Most of have a reference point in determining our family heritage. Our parents may live next door, 90 miles away or a short plane ride away. We may have sisters, brothers, cousins and other family at reach by Facebook. This world has gotten smaller in the last 20 years due to the internet. You can find documents showing your ancestors entering the United States or leaving for another country due archives on the internet. This world has an abundance of information and allows us to get to it very quickly.
In contrast some people have no reference for determining their family heritage. They have been separated from family for over 50 years. It is hard for me to imagine what it would be like to know I have family that is 90 Miles away and I know nothing about them. This is the case of hundreds of thousands of people in Cuba and the United States. These families were separated due to political views established by world leaders. I personally do not remember this since it happened over fifty years ago. But I’m familiar with the Cuban American relationship. I’m proud to say I’m in one! This separation has caused a dividing but now we see a possibility that the 90 miles of separation is and will continue to shrink. Why? Most of the communication with long lost family members is due to the ability to travel back to Cuba and speak to family. Restrictions with Cuba have been relaxed to help families communicate. *The Internet is very limited due to governmental restrictions for the Cuban people. This area of the world is somewhat isolated from the World Wide Web for now. This is quite different from the idea that we can carry in our pocket a smart phone and access just about any type of information we want or need. As restrictions are lifted I hope that we can reestablish family communications and get some reference point for my wife’s family heritage that is more specific. We are digging into her family tree and will let you know what we find.
*The statements here do not reflect any political views on my part or my families. We remain neutral in political affairs.