>> Narrator: From the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. >> Roberto Salazar: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. [Foreign language]. On behalf of the Library of Congress Hispanic Cultural Society and the Office of Opportunity Inclusiveness Compliance, welcome to the Library of Congress. Those of you who have traveled through the rain to be here with us today, thank you. We hope you enjoy our program today. This is demonstrative of many of the cultural awareness programs that the Library of Congress offer throughout the year almost every day of the year. So, we encourage you to be abreast of our calendar of events and join us as often as you can for our events. Without further ado, I'd like to welcome the Vice President of the Hispanic Cultural Society, Maria Perezmorales. [ Applause ] >> Maria Perezmorales: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. >> Audience Member: Good afternoon. >> Maria Perezmorales: As Sir Roberto mentioned, my name is Maria Perezmorales. And I'm the current Vice President of the Hispanic Cultural Society. Also, I'm a Senior Information Specialist in the US Copyright Office. I understand there are a number of Pedro Pan folks here today. Can you raise your hand, please? Oh, wow. That's a large number. Thank you so much. Thank you. We're so delighted to have you all here with us in the Library of Congress. Welcome y'all. This presentation is to offer you an individual perspective of the historical and cultural impact of this exodus. This is a very significant episode that not only impacted the US and Cuban relations but also a broader impact on all Hispanics, both US and abroad. Also, the operation Pedro Pan was a significant part of Cuban and US immigration history with powerful and far-reaching implications that still impact the Cuban and Latin America community today. This topic touches me personally because the political context in Cuba since the 1960 resembles the current political situation in Venezuela, my hometown. It seems it was only yesterday when Eloisa contacted my office, the Public Information Office, with questions regarding copyright registration back in 2011. Sorry. She graciously invited me to attend to the roundtable conversations she was going to have along with other Pedro Pan individuals in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Thank you. Since then, we have a regular lunch date during her annual visits to Washington, DC. So, it was always my sincere desire to have Eloisa and her fellow Pedro Pan friends here in the Library to illustrate to us LOC employees with their vibrant testimony regarding this historical event. Even though this was a very sad event, she enjoys sharing this experience and will continue to do so to make sure it's documented and to make better known the history of this exodus. Now, please allow me to introduce our distinguished Pedro Pan guests. Eloisa Echazabal. Since 2006 she is the Assistant to Campus President at Miami Dade College Medical Campus with a student population of 59% Hispanic. Jesus "Jay" M. Canstano. He's a recent retiree and former Deputy Director at the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, serving the immigrant community in the DC area. Susana Gomez. She's a retired civil rights lobbyist and has an impressive background in civil and human rights. Rene Costales, last but not least, currently is a contract interpreter and International Visitor Liaison for the US Department of State. For those who want to review a more detailed analysis of our panelists' accomplishments, please refer to the printed program at your own leisure. We are honored to have the opportunity to hear firsthand from a panel of these former Pedro Pan children who will, in approximately five minutes, resume their experience, testimonials, and how this event has particularly impacted the lives of Hispanics living in the US today. So, please help me to welcome Elisa Echazabal. >> Audience: Eloisa. >> Maria Perezmorales: Eloisa. [ Applause ] >> Eloisa Echazabal: Good afternoon to all of you. First and foremost, I'd like to thank the Hispanic Cultural Society of the Library of Congress for inviting us to be here today to tell you about our Pedro Pan exodus. When creating this short video you're about to see, I decided that in order to understand better why the children and young adults were sent alone to the United States, it was very important to know the environment that Cuba had at the time. So, I went and I explained that. And then after that, I want to talk about the Pedro Pan exodus. So, I hope that you find this very informative. [ Music ] This presentation first gives a quick overview of how Cuba was prior to the revolution. And then of the events that followed which led to the Pedro Pan Exodus. [ Music ] Before 1959, Cuba was among the most developed countries in Latin America. And in some areas, among the most developed in the world. Prior to 1959, Cuba had the highest number of physicians and dentists per capita in Latin America. It also had the highest budget for education and was among the most literate countries in Latin America. And before 1959, real wages in Cuba were the highest in Latin America. But, things were not perfect. The President of Cuba at the time had become President through a political coup which led to years of political corruption and instability. That is one of the reasons why Fidel Castro took power on January 1st, 1959. He was the leader of one of the movements trying to overthrow the Batista government in power at that time. [ Music ] Soon after that, human rights violations were the standard. Incarcerations and executions took place without due process. All independent news media was taken over by the government. Committees for the Defense of the Revolution were established on each block by the government. These committees reported on neighbors' anti-revolutionary feelings and activities, which resulted in harassment and many times in jail. Citizens lived in an environment of fear and persecution all the time. Other human rights violations included -- [ Music ] Businesses and all rental property were confiscated without compensation to the owners. Currency was changed. And people were allowed to keep only a certain amount of their own money. The government gets the rest. [ Music ] All private and religious schools were closed. And Marxist indoctrination began in all schools throughout the island. Also, all public religious events were banned. Paramilitary groups were established by the government throughout the island. And some youth were taught to use firearms supposedly to defend the country from enemy aggression. The previous events and others were sure signs of the type of authoritarian and totalitarian government that was taking hold of the island. Reasons why parents began to look for ways to get their children out of Cuba. And that is when Operation Pedro Pan was born. [ Music ] James Baker was the Director of Ruston Academy in Havana. And Father Bryan Walsh was the Director of the Catholic Welfare