By Rita McInerney

Twenty-one Cuban detainees began a three-month stay at an intermediate house south of Atlanta on Aug. 1. Nineteen of the men were formerly confined in a federal facility in Minneapolis, MN, while two were inmates at the Atlanta federal prison at the time of the revolt last November.

The facility is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice and sponsored by the Cuban-American National Council which was founded by Father Mario Vizcaino in the early 1970s. In 1980, the council established two intermediate houses in Detroit for Cuban detainees.

Ernesto Perez, a member of the parish council of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Atlanta, selected the council as sponsor while assigned to the Cuban Placement Program of the Community Relations Services, U.S. Department of Justice. He was associated with the national program from Feb. 1 to Aug. 1 of this year. He is back now at his work as an environmental engineer with the Environmental Protection Agency in downtown Atlanta.

The Atlanta-area house is the first such facility to be opened since the November, 1987, riot at the federal prison here, he said.

Perez' assignment with the program is the result of his relationship over the years with the Cuban detainees and their families through his radio show, "With a Cuban Taste," over WRFG (Radio Free Georgia). The show was transmitted into the prison daily during the siege and is credited with helping to keep the Cuban detainees calm and their hostages unharmed.

The broadcasts kept the Cubans aware of developments on the outside, brought them word of their families, and had a role in forging the agreement which brought Bishop Augustin Roman, auxiliary bishop of Miami, to the prison for the surrender.

Perez said 17 of the men at the facility are employed in fast food jobs, with a painting firm, and as construction laborers. One man works two jobs.

Most of the men are single, in their 20s and 30s. They have been screened by an Immigration and Naturalization Service panel and found releasable to the community. Other detainees have been released to their families.

While living at the intermediate facility, the men receive guidance and job counseling. Most of them speak conversational English, are from working class backgrounds, and hope to gain job security in order to establish permanent residence in this country.

Saturnino Delgado, of St. Philip Benizi parish in Jonesboro, is house director. He was held hostage all 11 days of the prison revolt last November. He is assisted by eight counselors who work eight-hour shifts round the clock, a secretary and two job developers.

The big need, Perez stressed, is for jobs. Anyone, he said, with jobs that could be filed by the detainees, can contact Vicky Gonzalez on the Hispanic Hotline at 404-888-7841.

Many of the people who visited and prayed with the Cuban detainees at the Atlanta prison continue their ministry with the men at the intermediate house. "There is a good community interaction," Perez said.

"They are in need of establishing friendships," he said. "It is a new territory for spreading mission." The men can be visited in the evening, he adds.

The friendships can spring from contacts made on the educational, social or recreational levels.

Max Muñoz of IHM, and Joaquin Davila, of the Cathedral of Christ the King, visit each week with other men from their parishes to pray and talk with the residents.

Lily Delgado and Mercy Pinacas, of St. Philip Benizi in Jonesboro, are organizing a picnic for them.

Reimberto Rodriguez, of IHM, is setting up basketball games to be played with Hispanic youth of his parish.

Dr. Rene Delgado talks to the men about the danger of drugs and offers advice on personal hygiene.

Alvaro Muñoz, of Trust Company Bank, explains how to manage money.

Henry Rodriguez, of Sacred Heart parish, teaches them about civics.

Genaro Sanchez, a young Cuban-American police sergeant, informs them of facts they need to know about the law.

The men present no problems on the job or in the area where the facility is located, Perez said. They are allowed weekend passes but are required to stay in the metropolitan Atlanta area.

"It's nice to have someone come and visit," Perez admits. "I know how it feels." He knew as a teenager who came to the U.S. from Castro's Cuba in 1962 without his parents. With 39 other Cuban youths he lived in a government boy's home in Albuquerque, NM, supervised by three Marist Brothers and operated through Catholic Charities. At 18 he left the program and entered the University of New Mexico where he earned a degree in civil engineering.

Today, he and his wife Lourdes have three children, Ernesto, Jr., Eduardo and Maria Elena.