Leaving Cuba - in a hurry. That'll teach ya not to protest...

 

Tens of thousands have left the communist-ruled country since mass anti-government protests last July but many face life in limbo in Mexico

 

Last July, Rafael decided to get a provocative tattoo: a faded Cuban flag across his calf above the words “Patria y Vida”, or Fatherland and Life – the title of an anti-government anthem that went viral on the Caribbean island that summer.

That decision triggered a string of frightening confrontations with Cuban police – and ultimately prompted him to flee the country, leaving his two young children behind. Rafael is one of thousands of Cubans who have left the island since the largest anti-government protests in 30 years erupted spontaneously in cities across the country on 11 July.  

Well-known dissidents have been able to secure visas or receive asylum from various countries, primarily Spain and the United States, over the past six months while still in Cuba. But many ordinary Cubans whose first political act was taking to the streets last July have begun to leave the island as well, seeing self-exile as a better option than prison.

 Those with enough money for a plane ticket – often one to two thousand dollars –fly to Panama or Nicaragua and ride buses up through Central America.

Now Rafael and thousands of other Cubans are stuck in Tapachula, a sweltering town near the Guatemala border, while they wait for the Mexican government to issue documents allowing them to travel up to the United States border where they will apply for political asylum.  

Tens of thousands of people joined the July demonstrations. Many of them were peaceful, but others threw rocks at police officers, overturned police cars and set them on fire. Chants of “¡Patria y vida!” rippled through the crowds.

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