FLEEING ONE’S HOMELAND: HEALTH CHALLENGE OF CUBAN REFUGEES FROM THE MARIEL BOATLIFT

The decision to flee one’s homeland is a complex event that can have a life-long impact. The diaspora of the Cuban people has occurred throughout the United States since 1959. Their stories can shed light on the health challenge of leaving one’s homeland and can contribute to a body of knowledge that can inform nursing and health care. This study presents the qualitative findings from the stories of 13 participants who arrived in the U.S. from Cuba during the Mariel Boatlift of 1980. A story inquiry research design, grounded in the theoretical underpinnings of story theory (Smith & Liehr, 2014), was utilized to explore the dimensions of the health challenge of fleeing one’s homeland, turning points and movement to resolve. Deductive and inductive analysis of the health challenge of fleeing one’s homeland revealed the dimensions of trauma related to the pre-migration, migration, and post migration experience, associated losses, and stigma. The upheaval induced stress in the lives of the participants tested their ability to cope. Managing day-to-day and utilizing internal and external resources, the participants moved to resolve the challenge of fleeing their homeland over time. Many turning points shaped the direction of their experience over decades and contributed to their ability to find meaning by becoming self-sufficient, recreating home, and reconstructing a sense of self-identity. Their unique experiences and stories have provided a voice to empower future studies to expand nursing science, influence empathy and understanding through education, foster awareness in practice, and inspire the potential for policy change for the well-being of refugee populations.