Cuban dissidents appeal for UN assistance

After fleeing Cuba almost a year ago, a group of 12 dissidents, including a two year-old infant, are pleading with the United Nations to fast track their asylum request.

Three of the dissidents silently protested yesterday outside the United Nations building at Chancery Lane, Port of Spain.

Unable to speak English, the dissidents asked for a Trinidadian friend to speak for them via telephone.

The group, a family and friends, came to Trinidad from Cuba on November 8, 2016.

They were pacifist protesters of the “totalitarian” system in Cuba. They say they fled because they were being persecuted and their lives were in danger.

After the Immigration Division took their passports, they were sent to the Living Water Community, the first contact point for refugees.

Their documents were then transferred to the local UN office because this country does not facilitate the asylum process.

Because of their status, the dissidents cannot legally work nor send their children to school and want to be sent to a country like the United States where their basic rights will be recognised.