Bureau in Miami. They assisted parents in Cuba who wished to send their children unaccompanied to the United States. They facilitated the visa and the places where the children could stay in the United States. Additionally there was a large group of courageous people who distributed the visas and other travel documents throughout the island risking their lives in the process. Among them, Penny Powers, Ramon Grau, Polita Grau, Pancha and Bertha Finlay, Dr. Sergio and Serafina Giquel, Sara del Toro de Odio, and Albertina O'Farril. On December 26th, 1960, the first Pedro Pan children traveled alone to the United States. Children with family or friends in the United States stayed with their family or friends. Children who had no one in the United States were placed in group homes or other facilities supervised by the Catholic Welfare Bureau. But, on January 3rd, 1961, United States Cuba diplomatic relations were severed. So, no more visas could be issued. So, no more children could leave Cuba for the United States. It appeared that Operation Pedro Pan would be coming to an end. Two solutions were created for the problem. First, the British Embassy in Jamaica began issuing visas for the children to travel to Jamaica. And then in Jamaica, they were given visas to travel to the United States. And second, the United States State Department began issuing visa waivers to the children so they could travel to the United States without a visa. Then the children begun arriving in Miami again. [ Music ] When the Bay of Pigs Invasion failed in April, 1961, parents realized that the Castro government was there to stay. That's when Operation Pedro Pan went into overdrive. Here are photos of three of the various shelters where the children stayed in Miami. This is St. Raphael's Hall Group Home. [ Music ] This is Kendall Camp. This is where my sister and I stayed. [ Music ] And Matecumbe Camp. [ Music ] At a point, the shelters in Miami became overcrowded so children began to be transferred to licensed care facilities like foster homes and orphanages in over a hundred cities in over 35 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For example, David City, Nebraska and Ft. Wayne, Indiana. [ Music ] This is the orphanage in Buffalo, New York where my sister and I lived. And here you see, also, children in Colfax, Washington. [ Music ] During the October 1962 Missile Crisis, all flights between Cuba and the United States stopped. That is when Operation Pedro Pan officially ended. Some children still trickled in through third countries. But, that was really the end of the exodus. By October 22nd, 1962, 14,048 children had left Cuba for the United States without their parents. Of those, 6,486 received foster care on their arrival or shortly thereafter. The rest stayed with relatives or friends. About three years later in December, 1965, the United States and the Cuban governments reached an agreement to develop the Freedom Flights program. The freedom flights lasted eight years. And most parents were able to come to the United States this way and reunite with their children. [ Music ] Who were the Pedro Pan children? Most of the children were from middle class families between 6 and 16 years old. And most were teenage boys. Most were Catholic. And there were also Protestant and Jewish children in the group. [ Music ] Funding for the care of the children with no family or friends in the United States was provided by the federal government through various government and nongovernment agencies. Why the name Pedro Pan? The Miami news media coined the term as an analogy of the Disney character Peter Pan, the boy who flew to Never Never Land. [ Music ] The real heroes of this exodus were the parents because they were the ones who had to make the heart wrenching decision of separating from their children in order to free them from the repression and Communist indoctrination that was taking over the island. And today, Pedro Pans are like brothers and sisters. We get together to reminisce, to help other children in need, to document our history, and to make new friends. [ Music ] This is a list of some of the sources used for this presentation. [ Music ] And thank you for your interest in our Pedro Pan Exodus story. Okay. I had a very normal, happy childhood in Cuba. I attended parochial, Catholic school all throughout kindergarten until I left. I took ballet lessons. I took music lessons. This is a photo of, for the school that I attended. You know, at the end of the year they have an event where they give you prizes and all that? That's it. This is a summer camp that I attended the year before we left Cuba. And this is my passport photo. I was -- that was in 1959 because in 1959 my family and I came to visit the United States. But we -- so, one day, you know, I think my parents made the decision to send us to the United States alone when the government took over our school. We were in school that day, my sister and I. we saw when the militia men came in and took over the school like they owned it. We went home. We were nervous and upset. And we told our parents what had happened and that we were not going back to school. So, we didn't go back to school any more. So, for weeks, you know, we were at home, we were taking English lessons with a lady. I was taking typing lessons, but we were not going to school. So, our parents decided to then send us to the United States because the government had already started teaching Communism in all the public schools. So, there was really no school that we could attend. So, on September 6th, 1961, my three younger cousins, my younger sister, and I took a Pan American flight to the United States. I was only given two instructions. One, of course, to take care of my sister, my little sister and my three younger cousins. And the other one was when I arrived in the United States, to ask for a man named George. Oh, can you hear me? I'm not in the microphone. Was that okay? >> Audience Member: This is better. >> Eloisa Echazabal: Yeah. Okay. So, George was there waiting for us. He helped us through the immigration process. And then he took us in a little van to a camp in the Kendall area of Miami. It was like a typical summer camp. You know, during the day time, there were activities, going to classes. But, at night was the big difference. At night you could tell that it was not a summer camp because the children cried, especially the younger children. You could hear them all the time crying at night. We were in the camp seven days. After seven days, we were told that we would be taken to Buffalo, New York. So, we went to Buffalo, New York. And we, you know, we were taken to an orphanage. It was the Immaculate Heart of Mary Home. And if you ever saw the movie Doubt, you can have a picture of how that orphanage was. You know, the dark hallways and the wooden floors that squeaked when you walked on them. Very unlike tropical Cuba. It was difficult to be in the orphanage because I couldn't relate to the other children there because most of them had never had a family