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As many readers know, an estimated 125,000 Cubans fled the Castro regime from Mariel in virtually anything that would float and substantial numbers of Haitians set out for Florida in unseaworthy vessels to escape extreme poverty and an oppressive government in Port-au-Prince.
Others throughout the region looked to the Sunshine State for a brighter future, stretching available health, educational and public safety resources to the breaking point.
It was in Florida’s best interests to take a different tack.
From small island nations like Grenada and Dominica to Haiti, Nicaragua and Panama, the region faced significant challenges, sometimes the kind that highly skilled Floridians, many with regional ancestry, could help address.
Since its inception, 3,000 FAVACA volunteers have trained 30,000 people in 30 countries and territories to prepare for and respond to hurricanes and other natural and manmade disasters, target gang violence and an array of transnational threats, including disease vectors and agricultural blights that, if left unchecked, could adversely impact Florida.
Its volunteers have trained air and seaport managers and customs officials; helped advance preventive health initiatives, including HIV/AIDS; worked with small farmers to increase productivity and eliminate medfly, and local authorities to protect fish stocks, coral reefs and mangroves.
Sometimes, host nations enter into contracts with FAVACA volunteers for longer term support, generating revenue for Florida businesses and institutions of higher learning.
Visit FAVACA’s website to learn more – www.favaca.org
A Haitian proverb says, beyond mountains there are mountains.
Given today’s increasingly interdependent world and the challenges that lie ahead, ensuring that FAVACA’s history of constructive engagement on behalf of all Floridians can continue is a mountain worth climbing.
Mark Schlakman, senior program director for Florida State University’s Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, is FAVACA’s immediate past board chair.
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