% >>> WELCOME TO "NOON WEDNESDAY,"
% I'M MARISA WOJCIK, MULTIMEDIA
% JOURNALIST WITH "HERE & NOW" ON
% PBS WISCONSIN.
% TODAY IS AUGUST 25.
% AS AFGHAN REFUGEES BEGIN TO
% ARRIVE AT FORT McCOY, MANY ARE
% REMEMBERING THE PAST WHEN THE
% ONLY OTHER LARGE SCALE REFUGEE
% RELOCATION EFFORT OCCURRED IN
% 1980.
% SOME 15,000 CUBANS CAME TO THE
% WESTERN WISCONSIN MILITARY
% INSTALLATION.
% JOINING US TO TALK ABOUT THIS
% HISTORY IS OMAR GRANADOS,
% ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LATIN
% AMERICAN AND LATINO STUDIES AT
% UW-LACROSSE WHO HAS BEEN
% STUDYING THE 1980 CUBAN REFUGEES
% FOR MANY YEARS, AND, OMAR, THANK
% YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
% >> THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME.
% >> I JUST WANT TO START, CAN YOU
% WALK US THROUGH JUST WHAT THE
% FIRST FEW DAYS OR WEEKS WERE
% LIKE FOR THE CUBANS AS THEY WERE
% ARRIVING AT FORT McCOY.
% >> RIGHT.
% SO THE 1980 EXODUS OF CUBAN
% REFUGEES TO WISCONSIN, AND NOT
% ONLY WISCONSIN, BUT OTHER
% MILITARY BASES THAT WERE CREATED
% BY THE CARTER ADMINISTRATION AT
% THAT TIME WERE MOSTLY
% CHARACTERIZED BY CHAOS.
% YOU KNOW, THERE WAS THE SPEED AT
% WHICH THE EXODUS HAPPENED OUT OF
% CUBA IN APRIL OF 1980.
% IN A PERIOD OF BARELY THREE
% MONTHS, YOU HAD OVER 125,000
% CUBAN MIGRANTS JUST SAILING
% ACROSS THE FLORIDA'S STRAITS AND
% LANDING IN KEY WEST.
% THE CARTER ADMINISTRATION JUST
% HAD NO RESOURCES AT THE TIME TO
% DEAL WITH THAT MASSIVE EXODUS SO
% THE FOLKS THAT CAME SPECIFICALLY
% TO FORT McCOY WERE THE FOLKS
% THAT WERE IN THE LATER EXODUS,
% AND THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT HAVE
% NOT IDENTIFIED RELATIVES IN THE
% UNITED STATES OR FRIENDS THAT
% COULD ACT AS SPONSORS.
% FORT McCOY WAS ALSO THE LAST
% RESETTLEMENT CENTER, WHICH WAS
% THE NAME GIVEN TO THE MILITARY
% BASES.
% THERE WAS ONE IN ARKANSAS.
% THERE WAS ONE IN PENNSYLVANIA.
% THERE WAS ONE IN FLORIDA.
% NORTHERN FLORIDA.
% THE FORT McCOY WELCOMED THE
% LAST GROUP OF REFUGEES, AND THIS
% GROUP WAS, YOU KNOW, MOSTLY BORN
% BY SINGLE BLACK MEN BETWEEN THE
% AGES OF 25 AND 35 YEARS OLD, WHO
% HAD JOINED THIS EXODUS UNDER
% VERY DIFFERENT CONDITIONS
% WHETHER THEY HAD WANTED TO JOIN
% OR NOT AND FOLKS THAT ALSO HAD
% JUST BEEN PUSHED OUT OF CUBA BY
% THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT TO COME IN
% THAT EXODUS.
% THEY HAD NO IDEA WHERE WISCONSIN
% WAS.
% THEY HAD NO IDEA WHERE THEY WERE
% GOING.
% EVERYTHING WAS VERY DISORGANIZED
% AND UNCERTAIN FOR THAT GROUP OF
% PEOPLE AT FORT McCOY, WHICH
% ENDED UP BEING OVER 14,000 CUBAN
% REFUGEES TOTAL IN THE SUMMER OF
% 1980, AND SO FROM MAY 30th TO
% SEPTEMBER, LATE SEPTEMBER, A
% TOTAL OF 14,300 REFUGEES
% APPROXIMATELY WENT TO FORT
% McCOY.%>> AND YOU MENTIONED
% UNCERTAINTY.
% SO FROM YOUR RESEARCH AND
% CONVERSATIONS WITH SOME OF THESE
% MEN, CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT IT'S
% LIKE FOR SOMEONE EXPERIENCING
% THIS?
% TO BE LEAVING THEIR HOME AND
% COMING TO A COMPLETELY FOREIGN
% COUNTRY.
% >> IT'S -- THE HISTORY OF THE
% UNITED STATES AND CUBA, ITSELF,
% HAS -- IT GOES BACK FOR, YOU
% KNOW, HUNDREDS OF YEARS, AND SO
% IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY THAT
% THESE PEOPLE HAD -- DIDN'T HAVE
% AN IDEA WHAT THE UNITED STATES
% WAS LIKE OR WHAT THE, YOU KNOW,
% THE PROMISE OF THE AMERICAN
% DREAM WAS LIKE.
