CUBA: Fourth Flight of Repatriated Refugees Lands Safely

HAVANA, Nov 18 (IPS) - The fourth flight of voluntarily repatriated Cubans arrived Friday from the U.S. Guantanamo naval base to Cuban territory with 25 people aboard, government sources announced.

In August and early September, the Cubans had attempted to reach U.S. shores in precarious rafts and were housed in refugee camps in the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo, Cuba.

The fourth flight brings to 89 the total of Cubans who have voluntarily returned to their country, in accordance with a U.S.- Cuban immigration accord signed Sep. 9 in New York which provided for such a mechanism.

According to a spokesman for the Office of U.S. Interests in Havana, Washington has already handed over the documents of 300 Cubans who wish to return home and lists with over 1,000 additional names.

Cuban foreign ministry spokesman Miguel Alfonso said the government has received the lists, but added that the process of reintegrating the former refugees is slow.

At the request of the Office of U.S. Interests, the Cuban press published on Wednesday the steps to be taken to apply for emigration to the United States according to the Sep. 9 accord, which provides for the emigration of at least 20,000 people a year.

As the application process can only be initiated in Cuba, refugees currently housed in Guantanamo and Panama must return home. Over 100 have done so since September, braving the minefields which separate U.S. from Cuban territory in Guantanamo.

According to foreign ministry spokesman Miguel Alfonso, the Cuban government has failed to receive a response regarding a statement by a U.S. army general in Guantanamo who said the United States has been encouraging refugees to return home by that route.

Alfonso also said that at Cuban government request, refugees in Guantanamo were able to send letters which are now being distributed to family members on the island.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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