Operation Pedro Pan : The Migration of Unaccompanied Children From Castro's Cuba

At the outset the proposal seemed modest: transfer two hundred unaccompanied Cuban children to Miami to save them from communism. The time apart from their parents would be short, only until Fidel Castro fell from power by the result of U.S. force, Cuban counterrevolutionary tactics, or a combination of both. Families would be reunited in a matter of months. A plan was hatched, and it worked—until it ballooned into something so unwieldy that within two years the modest proposal erupted into what at the time was the largest migration of unaccompanied minors to the United States. Operation Pedro Pan explores the undertaking sponsored by the Miami Catholic Diocese, federal and state offices, child welfare agencies, and anti-Castro Cubans to bring more than fourteen thousand unaccompanied children to the United States during the Cold War. Operation Pedro Pan was the colloquial name for the Unaccompanied Cuban Children’s Program, which began under government largesse in February 1961. Children without immediate family support in the United States—some 8,300 minors—received group and foster care through the Catholic Welfare Bureau and other religious, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations as young people were dispersed throughout the country. Using personal interviews and newly unearthed information, Operation Pedro Pan provides a deeper understanding of how and why the program was devised. John A. Gronbeck-Tedesco demonstrates how the seemingly mundane conditions of everyday life can suddenly uproot civilians from their routines of work, church, and school and thrust them into historical prominence. The stories told by Pedro Pans are filled with horror and resilience and contribute to a refugee memory that still shapes Cuban American politics and identity today. "At the outset the proposal seemed modest: transfer two hundred unaccompanied Cuban children to Miami to save them from communism. The time apart from their parents would be short, only until Fidel Castro fell from power by the result of U.S. force, Cuban counterrevolutionary tactics, or a combination of both. Families would be reunited in a matter of months. A plan was hatched, and it worked-until it ballooned into something so unwieldy that within two years the modest proposal erupted into what at the time was the largest migration of unaccompanied minors to the United States.Operation Pedro Pan explores the undertaking sponsored by the Miami Catholic Diocese, federal and state offices, child welfare agencies, and anti-Castro Cubans to bring more than fourteen thousand unaccompanied children to the United States during the Cold War. Operation Pedro Pan was the colloquial name for the Unaccompanied Cuban Children's Program, which began under government largesse in February 1961. Children without immediate family support in the United States-some 8,300 minors-received group and foster care through the Catholic Welfare Bureau and other religious, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations as young people were dispersed throughout the country. Using personal interviews and newly unearthed information, Operation Pedro Pan provides a deeper understanding of how and why the program was devised. John A. Gronbeck-Tedesco demonstrates how the seemingly mundane conditions of everyday life can suddenly uproot civilians from their routines of work, church, and school and thrust them into historical prominence. The stories told by Pedro Pans are filled with horror and resilience and contribute to a refugee memory that still shapes Cuban American politics and identity today. "-- Provided by publisher. At the outset the proposal seemed modest: transfer two hundredunaccompanied Cuban children to Miami to save them from communism.The time apart from their parents would be short, only until FidelCastro fell from power by the result of U.S. force, Cubancounterrevolutionary tactics, or a combination of both. Familieswould be reunited in a matter of months. A plan was hatched, and itworked-until it ballooned into something so unwieldy that withintwo years the modest proposal erupted into what at the time was thelargest migration of unaccompanied minors to the United States.Operation Pedro Pan explores the undertaking sponsored bythe Miami Catholic Diocese, federal and state offices, childwelfare agencies, and anti-Castro Cubans to bring more thanfourteen thousand unaccompanied children to the United Statesduring the Cold War. Operation Pedro Pan was the colloquial namefor the Unaccompanied Cuban Children's Program, which began undergovernment largesse in February 1961. Children without immediatefamily support in the United States-some 8,300 minors-receivedgroup and foster care through the Catholic Welfare Bureau and otherreligious, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations as youngpeople were dispersed throughout the country. Using personalinterviews and newly unearthed information, Operation PedroPan provides a deeper understanding of how and why the programwas devised. John A. Gronbeck-Tedesco demonstrates how theseemingly mundane conditions of everyday life can suddenly uprootcivilians from their routines of work, church, and school andthrust them into historical prominence. The stories told by PedroPans are filled with horror and resilience and contribute to arefugee memory that still shapes Cuban American politics andidentity today Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 12 A Note on Language 14 Introduction 16 1. Takeoff 28 2. Landing 37 3. From Camps to Resettlement 58 4. Americanize a la Cubana 70 5. The “Other Miami” 80 6. Operation Pedro Pan in Cuba 99 7. A Brief History of Intimate Ties 114 8. A National Test 120 9. Cold War Childhood 130 10. For God and Country 148 11. Abuse 162 12. Vaults of Oblivion 167 13. Bittersweet Reunions 177 14. Putting the Program to Bed 187 15. The Politics of Exile Identity 195 16. The Return 204 Conclusion 211 Notes 218 Index 268 ""Operation Pedro Pan" tells the history of the Unaccompanied Cuban Children's Program, colloquially known as Operation Pedro Pan, which brought over fourteen thousand children to the United States from Castro's Cuba between 1960 and 1962"-- Provided by publisher. John A. Gronbeck-Tedesco tells the history of the Unaccompanied Cuban Children’s Program, known as Operation Pedro Pan, which brought more than fourteen thousand children from Castro’s Cuba to the United States between 1960 and 1962.