Resettlement re-cap: a periodic report from the Cuban Refugee Center, May 1963

              SPONSOR CUBAN REFUGEES
Fulfill Their Faith in Freedom
MAY   1963
RESETTLEMENT   RE-CAP
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
MARSHALL WISE,  Director,  Refugee Center
JOHN FREDERICK THOMAS, Director, Washington, D. C.
J. ARTHUR LAZELL, Deputy Director For Resettlement HARRY  B.   LYFORD,  Editor
CHURCH WORLD SERVICE RESETTLES 10,000th
THE SCORE
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Refugees in Miami, over 	
REGISTERED
Week ending April 26 	
Since January 1961 	
RESETTLED
Week ending April 26 	
Since January 1961 	
By Agencies since January 1961:
Catholic Relief 	
International Rescue 	
Church World Service 	
United HIAS 	
100,000
121
162,550
283
58,540
33,636
12,761
10,239
1,903
Before departure, the 10,000th Cuban refugee to be resettled by Church World Service sees his family's destination -- Demarest, N.J. --
pointed out on the map by Rev. Earl Redding, CWS director at the U.S. Cuban Refugee Center.  The refugee is Victor Diaz, aged 42.  At
his side are his wife, Matilde, and son, Tomas Luis, aged 11.  Members of the Demarest Baptist Church, sponsors of the family, met them
at the Newark airport.  Awaiting were job interviews for Mr. Diaz, a furnished home and a supply of food.  In Cuba he was an assistant
pharmacist in a laboratory.  (Total resettlements from the Center now exceed 58,540.)
STORY OF A HERO AND A HEEL (Cuban Refugee Style)
He reached for a shoe, carved out a gasket from the rubber heel, and relieved tense moments
in a recent small boat escape from Cuba.  By such ingenuity is freedom won in the continuing
drama of the Florida Straits.  In a 17-foot open craft three men and three women were crowded
for the perilous run from police state oppression.  At first only oars were used, in fear of
detection by the militia patrol.  Later, one of the two outboard motors was started.  When it
stopped and defied repair it was tossed overboard, and the second was swung into service. For
a few hours all went well, then silence.  The water pump appeared "gone," with no repair parts
aboard.  The unnamed hero of the moment was not a motor expert, but when told the description
of the part needed, he reached for his man's shoe version of a "Cuban heel" (made these days
in Cuba from old auto tires), and used his knife to improvise the vital need.  The motor
purred on to safety, and the story was told at the U.S. Cuban Refugee Center.  Small boat arrivals from Cuba during March totaled 13, bringing 91 persons (65 men, 14 women and 12 children. )  Since June 1961 refugee arrivals by small boat total 4,381 persons, in 475 boats.
A RESETTLEMENT STATEMENT BY THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
The urgency of a speed-up in the resettlement of Cuban refugees has
been re-stressed by John Frederick Thomas, Washington, D.C, Director
of the Cuban Refugee Program.  Mr. Thomas has urged each Cuban refugee
in Miami, in the light of recent developments on the international
scene, to speak with the representative of his resettlement agency so
that he might review opportunities for relocation.  Citing the many
generous offers of sponsorships and jobs that have already brought
about the resettlement of more than 58,000 refugees throughout the
country, Mr. Thomas sees a continuing challenge in the number of refugees still in Miami.  He updates the resettlement need, as follows:
"Most refugees have arrived without resources. To help them meet the
basic needs of existence, the federal government makes financial assistance available to them -- until they can become self-supporting. The refugees possess education, talents, skills, and experience. They have the
(Concluded on Page 2)
MR. THOMAS