Resettlement re-cap: a periodic report from the Cuban Refugee Center, August 1966

              SPONSOR CUBAN REFUGEES
Fulfill Their Faith in Freedom
AUGUST 1966
RESETTLEMENT RE-CAP
FOR   ADMINISTRATIVE    USE
A PERIODIC REPORT FROM THE CUBAN REFUGEE CENTER — FREEDOM TOWER, MIAMI 32, FLORIDA
U.  S.   DEPARTMENT OF  HEALTH,  EDUCATION,  AND   WELFARE     —    WELFARE  ADMINISTRATION
U.S.  CUBAN  REFUGEE  PROGRAM JOHN FREDERICK THOMAS, Director, Washington, D. C.
HOWARD  H.   PALMATIER, Assistant  Program   Director
MARSHALL WISE, Director of Center HARRY B.  LYFORD, Editor
RICHMOND OFFERS THEM NEW LIVES
With the Stars and Stripes of the United States
and the Star and Stripes of the Cuba they hope
can be freed from communism, these resettled
Cuban refugees were photographed in the community where they have found opportunities in
freedom -- Richmond, Va.  They are: Mrs. Ondina Diez, second from left in background, and
Mrs. Maria Lopez, shown with members of their
families, Pedro Diez, 17; Roberto Lopez, 12;
Alfred Diez, 4; Anna Diez, 14; and Ondina Diez,
16, who holds a pennant in the red, white and
blue of the Cuban flag.  Mrs. Lopez, recently
arrived from Cuba, hopes her husband can come
from there soon.  Mrs. Diez, whose employed
husband is not in the picture, said:  "Without
the help of many kind Americans, especially
members of the church, I don't see how we could
have managed." The Diez daughters, busy with
their high school activities, agree that "we
like Richmond, and we hope to see more of the
United States." Richmond has more than 300
Cuban refugees. — Photo Courtesy Richmond
NEWS-LEADER.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR THOMAS CITES FACTOR IN
T REMARKABLE RESETTLEMENT RECORDf
MA remarkable resettlement record11 has been made in the U*S. airlift of Cuban refugees, in the words of Cuban Refugee Program Director John F. Thomas, which are entered into the record of the Subcommittee to Investigate Problems of Refugees and Escapees, Committee of the Judiciary, U.S. Senate.
"In approaching the ninth month (August) since initiation, on
December 1, 1965, of the airlift, many fears of the skeptics have
not been realized,11 according to his statement.  "There were doubts
as to the capability of our economy to receive thousands of refugees
from Cuba.  As of July 29, 1966, we have permitted entry of 29,661
on the airlift.  As of the same date, we have resettled away from
Miami, since the airlift began, 23,854 refugees.  The number of resettlements for this period is equal to 73 percent of the number of
refugees arriving.  This remarkable record has been made possible by
several factors:
"1. The Cuban government has followed Memorandum of Understanding
procedures in a very satisfying manner, with no attempts tofoff-loadf
difficult cases, such as the ill, lame and blind.
"2. Due to the adherence to agreement terms, close relatives of
Cubans already in the U.S. have been coming in.  Since we had earlier resettled refugees in nearly 3,000 communities, relatives now
coming go on from Miami to join their families in much the same pattern of resettlement.
"3. Cooperation of incoming refugees has been most commendable.
They join their families quickly and, once reunited, seek employment
immediately.
"4. The Voluntary Resettlement Agencies, and the people they represent, have gone all out to prove the generosity of the American
people in their concern for their fellow men.  Without such assistance the government would have been hard-pressed to carry out such
an effective resettlement program.
"It has been my experience over the years that one of the most
difficult obstacles to overcome is the belief on the part of many
people that any form of assistance to refugees in tantamount to
creating mendicants — I have held the belief that man wants to be
productive and that he wishes to live in self-dignity and self-
support. ..If help, offered in sympathy and understanding, is not immediately available to unfortunates, their chances of early recovery
diminish—Giving assistance to refugees is not creating beggars,
and this view should be buried for all time.. .Man needs only understanding, a temporary helping hand, and an equal opportunity to have
a fair shake at a normal life in his new environment among strangers,
to become once again productive and independent of public aid.  We
have followed this general philosophy in carrying out the Cuban Refugee Program and we like to believe that the results obtained bear
out the appropriateness of this approach..."
CUBAN REFUGEE PROGRAM FILMS
continue available for free loan to churches, civic organizations, and other community groups.  Address requests to
Cuban Refugee Program, U.S. Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare, Washington, D.C. 20202