Operation Pedro Pan : The Untold Exodus of 14,048 Cuban Children

Between 1960 and 1962, over 14,000 children were sent out of Cuba alone by desperate parents who feared for their children's future under Castro. The author, herself a Pedro Pan child, has recorded hundreds of their diverse stories and experiences from American foster homes and orphanages. These children share their feelings about this painful time in their lives. The book investigates the events and key figures surrounding the exodus, including the roles of the Catholic church and the State Department, and the extent of the CIA's involvement. A volunteer approached a little girl at Miami International Airport and noticed a sign pinned to her dress. It read, "My name is Carmen Gomez I am five years old. Please be good to me.". That five year old left Cuba in one of the world's largest political exoduses of children in history - Operation Pedro Pan. Between 1960 and 1962 more than 14,000 children were sent out of Cuba alone by desperate parents who feared for their children's future under Castro. Unlike Peter Pan, however, these children continued to grow up even while separated from their families. In Operation Pedro Pan, Yvonne M. Conde has tracked down hundreds of these children in order to tell their diverse stories -their uplifting, poignant, and sometimes tragic experiences in American foster homes and orphanages, and, for some, their long-awaited, awkward and delicate reunification with their parents. Because Conde herself was a Pedro Pan child, others have opened up to her like never before to share their feelings about this painful time in their lives. Today, these children and their families struggle to heal the emotional scars of their long separation. Annotation Conde looks at the events and key figures surrounding the 1960-62 exodus of Cuban children, known as "Operation Pedro Pan", the roles of the Catholic church and the State Department, and the stories of hundreds of these children. Photos A stirring, poignant chronicle of the exodus of Cuban children beginning in 1960 tracks down hundreds of these children sent to the U.S. during this turbulent time and records their fascinating stories. "Jose Marti airport, 16 kilometers southwest of La Habana, had become a gloomy structure by 1961." First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.