Saul Landau
It’s
hurricane time in the Caribbean, so we’ll have a temporary respite from Cubans
floating to Florida on inner tubes from that red island 90 miles away, and even
from Cubans brought over in speedboats. Smugglers earn up to $8,000 per person
they bring illegally into the United States.
Unlike
all other migrants, Cubans who set foot on US shore have a fast track ride
toward permanent residency. Thanks to the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, Cubans who
float, swim or fly here get special treatment since we presume that only an
anti-Communist hero would do such a risky and illegal thing.
But
wait! The US government set up an office in Havana to bring 20,000 Cubans here
legally each year. Some have close relatives here; others have serious political
disagreements with Fidel’s government, which makes life difficult for them in
Cuba. You would think we would encourage Cubans who want to come here to apply
for visas at our office in Havana. Instead, Radio Marti, a US government agency,
broadcasts into Cuba about how even Cubans who don’t meet the standards for our
visa can still become legal residents just by stepping on US soil.
So
people with criminal records as well as those seeking opportunity jump on rafts
or pay smugglers to bring them here on speedboats? Our Coast Guard has recently
attempted to stop these modern pirates with their human cargoes from reaching
our shores. Some Cubans have drowned as boats collided and Coast Guard officials
have had to water hose Cuban swimmers to keep them from our shore. Humiliating!
What’s
going on, I ask myself? I called Mr. Low Windpipe, my reliable national security
source.
"US
policy toward Cuba is designed to punish one man, Fidel Castro. For some people
he’s considered the only important resident of that island. We sign migration
treaties with his government and then we subvert those treaties."
I
don’t get it. How does it punish Castro to lure Cubans here illegally while
simultaneously establishing a legal means for them to migrate. It embarrasses
the Coast Guard and the Clinton Administration, provokes xenophobia and
endangers peoples lives.
"Cuba
has become an obsessive compulsion," he explained. "Castro’s been
disobedient for forty plus years and we haven’t been able to work our usual
imperial magic on him."
Meaning?
I asked.
"His
death or surrender, son."
I
don’t get it. People in the administration are willing to create a crisis just
to hurt Castro — who doesn’t get hurt.
"That’s
it in a nutshell, son. I should mention the fanatic anti-Castro lobby that pours
lots of money into political campaigns. Of course, a president with principals
and cojones could stop all this nonsense."
Do
you think that after the 2000 election…
"Sure,"
he said, "President Beatty will certainly change the policy."
Hugh
O. La Bounty Chair of Applied Interdisciplinary Knowledge, California State
Polytechnic University, Pomona Pomona, CA 91768 tel:909-869-3115
fax:909-869-4751 mailto:slandau@csupomona.edu http://www.csupomona.edu/~slandau
Saul
Landau is the Hugh O. LaBounty Chair of Interdisciplinary Applied Knowledge at
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, 3801 W. Temple Ave. Pomona,
CA 91768 tel – 909-869-3115 fax – 909-869-4751
