By Sarah Freeman
9/24/2007
Professor Ricardo Viera of the art and architecture department shared
stories about Operation Pedro Pan, a little known part of Cuban-American
history, during a presentation for Hispanic Heritage month on Sept. 17
in Maginnes Hall.
The presentation featured two of Lehigh's professors and a short video.
Professor Antonio Prieto of the modern language and literature
department explained the history leading up to Operation Pedro Pan.
Operation Pedro Pan was the movement of 14,000 unaccompanied minors out
of communist Cuba to Miami during the early 1960s partially funded by
the U.S. government.
According to the video, the children were forced to grow up very quickly
upon their arrival. Some were sent to camps in Miami where they stayed
in tents or small shacks. Other children were put into foster care. It
took anywhere from a few months to a few years before their parents
joined them in Miami.
Viera was a Pedro Pan child himself.
"We were 14,000 kids, we have a lot of stories," Viera said.
His story began when president Fidel Castro declared Cuba a communist
state. Viera said his family lost everything they had as a result of the
new government. He said because they were a religious family, they felt
unwelcome in Cuba.
Viera said he and his two siblings were sent to Miami through Operation
Pedro Pan. Thirteen months later their parents joined them, and their
family was reunited in America.
Viera shook slightly while reliving that portion of his life. His speech
helped participants and viewers of the presentation connect to his
emotional experience.
"How did I not know this before?" Eleni Sarigianis, '08, asked after
watching the presentation. Sarigianis said even though she was taking a
class on Cuba, she felt that a huge part of Cuban history was left out.
She said that there is a lack of awareness about Operation Pedro Pan as
well as the relationship between Cuba and America in general.
"It's sad really," Sarigianis said, "It just shows how our government
has successfully pushed it out of the way."
Alta Thornton, director of the office of multicultural affairs,
organized the presentation. She said she learned about Operation Pedro
Pan from Viera last year. Since then, she has been working to bring the
issue to light.
"We wanted to offer more than chips and salsa," Thornton said about
Hispanic heritage month.
During the presentation, attendees watched "The Flight of Pedro Pan,"
which highlighted the history of the operation. It featured interviews
from Pedro Pan children and their parents.
The video also explained the origins of the name Pedro Pan. When the
children arrived in Miami they were essentially lost. Taking inspiration
from the original lost boy, the children were called Peter Pan, or Pedro
Pan in Spanish.
According to the organization's official Web site, www.pedropan.org,
Operation Pedro Pan began in December 1960 and concluded in October
1962. The children were transported upon the request of their parents
who opposed the communist movement.
Once in Miami Operation Pedro Pan provided funds for the care of the minors.
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