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Party meeting, but she always had a headache and wanted to stay home.
Fifteen said they stayed at home and played or went to a neighbor's
house and played. Eight mentioned watching TV.
6. When did you find out you were coming to the U.S.? One
student described in detail how he found out. He said it was a complete
surprise to him; he had always thought his parents were very happy in
Cuba. One night he knew something strange was happening, because he
heard whispers. The next day his father explained to him that every
Saturday when the father was supposed to be working, he was actually
at a special prison. The father had served 9 years in prison and was
completing the rest of the 30-year sentence on Saturdays. This man
had been a part of the Revolution but when he had a change of heart
was labeled a "counterrevolutionary" and sentenced to jail. Thirty-
two students said they had always known they were coming to the U.S.
because their parents talked about it. Five said that their families
had unsuccessfully tried to leave during the Camarioca exodus in 1965.
Another five stated that they learned in 1979 they were leaving. Three
knew early in 1980, well before the incident in the Peruvian embassy.
7. Why did your family come to to live? Twenty-seven
said they had friends or relatives who had told them about the city.
Seven said their parents moved there because it was more peaceful and
they did net like the confusion in Miami. Five said their church had
brought them. Two said they did not know why they had come.
Although the question of religion was not in the interview schedule,
it came up frequently in the interviews. No specific count was made of
the different religious groups represented in the research population.