Operation Pedro Pan And The Exodus Of Cuba S Children

Author : Deborah Shnookal
Publisher : University Press of Florida
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2022-06-28
Category : History
ISBN : 9781683401995

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Operation Pedro Pan and the Exodus of Cuba's Children by Deborah Shnookal Pdf

This in-depth examination of one of the most controversial episodes in U.S.-Cuba relations sheds new light on the program that airlifted 14,000 unaccompanied children to the United States in the wake of the Cuban Revolution. Operation Pedro Pan is often remembered within the U.S. as an urgent “rescue” mission, but Deborah Shnookal points out that a multitude of complex factors drove the exodus, including Cold War propaganda and the Catholic Church’s opposition to the island’s new government. Shnookal illustrates how and why Cold War scare tactics were so effective in setting the airlift in motion, focusing on their context: the rapid and profound social changes unleashed by the 1959 Revolution, including the mobilization of 100,000 Cuban teenagers in the 1961 national literacy campaign. Other reforms made by the revolutionary government affected women, education, religious schools, and relations within the family and between the races. Shnookal exposes how, in its effort to undermine support for the revolution, the U.S. government manipulated the aspirations and insecurities of more affluent Cubans. She traces the parallel stories of the young “Pedro Pans” separated from their families—in some cases indefinitely—in what is often regarded in Cuba as a mass “kidnapping” and the children who stayed and joined the literacy brigades. These divergent journeys reveal many underlying issues in the historically fraught relationship between the U.S. and Cuba and much about the profound social revolution that took place on the island after 1959. Publication of the paperback edition made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Author : Yvonne Conde
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 284 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2002-05-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781135957476

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Operation Pedro Pan by Yvonne Conde Pdf

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Author : Yvonne M. Conde
Publisher : University Press of Florida
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2023-10-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9781683404002

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Operation Pedro Pan by Yvonne M. Conde Pdf

Poignant stories from one of the world’s largest political exoduses of children Praise for the first edition: “Compelling reading.”—New Republic “A collection of tearful testimonies woven with a tale of the event that unfolded in Cuba and led desperate parents to make the heart-wrenching decision to send their children along to a foreign country.”—Miami Herald “[Conde] does an impressive job of reporting dozens of personal stories and fascinating vignettes. . . . A compilation of tales, some moving, many astonishing.”—Chicago Tribune “A well-researched history of Operation Pedro Pan, a portrait of early revolutionary Cuba and a compendium of testimony from the now-grown children.”—Publishers Weekly “The book’s primary value lies in the individual stories, from tearful departure and arrival in Miami to temporary shelters and placement in homes or, in some cases, in orphanages; to learning a new language and adjusting and, in many cases, assimilating; to reunions with parents, adolescence in the ’60s and ’70s, and adulthood.”—Booklist “Conde does an excellent job of narrating the essential outline of the history of Operation Pedro Pan, and an equally superb job of analyzing the circumstances that created this exodus, from the viewpoint of those who felt compelled to create it and keep it going. . . . Operation Pedro Pan is . . . as much a primary source as it is a work of history, as much a window onto a mentality as it is a guide to events, names, and institutions.”—Carlos M. N. Eire, Hispanic American Historical Review “Fascinating is the least one can say about this book. It’s the story of thousands of Cuban children who wouldn’t grow up under communism and were sent by their parents to the never-never land of America. Some of them lived happily ever after because this version of Peter Pan is a tragedy with a happy ending sometimes. Fidel Castro, by the way, plays a very credible Captain Hook.”—Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cervantes Prize‒winning novelist On August 11, 1961, at the age of ten, Yvonne Conde left Cuba in one of the world’s largest political exoduses of children in history—Operation Pedro Pan. Between 1960 and 1962 over 14,000 children were sent out of Cuba alone by desperate parents who feared for their children’s future under Castro. Unlike Peter Pan, however, these children continued to grow up even while separated from their families. As the children arrived in temporary camps in Miami, volunteers such as Father Bryan O. Walsh helped them find new homes across the country. Conde tracked down hundreds of these children to tell their diverse stories—their uplifting, poignant, and sometimes tragic experiences in American foster homes and orphanages. Because Conde herself was a Pedro Pan child, others have opened up to her like never before to share their feelings about this painful time in their lives. Today, these children and their families struggle to heal the emotional scars of their long separation. In this edition, with a new prologue, Conde looks back on Operation Pedro Pan from the vantage point of six decades and brings readers up to date on events and discoveries since the groundbreaking first publication of this book in 1999. Writing with compassion and rare insight, Conde uncovers the true tales of a little-known episode of the Cold War.

