The Cuban mother, Mayra Ruiz, wakes up every day waiting for news of her son Maiquel González, who disappeared on December 20, 2022 along with 28 family members and friends when he was trying to reach Florida as a rafter, in a homemade boat.
Desperate to escape the crisis on the island, they chose to take their chances in the Strait of Florida, one of the most dangerous migratory crossings in the world.
Although almost two years have passed, Ruiz still has not received concrete news.
“My mother’s heart tells me that he is alive, but not hearing anything is torture,” she confesses to Reuters.
González, like many young Cubans, dreamed of a better life for his family. He knew he couldn’t afford to pay the nearly $5,000 to travel to Nicaragua and then cross the U.S. border, a common route for Cuban migrants. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to cross the strait on a raft for less than $200, he took it without hesitation, despite the incalculable risk faced by Cubans desperate to escape the dictatorship.
The Florida Straits, with strong currents and shark-filled waters, are extremely dangerous.
According to the UN, deaths on these routes have increased by 20% in recent years, but “invisible shipwrecks”, such as the one on the González raft, are not always recorded, suggesting that the number of missing people is greater than what is officially reported.
Despite the efforts of the authorities, no trace of the boat or its crew has been found.
Many relatives, like Maiquel González’s mother, are still waiting with faith, while others are slowly beginning to accept that their loved ones may have perished at sea.
These cases frequently occur to Cuban families who say goodbye to their loved ones because they decide to jump into the sea, despite the danger, to seek a better quality of life for their family in another country.
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Editorial Cubans around the World
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