Foreign Policy Blogs

Reflections from the island on emigration

Huffington Post photo

A comment at the end of this article (about emigration from Cuba) struck me today as wonderfully insightful. The editorial, called “La emigración: un fenómeno alarmante,” was published in an online magazine called Vitral: La Libertad de la Luz, compiled by the diocese in Pinar del Río (Cuba). The author recognizes that external actors, e.g. the international community and the United States, have done much over the years that has hurt Cuba and its economy, thus driving migration. But he/she urges Cubans to take what action they can to improve Cuba’s prospects from the inside, which would encourage doctors, scholars, artists, etc. as well as common citizens to stay. This is a call that would resonate with many, I think.

A rough English translation of the final paragraph of the editorial:

It is time in Cuba to create new opportunities and take hold of the reins in our own lives, so that we—Cubans and others in the world—might be able to find in Cuba the pathway to our own personal fulfillment and national achievement, in order to come to see the world as an extension of our own country instead of a place where, by abandoning our home, we can achieve our dreams. The solution is in our hands, from the State to the common citizen, and does not depend on any foreign power. Cuba is and should remain a home to all.

 

Author

Melissa Lockhart Fortner

Melissa Lockhart Fortner is Senior External Affairs Officer at the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles, having served previously as Senior Programs Officer for the Council. From 2007-2009, she held a research position at the University of Southern California (USC) School of International Relations, where she closely followed economic and political developments in Mexico and in Cuba, and analyzed broader Latin American trends. Her research considered the rise and relative successes of Latin American multinationals (multilatinas); economic, social and political changes in Central America since the civil wars in the region; and Wal-Mart’s role in Latin America, among other topics. Melissa is a graduate of Pomona College, and currently resides in Pasadena, California, with her husband, Jeff Fortner.

Follow her on Twitter @LockhartFortner.