before or a stable family. So, it was difficult to relate to them. Also, the lack of privacy and the lack of control that you had in your life. For example, like, I didn't like having my underwear being washed with all the other girls' underwear. I wasn't used to doing that. So, that was really different. And my letters from my parents were opened before they came to me. And even as at 13 year old, I felt my space was being invaded. These days, I can sort of understand why that was done. But, at the time, I didn't understand it. So, I walked to a elementary school with another girl in, a few blocks away. And that was my first introduction to the New England scenery. The brown brick buildings, the mature, tall trees. And I just thought that was really very nice, very enchanting. Very unlike Cuba, but it was really very nice. So, after being in the orphanage two months, we were told that it would be taken to an orphanage. And we went the orphanage -- no, excuse me, to a foster home. After being two months in the orphanage, we were taken to a foster home. It was a nice family, very decent, very proper. It was the married couple with one daughter younger than I. But, I didn't feel warm and fuzzy. The daughter, you know, resented my being there. I was getting better grades in school than her. There was competition for friends. If she couldn't go bowling the night that we went bowling, she didn't want us to go bowling either. So, it really wasn't -- and the lady didn't like my sister and I speaking Spanish, you know, between ourselves. Even if in our own bedroom she didn't like us to do that. So, I think that was very insensitive. At the time, I felt that way. So, after being there nine -- after being in the foster home seven months, we were told that we would be reunited with our parents in Miami. And we did. We came to Miami finally. And that was the -- I got to go that was the -- okay. That was the beginning of the second chapter of our Cuban exile life in the United States with all the difficulties, trials, and tribulations of exile life in those days. Fast forward, my first full time job after I graduated from high school was as a bilingual secretary for [inaudible] Reyes. [Inaudible] Reyes was, as far as I know, the -- that was on WDBJ channel four. As far as I know he was the first Spanish-speaking newscaster in the United States. And one of my jobs every day was to translate his daily editorial from Spanish into English so the news director of the station would know what he was saying in Spanish. So, that's it. And the rest of my background and my story it's in the programs that you all have. Thank you very much. And now I would like to call Jay Castano so he can tell us about his story. [ Applause ] >> Jay Castano: Good morning, again. And thanks to the Library of Congress and the Hispanic Cultural Society and all of you for coming in. especially some of my coworkers are here. And it is a pleasure that you could make it. I came in April of 1962. I did not want to come to the United States. I had told my family that I wanted to work with one of the teachers who was our neighbor. And I adored her. And she said, "Listen, I am going to be the chief of the [foreign language]. >> Eloisa Echazabal: Go ahead. >> Jay Castano: Thank you. That's me. About a hundred pounds lighter. So, I said, "What do you have to do with a committed for the defense of the revolution?" And she said, "Oh, all you have to do is make sure that you talk with the kids in the school. And you find out if their parents agree with the revolution. And if you also if you hear something in your home about Fidel Castro that is not in favor of the revolution, then you let me know." I said, "That's fine." And she said, "Perhaps when you grow up and you graduate from high school we can make sure that you get a scholarship to go to Russia." And I liked that idea. So, one day at dinner I told my folks. And I said, "You know, Mrs. Fernandez is telling me that I could belong to the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution." And my folks looked at each other and they said, "But, you're only 12." Or 11, actually. And is said, "Well this is what she said. You know, I don't have to do anything. I just have to talk with my classmates and then inform her." Well, that was enough for my parents and my brother to say, two or three days later they said, "Well, you know what? We are going to leave Cuba. We are going to go to the United States soon. And if you want to stay behind, that's fine." So, I started thinking about it. And sure enough, I said, "No, I want to be with all of you. I'm ready to go." But, when I arrived in Miami, I wasn't a hundred percent sure that I had done the right thing because I kept thinking about the revolution. And I really liked Fidel. And so did my family. At any rate, I went back to Cuba 25 years later. Instead of 25 days later. You know, in the visa waiver, it said to return 25 days after departure. Well, I waited 25 years. And then I went back again a second time in 1993. And the last time was in the year 2000. And I still have family there. I respect all of them. Some of them are [foreign language]. That's what we were called. Worms. And I'm very proud to be a worm. And the first time I went back to Cuba in 1987, they called me [foreign language]. And they took a few things out of my luggage. They said, "Why? You're going to be in Cuba for two weeks. Why do you need four or five pieces of underwear? And why are you bringing two watches?" and this and the other.so, they confiscated a few things. I left all my underwear with one of my cousins because his wife whispered in my ear, "He only has two [foreign language]. Could you share some of yours?" I said, "Sure." And I also found out, during that first visit that a lot people there were saying, "[Foreign language]." And I heard that several times. And I said to my family in Sante Fe, near Havana. I said, "[Foreign language], that means that you're all very religious." They said, "No. That means [foreign language]," because the Cubans in Miami, even though we were called a mafia, kept bringing medicine and clothing and sending dollars. And the second time I went, I was not called [foreign language]. I was called Senor Castano. I said, "Wow. Things have really changed." And then in the year 2000 when I went, I went through Jamaica. I didn't go from Miami. And I entered Terminal [foreign language]. That was the international terminal. And they spoke to me in English. And they said, "Welcome to Cuba, a member of the Cuban community." So, the question is, am I going back to Cuba? Yes. I always heard, "Cuba, [foreign language]. Yankees, no." and now it is, "Cuba, [foreign language]. Yankees, [foreign language]." And I am going both as a Cuban, a proud Cuban, and a proud American. [ Applause ] >> Eloisa Echazabal: Susana will be coming up now to tell us about her experience. Susana Gomez. >> Susana Gomez: Yeah. I don't look like Jay. That's more like it. Yeah. I'm on your program, on your leaflet, I'm on the fifth row. And on the