By Marie Mulvenna

For some 3,500 Cubans, the December resumption of one daily flight out of Cuba spells one thing – freedom. The airlifts are not a new thing for Cubans wishing to flee the country. Since the flights began in 1965 they have carried about 280,000 Cubans out of their nation. The flights were continued on a very regular schedule until August 1971, then on a more sporadic basis until last May when Cuba halted the flights, contending not enough people wanted to leave the country.

One planeload of people left Cuba on December 26, destination Miami. Four of the refugees have since arrived in Atlanta and two more are on their way, Father Raphael McDonald, O.F.M., Atlanta director of the Resettlement Division of the U.S. Catholic Conference, shared some data with The Bulletin.

Father McDonald explained that the recent resumption of the flights have, for the most part, handled older persons who are now joining members of their families in this country. During the last group of refugee airlifts Father noted that most of the refugees were younger persons seeking fresh starts, shelter, jobs and assistance.

Father McDonld’s office handled close to 1,000 refugees during the airlift exodus from Cuba but he does not anticipate more than a handful this time. He said the flights are expected to be stopped again very shortly and no one has any idea, when, or if, they would again resume.

Father described the process involved when the plane actually leaves Cuba enroute to the U.S. The first job is radioing ahead the passenger list, which is checked in Miami against a master list. The moment the plane arrives the federal government is on hand as well as the health department, which handles needed inoculations. Father said the refugees are then screened by governmental personnel, and the refugee then contacts one of four religious organizations involved in the resettlement process. The four groups are: United States Catholic Conference, International Rescue, H.I.A. (Jewish Resettlement) or Church World Service.

The group selected by the refugee, and in the case of most Cubans it is the U.S.C.C., must then take quick measures to assist them on their way to join friends or relatives. As Father explained, “We can’t keep them in Miami forever.”

Relatives of the refugee are then contacted and asked if they are willing to receive the refugee. Surprisingly, the answer is sometimes “no” and in that case the U.S.C.C. must then call a regional center, such as Atlanta, and ask if they will accept the person or persons. In that case, Father McDonald said, the local office must find housing, employment, furniture, etc. and make every effort to help the person get settled.

In Miami the refugee is given bare necessities such as toiletries, some clothing, food and shelter until he can be sent on. Father stated that once a refugee arrives in Atlanta he is brought to his office in the Catholic Center where he is given a small financial amount to help him begin life again. Father then counsels the newcomer on sources of medical care, eligibility for welfare and assistance from various bureaus. The refugee would then be taken to the St. Vincent de Paul Cuban meeting to see what kind of help could be given him – clothing, furniture etc. A close contact is maintained between Father’s office and the refugee. “Sort of a helping link,” Father terms it, explaining that very often the new person has no idea where to contact a Spanish-speaking doctor, dentist or other professional.

Three of the four refugees who arrived here in early January are living with relatives and two more Cubans, now enroute to Atlanta, will be joining a daughter in Decatur.

The other Cuban refugee is staying with friends in Atlanta, desperately trying to locate her son whom she last heard from in January 1971. Mrs. Maria Sanchez is 62, a widow, and her son Manuel escaped from Cuba in 1968. Apparently he is her only living relative and last word from him was from a hospital in Port Chester, N.Y. Father McDonald has already contacted authorities in Miami to see if they can trace the missing son and he has also made inquiries locally and in New York in search of the young man.

“She doesn’t talk about anything else,” Father says with the compassion that typifies his dealings with the scores of refugees who have passed through his small office on West Peachtree.

Father comments a bit sadly on the fate of other older people still remaining in Cuba, saying there is really no all-out effort on the part of officials to get them out of Cuba. “The old and the sick are pretty much forgotten about,” he says, explaining that Castro still hangs on to the workers and able-bodied younger men, even though the flow of refugees continues. He said some 30,000 refugees from Cuba are now living in Spain, flown there to await homes elsewhere. Airfare for most of the refugees in Spain has been paid for by relatives in the U.S. and Father stated most of the 30,000 would probably eventually arrive in the U.S. to join families and friends already relocated here.