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Strict travel policies
are hurting families
Editorial posted on Fri,
Oct. 28, 2005 in The
Miami Herald.
A new report by Human Rights Watch puts
a human face on the suffering caused by
travel restrictions imposed by the governments
in Cuba and the United States. The two countries
have different motivations for their policy,
but both result in painful family separations.
We urge the international community to exert
pressure on Cuba to stop violating the right
of Cubans to travel freely into and out
of the country. We also urge our own government
to lift travel rules that severely limit
Cuban Americans from visiting, helping and
comforting relatives in Cuba.
Punished for leaving
For Cuba, the right to free travel is only
one of many rights violated daily. No Cuban
can legally leave or reenter the country
without regime authorization. The regime
also bars travel to punish relatives of
Cubans who have left the island against
government wishes. Cuba uses travel policy
as a weapon to deter people from fleeing,
prevent family reunification and drive a
wedge between Cubans who stay and those
in exile.
For example, José Cohen, a former
Cuban intelligence officer, defected by
raft in 1994. Since then, Cuba has refused
to grant exits to his wife and three children
although all have visas that permit them
to join him here in Miami.
The United States has restricted Americans'
travel to Cuba to varying extents since
1961, as noted in the new Human Rights report,
''Families Torn Apart: The High Cost of
U.S. and Cuba Travel Restrictions.'' Some
of the most Draconian measures took effect
in June 2004. The rationale was to cut regime
earnings from U.S. visitors. But also painfully
cut are human relations, which serve to
encourage and could ease a transition to
democracy.
Now Cuban Americans may travel to see ''immediate
family'' only once in three years. They
can visit for only 14 days and must have
a special U.S. license. Cousins, uncles
and aunts aren't counted as ''immediate
family,'' although they form part of typically
close-knit Cuban families. The United States
also eliminated provisions for humanitarian
travel.
A lonely death
Thus, Marisela Romera of Hialeah was forced
to stop regular visits to Cuba to care for
her father, who suffered from advanced Alzheimer's
disease. Until her last trip in May 2004,
she had comforted him and brought him medical
supplies. But the rules barred her from
visiting until 2007. They also prevented
her from sending money for his care. He
was the only family member allowed by new
U.S. rules to receive remittances; but he
was incapable of cashing or signing for
them. He deteriorated, became depressed
and died in October 2004. ''He died alone,''
she said. ``We never had a chance to say
goodbye.''
Cuba is unlikely to change. But the U.S.
government should. Barring families from
reuniting for years, even when there is
a crisis or death, is inhumane and un-American.
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