returning to another island.
Zenaida had a position in the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), but was disillusioned with the official ideology. "Despite living the mass exodus of the 1990s, I never valued the possibility of leaving the country because I am very attached to the family and only daughter," he acknowledges.
His disagreements began since he was a member of the Communist Youth Union. "I realized that Robertico Robaina, our leader at the time, obeyed the principle of 'do what I say and not what I do.'" Zenaida worked in a poultry farm and one day discovered "a great embezzlement of birds where the invoices were falsified". In confronting the people involved, he knew that among the embezzlers was even the general director of the company. Frustration washed over her.
He decided to attend the political school to leave behind the poultry farm. "I could not imagine going from one hell to another." After witnessing the opportunism and double standards of many of his colleagues, the little faith left in the system was completely cracked.
" I requested the release of my office after witnessing an outrage to which he was subjected opposition Jorge Luis Garcia Perez Antunez and his family , " she tells 14ymedio . "That was the trigger to decide not to continue in that place."
"I started working secretly on my aunt's palate, where they offered me 100 CUC and paid me the amount of my passport if I traveled to Trinidad for seven days to import clothes," he says.
But the fate of the mule twisted when at Havana airport greeted and chatted with the author of this text . One of the women who traveled with her returned to Cuba earlier and told the neighbors that Zenaida was "human rights." "Small town hell big, the news ran like gunpowder and even my husband was quoted by State Security."
"My mother and my child were also questioned about my behavior," he says. "I was aware of the consequences I would have to face if I returned to Cuba."
"There are families stranded waiting for a host country more than two years ago. I think the world is not aware of the drama that the Cubans are experiencing"
He handled political asylum and now his legal situation is complex. "Immigration withdrew my passport and they gave me a letter that they call supervision order that allows me free transit through the country but that does not allow me to work." Zenaida has to work secretly to survive. "I do it under my responsibility and doing the hardest cleaning jobs the natives reject."
For the moment he receives some help from a Catholic organization, Living Water Community, which consists of a food bill that includes rice, sugar, grains, flour, toilet paper, soap and some clothing donated by other people.
After some time you will have your first interview with the representatives of the UN and only then you can obtain refugee status. "There are families stranded waiting for a host country more than two years ago. I think the world is not aware of the tragedy that Cubans are experiencing," said Zenaida.
Although Zenaida has been optimistic since meeting with her husband and celebrates not being alone, her feelings are contradictory regarding the emigration "I do not know if we live in a limbo but only now I know that fleeing does not solve anything.We leave our customs, our relatives And our roots to clash with the harsh reality of the immigrant.We will only be free when we do not cross jungles and seas in search of an answer that only inside we have. And he concludes with regret: "What a pity that only now I realized all this!".
Fente: 14ymedio
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