Author : Victor Andres Triay
Publisher : University Press of Florida
Page : 136 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2016-12-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780813063034

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Fleeing Castro by Victor Andres Triay Pdf

"The first complete and comprehensive work on these important, unique programs. . . . An interesting, humane, yet tragic component of the post-1959 Cuban experience and the Cold War in general."--Antonio Benitez-Rojo, Amherst College "The ordeal began [for the children] when their parents told them they had to travel alone and that they had to keep the upcoming trip a secret. The most powerful parts of the book are their accounts. . . . Through interviews with many of the participants—the children and their parents, the coordinators of the airlift, those in the underground in Cuba and the Catholic sponsors in the United States—Triay attempts to answer many of the questions the exodus raised."--Miami Herald A stirring account of the covert effort to smuggle Cuban children into the United States in the aftermath of Fidel Castro's rise to power, Fleeing Castro brings to light the humanitarian program designed to care for the children once they arrived and the hardship and suffering endured by the families who took part in Operation Pedro Pan. From late 1960 until the October 1962 missile crisis, 14,048 unaccompanied Cuban children left their homeland, the small island suddenly at the center of the Cold War struggle. Their parents, unable to obtain visas to leave Cuba, believed a short separation would be preferable to subjecting their offspring to Castro's totalitarian Marxist state. For the children, the exodus began a prolonged and tragic ordeal--some didn’t see their parents again for years; a few never did. Until now, this chapter of the Cuban Revolution has been relatively obscure. Initially the result of an effort by James Baker, headmaster of an American school in Cuba who worked closely with the anti-Castro underground, Pedro Pan quickly came to involve the Catholic Church in Miami and, in particular, Father Bryan Walsh, who established the Cuban Children's Program, the nationwide organization that cared for those children without relatives or friends in the United States--almost half of them. The latter program, in effect until 1981, was the first to allot federal money to private agencies for child care, an action with far-reaching repercussions for U.S. social policy. Victor Andres Triay traces this story from its political and social origins in Cuba, setting it in the context of the Cold War and describing the roles of the organizations involved in Cuba and in the United States. Making use of extensive interviews with Baker, Walsh, and influential underground figures, as well as personal letters that document the fears and dreams of both the parents and the children, Triay presents this history of Pedro Pan--the largest child refugee movement ever in the Western Hemisphere--with the drama of an international thriller and the pathos of a heartbreaking family drama.

Author : Josefina Leyva
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Cuban fiction
ISBN : 1937030059

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Operation Pedro Pan by Josefina Leyva Pdf

Author : Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Publisher : Yearling
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2011-12-13
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9780375854897

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The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez Pdf

The Red Umbrella is a moving tale of a 14-year-old girl's journey from Cuba to America as part of Operation Pedro Pan—an organized exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children, whose parents sent them away to escape Fidel Castro's revolution. In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. And soon, Lucía's parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States—on their own. Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl? The Red Umbrella is a touching story of country, culture, family, and the true meaning of home. “Captures the fervor, uncertainty and fear of the times. . . . Compelling.” –The Washington Post “Gonzalez deals effectively with separation, culture shock, homesickness, uncertainty and identity as she captures what is also a grand adventure.” –San Francisco Chronicle

Author : Maria Torres
Publisher : Beacon Press
Page : 344 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2004-08-15
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780807002339

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The Lost Apple by Maria Torres Pdf

From 1960 to 1962, 14,048 Cuban minors arrived in Miami. María de los Angeles Torres was six years old when she took part in this massive airlift-now known as Operation Pedro Pan-in which parents, terrified that the new communist government would ship their children to Soviet work camps, sent them instead to America. Torres examines the event from both a historical and a personal perspective. This 'relentless investigator of history' (Miami Herald) forces declassification of key documents, challenging us all finally to come to terms with this pivotal yet largely neglected exodus.

Author : Maria Torres
Publisher : Beacon Press
Page : 344 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2004-08-15
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780807002339

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The Lost Apple by Maria Torres Pdf

From 1960 to 1962, 14,048 Cuban minors arrived in Miami. María de los Angeles Torres was six years old when she took part in this massive airlift-now known as Operation Pedro Pan-in which parents, terrified that the new communist government would ship their children to Soviet work camps, sent them instead to America. Torres examines the event from both a historical and a personal perspective. This 'relentless investigator of history' (Miami Herald) forces declassification of key documents, challenging us all finally to come to terms with this pivotal yet largely neglected exodus.

