THE CUBAN CHILDREN'S EXODUS
From December 1960 to October 1962, more than fourteen thousand Cuban youths arrived alone in the United States. What is now known as Operation Pedro Pan, was the largest recorded exodus of unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere. The youth were from all parts of the island of Cuba. While the majority were Catholic, several hundred were Protestant, Jewish or non-believers. Very few were from wealthy backgrounds. Most were of the middle class or lower middle class and included children of different racial backgrounds.
Father Bryan O. Walsh, the Director of Catholic Welfare Bureau, became aware of the plight of unaccompanied minors in November 1960 when a Cuban man brought a fifteen-year-old Cuban boy to his office. The boy, Pedro, had come to Miami to live with relatives. The family was in dire straits and the CWB was asked to provide foster care. Father Walsh realized that unaccompanied minors were always found among refugees seeking a safe haven. There would be many more “Pedros”.
Father Walsh brought the matter to the attention of Mr. Tracy Voorhees, sent by President Eisenhower to assess the needs of Cuban refugees in Miami. Mr. Voorhees recommended that the President approve funds for the care of unaccompanied minors. This meant that if the children could get to Miami, funds would be available to their care.
Pedro Pan was a program created in December 1960 at the request of parents in Cuba to provide an opportunity for them to send their children to Miami to avoid Marxist-Leninist indoctrination. After the break in diplomatic relations on January 3, 1961, the Catholic Welfare Bureau was authorized by the U.S. Department of State to notify parents in Cuba that visa requirements had been waived for their children. This enabled the children to travel by commercial flights to Miami.
Approximately, half of the minors were reunited with relatives or friends upon arrival at the airport. More than half were cared for by the Catholic Welfare Bureau. The children from the Cuban Refugee Children's Program were placed in temporary shelters in Miami, and relocated to over 100 cities in 35 States.
The exodus of the Cuban children was virtually unknown for over 30 years. The Catholic Welfare Bureau had no means of influencing Cuban parents to send their children to the United States. In fact, every effort was made to avoid publicity or propaganda. This was not its role or mission. Rather, the CWB responded to the desire of Cuban parents to protect their children from Marxist-Leninist indoctrination after the experience of the literacy campaign in the summer of 1960 and the closing of the Catholic and private schools in June of 1961. What the Catholic Welfare Bureau did was to provide a means for the Cuban parents of that period to exercise their fundamental human right to direct the education of their children.
Just as Peter Pan lived in Never Never Land without his parents, our very own Pedro Pan kids lived here in America without the love and guidance of their parents. Although one may be a fantasy about a boy who could fly, the other is quite real. We are honored to dedicate this production of Peter Pan, Jr. to those brave children (now adults) who have helped build our community into the thriving international city that it is today.
Featured in our playbill are several of their stories so that future generations do not forget their bravery and legacy. Many of them join us in the audience.
