The United States has just denied a student visa to Cuban academic Omara Ruiz Urquiola, a symbol of civic resistance against the dictatorship of Miguel Díaz-Canel. Last May, Ruiz Urquiola was awarded a scholarship from the Program for Threatened Cuban Scholars in the Humanities, granted by the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University (FIU), where she was set to enroll for the 2023-2024 academic year.
But that has not happened because the dissident, who was part of the San Isidro Movement and is mentioned in the iconic song "Patria y Vida" by the rapper Maykel Osorbo, imprisoned in Cuba, has faced bureaucratic obstacles. The Cuban regime does not allow her to return to the island, and she refuses to be forced into a migratory status in the United States that would justify a disregard for her rights as a Cuban citizen. "I did not go into exile. I have not been allowed to return," she stated to CiberCuba in an interview this past Monday.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) attributes the denial of the visa application for Omara Ruiz Urquiola to the expiration date of the invitation letter for the FIU scholarship. In response to this matter, the scholar has answered questions from this portal through a questionnaire.
In May 2023, Florida International University granted him a scholarship, but he has been unable to start his studies. What happened?
I need a J1 visa (for international students). The Cuban Research Institute (CRI) did not process the application correctly and then hindered the process in response to my requests for financial transparency. The last university invitation (DS-2019) expired, which was issued late due to intervention from the CRI, and USCIS has denied the visa.
Who is exactly responsible for a freedom fighter in Cuba having to struggle with bureaucracy?
The Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, with the support of the Office of Cuban Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, is led by Dr. Jorge Duany, who I understand is the former director of the CRI.
What is your legal status in the United States at the moment? Do you believe they are indirectly pressuring you to apply for the Cuban Adjustment Act?
I do not have legal status. The last extension for my tourist visa expired on January 20, 2023. It was the third one and required medical approval.
Yes, Dr. Duany went from telling me that he had the approval of the State Department to proceed with my visa application, despite the expiration of my tourist visa, to claiming that this was no longer the case, alleging a counter-order from the same agency. The Cuban Affairs Office later contradicted itself; it even failed to respond to the appeal from a group of activists who intervened on my behalf. Even Cuban intelligence has jumped in through one of its cyber combatants on social media to confront me for not taking advantage of the Adjustment Act. It’s interesting that the "opponents" have come to a consensus. Everyone wants me to be exiled. It’s worth contemplating.
What solution is there for this problem, or at least, what solution do you see for it?
That a thorough investigation be conducted into the implementation that the CRI has made of the Mellon Fellowship Program for endangered Cuban scholars in the humanities, and that the Office of Cuban Affairs at the State Department uphold its commitment. Sticking to the call for applications that I applied for and won would be sufficient.
You have expressed dissatisfaction with the institutional management of the Mellon grants by the CRI. Why is that?
In addition to the violation of rights in my case, the poor practices regarding institutional transparency are noteworthy.
From the first call, it was evident that the rules were being violated. This is a program with a humanitarian, supportive nature, aimed at helping those of us who have suffered political repression to the extent that our projects as scholars and artists have been canceled.
It is not a scholarship for those studying Cuban topics, nor is it for activists. It is a response to the dictatorship's policy of cancellation against academics and artists who have been marginalized, sidelined, and stripped of our fields of study and creation.
Those expelled from universities, galleries, and film festivals, those who have suffered the looting of their collections in their own homes, and this is not the case in every instance.
The membership of the selection committee has never been made public, despite being a public call. For me, with over twenty years in the academic world, both inside and outside of Cuba, this is very strange. It aligns with the irregularities detected in the awards granted.
It is also noteworthy that the initial call has been modified. The most shocking aspect is the dehumanizing, revictimizing treatment and the lack of institutional expertise from the Cuban Research Institute at FIU in this case. I will never understand why the Mellon Foundation entrusted such a large and complex program to an institution that is not equipped to handle it. As of today, only one fellow has completed the program, which started in August 2023.
Are you giving up on returning to Cuba? Will you try again?
Not even in death would I give up on returning to my homeland; that would mean ceasing to be myself, denying who I am. Of course, I will keep trying, time and time again. I have patiently waited to see how far they are capable of going here. I have been told by American officials from American airlines that I cannot board the plane; it hasn’t been Cubans from Cubana de Aviación. It is Americans on U.S. soil who have executed orders from the Minint.
How does Omara Ruiz Urquiola experience the economic, migratory, and rights crisis currently facing Cuba?
Bad, without sleep. Every blow against a prisoner or a protester, every death due to the state's neglect of hospitals, rural settlements, and care for the elderly and sick, enrages me.
I don’t focus on the numbers of migrants. It’s shocking the “cleansing” of generations that is being carried out to turn Cuba into a scorched earth, easy to sell.
We were "banned" to reduce the intensity of civil society and negotiate calmly. It's obvious that we were an inconvenience to the other party at that disgraceful table; of course, it serves everyone’s interests for me to adhere to a law (Cuban Adjustment) that would "justify" the illegality of my exile based on its political nature.
This Tuesday is the United States elections. What is best for Cuba?
We must remain on the sidelines, focusing on the fact that only Cubans can save Cuba. I do not place my hopes in any foreign power, as that would hinder any possibility for our future.
My brothers are imprisoned and they do not kneel because they believe in Cuba. My family has been mortally wounded for believing in Cuba. I breathe because I am committed to Cuba.
Out of curiosity, have you received support from the dissident Cuban intellectual community?
Of the few, the essential. I have felt great satisfaction receiving support from censored academics like myself, including colleagues who are currently being repressed in Cuba. I don't want to forget anyone, which is why I'm not mentioning names; they are present on social media.
Some who are in exile and risk cancellation have done so publicly. I particularly highlight Anamely Ramos and Camila Lobón, both legitimate fellows of the Mellon Foundation.
People who have been expelled and are truly pursued because of their academic and artistic work in Cuba, and who survive as best as they can, have publicly spoken out. They know that from now on they risk being excluded from any calls, but they will not allow themselves to be branded like cattle.
To the rest, my compassion has arrived; they carry no more.
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