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| Lezumbalaberenjena. Andrew Saint-George. 1959. Fidel CASTRO at Palacio Municipal of Santa Clara before March toward Havana 4. 2013. Flickr. Flickr. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. |
In 1959, Fidel Castro and his Communist regime took over Cuba. Most Cubans fled their homes because of the violence, oppression, and upheaval of this political revolution. Since Castro's rule life in Cuba has gotten way worse, specifically economically. Those fleeing Cuba went in search of jobs and a better life, often migrating to the U.S. - away from Communism and toward the promises of democracy. Many people fled the Cuban government because those who spoke out against Castro and his Communist ideas were often jailed or even executed. Because of Castro’s rules, many Cubans have fled to America, mainly for freedom. In the 1980’s, during a massive immigration wave, Castro released a group of Cubans from mental institutions and prisons and put them on a boat along with other migrants who were leaving in search of jobs and a better life. The U.S. media represented this move by the Communist leader in a very negative way, which increased anti-Cuban discrimination (www.energyofanation.org). In October 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a 13-day political and military standoff. The cause of this conflict was due to the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. This country engaged in the Cold War against. After taking over the Caribbean Island Nation of Cuba in 1959, Communist leader Fidel Castro allied themselves with the Soviet Union. Cuba became dependent on the soviets for military and economic aid. The fact that the nuclear-armed Cuban missiles were being installed so close to the U.S mainland (90 miles south of Florida) was a very big problem for U.S officials. During this time the U.S and the Soviets were engaged in a cold war (1945-91). The Soviet Union and the U.S were engaged in one of the biggest Cold War confrontations after a spy plane made a high-altitude pass over Cuba and took a picture of a medium-range ballistic missile being assembled for installation. A key factor in the Soviet missile scheme was the hostile relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. Also after the U.S attacked Cuba in the failed Bay of Pigs invasions in 1961. Castro saw the missiles as being a way to prevent further U.S aggression. In more recent news, on April 11 2015, President Barack Obama and Raul Castro shook hands at the Summit of the Americas in Panama, marking the first meeting between a U.S. and Cuban head of state since the two countries severed their ties in 1961. You can hear a personal story of how a woman and her family left Cuba in search of a better life in America
Cuban Immigration to the United States
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When was the largest wave of immigrant from Cuba to the United States?
1959 – 1960 – 250,000 Cuban immigrants arrived
1965-1973 – 300,000 Cuban immigrants arrived
1980 – 125,000 Cuban immigrants arrived
Present Immigration continues at a high rate
http://www.energyofanation.org/Waves_of_Cuban_Immigrants_6_29_06_3_51_PM.html
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| BKJ, Baby Picture (2016) |
I am a Cuban woman who fled to america with my family at a very young age. My story begins in 1961 when I was born, Life was very hard because just 2 years before i was born a Communist leader by the name of Fidel Castro took over Cuba. Living in a Communist country was very bad because almost everything was restricted. I remember having to go to military school because it was mandatory. Even the television was restricted, the government chose what you go to watch and it was almost always about politics and the government in Cuba. The government use to basically put on a mask/disguise for the outsiders and tourists. I remember they used to put empty boxes on display at the grocery stores to make it seem like they had and abundance of food to the tourists passing by. The one thing I cannot forget is how the government kept inventory of everything you had. In Cuba every month someone has to watch the block and report to the government what they see wrong for example if your neighbor give you some meat from his cows it's the watch person's job to report that because that's restricted. They give you a notebook, lets say you have a family of 4 so they give you four pounds of meat, rice, beans etc. enough for the month. To even get any of that stuff they make you wait in a massive line early in the morning and when it is finally your turn you get a list, they bring you all the merchandise and unfortunately sometimes they run out of certain things so you don't get everything you need for that month. Another thing that is really bad about Cuba is that you cannot get milk for your family if you don't have a baby that is under 1 years old. In 1966 my parents applied for a visa and got accepted which gave us the opportunity to come to America. At first they were going to split all of us up to go in groups but my mom said that if we do not go all together than we don't go at all. When we were getting ready to leave the government had to take inventory of our whole house because we were not allowed to take anything but the clothes on our back, “that was Castro's way of saying goodbye.” We got on a plane to Miami, when we landed we stayed there for about 3-6 months and then the Red Cross was going to send us to Colorado but we had an aunt in Chicago so they moved us here instead. When coming to America there were a lot of challenges but one of thee biggest ones was the language barrier. I spoke Spanish at the time and didn't understand English but almost everything was English so that made things very hard. When my family settled down and I got into school another setback was the way the other kids and teachers treated me. I was always treated very bad by other students, they would make fun of me and bully me. They were not the only ones that treated me this way though, teachers also treated me very bad because I didn’t speak English so they would make me sit in the back of the class. Also when we got sick we had to deal with it because it was very hard to ask for medicine in a pharmacy when you don’t speak English. The first years we were here were very odd for us because we have never experienced winter before and in those first years one of the worst winter storms hit (33 in). The bad parts about moving to America for me was the schools. In Cuba they have one of the best school systems in my opinion and here I feel like we are like 3 years behind. Another big difference was the gangs. The gangs in America are taken a lot more serious and the crime rate is a lot higher here than it is in Cuba. Leaving my home country was very scary but we had a lot of help from the Red Cross, they gave us almost everything we need to start a new life in our new home. Sometimes I miss my home country but in the end I do not regret leaving because the U.S gave me a better home and a better place to raise my children.
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| "One Account. All of Google." Google Maps. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. |
Citations
"Cuban Missile Crisis." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.
Your mother's story is so beautiful and inspiring! This project is a testimony to how much of a good writer you are. Excellent job BKJ!
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