Month: November 2015

Solis. The canton of La Cruz, where at the beginning virtually all of the Cubans were located, is one of the poorest cantons in Costa Rica, but the people there never said, “me first.”

The numbers were impressive. The first Sunday of the journey, when the migrants arrived in the central district of La Cruz there were more Cubans than Costa Ricans, because of the accumulation that was there, specifically. However, there was not a single incident, not a single dispute. Quite the opposite. People wanted to find solutions and they were very supportive.

Escobar. Does the solidarity extend beyond providing food and shelter?

Solis. We asked the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Sports to prepare some recreational activities, because over so many days, with so many people doing nothing and put in a shelter, they were going to go crazy. They got together 500 books, which were not many, and also began setting up football games, baseball games, concerts, putting on plays. The National Children’s Trust put on plays for children. With this we were able to realize something else about the migration, that it is made up of very educated people who wanted to read, who were also very interested in cultural interactions.

Escobar. Did Nicaragua’s closing of the border come as a surprise?

Solis.  Nicaragua’s closure was very unfortunate, because until that time they had been letting the migrants pass. They were passing with visa, a procedure with the ugly technical name of “deportation,” that meant they could cross the country to continue their journey through Nicaragua. It doesn’t seem that they want to open the border, unless talks this Monday between Cuba and the United States, precisely with regards to migration, work out something else.

Escobar. Is there any solution to this crisis in sight?

Solis. There are several solutions, because a ton of factors all have to line up. One that already happened was that Ecuador slowed down the entry of Cubans to its territory, because this was generating a huge flow inexorably headed north. It was very complicated. Second, we need the transit countries to give the migrants document and they are willing to do so. Only Colombia and Panama haven’t yet started this process. In the case of Colombia, because they say that it is physically impossible to control a border as long as theirs with Ecuador.

At the meeting in San Salvado, I believe the governments will recognize the need to give them visas. Because it is not the same journey with a visa as without a visa. We have strongly insisted on it for humanitarian reasons. Because if not, how can we protect them. They need a visa to allow them to move. With a visa they don’t have to be afraid, they can go to the market, connect to the internet, buy a phone card.

We want to be sure that the people making this journey don’t fall into the hands of organized crime, which is what most troubles us. We are also making a call to remain calm.

The other thing is, if the United States wants to resolve this problem, it needs to change the Cuban Adjustment Act. Because right now it is perverse that they can enter, but not by the easiest route, only by the most difficult one. So, Cubans are trapped between their aspirations and the dangers of getting there in this way. This generates some very complicated dynamics, geopolitically on the one hand, and for practical reasons on the other.

I’m not saying build a bridge between Havana and Miami, but certainly when relations between Cuba and the United States are completely normalized they should establish a normal and fluid interchange. So this is why I say there are multiple solutions. We all have to do our part.

Escobar. And the differences between Cuban migrants and those of other nationalities?

Solis. Right now in Central America there is a debate that refers to a core part of the problem. For countries that generate migrants, and I do not want to exclude Costa Rica in that, it is very difficult to deal with a migrant population which, when it arrives at its destination is received, documented, eventually legalized and given a residence card, while its own population, traveling by the same route, is rejected at the border.

On the other hand, all the Cuban migrants come with their passport, they are documented, but our border is also seeing migrants come from Africa, Asia, Pakistan, without papers. The challenge of dealing with this undocumented population is formidable, because legally they don’t even exist. It is a terrible drama.

Escobar. You had announced a trip to Cuba for the 15 December before all this happened. Will the issue of migration occupy a privileged position during the talks?

Solis. We will be obliged to talk about it. Fortunately, I understand that the problem is being resolved, that is, the process to transfer [past Nicaragua] the Cuban population that is now in Costa Rica, and those arriving is being worked on by the Foreign Ministry. I was with the president-elect of Guatemala four days ago and he will continue with the policy of the current government, which is to facilitate passage through their country. And the Government of Mexico also said it would let them pass, so we are resolving it.

Although the subject of Cubans in Costa Rica is part of the agenda, the reasons why I am going to Cuba are also of a different nature; they go much further, because it was planned earlier. We will consolidate a process of normalization that began in the nineties, we will establish in Cuba one of our working sites towards the Caribbean Basin. This government has been promoting dialogue and greater involvement of our investors with that area.