% YOU KNOW, GROWING UP IN CUBA,
% EVEN DOING THE SOCIALIST PERIOD
% IN CUBA, THE UNITED STATES IS
% VERY PRESENT, AND CULTURAL,
% POLITICAL, BUT, FOR ME, IT IS
% ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO TRY TO
% EXPLAIN TO CUBANS, YOU KNOW,
% THAT THE IMMENSITY OF THE UNITED
% STATES' GEOGRAPHY.
% PEOPLE THINK THE UNITED STATES
% AND CUBA, PEOPLE THINK THAT THE
% UNITED STATES IS MIAMI AND SOUTH
% FLORIDA.
% FOR THESE FOLK WHO ARE AS I LIKE
% TO CALL THEM, ISLAND FOLK,
% IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO JUST
% LAND IN THE MIDDLE OF WISCONSIN
% WHERE EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIFE IS
% JUST GETTING COLDER AND COLDER
% AND COLDER, AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN
% KNOW IT WAS COMING AFTER THAT,
% AND SO GEOGRAPHICALLY, THEY WERE
% DISPLACED.
% CULTURALLY, OBVIOUSLY, THEY WERE
% TREMENDOUSLY DISPLACED.
% THESE WERE FOLKS THAT HAD
% EXPERIENCED TRAUMATIC SEPARATION
% FROM THEIR FAMILIES, TRAUMATIC
% SEPARATION FROM THEIR SOCIAL,
% YOU KNOW, CIRCLES.
% MANY OF THEM HAD BEEN POLITI
% POLITICALLY PERSECUTED IN CUBA,
% AND MANY WERE IN THE GAY
% COMMUNITY AND PERSECUTED BY THE
% CUBAN GOVERNMENT.
% MANY OF THEM WERE FOLKS THAT HAD
% RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS THAT WERE
% NOT PERMITTED BY THE CUBAN
% GOVERNMENT AT THE TIME, AND MANY
% OF THEM, ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG
% PEOPLE THAT CAME, HAD BEEN IN
% SOME SORT OF TROUBLE WITH THE
% LAW FOR CRIMES THAT WERE
% CONSIDERED DANGEROUS AT THE TIME
% TO THE SOCIALIST STATE OF THE
% CUBAN REVOLUTION, BUT WERE
% MOSTLY MINOR MISDEMEANOR CRIMES
% LIKE, YOU KNOW, TRADE IN THE
% BLACK MARKET, ILLEGAL GAMBLING,
% YOU KNOW, HOMOSEXUALITY,
% PROSTITUTION, AND, YOU KNOW,
% THINGS THAT BECAUSE OF THE
% IDEOLOGY PRESENTED BY THE
% CURE -- THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT AS
% THE SOLE WAY OF UNDERSTANDING
% SOCIETY WHERE IT WAS SEEN AS
% DANGEROUS TO THE STATE, AND SO
% THOSE -- A LARGE NUMBER OF YOUNG
% MEN THAT REFUSED TO JOIN THE
% CUBAN ARMY OR THE COMMUNIST
% PARTY AND ALSO HAD BEEN PUT IN
% PRISON, EVEN FOR A TEMPORARY
% PERIOD OF TEN MONTHS, WHO WERE
% SENT TO THE EXODUS FROM THE
% CELLS WITHOUT EVEN HAVING THE
% OPPORTUNITY TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO
% THEIR FAMILIES OR KNOWING WHERE
% THEY WERE GOING, AND SO THERE
% WAS, YOU KNOW, BOTH THE PROMISE
% OF A NEW LIFE, THE HOPE OF THE
% AMERICAN DREAM, BUILDING THAT
% DREAM OF, YOU KNOW,
% CUBAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN
% SOUTH FLORIDA, BUT ALSO ALL THE
% TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE OF LEAVING
% CUBA WITHOUT REALLY WANTING TO,
% FOR MANY OF THEM.
% IT IS IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE
% THAT THE EXODUS IS THE FIRST
% TIME IN THE HISTORY OF CUBAN
% MIGRATIONS TO THE UNITED STATES
% WHERE PEOPLE ARE FORCED TO LEAVE
% CUBA.
% A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE
% ACTUALLY FORCED TO LEAVE CUBA BY
% THE GOVERNMENT.
% IT'S AN IMPORTANT
% DIFFERENTIATION THAT I ALWAYS
% LIKE TO MAKE, YOU KNOW, WHEN I
% TALK ABOUT CUBAN MIGRATION TO
% THE UNITED STATES.
% >> AND SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT
% HOW THE IDEA OF THE U.S. MIGHT
% HAVE BEEN LARGELY KIND OF THE
% FLORIDA, MIAMI AREA, THE CULTURE
% AND LANGUAGE BARRIERS OF COMING
% TO WISCONSIN, WESTERN WISCONSIN,
% WAS EVEN GREATER.
% >> ABSOLUTELY.
