On the brink of hypothermia, when Mario Alberto Céspedes thought his life was spinning on the frozen Kotra River dividing the territory of Belarus and Lithuania, Mario Alberto Céspedes thought only of his family there in Puerto Padre.
“I’ll tell you more, I cried for her, for my one-year-old boy who hardly knows me and my other two who couldn’t have anything in this life,” she says 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 that’s a story that begins almost 10,000 kilometers away, in Las Tunas. A story that, in one way or another, may be that of many others who have risked their lives to emigrate, whether that be 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 tried to find a better life and went 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 am an average computer technician, I lived in precarious circumstances,” he says, while sending me a photo of his house via Whatsapp. “A total collapse since 2008,” he says.
Mario Alberto (left) with his friend and colleague Michael, with whom he made the trip. Photo: courtesy of Mario Alberto Céspedes.
With three children, a mother and a sick grandmother in his care, he made the decision to emigrate to Europe and the only option left to him was Russia “where we could go because no visa is needed”. Therefore, he and Michael, his colleague, were in the city of Kazan three months ago.
“My family needed me to come to Europe. The route was “sold” to us by someone who knew it. The first part worked. We jumped over the first border strip, but it took a long time and we got tired before we reached the Polish part.”
What happened next was made public through a Facebook post that Mario was able to share in the most tragic moments. In it he recounted the mistreatment of the Belarusian border guards, who repeatedly beat them and left them in inhospitable areas where the only option was to cross the river into Lithuania. “It was almost our will,” he says.
Now tell how the mishap ended. “Michael turned purple when we tried to cross the river. Desperate, he climbed a tree trunk and I tried to find a (telephone) signal. I called 911 and as my line is Russian they answered and told me they were not responsible for the area but they would be in touch with Lithuanian and Belarusian 911 to see what they could do.”
Crossing. Photo: courtesy of Mario Alberto Céspedes.
“Since Michael was in a very bad condition, we went to shore and the first people to meet us were the Lithuanians. We’re sorry, but you didn’t listen to us. A few hours later the Belarusians came and rudely told us to follow them. Although we could barely walk, we made it until they picked us up in a van. The only thing we have to thank them for is that they gave us hot tea. They released us on a street and called a taxi to take us to the train station.”
“It wasn’t a rescue,” he emphasizes, “because there was no medical help or halfway humane treatment. We had to crawl out of the swamp my friend who has heart problems on the brink of a heart attack and we never got a hand from a guard. Although at least they didn’t hit us.
Crossing. Photo: courtesy of Carlos Alberto Céspedes.
It is not clear to Mario why they were not allowed to translate to the Polish side and still tried to force them to cross to Lithuania, also EU territory. “It was impossible for us to enter Lithuania, even though we were trying to save our lives, and it cost us our feet,” he says, sending me a photo of his feet, which are almost deformed from an infection.
Photo: courtesy of Mario Alberto Céspedes.
“My feet are not good, Michael is worse. We both have edema, I can barely walk, but they didn’t give me medical care,” he explains. “Now we have to recover, then we’ll see.”
From the window of the Moscow apartment, the winter day and the future look rather dark.
“Unfortunately I don’t know how to get out of here or work, sick now, but I’ll manage. I can’t get tired for my family. I can’t disappoint them, even if I lose my life,” he assures.
***
Despite the crisis, many Cubans are currently coming to Russia. There is the conflict with Ukraine, which implies, among other things, the almost complete lack of flights. The tightening of immigration policies makes regularization almost impossible and life very difficult for those who decide to stay in this country irregularly.
The goal of others is to travel further, especially to other areas of the European Union. Although that is now much more complicated due to the geopolitical situation. It is hoped that the number of those trying will continue or even increase under the current circumstances. The Central American route has been closed and many emigrants do not have “sponsors” to go to the United States.
In the recent past, some Cubans even tried to reach US territory via Siberia, via 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” tried.
It can be just as difficult and dangerous to save the distances currently being attempted to irregularly cross borders from Russia to other European territories. Several migrants have found themselves in extremely dangerous situations and have even entered the war zone. But the truth is that one way or another it is a phenomenon that will occur as long as the circumstances on the island do not change and we Cubans do not feel that we have a prosperous future at home be able.