I had breakfast in New York with the heads of state of Caricom focused on this. We are developing our Caribbean province, Limón, so it is the door of Costa Rica to the Caribbean. Cuba is a new reality that can make us competitive in some areas for the Costa Rican economy, but is also an opportunity for exchange and cooperation.

Escobar. What is your opinion of the Cuban people?

Solis. I have a great affection for the Cuban people. Although what we have done for Cuban migration we would for any other migration. In fact, one of the paradoxes of this whole story is that with Nicaragua, Costa Rica has been an open and brotherly country, but now they do not seem to have the same attitude with respect Cuba, which, by the way, has helped them so much.

Escobar. What do you say to those who say that Costa Rica is using Cubans as “spearhead” against Nicaragua?

Solis. We have our “bones to pick” with Nicaragua, we have a complicated agenda. In our case, it is being dealt with legally, in the International Court of Justice and the result will come soon, in the next six to eight weeks. It is one of those contentious border issues, a complicated litigation. In the international bodies is where these suits belong; we have no need to use Cubans as spearhead. That makes no sense.

http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=3&case=152

Solis. I have seen everyone be supportive, without complaints. There are isolated cases of people who have gotten upset. In the cabinet itself, the shock of the first moment was of such magnitude that some came to ask, “How many more are coming, Mr. President?” But it was more the anguish of not knowing.

Escobar. How can future crises like this be avoided?

Solis. First we must understand this as a regional problem and therefore it requires significant international alignment. I have been a convinced integrationist for many years. I believe in Central American integration. In this particular case, integration is to no avail. We knew that, and that’s why we didn’t want to take it to the meeting of the Central American Integration System (SICA), because that was not the appropriate forum to discuss this issue. However, we promoted the participation of more countries.

The dimension of this problem obliges us to shine a light on it, it requires that migrants be documented.

Escobar. There has been talk of an airlift. What is the status of that solution?

Solis. We were just discussing that, but as there is no regional agreement, each country decided to announce its own measures on its own time.

The latest official figures are that there are 18 locations providing accommodation and care for about 3,013 Cubans. “At least twelve of these places are in Liberia, ten in the canton of La Cruz, four in Upala, one in Guatuso and one in San Ramon,” lists the minister.

Alvarado Quesada agrees with the opinions gathered by this newspaper about the the communities are involved in supporting migrants. “The people of La Cruz and Upala, like other regions, are very committed,” he said, adding that residents have made donations and given all kinds of aid. “Also the churches have joined in solidarity, both Catholic and evangelical and are preparing and bringing food to Cubans,” he continues.

“I visited one of those kitchens where 3,000 meals are prepared daily and, in fact, the chef is Cuban. Every shelter has a Cuban cook, because among these people there is every kind of professional. There are economists, doctors, dancers, boxers …” says Alvarado Quesada.

The Ministry of Health and the Red Cross have conducted a census which includes data such as name, occupation and clothing sizes of the Cubans. “Some of this information will enable us to distribute aid, especially clothes,” explains the president of IMAS. In the case of children it is very important to know the exact measurements to make the distribution of clothes and footwear more effective.

Asked about the possibility of an airlift that would allow the migrants to continue their journey to the United States, Alvarado Quesada is more cautious. “There is willingness to help, but it can not be a flamboyant help, too dramatic,” he says. “This is a matter of freedom, not only of Cubans but the freedom of everyone.”

This loquacious Cuban with stubborn dreams completed an official mission as a healthcare worker in Ecuador. He didn’t want his picture taken or his name given to this newspaper, for fear of not being able to return to Cuba, but he relates the long journey that has brought him to Costa Rica.

“The goal of many of us was to complete our mission in Ecuador and in that time to make contacts to return to Quito or other cities with a contract to work privately,” Jorge explained. However, “at the request of the Cuban government, the Ecuadorian authorities ended the ability of Cubans to be placed on the professional register.” He emphasizes, “The Cuban government made this happen.”

Jorge notes with irritation, “I never thought of traveling to the United States.” Summing up his initial plans, he says, “I wanted to be a professional in Ecuador, where I could earn $2,000 a month. Why would I go to the United States to work in construction?”

