This atmosphere of dialogue and
reconciliation could be felt everywhere on this
second day of talks, definitively reflecting a new
phase in the process of improving relations
between Cuba and the entire Cuban community
resident abroad.
The Saturday morning session of the
3rd Nation and Emigration Conference was entirely
devoted to the emigration question, with a broad
participation from the 450-plus guests, the Cuban
authorities constantly expressing their will to
follow through to the end in the process of the
normalization of relations with the Cuban émigrés,
the sole obstacle being the aggressive policy of
the US government and its blockade.
During several hours, with dozens of
speeches from the delegates, mostly from the
United States but also from some 40 other
countries, a "wide-ranging, frank and open debate"
took place, the only limit being the time
available to discuss all the issues of interest to
the participants, according to Benigno Pérez, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ main organizer of the
event.
"We are looking for ways to make
sure that everyone that wants to say something can
communicate their message directly or in writing.
We are thinking of alternatives so that individual
problems can be aired in private and those that
are general can be included in the Conference
final report," Pérez said. "We are already meeting
individually with many of the participants who
have personal concerns, with the intention of
starting to process those problems right away."
The Conference organizer also
stressed that the welcome measures related to
customs procedures for Cubans visiting the island
are to be introduced very soon, the main solution
being that the value of the goods that Cubans
bring into the country is to be determined
essentially by their weight, which would eliminate
"unpleasant arguments" between customs agents and
those travelers. Duty would then be paid strictly
according to excess weight indicated by electronic
equipment.
Pérez also mentioned that one
delegate had proposed that Cuba grant citizenship
to two elderly persons living in Tampa, who were
born in this US city to Cuban cigar workers long
before the Revolution, and who have always
sustained a patriotic attitude towards the island.
The idea will certainly be considered, he
affirmed.
Many delegates expressed their
condemnation of the new anti-Cuban measures
announced by the Bush administration, some of
which seriously affect Cuban- American émigrés.
They are to be prevented from traveling freely to
the island, with visits cut back to once every
three years, even in cases of extreme emergency;
the amount of money they can send to relatives on
the island is to be reduced; and the definition of
who can be considered a close relative is to be
changed.
Many of the guests expressed their
solidarity with the island’s struggle and openly
denounced the cruel situation of the five Cuban
patriots imprisoned in five different U.S.
jails.