fifth row from the bottom up. And the third one from the left to the right. My granddaughter says, "Grandma's got puffy hair." That much hasn't changed. But thank you Maria for having us here. And thank you to the Library of Congress. And for all of you to be here with us for us to share our story with you. We all, Pedro Pans, 14,078 of us, have our own stories. The stories differ. They are hard stories. They're wrenching. I mean, think of a child being wrenched from their house, from the bosom of their family. Putting them on a plane and off you go to Never Never Land. That's the way it was. Most of us are survivors in the good sense. Most of us survived and have done excellently in the United States with the welcome of the American people and the US government. A few did not do so well. But, for the most part we've done very well. And we're very grateful to our parents and to the United States of America for that. 1961 some of you in the audience were not even born. So, let me put a little context into that so you can transfer yourself to 1961 and the fear that existed in the United States Congress and in the American people about having a Communist government 90 miles away from our shores. The Bolsheviks took over in Russia in 1917. And very soon after that declare their status of government of appropriating all private property. And millions of people were starving to death because they appropriated private, personal, no matter what the size of the property was. This by 1922, they started annexing other countries, other areas close to the Russia. And they kept on advancing and advancing. In 1961, you may remember the Berlin Wall went up. And they tried to sort of what they did to conquer the people to just keep them from receiving food and supplies and materials. And the allies, the United States included, flew for years, you know, supplies and food to the people. The wall finally came down in 1990. And Berlin today is nothing like it was in 61. I went in 72, and I just went back in 2012. It's an exciting city full of energy. And I hope that Cuba will be like that again. Cuba was not, as Eloisa showed so well in her video, was not a third-world country like some people may make believe that it was. And Fidel Castro succeeded in making it like a third-world country. So, you will find that most of us are very proud of our heritage. And we're very proud, like Jay, to be American citizens. So, we are Cuban, and we are American to the hilt. And many Cuban Americans have also served in the armed forces. So, I could go on and on. So, I'm going to go back to what I'm supposed to do now. And that's to tell you a little bit about my story. I had a wonderful childhood. I was very sheltered, in a sense. My parents had been very poor. And by the time I was born, we were middle class. And I grew up in a gated community. I went to a private girls' Catholic school since I was three years old, from kindergarten, like Eloisa, until I left just about. So, it was wonderful. I just played in the streets. You couldn't get into trouble because somebody would tell my mother. Or we had a policeman and a bicycle that went around. And boy, they always found out. So, we were very, very safe and unaware of what was going on around us. And then the revolution came, and things changed. And there was a lot of talk. And there's tents out on the street. And in my house, nobody ever talked politics. None of that went on that the children could hear. And then my friends started talking about leaving. And I had wanted to know what was going on, so Dad took me to some demonstration or parade without saying a thing. And I said to him, "Well, this isn't liberty. You know, people just taking your place, pushing you aside." Just innocent things a child would notice. And he said -- and then he later on says, "No. It's not liberty. It's [foreign language]." It's -- I don't know how to translate that. Maybe Rene will help me with that word later. So, anyway. I went back to school. And my friends are looking at the map and saying that they're leaving for the United States. And where they want to go. They asked me, "Where do you want to go?" And I said, "Washington, DC." And they said -- and they asked me why. And I said, "It's the capital of the United States, for crying out loud. Where else would I want to go?" And then I was in the second year of [foreign language]. And our class had been joined -- most of the class had been together since we were three. And that year the class was joined by Captain [foreign language] daughter. Captain [foreign language] is the captain that had tortured Armando Valladares, who became Ambassador after he was released from Cuba prison. US Ambassador. I can't remember for what, but very important man today. And I just got tired of it. And I was taught very young age to stand up for what I believed, which has gotten me into a lot of trouble. But, I just, like, had enough of her. I had been very docile in school. And I just grabbed her by the white blouse. "You just keep it up, and I'm going to beat the hell out of you." That's exactly what I said. Well, the nun called my parents. And my parents came to the school. And I never went back. The next day I was at Columbus Academy, a former American school. Conversations there were pretty much the same. And so, it didn't take me long to get into trouble again. The history class, all our courses when you were in [foreign language] in Cuba, whether you went to private school or not, you had to be examined in each subject in the [foreign language] program. By the regional department of education. It was the [foreign language]. If you failed that course, you had to take it again. And again and again or you just -- and I think if you failed two courses, and maybe Rene and Jay can enlighten us on how many -- you couldn't pass the grade. Even if you went to a private school and they could change your grade. That didn't matter. That's the way it was before the revolution. And initially after the revolution. And so, in the history class, we had this red haired teacher. She ended up being the aunt to a friend of mine. And she was indoctrinating us and teaching us stuff that we were not going to be tested on. And I just, like, stood up. And I said, "Do you mind teaching us what we're going to be tested on? I mean, this is not fair. We're going to fail if you keep it up." Something to that effect. And then many parents were paying for us to get a good education. And that wasn't a part of the course. Well, the next day, the entire school was plastered with propaganda against Castro. And everybody looked at me. "What did you do?" And I said, "I went home. I had no idea. I can't even walk here. I live too far away." So, Dad was taking me to school and picking me up from school and just trying to keep up with how much trouble I was getting into because I had to just -- I had this [inaudible] feeling. I mean, he had taught me to stand up for what I believe. But I didn't -- I was not street smart. I just -- I was being very stupid. And young and naive. And