| AN IMMIGRATION CRISIS WITH A HAPPY ENDING |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, April 18 2005 |
| |
| MIAMI -- Those of us who closely follow immigration issues know that we are facing tough times. It's tough for immigrants and those who look after their best interests, as well as for those who feel threatened by their presence. There are thousands of so-called minutemen at the U.S. border with Mexico, armed and ready to take on -- or take out -- anyone who tries to enter the country illegally. Immigrants are being blamed for the ills of the country, and the immigration debate is not progressing.
Twenty-five years ago this month, the United States lived through a different kind of immigration crisis. The so-called Mariel boatlift brought 125,000 Cubans to South Florida in a five-month period, from April to September of 1980. Unlike undocumented immigrants crossing the Mexican border, the vast majority of Cubans coming from Mariel were welcomed by then-President Carter's policy of "open arms and open hearts."
Most of us remember the images of Cubans crammed aboard boats headed to Florida, but few remember the incident that sparked the boatlift. It was April 1, 1980, when a bus driver, desperate to leave Cuba, crashed the gates of the Peruvian embassy in Havana. The driver, Hector Sanyustiz, and his five passengers sought political asylum, but Fidel Castro, infuriated that a Cuban guard had died trying to stop the bus, demanded that the six people be turned over to Cuban authorities for prosecution.
The Peruvian diplomat in charge of the embassy at the time, Ernesto Pinto, refused to turn over the Cubans. This enraged Castro to the point that he removed all guards from the embassy. In less than two days, 10,000 people crammed into the embassy grounds seeking asylum.
The United States and other countries tried to organize a humanitarian airlift, but Castro responded by opening the port of Mariel to anyone wishing to leave. He got 125,000 takers. Unfortunately, small percentages were criminals and mental patients. While no one knows exactly how many fell into this category, the number is estimated to be anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000. The so-called Marielitos had an image problem from the moment they arrived. They were blamed for Miami's soaring crime rate, and were portrayed as killers in the movie "Scarface."
One "Marielita" who has fought for 25 years to end this stigma is former New York Times reporter Mirta Ojito. In her new book, "Finding Mañana," she looks back fondly on the boatlift. Only 16 years old when she left Cuba, her life was changed so much by the experience that she decided to seek out several key players to thank them.
Her experience as a refugee helped her understand the plight of immigrants and gave her a unique perspective while covering immigration issues for the Times. "Every immigrant has a story to tell, and most of them are very sad," Ojito said. She recalled the rejection suffered by many of the Marielitos who were stigmatized. "We were attacked, we were branded with the label of 'scum' that had been given to us by the Cuban government. But 25 years later, we are contributing to making this a better country in many ways, including economically."
Looking back, the boatlift also added to the ethnic diversity of Miami's Cuban-American community. While most of the Cubans who left in the early 1960s were upper-class professionals, the Marielitos came from all walks of life and were of every color, which was more representative of Cuba's actual population. The Marielitos also re-energized Cuban-Americans' interest in their culture and in keeping up with developments on the island.
There is no doubt that what seemed like an immigration disaster 25 years ago turned out to be a humanitarian success story. The Marielitos were welcomed in the great tradition of America -- a nation of immigrants -- and the great majority of them turned into honest, law-abiding and productive citizens. The Mariel boatlift is a great lesson for those immigration doomsayers who want to patrol our borders with guns and rifles. If this nation was strong enough to accept refugees seeking a better life 25 years ago, we remain just as able to do that today. |
