Great article, extremely revealing for anyone with any brains who is willing to analyze what's "behind" the news.
The rafts, or the boats full of desperate people, are still flowing one way, TOWARDS the U.S. --that ought to raise a warning to all those apologists and fellow travelers of the castro caricature government who attempt to justify the unjustifiable, to defend the undefensible.
In answer to a question raised in a previous post, very, very few people have chosen to return to Cuba after they left for exile somewhere. Probably only a tiny, tiny fraction of one percent.
I don't think anyone knows the precise statistics, because in many cases, the returnees don't want the mass of those they leave behind in exile to know of their decision to return to Cuba (although of course those immediately around them will know the details). From time to time, a specific case is newsworthy enough to be published or broadcast somewhere --but we never hear about the rest.
The incontrovertible reality is that the overwhelming flow is still AWAY from Cuba, not towards it, even after close to 47 years under the tyrant's regime. And they still blame "the embargo" (sorry for bringing it up, Val).
Odd, when one considers the mountain of obstacles to leaving Cuba in light of the relatively lack of controls to a return trip.
Let's hear the apologists try to address that situation!
JulioZ

Sorry but I don't get it.
I cannot put the Cubans, Dominicans and Haitians in the same boat.
There is no way man.
Cubans are fleeing from oppression.

Tocororo...the numbers in the article speak for themselves. They don't count the ones who unfortunately didn't survive the voyage, as well as those who went to other countries.

The comparisons should be made in order to put the situation in its proper perspective.

Should the USA let all the 'illegal' aliens of the planet come in?

Issaac- Cubans are not illegal immigrants.

http://www.state.gov/www/regions/wha/cuba/cuba_adjustment_act.html

they you go ziva you came to the rescue.thanks

Most Cubans coming to the USA are 'economic refugees'and that is a fact. The Cubans that came to the USA in the 60's and 70's were the real political refugees, now days 'most' are coming claiming to be political refugees and six months later they are back in Cuba visiting their families with no fear whatsoever. That is a lot different from the old days, back then when you left Cuba it was for good and everybody thought there was no going back as long as the Tiranosauro was in power and that was a fact too.

isaac tu lo que eres es tremendo comemierda y aparte de eso tremendo singao .por gente como tu es que fidel esta ahy
comepinga .
es muy facil criticar a tus hermanos cuando tu estas aqui comiendo jamon y echando barriga.
yo no se pa que yo pierdo mi tiempo contestandole a estos come cacas que se creen los expertos en los problemas de cuba y no le respetan la opinion a nadie.
comparar los dominicanos com los cubanos?
que clase mascador de morronga.
isaac is you are cuban I think I will change my nationality ..comemojon.
YOU ARE FULL OF SHIT!!!!
my dad fought the beast for many years in prison maricon ..and we came 1989
now tell me que pinga tu hiciste so comemierda

The truth will set you free. This is a perfect example of the escoria that is coming from Cuba this days, that have to resort to intelligent words and are the kind of cubans that show up in shows like 'Caso Cerrado'

Malandros like tocoloco libre are one of the reasons fidel is still in power, they have the iq of a pencil eraser and they still think they live in Cuba and are trying to imitate the tiranosauro tactics.

no yo le pasa que no como mierda como tu y le das las espaldas a tus hermanos que estan sufriendo en cuba mariconcito
usas la la palabra escoria como la usa fidel castro en contra del exilio,escoria una palabra usaba por el regimen castrista que se uso mucho en el mariel en contra del pueblo cubano
a lo mejor isaac tu eres tremendo cumunista en el fondo.

puedes tener razon que soy una escoria como tu dices pero tengo mucho mas corazon que tu y muchos comemierdas que discriminan a sus hermanos.

