Introduction

When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1990, its economic support for Cuba also dissolved, and the economy of Cuba very quickly began to suffer the consequences. The Cuban government's various responses to those consequences have caused a new wave of immigration from Cuba, and American service providers are finding themselves once again with large numbers of Cubans needing language training and social services.

At the same time, there is greater communication between the two countries, leading some to speculate that normalization of relations may take place. Others continue to maintain, however, that no such eventuality will take place while Castro is still in power.

The purpose of this fact sheet is to give those working with the most recently arrived Cubans a brief refresher on Cuban geography and history, particularly the history of Cuba's relations with the United States. The fact sheet brings readers up-to-date on events in Cuba that have resulted in the recent flows of Cubans to Florida. It discusses values the newcomers are likely to have brought with them and the repercussions these values might have for their resettlement in the United States. The fact sheet concludes with a brief sketch of Cuban Spanish and lists some of the linguistic problems that Cubans are likely to encounter in their learning of English.

Different terms are used to refer to the Cubans in the United States. Exile is the term usually given to the first wave of Cubans entering the country after the 1959 revolution. The term refugee is applied to Cubans who have entered the country as refugees, that is, those who have been given the special refugee status which places them in a different category from ordinary immigrants. Cubans entering the country recently are sometimes referred to as parolees, reflecting the State Department's "parole" category; parolees are eligible for the same range of public services as refugees. The term immigrant is now also being used to refer to the Cubans entering the country via Havana, and reflects their status as ordinary immigrants.

In discussions about the Cubans coming to the United States, it is important to remember the basic distinction between normal immigrants, who have obtained immigrant visas and who are leaving their native country legally, and other refugees, parolees, undocumented aliens, etc.who have effectively left their native countries without the permission of their governments, and who therefore have not been in a position to obtain immigrant visas. We will use the term immigrant to refer exclusively to Cubans who have entered the United States with immigrant visas.

The number of Cubans in the United States is well over a million, or about a tenth as many Cubans as are in Cuba itself. Half a million Cubans are in south Florida, the other half million spread out across the United States, with large communities in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California. In a community this size, there is of course diversity, but in general the Cuban community is perceived as adamantly opposed to Castro's revolutionary government and any "give" in the United States' relations with that government. This stereotype is probably due in great measure to the publicity given the Cuban American National Foundation and its lobbying arm The Cuban American Foundation. These conservative organizations were founded in 1981 and constitute a well-organized, powerful, and wealthy voice in U.S. politics, especially in Florida.

Information from the anti-Castro elements of the Cuban community tends to be entirely negative about Castro's Cuba. Information from the more liberal elements of the Cuban community tends to be more positive. Official information from Cuba itself is of course pro-Cuba and puts the country's best foot forward, but is additionally suspect in that the government controls the media and prohibits any expression of dissent.

In compiling this fact sheet, we have tried to present as balanced a picture as possible. In the bibliography, we have listed what we hope is a representative group of sources, along with annotations which indicate roughly where each source's opinion lies. We urge readers to follow up on these sources.

www.culturalorientation.net.
For more information contact sanja@cal.org.
Designed by SAGARTdesign
This site looks best when viewed using Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher. Last Updated:02/18/04