% THE DIFFERENCE THAT WE SEE TODAY
% BETWEEN THE FIRST WAVE OF
% MIGRANTS IN THE EXODUS, THE
% PEOPLE THAT CAME IN THE FIRST
% TWO, THREE WEEKS OF THE EXODUS,
% AND THE PEOPLE THAT CAME AFTER
% IS SIGNIFICANT, AND THAT WAS
% MOSTLY AS A RESULT OF THE WAY IN
% WHICH THOSE WHO ARRIVED IN KEY
% WEST AND BENEFITED FROM THE WORK
% OF VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS THAT
% WERE ALREADY READY WAITING FOR
% THEM IN KEY WEST, THOSE WERE
% MOSTLY FAMILIES AND PEOPLE WHO
% HAD RELATIVES IN THE UNITED
% STATES.
% ABOUT 29% OF THAT GROUP HAD
% FAMILY IN THE UNITED STATES, AND
% FOR THEM, THE TRANSITION WAS
% VERY EASY TO, YOU KNOW, CUBAN
% SOCIAL-ECONOMIC NETWORKS ACROSS
% MIAMI AND TAMPA AND OTHER CUBAN
% SETTLEMENTS, BUT ABOUT, YOU
% KNOW, 70% OF THE GROUP, EVEN
% WHEN THEY DID NOT HAVE FAMILY,
% THEY WERE ABLE TO RESETTLE VERY
% FAST INTO THE MIAMI AREA, AND,
% YOU KNOW, INTEGRATE INTO THE
% SOCIAL FAB RIB -- FABRIC AND THE
% WORK FORCE.
% MORE IMPORTANTLY BECAUSE OF HOW
% PREVALENT SPANISH WAS AND
% KNOWLEDGE OF IMMIGRATION AND,
% YOU KNOW, LEGAL SERVICES THAT AN
% AMERICAN COMMUNITY ALREADY HAD
% IN REGARDS TO WHAT THOSE FOLKS
% NEEDED TO GET THEIR PAPERWORK IN
% ORDER.
% NOW, IF YOU ARE A BLACK
% IMMIGRANT, A BLACK MIGRANT WHO
% LANDS IN WISCONSIN WHO DOESN'T
% KNOW SPANISH, YOUR FAITH IS
% GOING TO BE VERY DIFFERENT.
% VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE
% HELPING OUT IN WISCONSIN HAVE
% VERY LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF THE
% LEGAL PROCESSES NECESSARY FOR
% THE FOLKS TO COME TO THE BASE.
% THEY HAD LIMITED RESOURCES IN
% TERMS OF LANGUAGE, SPANISH
% INTERPRETERS, AND THE PEOPLE
% THAT WERE DOING THE
% TRANSLATIONS, THE LEGAL
% TRANSLATIONS, THE PEOPLE DOING
% INTERPRETING AS ALL THE REFUGEES
% WERE COMING IN AND BASICALLY
% INTAKING THIS KEY INFORMATION
% THAT'S GOING TO DECIDE THE FATE
% AND LIFE OF THIS PERSON FOR THE
% NEXT 50 YEARS WERE HIGH SCHOOL
% STUDENTS.
% WISCONSIN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
% WITH THEIR TEACHERS, WHO WERE
% VOLUNTEERS THAT COULD SPEAK SOME
% SPANISH, AND THAT CREATED MANY,
% MANY ERRORS AND PROBLEMS FOR
% FOLKS THAT WE STILL SEE TODAY
% ARE STRUGGLING TO GET THEIR
% PAPERWORK IN ORDER BECAUSE OF
% THE ERRORS THAT WERE MADE AT
% FORT McCOY.
% THAT'S ONE ASPECT OF IT.
% THE RUSH TO RESETTLE THAT GROUP
% OF REFUGEES OUT OF THE FORT ALSO
% BROUGHT ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW,
% MISMATCH, AS I LIKE TO SAY,
% REFUGEES WITH SPONSORS, PEOPLE
% WANTED TO HELP PEOPLE IN
% WISCONSIN VOLUNTEER, CHURCHES,
% FAMILIES, VOLUNTEERS, BUT FE
% MANY, A -- FEMA AND THE U.S.
% GOVERNMENT, WHICH AT THE TIME%
WERE COORDINATING, YOU KNOW, ALL
% OF THESE EFFORTS DIDN'T REALLY
% INFORM FAMILIES CAREFULLY,
% DIDN'T REALLY, YOU KNOW, GIVE
% ALL PERMISSIONS NECESSARY OF HOW
% THIS REFUGEE SHOULD HAVE
% FOLLOWED UP IN THEIR IMMIGRATION
% PROCEEDINGS IN ORDER TO GET THE
% SPECIFIC FORMS, AND, YOU KNOW,
% DON'T MISS ANY DEADLINES, AND IN
% ALL HONESTY, MANY OF THE
% REFUGEES NEVER WANTED TO STAY IN
% WISCONSIN AFTER THAT, AND SO
% THEY -- WE HAD MANY CASES WHERE
% THESE FOLK WERE, YOU KNOW,
% FINDING A SPONSOR, AND WE CAN
% TALK ABOUT THAT PROCESS A LITTLE
% BIT LATER IF YOU WANT OF HOW IT
% WAS TO FIND A SPONSOR IF YOU
% DIDN'T HAVE ANY FAMILY, BUT AS
% SOON AS THEY LEFT THE BASE, THEY
% WERE JUST, LIKE, JUMPING A BUS
% AND GO TRY TO GO TO MIAMI OR NEW
% JERSEY OR NEW YORK WHERE BIGGER
% GROUPS OF CUBAN IMMIGRANTS WERE
% ALREADY, YOU KNOW, SETTLED.