so, I told him what happened. And the next day he took me to school. And midmorning the principal of the school came. That's when they were trying to identify who had put the propaganda. He says, "Your father's downstairs. You have a doctor's appointment." I looked to my right. I looked to my left at my friends, my new friends in that school. And I said, "I don't have a doctor's appointment. This is goodbye." And so, he told me on the way home, "You're leaving the United States this afternoon. Your mom's packing your bags. You and Joe [assumed spelling] are leaving. Jim Baker's picking you up." And I was, like, speechless. So, we went home. And we left as a family for the airport. And there were like $5 in each of my brothers' shoes and our suitcase. And that was that. And then when we got to Rancho Boyeros to the airport, we went to the cafeteria to eat. And I was with my family. And I started badmouthing the government again. And my oldest brother was of military age. And he was beside himself. [Foreign language]. Blah, blah, blah, blah. So, Dad, with my -- eating, finishing eating, took me aside and we went to the fishbowl, [foreign language]. And [foreign language], that's only where people who are boarding the plane are supposed to be. Don't ask me how, but my mother and my father went in there. And then they called us to search our suitcases. And they called you individually. So, Dad, again, went with me. My only treasure coming with me was a Greek mythology book in English. And the soldiers decided to take it away. Well, I blew up. And it was not good. And fortunately my dad was there. And he saved my one more time. And this time, I got so scared, I didn't utter another word. And we went back to the fishbowl. And then we finally boarded the plane, Joe and I. And I can still remember his blue eyes just mischievous and with his freckles. And then he stared badmouthing the government. I had no idea he knew anything of what was going on. And I said, "Shut up. We haven't taken off yet." And so when we got to Miami it was very late. The flight had been very delayed. And Miami airport was not what it is today. And the exit was very dark, it seemed to me. It was very dim light. And there was nobody else, so we were holding onto each other for dear life. And all of a sudden we saw this man coming toward us. We couldn't see his face, but when I finally realized Jim Baker was the man, it was just such a sign of relief and comfort. And he said, "It's going to be okay." And then he took us to Kendall Camp. And there we were met by Mr. and Mrs. Pruna [assumed spelling] and the nuns. And they separated us immediately. And that was the end of that part of the story. And I think I'm out of time, so I won't say anything more. But we all have our stories. They're painful. They stay with us. And Ana Gardano mentioned the other day, she's a Pedro Pan. She's a psychologist. She just made a presentation on the PTSD of Pedro Pans at the United Nations last week I think it was. And it is real. It does come back to you. We just shut off all feelings until we survive. And then when you get older and things slow down, it comes back to haunt you until you reconcile with those feelings. But, I'm eternally grateful for my parents to have had the courage to bring us to the United States. Thank you very much. [ Applause ] >> Rene Costales: I think it's my turn. So, I thank you for the invitation. >> Audience Member: [Inaudible]. >> Rene Costales: Push the button, okay. >> Audience Member: [Inaudible]. >> Rene Costales: Thank you for the invitation. And I want to reinforce what my colleagues said. It's usually for the -- for the Peter Pan boys, it's always harder to talk about the emotion. So, let me talk a little bit about the numbers and highlight a dew of the numbers so you focus well what we're saying. Eighty-five percent were boys. Eighty-five percent were between the ages of 12 and 16. So, I'm going to talk a little bit about that cohort. I was 15 at the time when the schools were confiscated. Let me put another number in [inaudible]. The cohort of students in Havana about that time were of the order of a hundred thousand. I don't have the number, but we're talking about a hundred thousand students. Only 20 to 25 percent, I don't have the right number, actually went to public schools. Public schools did not have the capacity. So, 75 percent of the students one night, one day, one morning, had no school to go to. So, that was a big problem, okay? So, what was happening? The schools were where the conflict, political conflict of the polarization of society was happening at the time and was most sensitive. You heard the stories. My school, too, when we had marches and, you know, many other events, you know. But, what happens is then you have a cohort of friends. So, I had about 20 male friends about my same age. The political spectrum went from two extreme cases. One case, [foreign language] left in a sailboat with a cousin because he had an uncle in Miami because he couldn't stand his parents who had become communists. On the other end, Jose wanted to be a young pioneer, a young rebel, a young communist. And his parents could not stand him, signed his emancipation papers. And his parents left, okay? So, that's my cohort of friends, okay? That full spectrum. So, that gives you an idea what's happening. Luckily, for that year I had no school. I was a chess player, so I played chess 24/7. That's why you see me winning the Vermont state championship open in 1963 in there. You can see then the group home that I was with. I was sent with five other Cuban boys to Don Bosco Home in Burlington, Vermont. And that was the day some of us left in the airport with some of the other students. As you can see in the picture, you know, you can see my multiracial background. So, that's another thing that you might not see in some of the other pictures. We've said it. Most of us were middle class. Why? Because Cuba was relatively well developed as a Latin American country and had an extensive middle class. Okay? So, the fight for the -- the fight at that time for the hearts and souls of the young students in this cohort was particularly intense. Okay? Not only 14 left unaccompanied, many left accompanied. Okay? And many also received scholarships to former Soviet countries, maybe 15,000. I don't have the right number, but approximately in that same range of ballpark numbers. So, that give you an idea what happened very suddenly. Of course, these were the young boys who would become cannon fodder for -- in the opposition. The -- at that time, the regime was putting maybe up to a hundred thousand people in jail for political purposes. The number of political prisoners did reach a number like a hundred thousand. And there were many people who were shot there. Remember, he -- Castro started shooting the former henchmen of the Batista regime. And he kept on shooting anybody who opposed him. Okay? So, the terror system was being established at the point in time. And that's what we left. Luckily, I was able to finish