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VANCOUVER DEMO BLASTS "CUBAN ADJUSTMENT ACT"!
Special to People's Voice
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FIFTY PEOPLE took part in a late afternoon rally on Oct. 10 at the U.S. Consulate in downtown Vancouver, a location quite visible to the heavy pedestrian and car traffic. The protest was organized by members of the 8th "Che Guevara" Volunteer Work Brigade, who recently spent three weeks in Cuba working and learning about the current situation. Other solidarity organizations took part, including the Canadian?Cuban Friendship Association (CCFA) and the Cuban Youth Tour Committee.
The demonstrators chanted slogans against the U.S. blockade of Cuba, calling on the public to oppose the Torricelli Law, the Helms-Burton Law and the Cuban Adjustment Act, all of which violate international laws.
Noting that October 10 was International Cuba Solidarity Day, CCFA-Vancouver President Nazir Rizvi welcomed the participation of young people. Volunteer work in Cuba is a special sign of friendship, Rizvi said that "as a matter of fact, this demo is an example of friendship and solidarity with Cuba."
Calling on Washington to end the "illegal and immoral blockade against Cuba," Rizvi added that it is the duty of Canadians to call on our own government to speak up against this U.S. action. Cuba has made achievements we can all learn from, he said, referring to Liberal MP Dr. Carolyn Bennet, who has publicly reported about some positive features of the Cuban health care system and the lessons for Canada.
The second speaker, "Che" Brigade coordinator Nino Pagliccia, referred to the less well-known Cuban Adjustment Act. Signed by President Johnson in 1966, the Act establishes that any Cuban arriving in US territory in any way, even illegally or by risking the lives of others, can receive the status of permanent resident in the USA.
This "American law that kills Cubans," as Pagliccia said, is known by Cubans as the "Law of Death." He pointed out that "there is no Mexican Adjustment Act. There is no Guatemalan Adjustment Act. There is no Colombian Adjustment Act. There is no Canadian Adjustment Act."
The U.S. government has been granting only 7% of the visas out of the 20,000 a year stated in the U.S.?Cuba Migratory Agreement. Instead, Washington promises certain privileges under the Cuban Adjustment Act, and at the same time finances the broadcast of 2,300 weekly radio hours from Florida to encourage the illegal migration of Cubans. In this way, the U.S. government incites Cubans to undertake actions such as armed hijackings of aircrafts and vessels, and smuggling of people for profit.
In one recent incident, a small plane stolen from Cuba crashed in international waters, claiming one life. The nine survivors should have been returned to Cuba, according to the Migratory Agreement. But the U.S. government let them free without a single charge for the crime of stealing an aircraft.
The most cruel side of the story is that the mother of the Cuban who died applied for a visa to attend her son's funeral in Florida; the U.S. Interest Section in Havana denied the visa, saying "she might opt to remain in the U.S." If this same mother risked her life on a raft to reach Florida, she would be granted residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
Calling this policy "absurd, irrational and criminal," Pagliccia concluded that "U.S. authorities are completely responsible for over three decades of loss or risk of human life. Even children are forced to embark on such adventures as a consequence of a policy that is immoral, outdated, absolutely unethical and inhumane. We will continue to publicly identify this senseless Cuban Adjustment Act as `the law of death' that kills Cubans."
| Editor: | Kimball
Cariou |