The outpouring of sympathy in the community was quickly followed by indignation over the tactics employed to protest the Coast Guard's behavior.

We ask for patience and understanding. The Surfside incident was loaded with meaning for Cuban Americans. It was a reminder of the sad state of affairs on the island and evoked memories of the Cuban government's sinking of the tugboat, 13 de marzo, five years ago. Forty-one refugees, including women and children, lost their lives then.

The frustration of 40 years of brutal repression, family separations and being unable to return to one's birthplace came together to produce some not-so rational reactions, like blocking traffic. But protesters' objectives (the release of those detained and an immediate investigation) were legitimate.

We do not advocate that the United States totally open its borders. All nations have the right, indeed the duty, to control their borders. This does not mean, however, that we must remain silent in the face of injustice.

Current U.S. policy toward Cuban refugees is incoherent and ineffective in deterring Cubans from risking their lives at sea. As The Herald's editorial page has stated, we are reaping the fruits of a muddled policy, combined with a sophisticated refugee smuggling operation that the Cuban government alternatively fosters and punishes.

We do not see it as our mission to dictate U.S. policy; we do believe it is our obligation to ask the current administration for a comprehensive review and to make the changes necessary to prevent confrontations and further loss of life.

We also ask that, in fulfilling their duty, U.S. Coast Guardsmen, Immigration and Naturalization Service officers and Border Patrol agents respect the dignity of refugees. That objective can be accomplished by granting nongovernmental organizations that support human rights, local activists and media members access to Coast Guard interceptions. Close monitoring is not intended to undermine the Coast Guard's difficult task; our wish is to restore confidence.

Throughout the Cold War, the United States was a bastion of freedom and a safe haven from communism. Though the Cold War is over and communism mostly a thing of the past, the aging dictator 90 miles from Florida's shores refuses to accept history's verdict. He clings stubbornly to a discredited and pathetic philosophy and is the principal culprit of these misfortunes.

One need only look at the conflict in the Balkans and the globe's other hot spots to see that ethnic and racial animosity have disastrous consequences.

We must respect the feelings and sensitivities of others even when we disapprove of their tactics. And we must be fair.

Our responsibility in a country that has been the world's most successful in bringing people of different races and nationalities together is to make a good-faith effort to understand the perspectives and experiences of others.

All of us have a stake in ensuring that this community continues to prosper and surpasses expectations. Let us not then allow the emotions and divisions unleashed by a series of unfortunate events to overshadow what we have accomplished here together.

We commit ourselves to continuing to help our brothers and sisters in Cuba obtain freedom, and to working peacefully together with our neighbors to ensure a bright future for all.