high school in one year. I was able to come to Washington and study at Catholic U. And I had a 30-year career in the Inter-American Development Bank helping many Latin American countries. I have not been able to help my country yet. But, someday when it's free and the conditions were there, I'll be happy to also work on that. And one of the -- we were invited -- it was mentioned and you can see that as a common them in many of our curriculum vitae. We do many things that help the community at large in the United States as being full citizens of the United States. We participate, but we also happen to help many of the community. Any many of the community that we help are the Latin American community. I happen to work as a court interpreter, court certified interpreter. And most of the time, even this morning, I did one hearing case. And we're no longer the largest exodus, like the slide says. Last year, maybe 60,000 Central American unaccompanied minors came to the United States. >> Audience Member: Recorded. >> Rene Costales: They recorded. >> Audience Member: These are not recorded. She just told me. [Inaudible] it. >> Rene Costales: Okay. And luckily because of the interest of this invitation today we're also, we're able to get an invitation to go and talk this afternoon to the staff of the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of Health and Human Services because they're very interested on our PTSD as adolescents in the United States. How did we manage to get over? Well, we had many experiences. I was a little older, so I learned faster English because I had a girlfriend as a sophomore, one junior, one senior. Would practice with each of the girlfriends every night on the phone. And I learn English really fast. So, yeah. So, it's been a great experience working, living in the United States. But, we all hope for a free Cuba. Thank you. [ Applause ] >> Maria Perezmorales: Unfortunate we don't have any microphone, but you can raise your hands and stand up. >> Audience Member: Thank you. >> Maria Perezmorales: Thank you. >> Audience Member: My name is [inaudible]. I was born here in 1963, so I'm not part of Operation Pedro Pan. But, like everybody, you know, I have many, many relatives that came when you came. And I thank you for the presentation. I really enjoyed it. I grew up listening to stories from my older cousins, my second cousins, and my third cousin, which matched very closely to your stories. [Inaudible] all of them had positive experiences, but there were a couple that did not have positive experiences. I wanted to address, actually, what Rene just brought up. And actually what he responded to, which is this question about the last year immigration crisis where [inaudible] 60,000 people crossed the Mexican border. They are Latin American children just like you were. To them, there is no difference between what is legal and what is illegal. How they got here, it's all the same. I'm confident that all your parents would've sent you here even if sending you here was against the law. I'm sure of it. As I'm sure that all my aunts and uncles and great aunts and uncles would have done the same. So, I'm just asking you guys to comment, if you want, on what happened last summer, what is continuing to happen. And what connection you might see between your experiences and their experiences? Thank you. >> Eloisa Echazabal: I'll tell you one thing. I compare ourselves to the [inaudible] because even though we came legally and they did not come legally, those children and young people have grown up in this country. They have adapted to this county. They have learned English. They have been attending school. They have tried to do their best. And now, all of a sudden, unlike us, they find that, you know, it's very difficult to go on to the university because in most states they have to, you know, pay out-of-state tuition and all that. So, I -- but I compare ourselves to them because, you know, they came young. They came with their parents. Most of them, the young ones, you know, came. You know, nobody asked them if they wanted to come or not. So, I compare ourselves to those. >> Jay Castano: I have a comment here because I worked with the immigrant community of Washington, DC. The adult community for the last 37 years at the Carlos Rosario. Some of the kids that came in from Guatemala and El Salvador and so forth, and Mexico, many of them have ended up here in Washington, DC. And they have come to our school to learn English or GED. And they're very lucky because in addition to learning the language, we also have division of supportive services where we try to find housing for them. And if they are ready to work because they are considered emancipated adults once they are 16 years of age, then we also try to place them doing some work. You know the restaurants, the hospitality industry in DC. And the founder of the school, Mrs. Sonia Gutierrez, has been very involved with the National Council of [foreign language]. I was there at the convention in LA. And this issue was addressed in many of the workshops. And so, we have served as a lighthouse for many of these kids. And also [foreign language] in Maryland and a few places in Virginia. It seems like Virginia has never been too friendly to those people. But, luckily Maryland and DC [inaudible]. But, we do not ask for any papers whatsoever. They just have to prove that they live in DC and that they need to learn the language. >> Rene Costales: Let me throw a parallel comparison to try to answer your question. There's always a supply and demand issue. Just like us Pedro Pans in Cuba, we were -- many of us sent by our parents. Others, like me, I decided. My parents approved because we were at different ages and more cognizant of the situation and different things. The [inaudible] point that [inaudible] panel said that we were instructed to be evicted from [inaudible] for many reasons. I mentioned that we had become the cannon fodder for the opposition. We'd probably would have been shot and gone to jail. We had [inaudible] in freedom. We could not take, you know, straight [inaudible]. So now in Central America it has to do with the gas. All the children who left, basically many are fleeing the gangs or many are saying that they are fleeing the gangs to go to the United States. Either way, the gangs no longer have easy recruits like they had in the previous years. So that might change the situation in terms of gang control in Central America. We would hope that that would be at least one possible benefit of that exodus. >> Susana Gomez: I would like to say that I agree with Eloisa, and I mean I agree with everybody on the panel. But I consider the [inaudible] to be the first rumors, a phrase that was coined by David Montgomery. We were the first rumors. We also had a lot of hardships in trying to pay for our education, and our families had to work, you know, different jobs. And people who were lawyers and doctors and whatever, everybody did whatever they had to do, whether it was janitorial or whatever it was to