On the verge of hypothermia, when he thought that his life was going away on the frozen Kotra River, which divides the territory of Belarus and Lithuania, Mario Alberto Céspedes only thought of his family there in Puerto Padre.
“I’ll tell you more, I cried for them, for my one-year-old boy who hardly knows me and my other two who have been unable to have anything in this life,” she recounts now in the Russian capital while recovering from injuries in the apartment of a Cuban-Russian citizen who welcomed him after learning about his odyssey.
But this is a story that begins almost 10,000 kilometers away, specifically in Las Tunas. A story that, one way or another, can be that of many others who have risked their lives to emigrate, be it crossing frozen Belarusian forests, Nicaraguan volcanoes or the Florida Straits on a precarious raft.
“We are two humble people, two more Cubans than the many who have tried to have a better life and have gone out to try their luck,” says Mario, 40. “Michael and I work together at the Hygiene and Epidemiology Center in Puerto Padre. Although I have a degree in Hygiene and Epidemiology, and an average Computer Technician, I lived in precarious conditions, ”he says while sending me a photo of his house on WhatsApp. “A total collapse since 2008,” he says.
With three children, a mother and a sick grandmother in his care, he made the decision to emigrate to Europe and the only option available to him was Russia, “where we could go, because a visa is not needed.” Therefore, three months ago he and Michael, his colleague, were in the city of Kazan.
“My family needed me to get to Europe. The route was ‘sold’ to us by someone who knew it. The first part worked. We jumped the first border strip, but it took us a long time and we got tired before reaching the Polish part”.
What happened next was made public by a Facebook post that Mario was able to share in the most tragic moments. In it, he recounted the ill-treatment of the Belarusian border guards, who repeatedly beat them and abandoned them in inhospitable areas, where the only option was to cross the river to Lithuania. “It was almost our will,” he says.
Now tell how the misadventure ended. “Michael was turning purple while we were trying to cross the river. In desperation, he climbed on a log and I tried to find a (phone) signal. I called 911 and since my line is Russian they answered and told me they had no jurisdiction over the area but they were going to contact the Lithuanian and Belarusian 911 to see what they could do.”
“Since Michael was in very bad shape, we went out to the shore, and the first people who came to meet us were the Lithuanians. We are sorry, but you did not listen to us. A few hours later the Belarusians arrived and rudely told us to follow them. Even though we could barely walk we did it, until they picked us up in a van. The only thing we have to thank them for is that they gave us some hot tea. They released us on a road and called a taxi that took us to the train terminal”.
“It was not a rescue,” he insists, “because there was no medical assistance or moderately humane treatment. We had to crawl out of the swamp, my friend, who has heart problems, on the verge of a heart attack, and we never received a hand from a guard. Although these at least did not hit us.
It is not clear to Mario why they were not allowed to cross to the Polish side and yet tried to force them to cross into Lithuania, also EU territory. “It was impossible for us to cross into Lithuania, even though we tried to save our lives, and it cost us our feet,” he says as he sends me a photo of his feet, almost deformed by inflammation.
“My feet are not good, Michael is worse. We both have edema, I can barely walk, but they have not given me medical attention, ”she explains. “Now we have to recover, then we’ll see.”
From the window of the Moscow apartment, the winter day, and the future, look quite dark.
“Sadly I don’t know how I’m going to get out of here or to be able to work, now sick, but I’ll manage. I can’t get tired for my family. I cannot let them down, even if I lose my life in the attempt ”, she assures.
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Many are the Cubans who are currently arriving in Russia, despite the crisis. There is the conflict with Ukraine, which, among other things, implies the almost absence of flights. The tightening of immigration policy makes regularization almost impossible and life very difficult for those who decide to stay in that country irregularly.
The objective of others is to continue traveling, especially to other territories of the European Union. Although that is also much more complicated now due to the geopolitical situation. It is to be hoped that the number of those who try it will continue or even increase in the current circumstances. The Central American route has been closed and many of those who wish to emigrate do not have “sponsors” to go to the United States.
In the recent past, some Cubans even tried to reach US territory through Siberia, through the Chukotka peninsula. It is a completely inhospitable region with extreme cold and heavily militarized. Not a single case is known to have succeeded, but the “urban legend” made some try.
Saving the distances, at present trying to cross borders irregularly from Russia to other European territories can be just as difficult and dangerous. Several migrants have found themselves in situations of extreme danger and have even entered the war zone. But the truth is that, one way or another, it is a phenomenon that will continue to occur as long as the circumstances on the island do not change and we Cubans do not feel that we can have a prosperous future at home.
