Celebrity Cruises: Room for a Few More
November 29, 2005
Celebrity Cruises took on some unexpected passengers on a recent cruise. While cruising through the Caribbean, within eye-shot of Cuba, the Celebrity Zenith came upon a rickety 15-foot boot with 10 Cuban refugees onboard. The crew of the Zenith assisted the people onboard, and called the Coast Guard as required by law.
It must have been a bittersweet moment for the refugees; while they were saved from the perilous ocean, they will likely never reach America's shores. Indeed, if they are not transported to a safe haven in a third country, they will be sent back to the very island from which they fled.
Since 1995, when a series of agreements was made between the Clinton administration and Cuba, the U.S. policy concerning Cuban refugees has been to repatriate Cubans interdicted at sea to Cuba. In the agreement, the Castro's government pledged not to retaliate against those who are repatriated.
These agreements with the Cuban government led to what has been called the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, which states that Cubans who make it to shore can stay in the United States, likely being granted permanent residence by the Attorney General per the Cuban Adjustment Act. However, those who do not make it to dry land—as in the case of Celebrity Zenith's "stowaways"—are ultimately are repatriated unless they can demonstrate a bona fide fear of persecution upon their return to Cuba.
The seven men, two women, and one little girl who were taken off the boat only spent about 10 hours onboard the Celebrity Zenith before U.S. Coast Guard authorities put them on a Coast Guard cutter.
But before they became the Coast Guard's responsibility, Celebrity Zenith gave them food, clothing, and medical attention, according to Lynn Martenstein, spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean Cruises, which owns Celebrity.
Once the Coast Guard took them, it can only be assumed that the Cubans were questioned to determine whether or not they'll be repatriated, sent to a friendly third country, or granted amnesty—the latter of which is the most unlikely.
The gesture of the Celebrity Zenith's crew and captain—as well as the ship's welcoming passengers—is symbolic in many ways. Perhaps the most obvious is the juxtaposition of an elegant cruise ship like the Celebrity Zenith to the wooden shell of a boat drifting in the Florida straits.
While one epitomizes the freedom and luxury many in U.S. have to take pleasure cruises, the other represents the struggle of many Cubans to escape a country where civil liberties have often been oppressed. The rescue of the migrants brings up broad issues, such as the U.S. economic policy towards Cuba, the authoritarian rule of Castro, as well as widespread immigration issues.
Of course, that dialogue is for another time. What matters is that Celebrity Cruises did the right thing—they rescued a group of people from an unknown and possibly tragic fate. The ship's staff and captain showed poise, and from all accounts, Celebrity Zenith's paying passengers were happy to have been a part of the rescue.
