Revisiting the Balsero Crisis and Its Aftermath
Twenty Years Later: A Symposium
When: September 4, 2014 | 2:00 PM
Where: FIU Modesto A. Maidique Campus | Graham Center 150
On August 12, 1994, Fidel Castro announced that his government would let those Cubans who wanted to leave the island do so in any way they could. For the third time after Camarioca (1965) and Mariel (1980), the Castro regime encouraged a sudden and mass migration to the United States. Thousands of people took to the sea in small boats, homemade rafts, inner tubes, refurbished vehicles and anything that floated. The ensuing balsero (rafter) crisis dramatized mounting social pressures due to worsening living conditions in Cuba during the so-called Special Period in Times of Peace.
The Cuban Research Institute has invited a distinguished group of scholars, artists, and professionals who were directly involved with the balsero crisis, to share their personal experiences and perspectives during and after the events of August-September 1994. We hope our guests will help us understand the long-term consequences of the post-Soviet Cuban exodus as well as its impact in Miami, Florida, and beyond. Confirmed participants include:
• Dr. Holly Ackerman, Duke University Libraries
• Dr. Eugenio Rothe, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, FIU
• Mr. Siro del Castillo, Manuel Perea P.E. Consulting Engineers
• Mr. Willy Castellanos, Photographer, Aluna Curatorial Collective
• Mr. José Basulto, Brothers to the Rescue
Sponsored by the Cuban Research Institute (CRI) at FIU. Cosponsored by the Frost Art Museum at FIU.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information and to RSVP, please call (305)348–1991 or write cri@fiu.edu.
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To Adjust or Not to Adjust?
A Seminar on the Cuban Adjustment Act
When: September 16, 2014 | 6:00 PM
Where: Modesto A. Maidique Campus | Rafael Díaz Balart Hall 1000
Since 1966, the Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA) has regulated the entrance of Cubans into the United States. This law stipulates that Cuban citizens and their accompanying spouses and children may become permanent residents of the United States one year after arriving in the country. This automatic application process is exclusive to Cuban immigrants. After the 1994 immigration agreement signed by the Cuban and U.S. governments, only those Cubans who reach U.S. soil are covered by the CAA, while those intercepted at sea before reaching U.S. soil are returned to Cuba. This “adjustment” to the CAA is known as the “wet foot / dry foot” policy.
This seminar will convene several legal experts to discuss the implications, relevance, and future of the Cuban Adjustment Act. Confirmed participants include:
• Mr. R. Alexander Acosta, Dean, FIU College of Law
• Mr. Pedro A. Freyre, Chair, International Practice, Akerman LLP
• Professor José Gabilondo, FIU College of Law
• Professor Juan Carlos Gómez, FIU College of Law
The seminar is free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Cuban Research Institute (CRI) at FIU. Co-sponsored by the FIU College of Law.
To RSVP and for more information, please call (305) 348–1991 or write cri@fiu.edu.