EL CASO NO SE CIERRA HASTA QUE CUBA SEA LIBRE

by the way I live in new york city I travel a lot and I am very americanized,hell I even got my own rock band.
I never watch univision or telemundo.to me that's pure mexican shit.I know caso cerrado cuze my mon watch the show.

anyway I have nothing againts you,but I hate when I see cuban betraying there own blood.

happy new year

El malandro Tocoloco libre must learn how to read in english because the spanish he got from castros schools is probably worse than the spanish of the poorest south american i ever read.

well in this case.
FUCK YOU ASSHOLE,MOTHERFUCKER PIECE OF SHIT!!!!
did I spell that,in the rigth way teacher?

my name is tocororo,comepinga el que no sabe escribir eres tu burra con el culo desfondaoooo

One of the reasons some Cubans come to the USA beside filling their stomachs is to have the right to express their opinions without castros type goons getting all bent out of shape before they do some research and find out that I am not comparing Cubans to any other group and that I am just stating the fact that the majority of Cubans, not all, are coming to the USA for economic reasons and I am sure research will prove me RIGHT.

By sending specimens like Tocoloco is how el Tiranosauro is getting even with the USA.

The only way 'people' like Tocoloco get into the USA is:
A- Illegal immigration from Mejico
B- Fidel's loteria (he picks them)
C-The USA let it them in.

You and you fucking research could kiss my Cuban ass.
My dad is ex political prisoner, a true one. He suffer for many years the grip of the oppression.

Many of the Cubans that came in the 60s helped fidel with money and logistical support, but you will never hear me talking shit about them. They make mistakes, maybe they tough he was good and that’s fine with me, but not you almighty Isaac you rather see a balsero drowning than to see him touching dry land.

Shame on you

and I enter the country by humanitarian parole shit head.

y si quieres llevar esto mas lejos me avisas

no voy seguir comiendo mierda contigo
se me calienta la cerveza

las palabras sobran....

Tocoloco is like many people in need of a Shrink, the only problem is that his brain is allready Shrink out.

I apologize if I insulted any of the 'sane' readers of Babalu, all I was trying to do was start a 'intelligent' discussion about the reason most people come to the USA and as a right wing Cuban-American I felt like I was back in Cuba trying to defend something I said to jury of one.

Toco...
Don't waste your time and your good hearted energy trying to put logic into someone like Isaac, he has a right to his opinion and opionions are like ass holes, EVERYONE HAS ONE!
Isaac, if I were you, I try blogging somewhere else where you might find people like you?
You don't seem well informed on Cuban politics to hold an argument, and honestly, your need to insult others makes it very obvious that you are like most liberals in this country, loud, abnoxious and with the intellect of a lizard living in the North Pole.
If you wish to continue, you better get your facts straight and learn some manners.
Toco...tu escribes espanol como todo lo que eres
UN BRAVO! y el Ingles como ejemplar de un Cubano que vino a este pais, asimilo y se esforzo en aprender el idioma aunque fuera ladrando!! Congratulations brother!!
Happy New Year EVERYONE!

Another infiltrado o infiltrada de Fidel. That do not have the intellect to grasp a true fact.

Anyone who defends the kind of person that have to resort to 'intelligent cuban words' to attack somebody else point of view shows us what kind of rats are leaving the sinking ship and coming to the USA.

Refugees are people who leave their homes in order to seek safety, or refuge. In general, people become refugees to flee violence, economic disparity, repression, natural disasters, and other harsh living and working conditions. In the context of intractable conflict, refugees are those who flee from inevitable, often long-term violence and other difficult living conditions brought on by the conflict and "persons who are outside their country and 'cannot return' owing to a 'well-founded fear' of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Isaac.
You humor me..... 3 times trying to comment and what?
trying to explain to me the definition of a refugee?
Hmmmmm.....
Like I said before you are not worth my energy.
Ta-ta!!

carmen.
Keep your mala energy to yourself and try to use whatever energy you have to provide your brain with some oxygen.

