Marzo 25, 2007
Curacao, 23 March 2007
We, the Cuban signatories of the following letter want to make a call to the Dutch government and international human rights organizations to help prevent our deportation to Cuba. There are serious indications that the Curacao government is pressed to do so by the Cuban regime.
We were employed like slaves at the national Dry dock CDM on Curacao under strict control of the Cuban state security. Now, we do not want to return to Cuba because we seriously risk to be put in prison for a number of years. The following letter to the Curacao authorities was never answered.
Curacao, 21 February 2007
Ms. Liza Richard-Dindial
Lieutenant Governor of Curacao
Netherlands Antilles
Through this letter we appeal to the Insular Government of Curacao to grant us leave to stay and work in the island. This appeal is supported by the Dutch foundation Cuba Futuro.
We are three Cuban citizens that came to work at the Curacao shipyard (also known as the DOK) to see our work pay off a debt the Cuban government owes the Curacao DOK. One of the three of us decided to escape the DOK; the two remaining ones (once we had finished our work and had recovered our passports) decided not to return to Cuba, escaping from the Hato airport.
In the DOK we were victims of labour exploitation, which is in clear contradiction with international labour standards. Curacao is part of the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The repression which is part of ordinary life in Cuba was fully transported into Curacao, without the local authorities intervening. They have not controlled in an efficient way the modern slavery that is currently occurring in the DOK. There was complete control over us in the premises of the DOK where we were assigned to live. As you are aware, according to international laws it is prohibited to live in your place of work due to the risk posed to the workers. For a long period of time we were living in the premises of the DOK.
We had to work from 12 to 15 hours a day, we did this for 11 or 12 continuous days, without rest. During holidays it was only us Cubans working and we were paid as if it were a normal day. The food we were given was insufficient and of bad quality. We were sleeping in rooms of eight to 10 people and sharing a bathroom amongst us and others.
Our salary was of one dollar per hour, and one working day consisted of 12 working hours. Nevertheless, sometimes our working day could consist of 16 or more working hours. We were never paid the additional hours nor holidays, as is enshrined in the laws of Curacao or in the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) which the Kingdom of the Netherlands has ratified.
In addition, we also had other restrictions, such as a prohibition to go out on our own. We had to go out in a group so as to watch on one another, always in the presence of a spy of the Cuban government. We were also forbidden to contact other persons who were not our colleagues as well as to speak to other Cuban residents in Curacao. We were also not allowed to visit night clubs or have romantic relationships.
Carrying out this type of work we felt imprisoned, also since our passports had been taken away from us during our stay in the island.
When we decided to escape, the representative of the Cuban government in the DOK, Rosana Grau (who also leads the Cuban State Security in Curacao), hired the Venezuelan company “Panamericana de Vigilancia” to search for us. This, with the consent of the security officials of this country.
After having taken such a bold step to leave this job, it is impossible to return to Cuba. The Cuban government considers us defectors and this charge has serious criminal consequences, as it is the State and not the individual that decides on one’s fate. In charge of our persecution against us is an agent of the Cuban State Security, i.e. the political police of Cuba.
The Cuban Procedural Code contains Article 135 which establishes a three to eight year prison sentence for “abandoning of functions” abroad. Our freedom is in serious danger if we return to Cuba. We believe it is sufficient that our families in Cuba are already being persecuted and being threatened by the authorities.
Now we find ourselves as undocumented persons under Curacao’s laws. This means that we can not work in our professions as specialized builders. If we did have the necessary permits, we would be able to find good jobs which would allow us to develop professionally and contribute to the society of the island. Here we feel well because there is a system based on freedom where there is no oppression as is found in our country of origin.
Together with the Cuba Futuro Foundation, we thank you for your attention. We hope that you, as the maximum authority, will recognize our situation and a gesture of compensation for the exploitation we have been subject to in your country, will provide us with the necessary permits to live and work here.
We thank you for your consideration and wait for your answer.
Lázaro Agustín Ruiz González
Born on 1 January 1975
Profession: Naval welder
Ulises Adalberto Pérez Horta
Born 16 July 1967
Profession: Naval welder
Carmelo Argudín Hernández
Born 16 July 1956
Profession: Naval welder
Liduine Zumpolle
Cuba Futuro Foundation
++31-6-51818155
The Netherlands
Contact address:
Olivia Ocampo : oliviaocampo32@hotmail.com
