Operation Pedro Pan

Posted: February 21st, 2020

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Operation Pedro Pan

Located in the state of Florida, the city of Miami is one of the most populous locations in the United States. The considerable popularity of the city is associated with its status as an entertainment center as well as a leader in the fields of commerce, finance, international trade, and the arts. Additionally, Miami has been categorized as a wealthy city in relation to a signifying cultural heritage. Unlike other urban vicinities in the United States, the city of Miami is known for its inclination towards environmental sustainability. This is attributable to the emphasis that the local government imposes on massive green spaces, clean streets, quality water for consumption, as well as citywide programs aimed at recycling. Aside from all these dimensions, the city of Miami is famed for its cultural legacy. This is evidenced mostly by its Cuban-American multiplicity and a Spanish-speaking majority. One event that particularly illustrates the city’s cultural heritage comprises Operation Pedro Pan, which tends to be depicted in the HistoryMiami Museum. 

Summary

The Operation Pedro Pan is an event that is considerably shrouded in history. Accordingly, the program was developed by the Catholic Welfare Bureau of Miami. Since its inception in December 1960, the event has been a staple in the city of Miami for Cuban-Americans as well as people with the urge to comprehend the city of Miami in terms of its rich cultural diversity. The respective scheme took place at the behest of parents within the country of Cuba. The aim of the request involved providing a platform that would allow them to send their offspring in order to avert the indoctrination influenced by the ideals of Marxism and Lenin. Following the success of diplomatic ties in 1961, the United States Department of State authorized the Catholic Welfare Bureau to inform Cuban parents of the waiver imposed on the visa prerequisites needed for their children. Because of this imposition, the children gained the right to travel via commercial flights to the city of Miami (PedroPan.Org 5).

The name surrounding the movement was based on another real event that connected closely to the arrival of children of Cuba in the respective state. The director responsible for the affairs of the Catholic Welfare Bureau, Bryan O. Walsh, became aware of the troubles that faced minors who were unaccompanied to Miami. This took place in 1960 whereby a man from Cuba brought his boy into the bureau’s office. The 15-year old, Pedro, had arrived in the city in order to live with his relatives (PedroPan.Org 6). Despite this, the particular family was incapable of providing the needed assistance to the boy. As such, the Bureau was tasked with establishing a safe environment that would allow the child to live accordingly. In this respect, Pedro was relocated to foster care. Based on this experience, Walsh recognized the fate of solitary minors as refugees in need of a secure haven. After this, there would be considerable cases of situations similar to that of Pedro.

Due to the implications of the weighty issue on Walsh’s conscience, the priest requested for assistance from Mr. Tracy Voorhees, who was an emissary obliged by President Dwight Eisenhower for the evaluation of the demands of Cuban refugees living in Miami at the time. Upon the involvement of Mr. Voorhees, the President was advised to approve finances that would cater to the needs of unaccompanied minors. If the recommendations became implemented, then the children would be capable of accessing the funds designated to them after arriving in Miami. Elsewhere, Ruston Academy’s head teacher, James Baker, engaged in a program aimed at the management of Cubans as well as expatriates in order to assist in the delivery of their children to the city under question. By 1960, Walsh and Baker had met leading to the initial conception of Operation Pedro Pan (PedroPan.Org 7).

Personal Reflection

Personally, it is impossible to deny the implications of Operation Pedro Pan in the city of Miami. At a time when the country of Cuba experienced issues attributed to the effects of indoctrination, it became important for most Cuban parents to guarantee the safety of their children. The only option for this involved facilitating the transition of Cuban children from the country to the city of Miami. As an outcome of the program, over 14000 unaccompanied Cuban girls and boys who left Cuba in order to arrive into the United States attained a refugee status within the Western Hemisphere, especially between 1960 and 1962 (Conde, n. d.). The movement of such large numbers of children to a foreign state is a landmark event, especially for present-day Cuban Americans. Without the migration of the children under the assistance of their parents and organizations such as the Catholic Welfare Bureau, the city of Miami would be incapable of boasting of a particularly strong cultural aesthetic.

The occurrence of Operation Pedro Pan serves as a significant reminder of the implications that governments can impose on their civilians and the general progression of the state. In the 1960s, countries located in the Western Hemisphere were highly conscious of the possible impacts of indoctrination. Specifically, Cuban parents were afraid of the brainwashing effects that the Marxist-Leninist propaganda would impose on the children. In most circumstances, parents were afraid of being stripped of their parental authority. In this respect, most of them focused on facilitating the future lives of their children by orchestrating migration measures for the sake of a better future for their children. Fast forward to the present, the implications of such actions are evidenced by the immense contributions that Cuban-Americans have imposed on Miami’s cultural heritage. As such, Miami is one of the most-frequently visited cities due to its cultural awareness and observation of milestones such as Operation Pedro Pan.

Analysis

The exhibition, Operation Pedro Pan, is a staple event especially in HistoryMiami Museum. In an effort to capture the event in explicit detail, the museum ensures that it utilizes different forms of evidences that document the history of the event since its inception in 1960. Accordingly, the cultural milestone utilizes a 5000-sq.foot exhibit in order to feature display cases that are filled considerably with prayer pamphlets, report cards, and school notebooks (Diaz 9). Other cases comprise passports for the children that took part in the migration at the time, clothes, suitcases, as well as plane tickets from the Pan American airline (Diaz 9). The utilization of such exhibits allow the museum to establish a personal touch with an audience interested in understanding the occurrence of Operation Pedro Pan. The display of items such as clothes, suitcases, and plane tickets act as imperative cultural artifacts that symbolize the migration of children from the state of Cuba.

Aside from these materials, the exhibit also depicts newsreels that depict Fidel Castro in celebration of the Cuban Revolution in black and white. In another reel, the director of the Catholic Welfare Bureau at the time, Bryan O. Walsh is shown requesting families based in America for assistance particularly in the provision of foster care to Cuban children. These artifacts further illustrate the external factors that actually influenced the occurrence of the migration in the first place. Each event captures the issues that the children faced prior to the event and after their settlement in the city of Miami in the United States. Additionally, the museum highlights life-sized digital testimonials that narrate the accounts of 17 ‘Pedro Pan’ alumnis from South Florida (Diaz 10-11). Adding a personal account to the event creates a platform that facilitates emotional connection with the audience.

Conclusion

            To this end, Operation Pedro Pan is an event of immense cultural significance to the residents of Miami in the state of Florida. Despite its famed nature, the city owes a considerable amount of its success to the present-day Cuban Americans occupying the city. Since the turn of the 1960s, the city began experiencing an upsurge of Cuban children migrating from the country of Cuba. The HistoryMiami Museum covers this event in clear detail by using massive exhibits that comprise the paraphernalia used by the migrants at the time. In other parts, the museum utilizes video testimonials as well as newsreels from the 1960s in order to capture Operation Pedro Pan in its entirety.

Works Cited

Conde, Yvonne M. “Operation Pedro Pan.” Historyofcuba.com. n. d. Web. 29 Sep. 2015. <http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/pedro.htm/>  

Diaz, Johnny. “Former Operation Pedro Pan Kids Look Back in New Exhibit.” SunSentinel. 1 Jul. 2015. Web. 29 Sep. 2015. <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/fl-operation-pedro-pan-exhibit-20150630-story.html/>

PedroPan.Org. “The Cuban Children’s Exodus.” 2009. Web. 29 Sep. 2015. <http://www.pedropan.org/category/history#inbox/_blank/>