Voting with their feet in the Workers Paradise...HAVANA (AFP) - Despite a dizzying array of reforms since Raul Castro took the helm of Cuba's government, 2008 looks to be a record year for emigration, as inhabitants abandon the communist island in droves.
| The 'dizzying array' of reforms include 1) we might let you buy a DVD player if you have American dollars 2) we might let you grow food on state land, if you provide everything but the land and 3) we might let you keep some of what you sell that food for at the market, unless we change our minds again. Apparently the AFP becomes dizzy easily. |
Illegal emigrants -- who are returned to Cuba by US authorities if picked up at sea, but get to stay in the United States if they reach US soil -- are joined another 20,000 Cubans to whom the Interests Section grants legal immigrant visas here every year, under the immigration accords Havana and Washington struck in 1994 and 1995. And to their total one can add some 10,000 who hand themselves to US authorities at the Mexican border.
US authorities estimate that some 35,000 Cubans will arrive to stay this year in the United States, which grants them immediate residency and working rights for fleeing communism. It does not do the same for Chinese or Vietnamese immigrants. Cuba charges that the US policy granting Cubans special benefits encourages dangerous and potentially deadly illegal migration.
| So let them leave legally on a plane or large ship. |
Far from tapering off, what often is described as a "silent exodus" has actually picked up since Raul Castro took the reins of government -- officially as president in February, and for over a year as interim leader before then -- although his government has introduced a steady stream of minor reforms aimed at eliminating unpopular restrictions and boosting economic efficiency.
| So now the 'dizzying' reforms are really minor. I rather figured that out on my own ... |
In addition, the United States now is stepping up a family reunification program for Cubans who want to go live with US-based relatives. Paperwork that had been taking up to seven to 10 years now can take as little as a few weeks. There are some 1.5 million Cuban-Americans, including immigrants and their US-born descendants. Many of them send remittance funds back to Cuba to help their families make ends meet; Cubans earn an average of the equivalent of less than 20 dollars a month and those living abroad send home about one billion dollars a year.
Earlier this month, access to appliances such as microwaves and computers was just the latest of some traditional "bans" to be dumped by Raul Castro, 76, five weeks after taking over permanently from his 81-year-old brother Fidel, who did not seek reelection. The Raul Castro government also has dropped its controversial ban on Cubans staying in hotels reserved for the tourists who generate the lion's share of the Caribbean island's hard currency. Some rights groups had dubbed the policy "tourist apartheid." The change is expected to be welcomed by Cubans living abroad who come home for visits and want to treat relatives to hotel stays, although locals are unlikely to be stampeding for rooms that can cost up to 300 dollars a night.
The government also has moved to try to boost farm output with some small reform steps, and said it would allow Cubans who are renting homes from state employers to gain title to them that can be passed on to their heirs.
On April 14, all Cubans for the first time will be allowed to sign contracts for cell (mobile) phones, and will be able to reach friends and relatives in the United States and beyond.
Cuba watchers say there is likely a short-term political benefit of allowing greater economic openness, though they also warn many changes in the Americas' only centrally-controlled, one-party regime could build pressure for more change than the government is prepared to allow.