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who were marginal may have internalized their dissidence and may
generalize it toward authority figures in their new environment.
In addition to adjusting to the obvious stresses of losing one's
homeland, leaving one's family behind, adapting to different customs
and language, there are more subtle problems which may be more difficult
to understand. The refugees may be relieved to live in a land of oppor
tunities where they are free of suspicions and oppression. Nevertheless,
they have difficulty adjusting to this very freedom. Their lives are
not organized and prescribed for them; there is no sense of accustomed
order. They may be depressed because they do not know where to turn or
what to do next. They may also feel guilt at having left loved ones
behind. They- find themselves indulging in the benefits of their new
economic opportunities, but unable to enjoy them because they remember
the daily difficulties which their loved ones still face.
Arenas (1982) summed up his feelings of loss in having left Cuba:
"The house was on fire!! The house was on fire!! But we got out!!
We saved ourselves, yes! But the house burned down." The loss of
one's country is pervasive because one can never return to what once
was and never again will be.
Spencer, Szapocznik, Santisteban, and Rodriguez (1981) compare
the emotional problems of the 1980 Cubans with those of a family where
the parents are in conflict and communication is poor. In this
comparison the mother and father are represented by the governments
of the two countries. These researchers believe that the "... am
biguity associated with an unclear legal status" (p. 3) has been a
source of stress for the entire Cuban immigrant population.