Balseros

Tonight I watched the documentary, "Balseros". The movie follows the journey of 7 boat people who fled Cuba to come to the US in 1994. Maybe this is familiar to everyone else, however I was only vaguely aware of the story. It is a touching film, where I quickly became engaged with the Cubans and their families. These poor people had to overcome many obstacles to flee their loved ones and their homeland, to build a new life in this country. It is inspiring to see the optimism displayed in the face of these cruel hardships.

In 1994, the Soviet Union economy collapsed and the ripple effects were felt in Cuba. There were great shortages and poverty on the island. It is estimated that 50 thousand people fled Cuba on rickety, homemade rafts. People were literally tearing apart their houses or apartments to build the rafts for the treacherous 90-mile journey. When an attempt was made, there was great fanfare by the surrounding community. The neighbors would gather around and cheer, sing and chant for good fortune.

Fidel Castro announced that Cuba would not try to stop the people fleeing. Shortly after, President Clinton announced that he would instruct the Coast Guard to turn back anyone trying to illegally enter the US from Cuba. Unfortunately, Castro was not accepting the refugees back with open arms. Thus, the refugees were taken to Guantanamo, the American military base on Cuba. The boat people were confined in the camp for up to 10 months, at which point they were given visas to enter the US. Church groups agreed to assist the integration of the refugees.

Upon entering the US, some were turned over to their families. Those who did not have families within the US were relocated to New York, to Connecticut, to Nebraska. I was expecting that the Cubans would all want to be placed in Miami, due to its large native population. However, many of the refugees knew of the drug and violence problems in southern Florida. It was rather amusing to see the delight of the refugee who was relocated to "Can-Took-Ey". :-)

The movie followed the 7 boat people and their families until 2001. It was interesting to see how the various individuals fared in the US. I don't think it will be a surprise to anyone that immigration is a real issue in this country. Recently, I keep bumping into this topic. In the last 6 months, we have seen a play, two movies and a TV show dealing with immigration issues. And of course, there were the massive immigration demonstrations earlier this year. All of them illustrate differing viewpoints on this problem.

This issue hit close to home recently. There was an immigration raid last weekend in Santa Cruz (as well as many other areas). Our church has been involved in programs aimed at improving the living conditions in some of the poorer areas of Santa Cruz county. Two leaders of the programs were forcibly removed from their houses and families at 4am in the morning and deported immediately. They were not members of the church, however they have spoken at the church and several members of the church have worked closely with these community leaders.

Note that I am not advocating that we allow all immigrants into our country, nor am I condoning individuals who knowingly break our laws, yet there must be a better, more humane way to deal with this issue. I do not know what the answer is, however what we are doing now is not the answer. This is not meant as a bashing of Bush or the Republicans, as I do not see a better solution from the Democrats. But something has to be done.