A Cuban identified on TikTok as @yeniel.pedroso shared a video that brings back one of the toughest—and yet most hopeful—moments of his life: his journey on a raft to the United States alongside 35 other people, a voyage marked by danger, faith, and the determination to escape the misery in Cuba.
The images show several exhausted men, drenched and covered in grease, gathered around an improvised engine made from metal barrels and rusted pipes. Among them, Yeniel flashes a thumbs-up in a sign of victory while emotionally saying, “Thank God we all made it.”
The video, which captures part of the journey at sea, was recently shared, although the group arrived at U.S. shores on July 4, 2023, a date on which they celebrated their freedom and survival.
"Only those of us who have gone through this know the sacrifice," wrote the Cuban in his post, eliciting empathy from hundreds of users who also took to the sea to escape the Cuban regime.
According to reports, 36 people were on board the vessel, which crossed the Florida Strait with a modified truck engine, fuel stored in barrels, and a makeshift structure built from scraps of metal. The images highlight the extreme risks of these journeys, which often end in tragedy.
The publication has touched hundreds of Cubans both on and off the island, who recalled their own migration experiences and expressed gratitude for having survived a journey that thousands never managed to complete.
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