Different terms are used to refer to the Cubans in the United States. Exile is the term usually given to the first wave of Cubans entering the country after the 1959 revolution. The term refugee is applied to Cubans who have entered the country as refugees, that is, those who have been given the special refugee status which places them in a different category from ordinary immigrants. Cubans entering the country recently are sometimes referred to as parolees, reflecting the State Department's "parole" category; parolees are eligible for the same range of public services as refugees. The term immigrant is now also being used to refer to the Cubans entering the country via Havana, and reflects their status as ordinary immigrants

I see that you are a very original writer.
I could tell that you do a lot of copying and pasting from others.
That shows you lack of acknowledge about the Cubans in the island and the title as a refugees.
You criticize me because I use foul language when it comes to describing such and asshole like you ,well I don’t pretend to be EL FINO or a Harvard graduate.
For you information when I left Cuba 1989 , I never went back again and never will until there’s is a change or Ill die here in the states.
I don’t criticize mis hermanos because they go back to see their families, that’s there business, we live in a free country,we free choices and total freedom.
Your heart is full with hatred against the balseros, maybe la jeva tuya te pego los tarros con uno de ellos,who knows.
Whatever you think about me I know I am a better person than you.
I suggest you to step outside of Hialeah and experience the real American life.
Obviously the only one that needs to look outside you obscured sad little world is you.

Hasta la vista singao

There is another fact that Castro has been sending mental deranged (psychopath) people to the USA and that is how Tocoloco got a "especial visa" to leave Castro's Mazorra.

Isaac.
You are one FUCKED UP Dude!!
Go get yourself educated and then let's talk.
Man...
You make NO SENSE!

When it comes to mental problems some of the readers of Babalu se ganaron la loteria de Fidel.
You do not have to be a rocket scientist to know that Cubans that came to the USA back in the sixties and seventies are for the most part highly anti-castro and the newer 'immigrants' are more worry about economics and sending money back to Cuba, going back to visit than getting rid of Castro and the majority problably voted for Kerry and is a well known fact that castro is sending agents to the USA to infiltrate American society and some of them were trained like monkeys by Fidel how use the keyboard on a computer.

I am not making a moral judgment on Cubans that send money o visit Cuba, it is a personal dicision but the fact is for every $100 that is send to Cuba the Tiranosauro is taking una tajada de $20. And I think some of the so called anti-castros clowns in Babalu are problably castro's 'symphatizers'

"Isaac = sock puppet".

Tocoloco do not forget to take the medicine.

Issac,

I wanted to publically stay out of this thread and let it fizzle out on its own. However, in light of your most recent comment, I have to ask you this one thing...who and in what way are some of our readers castro "symphatizers"?

Sending money to relatives doesn't qualify, so you'll have to come up with a better justification.

Robert,
First I want to say that reading is fundamental, you have to pay attention when you read something.
I never said that sending money to relatives in Cuba makes anybody a Castro symphatizer, (what I was trying to say was that any money that goes to Cuba especially with the new peso convertible 20% of it goes directly to el Tiranosauro) a least I did not mean to say that. As for Castro's symphatizers, they are everywhere including some Babalu readers.

Isaac,

Fair enough. And yes, I try to read carefully... but you know the old saying, "nobody's perfect".
Thanks for your kind reminder anyway.

Speaking of reading...did you read the question I posed in my last comment? If so, please inform us.

Robert,
First i want to say that i am far from being perfect, but when the subject is politics especially anything related to el tiranosauro and his alcahuetas in the media I have no control over my actions. I am trying to figure out what is the question you refer to?

Never mind my question. I just wanted to know how you could be so sure that some of our readers are actually castro sympathizers. That's a pretty strong accusation 'round these parts.

I hate to tell you Issac, yes different waves of Cubans are referrred to differently in "intellectual" circles but they are all refugees, in spirit and in fact. When's the last time you tried crossing a large body of water on a raft? For financial reasons? With your children on board? You insult us, not in colorful Spanish, but nice civilized English, so I will stick to that language. Fuck you. Oh, and I meant to add, if you're worried about castro sympathizers around here, try looking in the mirror.

