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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Cuban boat people ordered to sail away from Caymans |
| 2014-06-28 |
| [NEWS.YAHOO] A group of Cuban migrants who were anchored in an open wooden boat off the Cayman Islands for nearly two weeks obeyed a local government order to sail away on Friday, continuing their risky sea voyage in a quest to reach the United States. The Caymans has a population of about 57,000. The population has doubled since 1990. Unless you're a physician or a financier you probably can't immigrate there. It's referred to in the plural, but but most everyone lives on Grand Cayman. There weren't any slums that I saw, but it's been awhile since I was there. There's not a lot of room for expansion. The makeshift vessel carrying about 30 people arrived on June 14 off the south coast of the island of Grand Cayman, and could be observed drifting about a quarter of a mile offshore near South Sound, a fashionable strip of expensive oceanfront homes. I believe all the oceanfront homes in the Caymans are "fashionable," even the little ones. The Cubans were given an ultimatum on Wednesday to depart or be taken into custody and repatriated, according to Acting Chief Immigration Officer Bruce Smith. Five Cubans chose to come ashore and were detained, according to the Cayman Islands prison director Neil Lavis. The rest departed early Friday and their boat was no longer visible from the shoreline. Some residents assisted the Cubans with food and water while they sheltered from rough seas before likely heading west to the coast of Honduras. Everybody we ran into was pretty nice. The crime rate was approximately zero, mostly itinerant Jamaicans tossed into jug for drugs. Cuban boats smuggling people seeking to flee the communist-run island are frequently seen off the Cayman Islands, a British territory located less than 100 miles (160 km) south of Cuba. The U.S. is about 90 miles north of Cuba. They are usually headed for Honduras, from where migrants make the long journey overland to reach the U.S. border with Mexico. |
| Posted by:Fred |