Cuban community grows with refugees

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010
Cuban community grows with refugees
By: Perla Trevizo

Staff photo by Matt Fields-Johnson/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Ediee Perez, who immigrated from Cuba in 1959 and has been helping other
refugees since 2005, hands Jose Noa Roque the keys to his new house in
Chattanooga.

For more than 10 years, Jose Noa fought for human rights in Cuba, an
activity that didn't sit well with the Cuban government.

So the only way to live in peace was to leave his island home, he said.

In 2005, he sought political asylum in the U.S. Embassy in Cuba and
recently arrived with his wife and daughter in Chattanooga, the latest
Cuban refugee family to make the Scenic City its new home.

"We felt happy and relieved when we touched American soil," Mr. Noa, 43,
said in Spanish.

"You feel happy because you are free," added his wife Sandra Acosta in
Spanish, sitting in their Southside apartment.

Working through the bureaucratic process to be allowed to leave Cuba
took almost five years: three years to secure their first interview with
the U.S government; another before their second interview when they were
approved to come to America, and finally, another year to get a flight
from Cuba.

"It's really bad because they tell you that you are going to leave but
they don't say when. Meanwhile the Cuban government knows you are
leaving," Ms. Acosta said.

During the last 10 years, the number of Cuban families settling in
Chattanooga has grown significantly, according to other Cubans. And that
number is expected to continue to grow.

Last year, 13 Cuban refugees resettled here with the help of Bridge
Refugee Services, a local agency that helps resettle refugees from
around the world. So far, six Cubans refugees have arrived this year,
with 21 others are expected to come by the end of the year.

Ediee cqPerez, an interpreter who works with Bridge resettling Spanish
speakers, primarily Cubans, estimates there are between 35 and 40 Cuban
families in the Chattanooga area.

With the exception of a few who have moved to other states where they
have relatives, most of them have decided to stay in Chattanooga, said
Marina Peshterianu, office manager for Bridge.

"As years pass, I think more and more Cubans choose to come to the U.S.
and try to rebuild their lives, not based on where they have relatives
but where they will find jobs," Mrs. Peshterianu said.

TENNESSEE

* There are 3,657 people born in Cuba now living in Tennessee.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 American Community Survey

CUBAN REFUGEE AND ENTRANT ARRIVALS IN U.S.: FISCAL YEARS 1999 TO 2008

* 2004: 2,980

* 2005: 6,360

* 2006: 3,143

* 2007: 2,922

* 2008: 4,177

Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and
Migration, Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System.

Other Cuban arrivals in Chattanooga have been long-term U.S. residents
who have moved from states such as Florida or New Jersey, where 80
percent of the foreign-born Cuban population lives, according to U.S.
census data.

The story of Cuban immigrants has been a very Florida-specific story and
continues to remain a very Floridaspecific story," said Michelle
Mittelstadt, director of communications for the Washington, D.C.-based
Migration Policy Institute.

There are close to 1 million Cubans in the United States and more than
700,000 live in Florida, according to the Census American Community
Survey of 2008.

But immigration is a network phenomenon, Ms. Mittelstadt said.

"As immigrants start moving beyond their traditional destinations and
you have small numbers of them move to new locations, they spread the
word back to their relatives and friends and associates, basically
talking about the life they are living in a new community and the
opportunities they have, whether it is economically or educationally,"
Ms. Mittelstadt added.

Haydee Perez-Parra moved to the Chattanooga area in 1998 from New York
City to study at Southern Adventist University.

"I started with my undergraduate (degree) at Southern," said the
38-year-old clinical therapist. "I didn't think I was going to stay here
but then I finished my master's and met my husband at school."

"Being a Cuban myself, I see it as a perfect place to introduce someone
from another country into the American culture because Southerners are
very friendly," she added.

After she moved to the area, her parents, siblings, friends and even her
brothers-in-laws followed.

"I really promote the area," she said.

For Jose Noa and Sandra Acosta, the most important thing is for them to
find jobs and be able to rebuild their lives, the couple said. It
doesn't matter where.

"I wouldn't move to Miami — despite the large Cuban community — because
there's a lot of unemployment," Ms. Acosta said. "If I'm coming to the
United States to be able to work and change my life so my daughter can
have an opportunity, what am I going to do in Miami?"

But if they can't find employment here, they say they are willing to
move to wherever they need to.

Chattanooga Times Free Press | Cuban community grows with refugees (9
February 2010)
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/feb/09/cuban-community-grows-refugees/