% >> SO LIKE 1980, TODAY, THERE
% ARE SO MANY AFGHAN PEOPLE COMING
% IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME,
% AND THE DISORGANIZED HASTE CAN
% CAUSE SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM
% DETRIMENTS BASED ON SOME OF THE
% THINGS YOU JUST DESCRIBED.
% DO YOU FORESEE THAT POTENTIALLY
% HAPPENING WITH THE CURRENT
% AFGHAN REFUGEES THAT ARE NOW
% FLOWING VERY QUICKLY INTO THE
% UNITED STATES?
% >> I MEAN, IT'S A VERY -- IT'S A
% VERY DIFFERENT SITUATION.
% I MEAN, IT IS A VERY DIFFERENT
% GROUP OF MIGRANTS WITH VERY
% DIFFERENT CULTURAL, YOU KNOW,
% BACKGROUND AND DIFFERENT IDEA OF
% THE UNITED STATES AND DIFFERENT
% EXPERIENCE IN REGARD OF WHAT
% THEIR LIVES HAVE BEEN DURING THE
% LAST 40 YEARS IN AFGHANISTAN.
% I THINK AFGHAN REFUGEES MIGHT
% HAVE A VERY DIFFERENT PERCEPTION
% OF THE UNITED STATES IN TERMS OF
% THE RELATIONSHIP THAT THEY HAD
% WITH THE UNITED STATES, WHICH
% HAS BEEN VERY MILITARIZED
% RELATIONSHIP.
% THAT'S ONE ASPECT.
% WHEN THE CUBAN IMMIGRATION
% HAPPENED, IT WAS, YOU KNOW,
% MOSTLY A RESULT OF A CULT WAR
% SCENARIO WHERE THIS 125,000
% PEOPLE WERE, UNFORTUNATELY,
% VICTIMS OF, YOU KNOW, THE
% POLITICAL WARS BETWEEN CUBA AND
% UNITED STATES.
% THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT
% SCENARIO.
% THESE FOLKS ARE LEAVING A WAR
% ZONE UNDER VERY REAL, VERY REAL
% THREATS OF, YOU KNOW, VIOLENCE.
% I THINK THAT'S THE MOST
% IMPORTANT PART IN TERMS OF, YOU
% KNOW, CONSIDERING THE WHOLE
% GROUP, WHO THEY ARE, WHAT ARE
% THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF THE GROUP,
% THE WOMEN, THE FAMILIES,
% UNACCOMPANIED MINORS THAT MIGHT
% COME IN THAT GROUP, OBVIOUSLY,
% RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION IS GOING
% TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN
% HOW REFUGEES ARE WELCOMED INTO
% THE UNITED STATES.
% THE LANGUAGE IS GOING TO PRESENT
% AN EVEN MORE SIGNIFICANT
% BARRIER, YOU KNOW, THAN WHAT WE
% THINK ABOUT SPANISH IN THE WAY
% IN WHICH SPANISH IS SPOKEN IN
% THE UNITED STATES TODAY.
% IT'S NOT GOING TO BE THAT EASY
% TO FIND INTERPRETERS AND
% TRANSLATERS FOR THESE
% POPULATIONS.
% THERE'S A LOT OF WOMEN THAT HAVE
% EXPERIENCED TRAUMA AND ABUSE,
% AND THAT HAS ALSO -- IT'S A VERY
% IMPORTANT REQUIREMENT OF HOW WE
% MANAGE THIS EXODUS IN TERMS OF
% QUALIFIED PERSONNEL, BUT IN MY
% OPINION, YOU KNOW, THERE'S
% ALWAYS THIS RUSH TO GO HELP AND
% PROVIDE FOOD AND SHELTER.
% I THINK, ACTUALLY, LISTENING IN
% AND, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO
% EMPATHIZE WITH THE GROUP AND
% TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE
% ACTUAL NEEDS OF THE GROUP ARE
% MIGHT BE A MORE BENEFICIAL WAY
% TO JUST KIND OF TAKE A PAUSE AND
% THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT
% ARE THE ACTUAL NEEDS OF THE
% POPULATION IN TERMS OF NOT JUST
% FOOD AND SHELTER, BUT BEYOND THE
% TRAUMA THEY ARE EXPERIENCING AT
% THE TIME, AND, YOU KNOW, THE
% REPERCUSSIONS THAT THAT TRAUMA
% IS GOING TO HAVE AND HOW TO
% RESETTLE INTO U.S. COMMUNITIES.
