Key West Means Freedom

I’m getting ready to scratch a Key West itch in the next few days. But this story caught my attention and it is so heartwarming to know that some people’s first taste of freedom is when they step foot on land in Key West.

From the WashTimes here:

As most Americans finished up their Fourth of July festivities, 28 Cubans washed ashore at the Southernmost Point in Key West on Friday morning, getting themselves one step closer to freedom.

Making the arduous journey with little else but the clothes on their backs, the refugees will now be processed and taken to a center near Miami, a local newspaper reported. The 1995 revision to the Cuban Adjustment Act instituted a “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which dictates that Cuban refugees found at sea are to be sent home.

Those who reach American soil, however, are put on a fast track to permanent residency and, eventually, citizenship.

A Key West police officer handed out American flags to the refugees, and they were all able to have their picture taken next to the Southernmost Point buoy, the paper reported.

Good for them, and I hope they are able to make a great life for themselves here. They have an exhibit at the Key West Botanical Gardens that display the ragtag boats that the refugees come to America in. None of them appear to be seaworthy, and the crowded conditions of those boats also added to the deadliness of the journey.