make a decent living and provide for a very humble lifestyle. And we all made it, for the most part. Insofar as the children coming from Central America, it is very, very sad. It is very sad, and I understand that we need to be -- how would you say it? -- conscious of the needs of those children who are not to blame. But shame on the sending countries, for crying out loud. Let's put the fault where it is. Enough is enough, and I think the United States needs to put pressure on those sending countries to have better social economic development for their people. It is right for the United States people to honor the Statue of Liberty and receive people from abroad and to help them and give them the liberty to have a productive life and to be good citizens in the United States. But don't abuse the children. Give them a right in your own country to live. And that's my decision, and yes, I'm angry. Here we go, my quixotic. I expressed myself [inaudible]. Never mind. [Inaudible]. [ Laughter ] Thanks so much. Any other questions? >> Audience Member: I have a question. >> Audience Member: Hey. Yeah, I was just curious as how did you meet [inaudible]? You said you maybe through the second part of this [inaudible]. Like, how did you reconnect to your parents afterwards? So you mentioned [inaudible]. >> Jay Canstano: My mom and my uncle were put on a waiting list when some of the workers, social workers of the Catholic Welfare Bureau in Miami, they came to the different refugee camps. I was a [inaudible], and they don't belong. I stayed in the refugee camp for two years. At that time, my mom was already 55 years old, and one of my uncles was about 50. And they asked each child, "Who do you have in Cuba that you would like to come here?" My dad had already died, and my brother and his wife lived in Pittsburg. They were freezing up there, but they got a job through the Presbyterian church, thank God. And I said, "Well, I want to see them again. I miss them." And about six months later, there was a ship of the Red Cross, American Red Cross that went to Cuba. And it was the first of about ten ships that went to Cuba and picked up many of the parents and relatives of the Pedro Pan kids. So, I was reunited with them about two years later in Miami. >> Susana Gomez: My mother and my sister came with Visa waivers eight months later. We were in [inaudible] at the time, and so they reunited with us there. Mom went to work at a factory sewing garments, and other Cuban ladies taught her how to use the machine. My sister was key punching in some other place in an office, and Dad came in 1965 in the Freedom Flights, not the first one, but soon thereafter. And my oldest brother, we did not reunite with him until 1982. >> Rene Costales: The statistic is that happily 98% of the Pedro Pans were reunited with their parents. There's 2% that were not, and many of the 2% is because their parents were shot by the Cuban Revolution. In my case, about four years later when the Freedom Flights started again, Pedro Pan children were given priority. My parents were able to come to see me graduate from college. >> Eloisa Echazabál: Well, when I reunited with our parents at the airport in Miami, my sister and I, I keep saying that there were two words that kept, you know, the conversations at the airport and on the way home. There were two words that kept hitting me. Like, this is exile. And the two words were la factoria because my mother had to start working in a factory and el laundry, which is the Laundromat because we were not used to taking our clothes to the Laundromat. So it was -- you know, it was different, definitely a second chapter that we had to deal with. And -- but, you know, here we all are. And I must say about education, I am very proud to say that it took me ten years to get my associate's degree because I was working shifts at Eastern Airlines. But I persevered, and I got my associate degree. When I went to my boss to show him the certificate, he said, "Okay, now I want to see the next one." [Inaudible]. And I finally did it. [Inaudible]. >> Susana Gomez: Talking about education, back I think it was in the 18th century, there was a community of Creoles in Cuba, very well-educated community of Creoles, and it's just -- it transferred from the 18th century, 18th, 19th century, whenever it was. I was looking through my notes to find the exact date. And it's -- the parents, the Cuban parents for the most part, having instilled in their children the value of education, the value of family, and -- but education is just foremost. So no matter how poor you were, you were supposed to study hard and learn as much as you can. So I think that pride continues to go through our generations, and you find that a good percentage of Cuban Americans, second generation, have gone to college. I think it's 43% of the -- I think it's a figure of the second generation have gone to college in the United States. That's a pretty good number, pretty good number. >> Maria Perezmorales: Thank you. Any more questions? >> Jay Canstano: I have a question. If you have not been to Cuba, I'm asking to please consider going. This is from March of this year. Okay? Che Guevara, and it says "Viva Capitalismo". Go there and show the Cubans what it means to be free. Thank you. >> Rene Costales: Well, since he showed a picture of somebody I consider an assassin, I had to tell you my personal experience. Of hundreds of people I have played chess with, I beat him. He was the only one who just turned around and left without saying anything. >> Jay Canstano: [Inaudible]? >> Rene Costales: Yeah. >> Susana Gomez: Oh, [inaudible]. >> Audience Member: Once you [inaudible], how long were you without your parents? >> Eloisa Echazabál: Well, my case was a little different. My father was already here because he came about two weeks before we had -- my sister and I arrived because he had a Visa. So he didn't want it to expire. So when we arrived, he came to see us at the camp the first day, and he wanted to take us out. And there were conversations going back and forth, and it was decided that we should stay in the camp because my father didn't have a job. He was living in a little room in Little Havana. So if he took the two girls, that would have created another problem. So it was decided that we stay at one of the two centers in Buffalo. My mother came two months later. But still, they decided they -- that we should stay in Buffalo so we could finish our school year. I was not happy about it. My sister was not happy about it. They went back and forth. We went back and forth. Okay, yes, you'll come. Oh, no, you won't come. Oh, yes, you'll come. That was really -- that was really a traumatic experience that, you know, that I consider as part of my Pedro Pan experience. But here we are. So in May, in May, we came back to Miami after the school year was over. We both passed our school year, but I think if we had come earlier to Miami, we would have passed also. But that's just déjà vu. >> Audience Member: How are you -- how long were you without