% IT IS TREMENDOUSLY IMPORTANT
% THAT WE UNDERSTAND, REALLY, THE
% SUFFERING AND NOT JUST THINK
% ABOUT FOOD, SHELTER, JOB, AND
% EDUCATION.
% YOU KNOW?
% OFTENTIMES IN THE HISTORY OF
% REFUGEE MIGRATION, THAT IS THE
% ASPECT THAT GETS LOST IN THE
% RUSH AND ASPECT THAT GETS LOST
% IN THE HUMAN, YOU KNOW, TRAUMA
% THAT IS ATTACHED TO HAVING TO
% LEAVE YOUR, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING
% BEHIND AND LAND IN A PLACE YOU
% JUST DON'T KNOW AT ALL.
% THAT'S MY OPINION.
% I KNOW IT'S A VERY COMPLICATED
% ISSUE, BUT THAT'S THE FIRST
% THING THAT I THINK ABOUT WHEN --
% AS A REFUGEE MYSELF.
% [LAUGHTER]
% >> SO NOW YOU TOUCHED ON THIS A
% LITTLE BIT, BUT ARCHIVES AND OLD
% NEWS REPORTS TALKED ABOUT HOW
% CASTRO EMPTIED OUT HIS PRISONS,
% AND THESE CUBAN MEN WERE MOSTLY
% CRIMINALS AND HOW PEOPLE AT
% FIRST IN THE LACROSSE AREA WERE
% VERY WELCOMING, BUT THEN IT
% TURNED TO MISTRUST.
% NOW, WOULD YOU SAY THAT THAT'S
% ACCURATE THAT SO MANY OF THEM
% WERE CRIMINALS, AND CAN MEDIA
% HAVE A DETRIMENTAL IMPACT ON OUR
% PERCEPTIONS, AND IN WHAT KIND OF
% MEDIA LITERACY SHOULD WE THINK
% ABOUT FOR TODAY'S AFGHAN
% REFUGEES COMING TO THE U.S.?
% >> THAT'S A REALLY, REALLY
% IMPORTANT QUESTION, TOO, TO
% THINK ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE
% MEDIA IN ALL OF THIS.
% WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WHAT
% HAPPENED IN 1980 WITH THE CUBAN
% POPULATION, THE -- ONE OF THE
% BIGGEST PITFALLS OF THAT WAS
% PRECISELY THE ROLE PLAYED BY
% U.S. NATIONAL MEDIA AND WESTERN
% WISCONSIN LOCAL MEDIA IN TERMS
% OF REPORTING, YOU KNOW, THE
% EXODUS AND CUBANS AND, NO, IT'S
% BEEN RESEARCHED AND DOCUMENTED
% TODAY THAT ABOUT ONLY 7% OF THAT
% POPULATION THAT CAME IN THE
% EXODUS HAD CRIMINAL RECORDS OF,
% YOU KNOW, CONSIDERED
% SERIOUSNESS.
% MANY, MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE HAD
% BEEN IN JAIL FOR REASONS THAT
% WOULDN'T QUALIFY AS A CRIME IN
% THE UNITED STATES.
% NOW, ALL OF THAT INFORMATION WAS
% LOST IN THE TRANSLATION, TO SAY
% IT IN A WAY.
% ONE OF THE STEPS, AND I IMAGINE
% THIS WILL BE THE SAME FOR AFTER
% BEGAN REF -- AFGHAN REFUGEES,
% AND ONE OF THE STEPS OF COMING
% OUT OF FORT McCOY WAS AN
% INTERVIEW WITH THE IRS AND
% INTERVIEW WITH THE FBI WHERE
% THIS PERSON WOULD BE ASKED, YOU
% KNOW, ARE YOU A REMEMBER OF THE
% COMMUNIST PARTY?
% YES, OF COURSE.
% THERE WAS NO WAY TO NOT BE A
% MEMBER OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY IN
% CUBA.
% THAT WOULD PUT YOU IN JAIL OR IN
% A POSITION WHERE YOU WOULD BE,
% YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WOULD BE
% SOCIALLY OUT AND KIDS IN SCHOOL
% PUT IN CHAINS BECAUSE YOU SAID
% NO TO THAT, AND SO TO AN FBI
% AGENT SAYING, WELL, THIS PERSON
% IS A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNIST
% PARTY, SO THERE WAS A CLEAR
% MISUNDERSTANDING THERE, AND I
% REALLY HOPE THAT THAT 41 YEARS
% LATER WE'VE COME TO BE BETTER
% THAN THAT.
% YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE STEALING
% FOOD OR SELLING STUFF IN THE
% BLACK MARKET OR ACTIVITIES BY
% THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT, AND MANY
% OF THE PEOPLE THAT CAME IN THE
% EXODUS, IN THE CUBAN EXODUS,
% BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO LEAVE
% CUBA, THEY ACTUALLY LIED ABOUT
% THEIR HOMOSEXUALITY, LIED ABOUT
% CRIMINAL RECORDS, JUST SO THEY
% COULD BE SENT TO THE EXODUS
% BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO LEAVE
% ANYWAYS, AND SO THEY'D SAY, YES,
% I'M A HOMOSEXUAL, WHEN THEY WERE
% NOT REALLY, BUT SO THE RECORDS
% THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WERE
% RECEIVING, IF AT ALL FROM CUBA,
% WERE COMPLETELY INACCURATE AND
% VERY CONFUSING TO USE A KIND
% WORD FOR U.S. AUTHORITIES.