Chiva,
You are a perfect example de el cubano ignorante and you are part of the problem, not the solution.
All anybody with any brain has to do is pay attention to what lots of the new 'immigrants'(I think that is what they are call by the US these days)say o not say when they get to the USA.
Usually is related to the economic situacion in Cuba and not political prosecution, baseball players want to play baseball, actors go back and forth between Mexico and Cuba with no fear at all.
Last time I checked when you leave a country as a political refugee is because of Political Prosecution and lots of Cubans can not wait to go back to Cuba and that is a fact. To me the only political refugees are still in Cuban jails. Anybody who put children on a raft, they are just putting those children in mortal danger. And about Castro's sympathizers to me it makes sense that some could be readers of Babalu, why is this so hard to comprehend when they are everywhere else.

If you have a reasonable 'fear' of returning to your home country based on of one or more of the five statutory grounds (race, religion, nationality, member in a particular social group or political opinion) or if you have suffered past persecution on the basis of one or more of these five statutory grounds, then you may be eligible to apply for asylum. If you are granted asylum, the you may apply for permanent residency one year from the date you were granted asylum.
I just do not see the fear factor in thousands and thousands of Cubans visiting Cuba every year.

Isaac...
It is Persecution, ok??
not prosecution.
Prosecution is what I would do to you if you were in my court you ignorant arrogant ass hole!

Issac, I assume you are addressing me, even though my name is not Chiva. Your comment "rats leaving the sinking ship” is very revealing, thank you for clarifying your opinion of Cubans. I have no idea why you want to comment on this blog or what your agenda is but as far as I'm concerned, you've lost conversational privileges.

by the way isaac I haven't taking my medicine since the new year,and I am having deilusional hallucinations of me choking you in front a sedanos supermarket in hialeah.
so you better watch out El LOCO is coming to town

Tocoloco, Chiva and Catmen are all creations of Fidel's laboratory that produces cubans that can not think for themselves and that can not disprove the validity of what I been talking about with 'Facts'. Political refugees should be 'afraid' of going back to Cuba, but by going to Cuba in the thousands every year all the they show is that they are economic immigrants for the most part. Please prove me wrong with facts instead of stupidity.

Chiva,
Any Cuban with minimal intelligence knows that there are many Cubans that wake up in the morning and decide that the system is not working and after playing the part of good commies for a long time eventually decide to leave the sinking ship.

Cuba's Repressive Machinery:
Human Rights Forty Years After the Revolution
Over the past forty years, Cuba has developed a highly effective machinery of repression. The denial of basic civil and political rights is written into Cuban law. In the name of legality, armed security forces, aided by state-controlled mass organizations, silence dissent with heavy prison terms, threats of "prosecution", harassment, or exile. This does not apply to 'some' readers of Babalublog.com that only left Cuba para llenarse la barriga.

Issac, This is my last response to you. In Cuba, saying the wrong thing can get you arrested, and sent to prison or not, at the whim of the state. That is oppression. In Cuba, there is no freedom of movement, that is oppression. In Cuba, your phones may be tapped, and state security has spies everywhere who will report you if they don't like what you are doing, who you spend time with. That is oppression. You have no choice but to obey the party line if you want to survive, and dissent will land you in prison. That is a fact, and that is persecution. Just for thinking independently. That is not economic, that is oppression. You come to this blog for what? The people here have lived this, they don't need some uneducated, bigoted SOB to tell them why they left Cuba. Would you stand in front of Holocaust survivors and tell them you don't believe them? That is exactly the nature of your insults. You want facts, read this blog, its archives, it links, you will find the facts. For your information, my name is not Chiva, its Ziva and I am not Cuban. Adios, don't let the door hit you on the way out.