May 21, 2005
...speaking of Mariel
At the time the Peruvian Embassy incident began, the Cuban community here in Miami was all buzz at the possibility that the folks clamoring for freedom from Castro's hell would really, truly, be let go.
In that momentous year of 1980 I was working at a local bank here in Miami that held the account of an organization called Junta Patriotica Cubana. At the time the Mariel events began this organization began collecting donations from Cuban exiles to help the potentially large influx of new refugees coming into Miami. Boatloads of money was donated by the "evil Cuban Mafia" here in Miami to help their brothers and sisters who were coming to freedom. When the boatlift happened and the refugees processed, all of us at the bank were apprised of the procedure: each refugee would be given a voucher by the JPC (I cannot remember how much) that would be exchanged for cash at the bank to help them get on their feet in the US. Not much, just a token amount, but a beautiful "welcome to freedom" gesture. All of us in the branch became tellers to serve the human wave that would be coming in.
My most vivid memory of those few days was the line of people waiting to come in to the bank and the "gracias" the people said to me when I handed them this nominal amount of cash. Smiles -- lots of smiles -- and some worried looks were on the faces of these poor, but FREE people. Twenty five years later, the Marielitos have become an integral part of the Cuban American miracle in Miami. When fidel falls (and its coming soon you son-of-a-bitch) there will be a group of people here in Miami ready to help the island recover from almost five decades of hell -- just like we were helped when we arrived.
¡Viva Cuba Libre!
Posted by George Moneo at May 21, 2005 12:39 PM
Comments
Pretty darn cool story and experience. Kind of makes me envious, you were there more or less at the birth of someone's freedom.
Posted by: RP at May 21, 2005 01:45 PM
YAMY CHOY MARIELITA # 1,
IT WAS A LONG JOURNEY
BUT I AM HAPPY THAT I AM HERE
Posted by: YAMY at May 21, 2005 03:36 PM
LIVE FROM CUBANOSTALGIA!
Ya tu sabes, aqui con Val and friends. For a free Cuba and for a good time, Come to the Babalu Section y disfrutarlo. DALE QUE TU PUEDES!!!!!!
Posted by: Felix Ricardo at May 21, 2005 03:48 PM