Hungry For Freedom

AFTER MONTHS BEHIND BARBED WIRE AT KROME DEtention center outside Miami, some 160 Haitian refugees concluded that it was time for a desperate gesture. They announced a hunger strike to win their freedom, in an effort to protest what they see as an immigration double standard. The Haitians watched angrily as 48 Cubans who hijacked an airliner out of Havana earlier this month were released almost overnight. Hundreds of black Haitians -- who risked a 600-mile sea voyage in rickety boats to flee an often cruel military rule -- have been detained for months while their asylum claims are reviewed.

Most of the hunger strikers abandoned their fast after nine days, reputedly because of threats by immigration officials. However, some 45 Haitians -- mostly women -- continued. "They don't want to live. They were victims in Haiti, and now they're victims here too," said refugee lawyer Cheryl Little.

In an effort to forestall a massive refugee influx from Haiti, both the old and new White House Administrations were pushing for a political settlement between the military and ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Last week, however, the boats kept coming: a record boatload of 352 Haitian refugees sailed up the Miami River.