By Ana Acl. aacle@herald.com. Published Thursday, February 3, 2000, in the Miami Herald
Hundreds of toys destined for Cuban children for the feast of the Wise Men never arrived because Cuba's government sent them back, the toy drive's organizer said Wednesday.
More than 2,500 Cuban children responded to a December writing contest broadcast over Radio Marti. The essay's question: What do the Three Wise Men mean to you?
The prize: toys for the first 1,000 entrants.
As letters arrived, Corpus Christi Church volunteers wrapped stuffed bunnies, pink dolls and other toys in cellophane, and inserted Christmas cards signed from the children of Immaculate Conception, St. Michael and Sts. Peter and Paul schools.
But, according to the Rev. Jose Luis Menendez, 781 of the 881 toys sent through Wilson International Service were returned, 99 were confiscated by the Cuban government, and only one was delivered. Another 120 were about to be sent, Menendez said.
``It's important to note that Miami children were the senders; no organization was involved,'' Menendez said. ``Sadly, all our efforts were obstructed by the government of Cuba.''
But the spokesman for the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C., says all donations are well received.
``For us, children are the most sacred of things,'' Luis Fernandez said. ``You can be sure that every donation gets to the person intended. The government gives out donations to children in hospitals and all children.''
Fernandez said he did not know about any shipment of toys or of any confiscation. He also said he did not know about news reports documenting the arrest of Cuban independent journalist Victor Rolando Arroyo after he distributed free toys to poor children.
Arroyo, of Cuba's Pinar del Rio province, was sentenced Jan. 14 to six months in prison, charged with "hoarding'' toys. His lawyer unsuccessfully argued that Arroyo bought the toys at a free shop with money sent from the United States and that he was not hoarding because he was not
reselling.
ARREST NOT RELATED
Menendez said Arroyo's arrest is not related to his efforts. Arroyo received money from exile groups for the Millennium Three Wise Men Project. Menendez's effort was named Children to Children: Rescue the Three Wise Men Project. At least one financier, however, said he helped both projects.
One of the contributors of the children-to-children exchange was vitamin businessman Manuel Rico Perez, who donated about $30,000 to the project. The Cuban children sent the letters to his Miami office.
``Our mood is somber, like a funeral,'' Perez said. ``Before, it was like a party. We were happy that the children were going to get their toys.''
According to Menendez, a Cuban government official told the mailing agency that they would not accept any more of their toys, that 99 had been confiscated and that government agents had visited the homes of the 99 children whose addresses were obviously listed with the toys.
``I assume they were threatened,'' said Humberto Bustamante, who helped Menendez.
COMPANY'S SILENCE
No one from the mailing agency could be reached for comment late Wednesday. The phone rang unanswered.
Herminio San Roman, director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, said Radio Marti promoted the contest about three or four times as public service announcements and that no federal money was involved.
The response was so overwhelming, San Roman said, that the radio station had to ask people not to send more letters.
``We've had other contests, but never with this amount of response,'' San Roman said. ``We don't have Arbitron or Nielsen ratings, but we know people listen to us.''
The letters, written by children, show how the religious tradition of the feast of the three wise men in a once predominantly Catholic country continues through word of mouth.
``All I know about Three Kings Day is what I've learned from my mother and father, because TV and radio have never mentioned it,'' a 6-year-old girl wrote.
THREE KINGS CONTEST ENTRIES
From a 12-year-old girl in Banes:
I've never known what Kings Day is, because this holiday has not been celebrated for many years. I would like for this date to be celebrated again in Cuba so Cuban children may love God and our mother, the Virgin Mary, all the more.
From a 6-year-old girl:
All I know about Three Kings Day is what I've learned from my mother and father, because TV and radio have never mentioned it. From what they told me, [the Kings] come from Bethlehem on camels, rewarding those children who wrote to them asking for toys and gifts and promised to behave and study
a lot. On the night of Jan. 5, I put out herbs and water for them and go to bed with many hopes. Melchior almost always brings me what I ask for, because I do my homework.
From a girl (no age given):
We have not celebrated that date in Cuba for many years, and few children know the significance of Three Kings [Day]. We Christian children, who are in the minority, have a little celebration with toys donated by our brothers in the community. They're crude: little cars made of wood and tin
cans, rag dolls, etc., because the toys sold in the dollar stores are beyond the reach of most Cuban children.
As a Catholic girl, I ask the Three Kings this Jan. 6 that we Cuban children be allowed to celebrate that day, [and] that we all learn that wonderful story of the Wise Men.
From an 11-year-old boy:
The toys are bought by parents who have money, and dollars, besides. My parents can never buy me anything, so I wish -- if [the story] is true -- the Kings might bring me a gift. If it's a color television, so much the better, because we have no TV set and me and my parents get awfully bored.
Also, I would ask [the Kings] to help my parents, because they work very hard. They have no dollars or relatives that can send them money.
From a girl in San Antonio de los Baños:
My father and mother told me about the Three Kings, because at church, at the end of the year, they put up statues of bearded men, dressed like Arabs, kneeling before a little boy named Jesus. The church is very beautiful at that time, with a large tree called a Christmas tree.
My father told me he never knew about [the Kings] because when he was a boy they had stopped coming to Cuba.
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