% NOW, ONCE THE PRESS, CUBAN PRESS
% ACTUALLY WAS THE, YOU KNOW, THE
% BODY THAT STARTED THAT NARRATIVE
% ABOUT THIS IS THE SCUM OF CUBAN
% SOCIETY THAT WE DON'T WANT.
% WE ARE SENDING THEM OUT.
% THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE
% THE ENEMIES OF THE REVOLUTION.
% THERE'S A FAMOUS FIDEL CASTRO
% SPEECH SAYING, WE DON'T WANT
% THEM, WE DON'T NEED THEM, LET
% THEM GO.
% THAT WAS NEVER DISMANTLED BY THE
% AMERICAN PRESS.
% IN FACT, IT WAS SOLIDIFIED.
% IT WAS MAGNIFIED.
% THERE WAS SCENES OF MOSTLY BLACK
% MEN, YOU KNOW, DISPLAYING
% VIOLENT BEHAVIOR IMAGES OF THE
% CAMPS.
% THERE WAS A FAMOUS RIOT EARLY
% THAT SUMMER THAT WAS COMPLETELY
% TAKEN OUT OF PROPORTION BY THE
% "NEW YORK TIMES," AND SO IF YOU
% ARE A FAMILY HAD WISCONSIN AND
% THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW,
% WELCOMING, OPENING YOUR HOME AND
% YOU HAVE CHILDREN, READING THE
% NEWS, AND, YOU KNOW, READING
% THERE'S STABBINGS AND THERE'S,
% YOU KNOW, THE SEXUAL VIOLENCE
% AGAINST MINORS WITHIN THE FORT,
% WHICH THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, WHAT
% DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN
% WHEN YOU PUT 14,000 PEOPLE
% CRAMPED IN A SPACE WITHOUT
% KNOWING WHERE THEY ARE GOING OR
% WHAT THEIR FATE IS GOING TO BE,
% YOU KNOW?
% OF COURSE VIOLENCE IS INEVITABLE
% TO A CERTAIN DEGREE, BUT, YOU
% KNOW, AT THE SAME TIME, THERE%
WERE A LOT OF OTHER POSITIVE
% THINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING IN
% THE BASE THAT THE PRESS TOTALLY
% IGNORED.
% THERE WAS A LOT OF DETAIL
% INFLUENCE TO THE POPULATION, THE
% COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION
% THAT THE PRESS, WISCONSIN PRESS,
% IGNORED.
% IN 1983, YOU HAVE THE MOVIE,
% "SCAR FACE," WHICH BECOMES,
% PERHAPS, THE MOST VIOLENT FILM
% OF THE '80s, YOU KNOW, NOW AN
% ICON OF AMERICAN CULTURE
% FEATURING PRECISELY A REFUGEE
% THIS IS KING OF COCAINE IN MIAMI
% AND THIS JUST COMPLETELY
% VIOLENT, RUTHLESS, DISPLACED
% INDIVIDUAL WHO ACTUALLY TURNS
% THIS IMAGE OF THE IMMIGRANT
% GANGSTER AS A FAMILY MAN, BUT,
% YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T HAVE THE
% "GOD FATHER" EATING WITH HIS
% FAMILY, BUT NOW YOU HAVE A
% LATINO INDIVIDUAL WHO DOESN'T
% LIKE FAMILY AND JUST ALL BY
% HIMSELF, AND HE'S THE BADDEST
% GUY ON THE PLANET, AND SO THAT
% TRANSFORMED THAT IDEA OF WHO
% THEY ARE IN THE AMERICAN PUBLIC,
% YOU KNOW?
% THERE'S A LARGE GROUP OF
% HAITIANS COMING IN AT THE TIME
% THROUGH MIAMI AND SOUTH FLORIDA%
AS WELL, AND SO THE PRESS IS
% ALSO SOMEWHAT MIXING AND
% OVERLAPPING RACIAL OF HAITIANS
% AND CUBANS.
% UP TO THAT POINT, EVERYTHING
% AMERICANS KNOW ABOUT A CUBAN IS
% "I LOVE LUCY," AND THAT GUY IS
% PRETTY WHITE, AND HE'S A
% MUSICIAN AND KIND, NICE GUY.
% A FAMILY MAN.
