Operation Pedro Foreign And Local Literature

Literature Review Section Two

Safe travel and housing for all children The US, as well as Operation Pedro Pan and CCP, tried to make the children feel as at home as possible in by providing secure travel and safe housing. One main figure in the conception of the operation was Father Bryan Walsh. As a very involved member of his community, Walsh had worked previously with nursing homes, childcare services, and homeless AIDS patients. (Cauce, 2012, p.3) His bureau had been accepting and placing various Cuban children in foster homes since November of 1960. At the same time that the Catholic Welfare Bureau began to accept children, James Baker, the headmaster of an American school in Cuba, noticed the need for easy transportation out of Cuba.

In January of 1961 Father Walsh was given the permission to sign visa waivers for children age 6-16. (Allen, 2011) For children ages 16-18, additional background checks were needed, and their information was sent to Washington to be cleared. Father Walsh signed and sent thousands of waivers over to Cuba which were eventually copied and distributed through an underground network. The waivers were sent in diplomatic pouches with government officials who sympathized with the Operation. This group included wives of Ambassadors, who were not subject to search. However, had anyone been caught transporting documents were risking their lives, and many were imprisoned for long term sentences. (Cauce, 2012,

The CCP would work with outside organizations to correctly place children in a safe home, often of which would correspond with their religion. While these organizations were from all around the country, there were four main voluntary agencies who would organize and provide foster care.

“The Catholic Welfare Bureau and The Children’s service Bureau of Dad county were responsible, respectively, of the Catholic and Protestant children. The Jewish Family and Children’s service off Miami and the United HIAS (Hebrew immigrant Aid society) service in New York were responsible for the care of Jewish Cuban children” (Cauce, 2012, p.8). After communicating with their respectable agency, children would stay with various catholic or jewish sanctuaries until they're were given a "scholarship". "scholarships" were given when there was an opening in a foster home or asylum. Although conditions with foster families were often better than those at the Catholic sanctuaries or foster agencies, every "Adios" was painful. As Yolanda Ganong describes in her 2009 account of her own travels, "Each 'Adios' was soon followed by another, every one as heart-breaking as the goodbyes in Cuba". Depending on their location, children were given small allowances that they could spend on outings or snacks. However, many children decided to save this money to pay for a plane ticket for