{"id":268344,"date":"2023-04-19T15:46:26","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T19:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=268344"},"modified":"2023-04-19T15:46:26","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T19:46:26","slug":"cubans-on-the-balkan-route-between-luck-and-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/migration\/cubans-on-the-balkan-route-between-luck-and-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Cubans on the Balkan route, between luck and tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The news that <\/span>Serbia would start requiring visas from Cuban travelers<\/span><\/a> not only put an end to the exemption regime that those on the island had enjoyed until then; furthermore, it has marked the closure, at least partially, of one of the most disorderly and massive chapters of Cuban emigration to the European Union via the Balkans.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is difficult to pin down an exact amount, but there are hundreds of testimonies from Cubans who in recent times have crossed half of Europe through the Balkan Peninsula to reach Italy or Spain, preferred destinations due to cultural proximity and the presence of a large compatriot community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some, like Jaime and his family, are lucky and reach their final destination in a few days. But even in those cases it is not an easy journey. Jaime, a doctor from Matanzas, traveled to Belgrade with his wife and two children with the aim of trying to cross over to Spain from there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I left Cuba, I was motivated by a feeling of unease, shortages, frustration after burning the midnight oil and trying so hard to be a good professional, not being able to make a decent living from work. And the future of my children, who with the situation no longer wanted to study. Before they ended up <\/span>inventing<\/span><\/i>, we preferred to leave,\u201d he tells <\/span>OnCuba<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Boarding at Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ed Airport the Turkish Airlines flight that would take them to Belgrade. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFrom there we contacted a person in Spain who had done the journey, and he promised to guide us from a distance along the same path. He explained to us more or less what it would be like; but nothing they tell you prepares you for what you\u2019ll have to face,\u201d he warns.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought of leaving Cuba in that way or subjecting my children to this; but neither was I willing to leave them behind. The journey is hard. In the most difficult moments of the early morning, the cold and so on, you question yourself if you made the right decision,\u201d Jaime confesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

The family arrived in Serbia without incident. From there they left by bus to Bosnia, a country that they would cross by taxi, \u201cabout 500 km in 5 hours,\u201d the doctor recalls the trip at full speed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Cuban flag seen from the taxi in Bosnia. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSupposedly the most difficult trek would be when crossing the border from Bosnia to Croatia. It was 18 km; although in practice it was much more. It is not on solid ground, but muddy. There was snow (it was in February), it was melting, but it remained on the shores. We had to cross a mountain until we reached the river, almost breaking through the scrubland, with the backpack and the children, with branches scratching you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

They searched for the lowest water level to cross, \u201cprobing with a stick. At first it seemed to come down to the knees, but in the middle, up to the waist. You can imagine, if there was melting snow that water was ice cold.\u201d He had to cross six times, he remembers, first loaded with backpacks; then, with the girl and, finally, with his wife and the boy, \u201call of this barefoot so as not to wet the shoes, stepping on stones below the water. I ended up with my feet full of bumps and scratches, without any sensitivity. I thought they were going to have to be amputated. The cold was too much.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The family set out on the trip in February. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once on the other side of the water, they had to get rid of part of what they were carrying and the wet clothes. \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing we took off our pants so they wouldn\u2019t get wet,\u201d says Jaime with the memory of some relief, \u201cbut we had to throw away what we were wearing underneath.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The obstacles were not over. An uphill journey awaited them, literally: \u201cWe had to climb some hills; a very high slope that we had to undertake climbing, crawling up. It was very slippery. I was carrying two backpacks plus the girl; the boy and my wife each carried a backpack. Her knees were bruised for many days and I especially my hands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At times they thought that their trip ended where they were, that their energy would run out. \u201cYou want to give up, to say \u2018here I throw in the towel and let them pick me up and take me wherever\u2019; but you draw strength from where there is none. When we reached the top of that hill, we rested a bit and started walking again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Other migrants had told them that from then on the roads would be more passable, \u201cbut none of that. The same muddy trails bordering everything, keeping you all the time away from cities and towns, and running, because they told us that we had lost a lot of time and could be late for the transport. They guide you until you reach a pine forest where we changed our dirty clothes, we got as clean as possible so as not to attract attention.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting from the elevation they had overcome to that point took them about 3 or 4 hours, \u201ccrossing a field of obstacles, a scrubland full of dry grass, bushes of thorns, that you can\u2019t see. To top it off it was the darkest night in the world. There was a new moon and nothing could be seen. We groped our way, with our arms outstretched and our hands in front of us, so as not to scratch our faces or get a stick in our eyes. Even so, we got really scratched.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

They arrived at a town near the border between Bosnia and Croatia and there they remained hidden \u201cuntil the time the transport that they told us to wait for passed by. At that moment, a group of Cubans came out of their hiding places.\u201d When they boarded the long-awaited bus, Jaime counted 33 people, including them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire bus was full of Cubans. The driver overcharged us and we don\u2019t know if he crossed us or not; but as soon as it stopped in the next town, the police were waiting for us.\u201d They asked for their passports and took them to a police station where they stayed until the night.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe girl, 9 years old, was wonderful, she walked most of the way. I was able to carry her only for short stretches because she weighs a lot. But when we got to the police station, she spent the day lying on the floor; she couldn\u2019t even get up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jaime says that they were retained all day, divided into three groups; his was 11 people. \u201cAt night they put us in what they call \u2018the mixer,\u2019 a fully closed prisoner transport car, inside which it was really hot and it jolted like a mixer for about two hours.\u201d This is how he describes the trip to Zagreb, the Croatian capital, where, in a camp, they were given \u201csome food, a place to sleep and some toiletries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere we were able to exchange with other Cubans. We met people with all kinds of experiences. There were people from all the provinces; Camag\u00fcey, Sancti Sp\u00edritus, Guant\u00e1namo, Santiago, from all over. Of all ages and different professions. We were a few from the health sector; there were also teachers, university professors, masons\u2026,\u201d recalls Jaime still being surprised at having found such a diverse group of Cubans thousands of kilometers away from his country and after having crossed an inhospitable route.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome came from Russia, <\/span>where they had spent several years illegally<\/span><\/a> working at putting up roofs as well as shoveling snow, and they had decided to leave to reach Spain or Italy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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It is essential to have mobile phones during the journey. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The family heard of different routes or paths; of guides, almost all Cuban, some who accompany directly; others, like his, who give instructions remotely via WhatsApp (with the risk of being cut off due to lack of coverage or charge) and those less involved give only a few instructions, always charging for it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The prices depend on the particular rates of each guide and the complexity and length of the route. Some charge before starting the trip; others, upon reaching the final destination. Sometimes they must be paid by stretches. A trip like that of Jaime and his family can cost 500 euros per person; but it is just a reference: the cost can be much less than that figure, and also much more. Often, it is emigrated relatives who assume the expense.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are all kinds,\u201d concludes Jaime, before adding that \u201csome forget that we are human, that we are Cubans and we\u2019re coming for the same reason, and they are going to screw you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA group was guided by someone who has made the crossing several times. Someone else had paid someone to guide him; he was given some coordinates and then he was left on his own. A couple with a child had tried it before and the Croatian police had torn up their passports and had sent them back and now they were stranded, without money or documents,\u201d says Jaime while he exposes just a sample of the diversity of cases that he knew, individual dramas in a collective odyssey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cuban migrants manage to survive danger of death on Belarusian border<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n