Word: cuba
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...were more factories in those cities," he recalls. As a machine-shop operator in Havana, Martin could not afford even a bicycle. But as a salesman for a Chicago chemical-products company, he was able to buy a car and sign up for driving lessons. Says he: "I miss Cuba, but this is the country for opportunity...
...prepared for an entrance exam to Florida International University. Last April, Sarmiento became the first Marielito to earn an FLU. engineering degree. When he is not out looking for work, like any new graduate, he fiddles with programs on his home computer. "To think," marvels Sarmiento, "back in Cuba I didn't own even a pocket calculator...
...greatest frustration Marielitos face is separation from loved ones, whether in Cuba or a third country. The newcomers' current state of legal limbo has added to their sense of disorientation. "Mariel was chaos," says a Miami city official. "Many husbands, wives and children were separated. The tragedy is that they cannot be reunited." If the Simpson-Mazzoli bill now pending in Congress passes, that will change. The bill would permit Marielitos, as permanent resident aliens, to bring their families to the U.S. after a three-year waiting period...
With family reunions a distant hope, some frustrated Marielitos have suffered bouts of drinking and depression. A few have taken desperate measures to get back home: nine of the twelve successful hijackings to Cuba since May were committed by Marielitos. Still others-usually the criminals and sociopaths of Castro's prisons and asylums-resorted to crime, helping to make "Marielito" for many a catchword for terror. Typically, the Mariel misfits are young men between the ages of 18 and 34, unemployed, with the equivalent of a ninth-grade education and a history of emotional and mental problems. Many wear...
Hundreds of Marielitos are behind bars in state and local prisons. But many more elude proper sentencing. Judges lack knowledge of their criminal histories in Cuba and without that guidance, or up-to-date information on their activities in the U.S., tend to give them probation. Nonetheless, about 1,080 Marielitos are in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. Nearly one-third have been in jail since their arrival in the U.S. Under Immigration procedures, Marielitos who admitted to a criminal record at the processing centers three years ago were frequently imprisoned, though often temporarily. Many street-smart Cubans...