THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 7, 1995 TAG: 9502070343
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: MIAMI LENGTH: Short : 26 lines
More than two dozen Cuban refugees at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo, Cuba, have made suicide gestures, in apparent hope that they would be sent to Miami for medical attention and allowed to stay, officials said.
One Cuban refugee, distraught because his wife left him and moved into another man's tent, tried to hang himself at Guantanamo last year and was taken to the United States.
``It gave people the idea they could get a visa,'' said Carlos Gonzalez, a Cuban psychologist who is interned at the camp and is working with U.S. doctors.
Since November, there have been 12 attempted suicides in which refugees really wanted to die, the Miami Herald reported Monday. There were 29 suicide gestures where rescue was likely. None of the 41 resulted in death. by CNB