CUBAN MIGRANTS WITNESSES IN CAYMAN ISLANDS.

[Bible Speaks]

CUBAN MIGRANTS WITNESSES IN CAYMAN ISLANDS.
an intensification in the legal appeals of Cuban migrants in the Cayman Islands, most of whom can not afford to hire a lawyer and try to defend their cases independently.

The situation has led to small protests at the center, including a more than a week hunger strike by Yoel, a prominent migrant at Cayman Compass in August, who was mostly blinded by one eye while working on a government protection team. After learning of his pending expatriation, a visibly distressed Yoel was placed in the courtyard of the detention center with a sheet that read: "Permitting injustice means opening the way for all those who follow it."

He maintained that if he returned to Cuba, he would be imprisoned for refusing to carry out tasks ordered by the government, as his faith as a Jehovah's Witness requires.

Yoel, who has not been represented by a lawyer, submitted his own handwritten appeal to the government in July 2016, after a letter from the Immigration Department of June 29, 2016 denying his asylum application. The letter said that Yoel could not demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution and, therefore, did not meet the criteria for refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

"I appeal to the Court of Justice, I ask you to reconsider my case, given that if they return to Cuba, my life will become hell because of the Cuban authorities, I fear even more for my children who are young, 2 and 3 years old. They live alone with my mother, since unfortunately, her mother is mentally ill, "Yoel said in her handwritten appeal.

While his appeal was apparently not accepted, Yoel remains in custody, now seven months after his appeal deadline. The government declined to comment on his prolonged detention, which is now approaching two years.

https://www.caymancompass.com/2018/02/05/cuban-migrants-step-up-appeals-despite-barriers/

 

[Rosalie Barry]

It is so sad about all the immigrants! My heart goes out to them. I just hope and pray that the New System comes soon to rid the injustices being done on all these poor people!