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I’ve known some very recent Cuban immigrants. They have a lot in common with economic migrants. Plenty of folks get started working for the state industry or u
by pyuser583 2y ago
I’ve known some very recent Cuban immigrants. They have a lot in common with economic migrants.
Plenty of folks get started working for the state industry or university. Then they hop on a plane to America via Canada and claim citizenship.
I’m confident there are still traditional political refugees, but they coexist with “company men” wanting more pay.
- pembrook 2y agoI mean, sure, you can rephrase "fleeing a communist dictatorship" as "company men wanting more pay." But it dramatically understates the issue. Moving from Madrid to Amsterdam to get a higher salary is not what we're talking about here. I don't think someone from Madrid would start weeping at the sight of a Dutch grocery store. When Spain talks about brain drain, they're worried about 1-2% of their population leaving over decades. Not 10-20X than in a year. Virtually all Cubans, regardless of educational attainment or employment status, would kill for a shot at life in a democratic, free-market country, be it Spain or the Netherlands. Hence why they're leaving.
- pyuser583 2y agoI was about to share some of the traits of Cubans I know that serve as strong counter examples. Then I realized this is all public, and Cuban intelligence services spy on the diaspora. Censorship by proxy sucks. I’ve run into this before with Chinese and other nationalities. I don’t know what’s safe to say, and what could get someone in trouble. So the ethical thing is to say nothing, unless it’s really important. It sucks that foreign powers can censor a conversation like this, but they can.