Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Delegation Returns to Cuba from Canada

Aired July 31, 2002 - 13:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In Canada, a spokesperson for the youth fest convened by the pope says the defection of 23 Cubans was an abuse of trust. The spokesperson says the defectors took advantage of the world youth festival to pursue a separate agenda.
CNN's Lucia Newman is in Cuba, and reports from the many Cuban Catholics that are unhappy, happy as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There were embraces, and even some tears of relief, as friends and relatives welcomed home the first contingent of Cuban Catholic youths from Toronto, a trip to meet Pope John Paul II, made bittersweet by the defection of at least 23 of the 200-member youth delegation.

MARGARITA HERNANDEZ, CHURCH CHAPERONE (through translator): It's painful, but it's the reality of Cubans, that when they get a chance to leave, they become overwhelmed by the developed world.

NEWMAN: Many say the important thing is that the majority did return, invigorated with religious fervor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Those who stayed are free to do so. Each made their own decision.

NEWMAN: Others, though, see the defections as a betrayal, not so much of their country, but of the confidence of their church.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Let God judge, but I think it wasn't right what they did to the Cuban Catholic Church.

NEWMAN: The bishop of Guantanamo, who led the Cuban delegation, says those who defected had their own reasons, but that they didn't include religious persecution.

MONSIGNOR CARLOS BALADRON, BISHOP OF GUANTANAMO (through translator): We felt no religious persecution there, or here in Cuba.

NEWMAN: Cuba's Catholic Church has another explanation for the defections.

ORLANDO MARQUEZ, CATHOLIC CHURCH SPOKESMAN (through translator): These people are driven to take such a drastic decision because they feel that no solution or future lies within their country for the dreams and hopes they aspire to. NEWMAN: The defections are a blow to the church, which expected all delegates to return to Cuba to spread the gospel. It's also yet another embarrassment for the Cuban government, coming just days after the high-profile defection to Miami of a former deputy foreign minister.

(on camera): Every day, Cubans leave this country, either legally or illegally, with the intention of not returning. And, it's not just ordinary Cubans. The children or other family members of some of the highest ranking communist government officials, including the daughter of the president himself, have deserted.

(voice-over): That's why, for the relatives of those who didn't return from Canada, the defections are not so much a stigma on their families as they are a national tragedy caused by the continuous exodus from Cuba.

Lucia Newman, CNN, Varadero, Cuba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com