43 Members Of Cuban Dance Troupe Ask For Asylum In US

[AvesPKS]

The AP (11/16, Ritter) reports, "Forty-three members of a Cuban dance troupe performing at a Las Vegas casino asked for asylum in the United States on Monday, in the one of the biggest mass defections of entertainers from the communist country. German-born director Nicole 'N.D.' Durr declared the action a 'historic' effort to secure artistic freedom for her 'Havana Night Club' dancers, singers, musicians and stagehands, who she said would be forced to quit performing if they returned to Havana. ... Arriving by bus to submit asylum paperwork at the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, the performers responded in unison when Durr asked in Spanish if they were frightened by the action they were taking. 'No!' they said." The AP notes, "Since Oct. 1, 2002, 51 of 112 Cubans seeking asylum in the U.S. have had their requests granted, said Bill Strassberger U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman in Washington. The others are pending or on appeal, and none have been denied. Six other 'Havana Night Club' cast members now in Germany received U.S. asylum Monday and were expected to arrive in Las Vegas on Tuesday, said Pamela Falk, a City University of New York professor advising the troupe. A seventh, the wife of a dancer, was awaiting an answer in Berlin."

AP

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: AvesPKS

The AP (11/16, Ritter) reports, "Forty-three members of a Cuban dance troupe performing at a Las Vegas casino asked for asylum in the United States on Monday, in the one of the biggest mass defections of entertainers from the communist country. German-born director Nicole 'N.D.' Durr declared the action a 'historic' effort to secure artistic freedom for her 'Havana Night Club' dancers, singers, musicians and stagehands, who she said would be forced to quit performing if they returned to Havana. ... Arriving by bus to submit asylum paperwork at the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, the performers responded in unison when Durr asked in Spanish if they were frightened by the action they were taking. 'No!' they said." The AP notes, "Since Oct. 1, 2002, 51 of 112 Cubans seeking asylum in the U.S. have had their requests granted, said Bill Strassberger U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman in Washington. The others are pending or on appeal, and none have been denied. Six other 'Havana Night Club' cast members now in Germany received U.S. asylum Monday and were expected to arrive in Las Vegas on Tuesday, said Pamela Falk, a City University of New York professor advising the troupe. A seventh, the wife of a dancer, was awaiting an answer in Berlin."

AP

I hope that they give it to them.