are few
Ray Sanchez/Direct from Havana | Direct from Havana
May 12, 2009
HAVANA
Carlos Hernandez is surprised more neighbors aren't signing up for the
illegal journey across the Florida Straits.
Six months ago, Hernandez and two other young men from a northern
coastal town in Matanzas province hatched up a plan to fix up an old
fishing vessel, recruit about a dozen people at $500 a head and secretly
navigate the boat to the shores of South Florida.
"People using speed boats usually charge $10,000 per person," said
Carlos, who has lived in a dilapidated Central Havana tenement for about
a year. "We're charging a fraction of that but only one man signed up
and he hasn't paid. A year ago people were anxious to leave."
One problem is that recent migrants have sent back word that the
economic crisis and widespread unemployment has translated into a harder
life up north. A few disillusioned souls even returned to Cuba empty handed.
"I know two people who paid thousands to leave Cuba illegally through
Mexico and later came back penniless because they could live slightly
better here," said Hernadez, in his late 20s, an electrical engineer by
training. "In Cuba you struggle but you eat everyday and you have your
friends and family to help you out. But now they're back here doing
nothing."
Hernandez can't understand why only one man in densely populated Central
Havana, a seamy district of crumbling buildings and black market
hustlers, has expressed interest in the voyage.
"For more than a year people have been waiting for signs of
improvement," he said, referring to the heightened expectations created
by President Raul Castro when he formally took power more than year ago.
"Any little change -- better wages, better job opportunities, the
ability to travel freely. Nothing changed. The only change was the
switch from Fidel to Raul."
One morning next month, depending on the weather, Hernandez and his two
friends plan to embark on their clandestine journey from the northern
coast of Matanzas. Hernandez said they plan to make the trip whether
they've sold the 12 spots or not.
Staying is not an option, he said. "The whole world is sinking. Why is
Cuba going to stay afloat?"
In Cuba, smugglers cut prices for trips to United States, but recession
is keeping Cubans at home -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com (16 May 2009)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-cuba-column-051209,0,4455433.column
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