“They forced me to do this because they shut down the path I was on,” the man says. Unable to register as a health professional left him the option of “cleaning floors in a hotel.” Of the $3,000 salary declared on the contract of his official mission, the Cuban government only paid Jorge $700. All these absurdities led him to undertake the journey to the United States, he says.

On a table outdoors, Beatriz is busy filling in the entrance forms for a group recently arrived at the La Cruz camp. She is a Cuban working with some church or NGO that is there helping Cubans, particularly because she pronounces all the letters of words.*

“This you see here is the dining room,” she says. “At any time of day or night people come here from the border and end up in a camp with better living conditions.” The young woman detailed that those in shelters in the town of La Cruz eat breakfast and lunch there. The costs are borne by the community, the church and other organizations, “that have made this possible and that support us in every way they can.”

Before leaving Cuba, Beatriz worked in the restaurant industry in Camagüey and has come to Costa Rica with her husband. They only arrived in Ecuador on 1 November with the intention to begin their journey north on the 10th, but moved it up to the 3rd. “When we got here they had already closed the border.”

She moves with purpose and has an authority that makes newcomers ask her for advice as if she were a specialist in immigration procedures. Only 23, she said she was optimistic that there would soon be a solution for the almost 4,000 “rafters on foot” stranded in Central America. The conviction that she will achieve her dream is based, above all, on her youth, “I have more future than past,” she repeats with certainty.

In the line to be added to “Beatriz’s list,” is Oneiqui Castro, who worked as a butcher in Ciego de Avila. At the registration table he shows his Cuban passport and a Florida state driver’s license in his name. “Two years ago I lived in the United States for 8 months. It went well for me, but I returned to Cuba for matters of the heart. Love played a dirty trick on me and now I’m back,” he says.

However, not everyone is there to reach the United States. The artist Tania Bruguera spent several days accompanying the Cubans at the border and has helped them create a Facebook page under the slogan “Let the Cubans pass.” Open just 72 hours, the site has already been visited 108,700 times.

Tania remains with the “rebel group,” those who do not want to stay in the shelters but prefer to remain as close as possible to the Nicaraguan border. They surround the artist, seeming to feel inspired by her, because of her peaceful yet disobedient vocation. Despite the fact that the official Cuban media never mentioned one word of Bruguera’s performance last December, the majority of those from the island know about it.

Others just don’t understand what is happening. This is the case with Foilan. “How is it possible, that on one day the Sandinistas ask for our help to overthrow Somoza and then receive doctors and teachers from our country, but that now they won’t open their borders,” asks this Havanan. “We have faith; we know we need luck, but the main thing is faith, without it luck is not possible,” he says while fingering the rosary he wears around his neck.

Tamara Roman responds to this paper with a certain air of desperation. She talks as if her life depended on her words. “The greatest fear that we have is that December 15 will arrive, when all the institutions start to get into Christmas, and we will have to stay here until January when the whole thing will start again.” Her fears reach beyond the border: “My greatest fear is that when we get to Mexico they will deport us to Cuba,” she says with anguish.

A fear also shared by Katiuska Muniz, from Santa Cruz del Sur in Camagüey. The woman worked at the Psychiatric Hospital in the provincial capital and left her two children, ages 17 and 9, with her mother. She served on an official mission in Venezuela where she was in charge of a pharmacy, but only lasted in the post a little more than two weeks. “I’m a professional and I want to go to America to work,” she explains. “And if it can’t be there, then to any country where my children can have a future.”

She is silent for a long time and looks like she is going to cry, but takes a breath and says, “I would like to thank all the people of Costa Rica, the president and the foreign minister and the entire humanitarian solidarity they are providing to us. We are not hungry or in need. They give us support and protection, the people on the street do not repudiate us but rather they support us; they talk with us, laugh with us, and they make us feel like family.” Her sentiment is shared by all.

As she speaks, another group of migrants has arrived, some laden with backpacks and with sweaty dirt-covered faces. Beatriz begins to take their names and the evening falls on La Cruz.

*Translator’s note: Spoken Cuban Spanish is notably characterized by the dropping of the sounds of many letters.