your parents? >> Eloisa Echazabál: Nine months. >> Jay Canstano: Two years, two years. >> Susana Gomez: For me, it was eight months for my mother. It was four and a half years for my father, and then I am not counting the years for my oldest brother. And the hardest part when you look at the whole picture was not getting on a plane and going to Kendall. That was just like the first chapter because after Kendall, we were supposed to go on scholarships, one to Virginia, one to Ohio, and Dad said no. And so, another friend, the father -- the parents of a friend of mine since I was three became our legal guardians, and we went to friends' houses for three months to finish the school year. And we were happy. I mean we missed our parents, but we were treated like another child in those homes. And then with the Bay of Pigs and not knowing whether we would see our parents ever again and the economic hardships of Miami because Miami was nothing like it is today, we were asked to go to New Jersey to live with two uncles. And they were strangers to us, and that was the hardest part of that exile that still haunts me. And my mother didn't believe me until she got there, and then she saw it for herself. And my uncles would open my letters to my parents. And, you know, my brother used to be beaten every day until I had enough one day, and I saw him come home and go underneath my uncle and his wife's bed crying. And the next day, I grabbed the phone, and I called the Human Refugee Center, and I told them what was happening. And he said, "Have a good talk with your uncle, and if things don't change, find your way to the airport. Call me from there, and I'll fly you both back to Miami." So things got a little better, but that was rough, you know, to go from a loving environment. You're in a place where you know nobody. And I felt very guilty because I was supposed to be protecting my brother. And you know, it was rough for me, but it was rougher on him. It was not fair. So we were very poor after that. So our happy chapter starts with mom and my sister and being very, very poor, and picking up furniture out of the street, and rolling the laundry to the laundry mat, and then having a hair dryer, putting your hair in rollers, and going out to the street. I mean just crazy, little stuff, but it was a happy time, very poor, but very happy time. >> Audience Member: Thank you very much. How about you? >> Jay Canstano: Four and a half years. >> Audience Member: Four and a half? >> Eloisa Echazabál: Do we still have some time? >> Susana Gomez: It's 1:11. >> Maria Perezmorales: So I guess we need to -- >> Eloisa Echazabál: Oh, one Pedro Pan story, I -- okay, I know why you asked the question of Gladys because Gladys, my friend from Miami who came with me is a Pedro Pan. And she was with us during that time 17 years. So that's unusual, but it's something to really think about. I think you already married and had gotten pregnant when they came? >> Unidentified Female: We already had three kids. [ Laughter ] >> Susana Gomez: Yeah, we had Juan Jose Valdez in the back, who came at seven years of age by himself, not knowing English, with nobody there to pick him up. And he was looking for his train all over the airport. >> Juan Jose Valdez: I found it. >> Susana Gomez: And you found it? You were [inaudible]. >> Maria Perezmorales: We have another Pedro Pan back there. >> Rene Costales: By the way, Mr. Juan Valdez organizes the trips to Cuba. So -- >> Susana Gomez: For the National Geographic. >> Rene Costales: For the National Geographic, so get in touch with him. Now we also have the Smithsonian is also organizing trips to Cuba, and Mr. Waterman [assumed spelling] works for the Latino Center of the Smithsonian. So let's get your passports ready. [ Laughter ] >> Susana Gomez: And Emilio Puerto, another Pedro Pan, is leading Smithsonian tours as well. So, we're all over the place. We have different philosophies, and going to Cuba is a very healing experience for some. I'm not going back until things change some more. So -- but we are all different. >> Roberto Salazar: We have two more Pedro Pans in the back. >> Rene Costales: I -- my parents came two and a half years after I did, but my experience was a good experience because my uncle and my aunt picked me up from the airport. And I stayed in Miami those 38 years. And so, we had a lot of friends and a lot of kids who were like me, but -- so it wasn't the culture shock that you guys went through. So for that, I was grateful that my uncle and my aunt took good care of me. I was ten years old. >> Jay Canstano: There is also an organization, for those of you who do research on children being separated from their families. On my 60th birthday six years ago, I participated in the conference of Kinder Transport. These were the Jewish kids that were sent by their parents to live in England to save them from the Holocaust. Benito? >> Benito: Yes, I came when I was seven years old. And so, it was four years later. I was 11 years old when I reunited with my parents. But I came with my three siblings. So there was four of us, you know. It was nine, eight, seven, six. And they split us up. Two girls went with one foster home, and I went to another foster home, and we were there for a number of years until 1965. We reunited here at the National Airport. I was reunited with my parents, who -- it was my father's decision, and he had to find a replacement because they didn't want the brain drain in Cuba. So my father being a physician, he needed for him to wait for someone to graduate and train them at the hospital before he could come. That's the reason why I came unaccompanied. And then, he also had to pay back his mortgage because he had a brand-new house in the suburbs, and he had to turn that over to the government. So he got the title. Before he could turn the title over to the people, the house belonged to the people, he had to pay for the mortgage on it. So he had to find a way to get all the money together to pay the mortgage and then hand over the money. And he still couldn't come on the flights, so he had to go to Mexico and be in Mexico for a number of months before he reunited with us in 1965. >> Unidentified Female: Thank you very much. Any other Pedro Pan folks? Okay. Thank you so much for your wonderful questions. Now back to Maria. >> Maria Perezmorales: Thank you again for attending our presentation. I hope that you found it interesting and informative. If you would like to -- if you would like additional information, I created a website with all the primary and secondary sources that I have gathered throughout the years about the Pedro Pan Exodus. The website address is www.pedropanexodus.com, and this address is included in my bio section of the program that you all can pick up in the back. Thank you very much again. [ Applause ] >> Unidentified Female: Thank you so very much for being here, and thank you very much for sharing your stories. We appreciate it. >> Narrator: This has been a presentation of the Library of Congress. Visit us at LoC.gov.