THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 26, 1994 TAG: 9408260616
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
The Cubans his ship plucks from the Caribbean seem to ``have pretty much figured this out,'' Navy Capt. J.T. Wilson said.
They know they won't be going to America.
But as the cruiser Vicksburg took on hundreds more refugees Thursday, he saw no sign that the flow of migrants was diminishing.
``We have turned our cruiser into something out of a novel,'' Wilson said in a telephone interview.
As he spoke, hundreds of Cubans ate, slept and sought refuge from the elements under awnings erected on the deck of the Vicksburg. The crew has created something like a ``wagon wheel'' on deck, Wilson said, and the migrants move from a makeshift hospital to feeding and sleeping areas and toilet facilities set up around the deck.
The ship must go slower - the Vicksburg's speed is limited to about 15 knots, less than half its top speed - so the awnings won't be blown off the deck. But they offer vital shelter from rain and the blistering sun. After up to a week on their rafts, many of the Cubans are badly sunburned, Wilson said, but otherwise there have been few medical problems.
The Vicksburg and the 10 other Navy ships in the Cuban operation as of Thursday are supposed to be acting as shuttles, ferrying refugees to tent cities the military is putting up at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station. But the rafts and boats bearing Cubans are so dangerous, Wilson is picking up everyone he encounters rather than risk having them wait for the Coast Guard.
The Vicksburg, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser based in Mayport, Fla., rescued about 60 Cubans on Thursday and by mid-afternoon had taken on another 200 from Coast Guard ships. Wilson expected to get another 500 from a Coast Guard cutter before the end of the day. Then he and his crew of more than 350 would begin the 36-hour trip to Guantanamo.
Wilson said most of the migrants are young single men and families. Among those the Vicksburg took to Guantanamo earlier this week was one family with three young children and two more on the way: The mother was 8 1/2 months pregnant with twins.
``It's pretty interesting stuff'' to see people like that on the open sea, Wilson said.
Last weekend, when the Vicksburg arrived in the Florida Straits, most of the Cubans broughtaboard were unaware of President Clinton's decision to send them to Guantanamo rather than permit them to immigrate. But Wilson said many were carrying compasses to help them navigate to Florida, so when the ship headed southeast toward the base they quickly realized things had changed.
``They've received it well,'' Wilson said of the new policy. Most seem grateful just to have been rescued and realize his crew simply is doing its job.
``The people we're picking up have used up a lifetime of luck when they're picked up by us,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: AFP
Color photo
At Bacuranao, Cubans toss coins into the water as a tribute to the
goddess Yemaya. The tribute is said to protect those who risk their
lives at sea.
KEYWORDS: REFUGEES CUBA by CNB