Maria is a little frightened to comment: “I don’t want, tomorrow, for the Cuban government not to allow me to visit my family.”

Maria is the representative of Cubans who are there. Nobody gave her that position, no one voted for her, but her way of expressing herself and showing natural leadership have led her to speak for those who prefer to remain silent. However she confessed to this newspaper that she finds it a little frightening to make statements: “I don’t want, tomorrow, for the Cuban government not to allow me to visit my family.”

The hostel recalls the Cuban schools in the countryside through which passed the Maria’s and the young Pinareño’s generation. The difference here is that they are not forced to work in agriculture, nor to listen to the tiresome ideological propaganda of the morning assemblies. They are free, but have one obsession: continuing the path to the “land of freedom,” they say.

Sioveris Carpio left on 3 September for Ecuador. He never imagined that his journey would be complicated in this way. He arrived in Costa Rica on 12 November when the border with Nicaragua was already closed. Now, when asked if he wasn’t tempted to turn around, he uses a slogan heard thousands of times from Cuban officialdom: “Pa’ tras ni para coger impulso*.” And he adds with a smile, “My objective is to get there.”

He is an amateur musician, finished the 12^th grade, and had worked as an animator and audio operator in Trinidad, but he lives in Condado, a corner of Escambray where the alzados – the anti-communists – were active in the sixties. “I live near where there is a monument to Manuel Ascunce, the literacy teacher killed by the alzados,” he says, and immediately clarifies, “the fact that I am going to the United States doesn’t mean that I’m against the Revolution.” In the conversation there is only this reporter and the impassioned young man, but at times he speaks as if a thousand ears are listening.”

“I was born and raised under a Revolutionary roof, what is happening is that I am looking for an economic improvement,” says Carpio Sioveris

“I was born and raised under a Revolutionary roof, what is happening is that I am looking for an economic improvement,” he says. He repeats the litany of many about his decision, that he “isnot political”, but admits that he has chosen the United States” because it is a country where you can find an opportunity to prosper.”

If “things get bad” and he can not continue toward reaching his dream, he will stay in Costa Rica. “Right here,” he says and states that “people are good and we have the same language, but life is expensive and it is not easy to find work.”

In Cuba he left his entire family and says that his parents “are suffering a lot because they know I’m here.” His dream, however includes the goal of one day returning to Cuba. “Not now, because unfortunately there are no opportunities, wages are minimal to the point that if you buy a pair of pants you can not eat that month.”

Carpio is a skeptic of the economic changes that have occurred on the island in recent years. “The results will be seen only long term. We will have to wait a long time and I am almost 40.” The clock of his life has marked a critical time and he prefers to spend the rest of it in foreign lands.

“Here on the roof of my house I have an antenna for television and they tell me that in their country satellite dishes are prohibited,” says a Costa Rican

But Carpio is only part of this drama. The people of Nazareht have seen dozens of these migrants arriving on their territory and have come out to help them. Mauricio Martinez has lived, from birth, across from the Bethel church in the Nazareht neighborhood, although he is not a member of the church. Now he dedicates many hours of his time talking to the Cubans.

“I’ve never seen anything like what’s happening here today. At first we had some concern, but the people are very quiet and very well educated. They are very friendly,” he confirms.

The help that the community has given to migrants has been spontaneous. People bring clothes or food, “according to what everyone can because we are humble people,” says Martinez. “But we’ve realized what is thay are going through and so we are collaborating,” he reflects.

The arrival of the Cubans is also leaving a deep impression in the way many Costa Ricans see the world. “Knowing them has allowed us to learn a very different reality to ours and also different from what we could imagine,” says a solicitous neighbor. “Here on the roof of my house I have an antenna for television and they tell me that in their country satellite dishes are prohibited, and thus I realize what they are looking for in freedom” he says.

A vehicle from the firm Movistar is parked front of the shelter. Mr. Benavides, a sales agent, is satisfied with his success in selling phones, SIM cards and recharges to the Cubans. “Since we learned that the shelters were filled with these migrants we assumed that they probably wanted to communicate with their families.”

“I came here with my wife but I left my four children, two grandchildren and my mother,” says Julio Cesar, who operated a tire retreading machine

The employee says that “there is a commercial interest, but the first thing that got us here was the desire to help.” He adds, “It’s amazing how they know the brand names, they are modern people and are eager to prosper.”

