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| Photo: Chris Bonanno / FLORIDA TODAY) |
MELBOURNE, Fla. — Melbourne Beach's Shannon Johnson was walking on
the beach on the morning of Dec. 3 when she noticed something that stood
out.
"It was right before low tide, perfect timing, about 9:30,
10 and just looked down. I was picking up some trash and looked down and
there it was."
"It" was a small medicine bottle that contained some rocks and other small particles … and a letter.
"I was afraid to open it at first like some crazy pirate put something toxic in it."
But
eventually Johnson did open it and when she did she found a note in
several pieces from a woman in Cuba inside of it. The letter, written in
Spanish, detailed the woman's desire to come to America and better her
and her family's life.
Johnson felt as though this was a story
that needed to be shared, so to spread the message, Johnson shared the
photo of the bottle and letter with her close friend Brittany Blanc of
Melbourne. Blanc posted it to her Facebook profile, which drew interest
from her friends.
One of those friends, Jason Schreiber, sent a
message over Facebook to "three or four" of the woman's friends along
with the woman herself.
"I dug deeper than anybody else," Schreiber said.
Eventually he made contact with the woman who sent the bottle.
"I
sent her a picture of her bottle and I sent her a picture of her letter
and I said, 'Is this you?' and she said, 'Oh my god, yes, yes that's
me.'"
Schreiber
discovered that she sent the bottle more than two months ago. He also
found that she was a well-educated woman who wasn't poor, but simply
wanted a better opportunity for herself and her family and seemed
frustrated that she couldn't come to the United States.
The woman also wished not to be identified in any published story.
"I
actually thought it was just a beautiful letter, and I don't think she
even meant for anyone to find it," said Blanc, after reading the
translated version of the letter.
The distance the bottle traveled
differs depending upon how you calculate the distance from the northern
coast of Cuba to the Space Coast, but the bottle traveled at least 300
miles before it washed ashore.
Schreiber shared the sentiment that
Johnson and Blanc had of wanting to meet the woman in the United
States, but he was unsure of what he could realistically do.
"I mean if there's any way I can get her over here to better her life or anything that'd be awesome."
The woman's frustration is likely due to the steep odds she faces in coming to this country.
According
to David Stoller, certified immigration attorney, a Cuban citizen's
path to coming to the United States rests with either having family here
or winning one of two lotteries: the United States' Diversity Visa
Lottery, or a second lottery offered in Cuba, only to Cubans. He said a
Cuban national cannot be deported if they step foot in the U.S., which
leads to some coming over in rafts and through other means.
"That's
the way it works for everyone around the world. Your chances are slim
and none unless you fit into some category in our system of either
family, employment base, or a special program for people of certain
countries like we have for the diversity visa process or a special
set-up for Cubans," said Stoller.
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