% NOW THE PRESS IS, YOU KNOW,
% CASTING CUBANS AND HAITIANS AS
% IN THE SAME GROUP OF MIGRANTS,
% MERGING RACIAL IMAGINARIES AND
% COMPLETELY PRESENTING THEM IN
% THE NEGATIVE LIGHT TO THE
% AMERICAN PUBLIC SO THAT WAS
% VERY, VERY DETRIMENTAL TO THE
% WAY IN WHICH THIS GROUP OF
% CUBANS EXPERIENCED RESETTLEMENT
% IN AREAS LIKE LACROSSE, SPARTA,
% YOU KNOW, WHERE AT THAT TIME,
% HAVING 200, YOU KNOW, BLACK MEN
% WALKING AROUND THE STREETS OF
% LACROSSE, GOING TO BARS WHERE
% THE SAME, YOU KNOW, COLLEGE
% STUDENTS OR BIKER GANGS WERE
% GOING WASN'T GOING TO END UP
% WELL, YOU KNOW, AND SO, INDEED,
% MANY OF THESE FOLKS WERE ENDING
% UP IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW, AND
% MANY OF THOSE CONFRONTATIONS
% WITH NEIGHBORS OR, YOU KNOW,
% CASES OF FIGHTS, BAR FIGHTS WERE
% STARTED BY WHITE WISCONSIN
% RESIDENTS, BUT WHAT YOU HAVE IN
% THE RED BIRD IS THE MANY, YOU
% KNOW, COURT CASES THAT WERE FOR
% CUBAN REFUGEES.
% IN PARTICULAR, IN LACROSSE
% COUNTY.
% >> SO BASED ON THE EXTENSIVE
% KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE OF 1980 AND
% WHAT WE UNDERSTAND ONLY A
% FRACTION OF THE CUBANS THAT CAME
% TO WISCONSIN CAME TO FORT
% McCOY AND ENDED UP RESETTLING.
% WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO SUPPORT
% THIS HUGE POPULATION OF AFGHAN
% REFUGEES, WHETHER THEY WILL BE
% HERE TEMPORARILY OR THEY SETTLE
% PERMANENTLY, AND WHAT DID WE GET
% WRONG IN 1980 THAT WE HAVE THE
% OPPORTUNITY TO GET RIGHT TODAY?
% >> RIGHT.
% SO I THINK A BIG PROBLEM IN 1980
% WAS EDUCATING THIS POPULATION
% AND ACTUAL STEPS, NOT ONLY THE
% REFUGEES, BUT THE SPONSORS,
% WHETHER IT IS AN ORGANIZATION,
% WHETHER IT IS A FAMILY, I THINK
% ONE OF THE BIGGEST, YOU KNOW,
% ERRORS OF THE TIME WAS THAT
% FEMA, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW,
% HANDLING DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS
% AT FORT McCOY ALONG WITH THE
% U.S. ARMY, OF COURSE, BASICALLY
% LEAVES THIS REFUGEE TO AN
% ORGANIZATION AND A FAMILY AND
% NEVER ACTUALLY REQUIRE THEM TO
% FOLLOW UP, NEVER ACTUALLY
% REQUIRE THEM TO GO THROUGH ANY
% SORT OF TRAINING TO WHAT'S NEXT,
% YOU KNOW, AND, AGAIN, JUST
% ASSUMING THAT THAT PERSON IS
% GOING TO BE OKAY WITH FOOD AND
% SHELTER.
% IT'S NOT ENOUGH.
% I MEAN, THIS IS, PARTICULARLY IN
% THE CASE OF SOMEBODY WHO DOESN'T
% SPEAK ENGLISH, YOU KNOW, THERE
% HAS TO BE LANGUAGE ACCESS TO
% THEM.
% I THINK LANGUAGE ACCESS, I MEAN,
% IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST
% IMPORTANT THINGS.
% TODAY, WE HAVE A POPULATION OF
% ABOUT 40 REFUGEINGS WHO STILL
% LIVE IN THE LACROSSE AREA AND
% HAVE TREMENDOUS DIFFICULTIES
% WITH ENGLISH AND TREMENDOUS
% DIFFICULTIES WITH ANY SORT OF
% SOCIAL OR LEGAL SERVICE BECAUSE
% THEY NEVER GOT IT RIGHT FROM THE
% BEGINNING.
% EDUCATING THE FAMILIES THAT ARE
% GOING TO WELCOME THESE FOLKS, IF
% THEY DO, INDEED, STAY IN THE
% AREA, WHICH IS UNKNOWN AT THIS
% TIME, EDUCATING THE
% ORGANIZATIONS IN TERMS OF, LIKE,
% WHAT ACTUAL STEPS ARE NECESSARY
% FOR THE PEOPLE TO GET THEIR
% REFUGEE AND ASYLUM STATUS IN THE
% PERIOD OF TIME THAT IS REQUIRED
% BY THE IMMIGRATION LAWS.
% WHAT SORT OF SUPPORT DO THEY
% NEED IN TERMS OF EDUCATION, NOT
% JUST GETTING ANY JOB, BUT WITH
% ACTUALLY HAVING ACCESS TO HIGHER
% EDUCATION, HAVING ACCESS TO
% FUNDS FROM THE STATE TO BE ABLE
% TO PARTICIPATE EQUALLY IN AN
% EQUITABLE WAY RATHER THAN JUST
% SAY, OKAY, THEY ARE FINE, YOU
% KNOW, THEY'RE WITH THE FAMILY,
% THEY'RE GOING TO BE OKAY.
% I THINK NOW IS ONE OF THE
% BIGGEST PROBLEMS AT THE TIME.