It is not easy to win the confidence of those who have had to sneal across several borders and fear that what little money they have left will be taken away or that they will be deceived by traffickers, but some speak to this newspaper with the familiarity of old friends.

Julio Cesar Vega Ramirez of San José de las Lajas, is not afraid of anything. He left Ecuador heading to Colombia without knowing the way, then by boat to Panama and then to Costa Rica, where he was given a pass for seven days that has been extended for fifteen more. “With this visa we can move around the country freely,” he says.

The man says that “everyone here has helped us, the church’s neighbors, the organizations. They bring sacks of cassava or bananas without charging a cent. The Cubans living in San Jose have also brought donations. ” Although he has also had the support of his family in Miami. “They have sent me the money bit by bit because it is not advisable to walk around with a lot of money,” he explains.

Julio César operated a tire retreading machine. “I came here with my wife but I left my four children, two grandchildren and my mother.” He said his family was aware of what was going to do. “Although I said nothing at work for fear that someone would spill the beans and spoil the plan.”

His wife, Maritza Guerra, has a degree in nursing and a master’s degree in comprehensive care for children. For years she has been a nurse in the pediatric ward of the Leopoldito Martinez Hospital in San José de las Lajas. It is also pediatric intensive care nurse. “Here we communicate with our families and friends thanks to wifi zone they immediately established for us completely free. I would like to ask those Cubans in exile and on the island to help us, please, do something for us,” she clamors insistently.

In the afternoon, when the sun goes down, the trees are filled with birds. The noise they make is very different from the sparrows in the parks of Cuba, because there is a lot of variety and they all sing differently. Birds coexist with each other and fly freely from one side of the border to the other.

*Translator’s note: Para atrás, ni para coger impulso. Roughly: No going back, not even to gain momentum (for another charge).

“Today in La Cruz, Guanacaste province, there are a significant number of Cuban immigrants who are able to afford to travel without occasioning any government expenditures,” they say. They explain they sold their homes and belongings before the trip and they have the support of family and friends abroad.

This letter is in addition to other statements shared through the Facebook page, “Let the Cubans pass.” In a post published this Thursday from Peñas Blancas, the migrants addressed the Nicaraguan people. “The decision of President Daniel Ortego not only promotes human trafficking, but creates a problem where none existed, putting political interests above human rights,” they write.

Just a day earlier, the Cubans sent their “heartfelt thanks” to the institutions and people of Costa Rica. “At no time has it been our objective to disturb your tranquility and daily routine, but given the current circumstances we have been forced to stay longer than expected,” they explain.

Especially thinking that there were children, older people, and because it was raining at the time. We were there, praying for them and it was a surprise when we arrived here the same Monday and the CNE coordinator contacted us to ask if we would lend our facilities.

Escobar. Is it a solitary task or are you being supported?

Pastor Obando. Several independent organizations and government institutions are involved, such as the Red Cross, the National Children’s Trust, the Lions Club and the national Ombudsman, among others. They have all been hand in hand here with us.

Escobar. Has there been any rejection by nearby residents to the arrival of so many Cubans?

Pastor Obando. People living here have reacted in a very humane way, there has been no opposition. They have been lending a hand, bringing any kind of assistance that may be needed here. Even some who do not come to the church have baked bread and brought it and milk for the Cubans.

Escobar. Are the migrants are being held here?

Pastor Obando. They are not prisoners here. They have complete freedom and can come and go. We only have a time when we close the gates, for reasons of security. On the other hand, they have visas and Immigration came yesterday and extended their visas for 15 days.

Escobar. Nicaragua officials have hinted that these people are criminals. Have there been violent incidents in the shelter?

Pastor Obando. We have not had any incidents. There is harmony and they are very nice people, well educated and very helpful. They have collaborated with us in fixing some things around the building, they are eager to work.

Escobar. Do they participate in church services?

Pastor Obando. Yes, many are participating. We are also praying for them that they may continue their journey to the United States.

Escobar. What have you heard them say they wish for most?

Pastor Obando. The biggest dream of all of them is to reach freedom. Many of them have dreamt since childhood of a freedom they have not had.