Posted on 07/28/2003 9:45:42 AM PDT by dead
A group of 11 Cubans, who tried to flee to the United States by sea in a 1951 Chevrolet truck, have expressed a sense of loss that they were returned home while their beloved truck lies at the bottom of the ocean.
The 11, plus a young boy, were intercepted by the US Coast Guard on Thursday, 65 kilometres off the US coast as they attempted to reach the US.
They were subsequently repatriated to Cuba.
Their ageing, but dependable green-coloured Chevy, resting on inflated floats and rigged up so its engine could power a propeller, was sunk by the coast guard, who considered it a navigation hazard.
"The truck provided a living to the family, we earned a living by it and then they sunk it. They would not let us enter the United States, which was our dream. Now, we have no truck, no work, no money, nothing," Eduardo Perez Graz told AFP from his home in the Diezmero neighbourhood south of Havana.
Mr Perez Graz, 25, was one of those who tried to flee to the US on the truck.
He, his wife, Isora Hernandez, 25, their three-year-old son, Luis, and eight men and one woman, all under 35 years, co-owned the now famous truck.
The friends had calculated the truck could carry 12 people, supplies, 300 litres of petrol, water, and other necessities in addition to spare fuel tanks.
"We had made three trips by night in the truck to the Brisas del Mar beach, so the police were suspicious and watching us. However, we armed ourselves and in the early hours we took the truck out to sea," Mr Perez Graz explained.
None of the Cubans were sailors or had experience of sea navigation.
However, they set course for the US and were making good headway until they were intercepted by the US Coast Guard on Thursday morning.
The coast guard initially promised the truck would not be sunk, and began towing the Chevy behind their vessel.
However, within about 30 minutes, the coast guard strafed the truck with a high-calibre machine gun until it caught fire and sank, saying it had become a navigation danger.
The Cuban truckers were then repatriated to Cuba and returned to their homes.
The group are not seeking publicity or fame; they just wanted the opportunity to go to the United States.
"Now, it's going to be difficult to find work here. Nobody will want to hire people that tried to flee illegally, who are not seen as dependable. We have lost everything," one of the other truckers added.
AFP
I thought I could just hear, above the noise of the USCG vessel, a cry of, "If the women don't find ya handsome, they should at least find ya handy!"
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