Escaping Havana

No, I don’t mean going on a day trip out of the city to explore Cuba’s beautiful landscapes and caves, which is a must for any visitor to this country. In 2016 over 56,000 Cubans entered the United States,¹ leaving their own country behind for economic and political reasons. Although travelling to Ecuador, Colombia, or Mexico by air and then entering the USA by land is becoming more common,² many of these migrants and refugees make the dangerous journey to Florida in ill-equiped homemade rafts. The rafts are often what the U.S. Coast Guard would deem “unseaworthy vessels” improvised from old car engines, recycled plastic, and scrap metal. Yet many Cubans stricken by poverty or persecution consider the risk to be worth the chance of a better life abroad.

American Dreams and Cuban Desperation

I met one such man on a beach near Cojimar (a fishing village just east of Havana that inspired Hemingway’s last work, The Old Man and the Sea) in 2012. In exchange for some deoderant, socks, and toothpaste, Antonio told me about his background in broken but understandable English. He cursed his sister, who had obtained a visa to work in Europe with permission from the government in 2011. She promised to send him details of how he could join her, but he hadn’t heard from her since. Giving up hope, Antonio explained how now he wanted to steal a plastic boat from one of the nearby resorts and paddle to America. I said that sounded dangerous – but he was not concerned. “It’s a better life, in Cuba I have nothing. There are no jobs for me.”

America as a concept seemed revered by many of the Cubans I met. They would ask about American culture, and they would sing American rock songs (but hey, who doesn’t?). I remember a schoolboy who, when certain his teacher wasn’t looking, lifted up his uniform to reveal a shirt with an American flag on it as his classmates giggled. Yet it is both astonishing and telling of the economic system in Cuba that the risks involved in leaving do not dissuade people like Antonio. In 2016, a Cuban chemistry teacher lost nine of his friends when their engine broke and they became stranded.³ Such stories are not uncommon.

Rafters in 2017: Dry Feet No Longer

Between 2005 – 2014, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted an average of 1,750 Balseros (“rafters”) each year.² Under the “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” policy, fleeing Cubans who reached land (with “dry feet”) were permitted to stay for one year and pursue residency. Those caught at sea (“wet feet”) were returned to Cuba, or to a third country if they claimed political asylum. In its final days, the Obama administration ended this policy. That move was likely a concession to Raúl Castro after three years of work to improve US-Cuba diplomatic relations. Will this repealment deter Cubans from making such perilous journeys? Donald Trump’s immigration policies will also affect the situation, though exactly how is still unclear. In June, citing human rights concerns, Trump announced he will restore recently lifted Cuban travel and business restrictions.⁴

One can only hope that economic improvements will convince less Cubans to risk getting more than just their feet wet. I never found out what happened to Antonio, but I hope he’s doing well.

1. Pew Research Center (2017). Surge in Cuban immigration to U.S. continued through 2016.
2. The Guardian (2014). Cuban migrants flood to US by taking advantage of lax passport rules.
3. Havana Times (2016). The Ordeal of a Cuban Rafter.
4. The White House (2017). Remarks by President Trump on the Policy of the United States Towards Cuba.