Adrift: The Cuban Raft People
Alfredo Fernández has produced a book that should be required reading for academics, researchers, and the general public interested in the Cuban raft phenomenon, human rights, and/or immigration. Fernández covers all aspects of rafting, from the raft crisis of 1994 through the opening and closing of rafter refugee camps in Guantánamo and Panamá, the sinking of the tugboat 13 de Marzo by Cuban officials, the shootdown of two Hermanos al Rescate planes in international waters, and the resolution of the Elián González case in 2000. Moreover, he uses the colorful and engaging prose of a prize-winning novelist and scriptwriter.
Fernández's text has the ring of truth, as it presents detailed anecdotes about the actors, political dynamics, and drama of key events. The story is larded with testimony from rafters, showing the range of motivations, experiences, and outcomes of those who set out to sea in fragile crafts. Of all the accounts of the raft exodus, Adrift is the most compelling and comprehensive.
Unfortunately, the book lacks an index, bibliography, and footnotes to substantiate the sources of this richly specific account. Rafters who gave testimony are named, as are some analysts of the events, but many are not. We do not know if the author was present at events, or interviewed participants himself, or received the stories from third parties. The work is more an impressive and readable tale than a fully documented historical account. Lack of verifiable sources leaves its credibility open to attack. Nonetheless, as one who helped establish the demography of rafting and gathered oral history on this subject, this reviewer would evaluate the tale as one based in fact. Fernández has clearly investigated the story from many angles.
Still, parts of the story are distorted and contain minor inaccuracies. For example, indignation regarding living conditions during the first months at the U.S. Naval Base leads to simplistic and inaccurate explanations of problems. A heartless and lazy military staff is blamed for having allowed the rafters' latrines to overflow, which presented a degrading public health hazard. In fact, for security and privacy reasons, the rafters themselves were the ones who sealed the latrines using various improvised devices in order to "privatize" their use among family and friends. This meant that the soldiers assigned to latrine duty often could not enter sealed units for several days, resulting in a [End Page 201] health hazard. The author shows little patience or empathy with the logistical task or with U.S. officialdom in general.
Of course, the same criticisms could be made of many footnote-laden but inaccurate academic accounts as well. Yet, in an academic work we would have the benefit of a stated hypothesis or research question revealing the researcher's frame of reference, as well as an explicit methodological trail that could be retraced. One wishes that Adrift had more academic rigor.
Despite the occasional error, the work is a solid package that covers the rafters' saga with sensitivity and style. It is the most complex appreciation yet written on the subject and deserves to be widely read.