% I THINK ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE MADE
% WAS, AGAIN, AS WE DISCUSSED THE
% WAY IN WHICH THE PRESS
% APPROACHED THE EXODUS.
% THERE WAS ALWAYS A GOVERNMENT
% OFFICIAL AND, YOU KNOW, ANYBODY
% THAT HAS TO RESPOND TO THEIR
% CONSTITUENTS OR VIEWERSHIP IS
% ALWAYS VERY CAREFUL IN THE WAY
% THEY DISCUSS OR PRESENT AN ISSUE
% BECAUSE THEY, OBVIOUSLY, DON'T
% THE TO LOSE SUPPORT OF THAT
% POPULATION.%I THINK IT IS IM
PORTANT TO
% REMEMBER THAT THERE IS A HUMAN
% ASPECT TO WELCOMING THE REFUGEES
% THAT NEEDS TO PUT THAT, YOU KN
% KNOW, BEYOND ANY SORT OF, YOU
% KNOW, DUTY OR RESPONSIBILITY
% THAT YOU HAVE TO YOUR AUDIENCE,
% AND, YOU KNOW, EDUCATING THE
% POPULATION, YOU KNOW?
% THERE'S -- THESE POPULATIONS, I
% THINK, ACTUALLY HAS MANY MORE
% SIMILARITIES WITH MONG REFUGEES
% THAT SETTLED IN LACROSSE DURING
% THE '70s THAN THE GROUP THAT
% CAME FROM CUBA BECAUSE OF, YOU
% KNOW, AND I'M GUESSING THAT
% THESE WILL BE MORE FAMILIES,
% THIS WILL BE MORE WOMEN BECAUSE
% OF THE SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN
% AS OPPOSED TO THE GROUP THAT
% CAME FROM CUBA, WHICH WAS MOSTLY
% SINGLE MEN, AND SO THERE'S A LOT
% OF EDUCATION THAT NEEDS TO
% HAPPEN AT PLACES LIKE, YOU KNOW,
% UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
% CAMPUSESES, JUST A LOT OF WORK
% THAT STUDENTS AND FACULTY CAN
% DO, A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT
% CAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST UP
% TO RELIGIOUS GROUPS TO COME OUT
% AND HELP.
% I THINK, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING THAT
% THE PRESS CAN DO TO EDUCATE ON
% THIS SITUATION.
% AFGHANISTAN, APART FROM THE ROLE
% OF THE UNITED STATES' ARMY AND
% THE FAILURE OF THE BIDEN
% ADMINISTRATION AND ANYTHING LIKE
% THAT, JUST THE HISTORY OF THE
% TRAUMA, YOU KNOW, SHOWING PEOPLE
% WHAT IT'S LIKE TO GROW UP IN A
% COUNTRY THAT HAS BEEN AT WAR FOR
% 40 YEARS.
% AMERICANS, WE THINK ABOUT WAR AS
% SOMETHING THAT TAKES PLACE
% ELSEWHERE, YOU KNOW?
% IT'S VERY HARD FOR US TO IMAGINE
% WE HAVE WAR AT HOME, AND SO I
% THINK JUST, YOU KNOW, WITH MY
% STUDENTS SOMETIMES I TELL THEM,
% WHAT DO YOU GUYS WANT TO TALK
% ABOUT THIS SEMESTER?
% YOU KNOW, ANYTHING, CLIMATE
% CHANGE, FEMINISM, THIS AND THAT,
% BUT WAR IS NEVER AN ISSUE THAT
% COMES UP, AND I'M, LIKE, YOU'VE
% BEEN AT WAR SINCE YOU WERE BORN.
% ONLY DIFFERENCE IS IT'S NOT
% HAPPENED AT HOME SO IT IS HARD
% FOR YOU TO VISUALIZE AND IMAGINE
% WHAT IT'S LIKE TO THINK ABOUT,
% YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY WHO
% GREW UP AND WAS BORN AND GREW UP
% IN A COUNTRY WITH WAR, AND SO,
% YOU KNOW, I PLAN TO TALK ABOUT
% WITH MY STUDENTS ABOUT THAT THIS
% SEMESTER JUST TO GET THEM
% STARTED ON THAT WAY OF THINKING,
% YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT THE
% OTHER IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, IN
% TERMS OF A MIRROR OF YOURSELF.
% THERE'S A LOT OF EDUCATION TO BE
% DONE, ESPECIALLY UP HERE WHERE
% ISLAMAPHOBIA AND RACISM IS SO
% VISIBLE IN OUR COMMUNITES.
% >> WELL, WE NEED TO LEAVE IT
% THERE.
% OMAR GRANADOS, THANK YOU SO MUCH
% FOR JOINING US AND SHARING YOUR
% KNOWLEDGE OF THIS HISTORY AND
% EXPERIENCE.
% WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
% >> THANK YOU.
% >> FOR MORE FROM "HERE & NOW"
% AND PBS WISCONSIN, YOU CAN VISIT
% PBSWISCONSIN.ORG/NEWS, AND THANK%
YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US ON
% "NOON WEDNESDAY."