Author : Catherine Krull
Publisher : University Press of Florida
Page : 350 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2014-01-20
Category : History
ISBN : 9780813048628

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Cuba in a Global Context by Catherine Krull Pdf

Cuba in a Global Context examines the unlikely prominence of the island nation's geopolitical role. The contributors to this volume explore the myriad ways in which Cuba has not only maintained but often increased its reach and influence in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. From the beginning, the Castro regime established a foreign policy that would legitimize the revolutionary government, if not in the eyes of the United States at least in the eyes of other global actors. The essays in this volume shed new light on Cuban diplomacy with communist China as well as with Western governments such as Great Britain and Canada. In recent years, Cubans have improved their lives in the face of the ongoing U.S. embargo. The promotion of increased economic and political cooperation between Cuba and Venezuela served as a catalyst for the Petrocaribe group. Links established with countries in the Caribbean and Central America have increased tourism, medical diplomacy, and food sovereignty across the region. Cuban transnationalism has also succeeded in creating people-to-people contacts involving those who have remained on the island and members of the Cuban diaspora. While the specifics of Cuba's international relations are likely to change as new leaders take over, the role of Cubans working to assert their sovereignty has undoubtedly impacted every corner of the globe.

Author : Carlos Eire
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2012-12-11
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781471108358

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Waiting For Snow In Havana by Carlos Eire Pdf

A childhood in a privileged household in 1950s Havana was joyous and cruel, like any other-but with certain differences. The neighbour's monkey was liable to escape and run across your roof. Surfing was conducted by driving cars across the breakwater. Lizards and firecrackers made frequent contact. Carlos Eire's childhood was a little different from most. His father was convinced he had been Louis XVI in a past life. At school, classmates with fathers in the Batista government were attended by chauffeurs and bodyguards. At a home crammed with artifacts and paintings, portraits of Jesus spoke to him in dreams and nightmares. Then, in January 1959, the world changes: Batista is suddenly gone, a cigar-smoking guerrilla has taken his place, and Christmas is cancelled. The echo of firing squads is everywhere. And, one by one, the author's schoolmates begin to disappear-spirited away to the United States. Carlos will end up there himself, without his parents, never to see his father again. Narrated with the urgency of a confession, WAITING FOR SNOW IN HAVANA is both an ode to a paradise lost and an exorcism. More than that, it captures the terrible beauty of those times in our lives when we are certain we have died-and then are somehow, miraculously, reborn.

Author : José Manuel García
Publisher : University Press of Florida
Page : 176 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2018-02-16
Category : History
ISBN : 9780813063393

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Voices from Mariel by José Manuel García Pdf

Between April and September 1980, more than 125,000 Cuban refugees fled their homeland, seeking freedom from Fidel Castro's dictatorship. They departed in boats from the port of Mariel and braved the dangerous 90-mile journey across the Straits of Florida. Told in the words of the immigrants themselves, the stories in Voices from Mariel offer an up-close view of this international crisis, the largest oversea mass migration in Latin American history. Former refugees describe what it was like to gather among thousands of dissidents on the grounds of the Peruvian embassy in Cuba, where the movement first began. They were abused by the masses who protested them as they made their way to the Mariel harbor, before they were finally permitted to leave the country by Castro in an attempt to disperse the civil unrest. They waited interminably for boats in oppressive heat, squalor, and desperation at the crowded tent camp known as "El Mosquito." They embarked on vessels overloaded with too many passengers and battled harrowing storms on their journeys across the open ocean. Author Jose Manuel Garcia, who emigrated on the Mariel boatlift as a teenager, describes the events that led to the exodus and explains why so many Cubans wanted to leave the island. The shockingly high numbers of refugees who came through immigration centers in Key West, Miami, and other parts of the United States was a message--loud and clear--to the world of the people's discontent with Castro’s government and the unfulfilled promises of the Cuban Revolution. Based on the award-winning documentary of the same name, Voices from Mariel features the experiences of marielitos from all walks of life. These are stories of disappointed dreams, love for family and country, and hope for a better future. This book illuminates a powerful moment in history that will continue to be felt in Cuba and the United States for generations to come.

Author : Enrique Flores-Galbis
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
Page : 301 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2010-08-03
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9781429969673

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90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis Pdf

When Julian's parents make the heartbreaking decision to send him and his two brothers away from Cuba to Miami via the Pedro Pan operation, the boys are thrust into a new world where bullies run rampant and it's not always clear how best to protect themselves. 90 Miles to Havana is a 2011 Pura Belpre Honor Book for Narrative and a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Author : Esteban E. Loustaunau,Lauren E. Shaw
Publisher : University Press of Florida
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2021-11-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9781683403234

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Telling Migrant Stories by Esteban E. Loustaunau,Lauren E. Shaw Pdf

In the media, migrants are often portrayed as criminals; they are frequently dehumanized, marginalized, and unable to share their experiences. Telling Migrant Stories explores how contemporary documentary film gives voice to Latin American immigrants whose stories would not otherwise be heard. The essays in the first part of the volume consider the documentary as a medium for Latin American immigrants to share their thoughts and experiences on migration, border crossings, displacement, and identity. Contributors analyze films including Harvest of Empire, Sin país, The Vigil, De nadie, Operation Peter Pan: Flying Back to Cuba, Abuelos, La Churona, and Which Way Home, as well as internet documentaries distributed via platforms such as Vimeo and YouTube. They examine the ways these films highlight the individual agency of immigrants as well as the global systemic conditions that lead to mass migrations from Latin American countries to the United States and Europe. The second part of the volume features transcribed interviews with documentary filmmakers, including Luis Argueta, Jenny Alexander, Tin Dirdamal, Heidi Hassan, and María Cristina Carrillo Espinosa. They discuss the issues surrounding migration, challenges they faced in the filmmaking process, the impact their films have had, and their opinions on documentary film as a force of social change. They emphasize that because the genre is grounded in fact rather than fiction, it has the ability to profoundly impact audiences in a way narrative films cannot. Documentaries prompt viewers to recognize the many worlds migrants depart from, to become immersed in the struggles portrayed, and to consider the stories of immigrants with compassion and solidarity. Contributors: Ramón Guerra | Lizardo Herrera | Jared List | Esteban Loustaunau | Manuel F. Medina | Ada Ortúzar-Young | Thomas Piñeros Shields | Juan G. Ramos | Lauren Shaw | Zaira Zarza A volume in the series Reframing Media, Technology, and Culture in Latin/o America, edited by Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste and Juan Carlos Rodríguez

Author : Gronbeck-Tedesco John A. Gronbeck-Tedesco
Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
Page : 349 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2022-10
Category : History
ISBN : 9781640125612

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Operation Pedro Pan by Gronbeck-Tedesco John A. Gronbeck-Tedesco Pdf

At the outset the proposal seemed modest: transfer two hundred unaccompanied Cuban children to Miami to save them from communism. The time apart from their parents would be short, only until Fidel Castro fell from power by the result of U.S. force, Cuban counterrevolutionary tactics, or a combination of both. Families would be reunited in a matter of months. A plan was hatched, and it worked--until it ballooned into something so unwieldy that within two years the modest proposal erupted into what at the time was the largest migration of unaccompanied minors to the United States. Operation Pedro Pan explores the undertaking sponsored by the Miami Catholic Diocese, federal and state offices, child welfare agencies, and anti-Castro Cubans to bring more than fourteen thousand unaccompanied children to the United States during the Cold War. Operation Pedro Pan was the colloquial name for the Unaccompanied Cuban Children's Program, which began under government largesse in February 1961. Children without immediate family support in the United States--some 8,300 minors--received group and foster care through the Catholic Welfare Bureau and other religious, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations as young people were dispersed throughout the country. Using personal interviews and newly unearthed information, Operation Pedro Pan provides a deeper understanding of how and why the program was devised. John A. Gronbeck-Tedesco demonstrates how the seemingly mundane conditions of everyday life can suddenly uproot civilians from their routines of work, church, and school and thrust them into historical prominence. The stories told by Pedro Pans are filled with horror and resilience and contribute to a refugee memory that still shapes Cuban American politics and identity today.

Author : Betty Viamontes
Publisher : Independently Published
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2020-11-23
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798569651306

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The Pedro Pan Girls by Betty Viamontes Pdf

In 1961, Olivia and Clarisa become part of an exodus that brings over 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban children to the United States: Operation Pedro Pan. What should have been a short separation will mark the transformation of their lives. Fifty-five years later, they go back to Cuba. Will they find the closure they so desperately seek?