In general, the parents of these children were opposed to the Cuban Revolution but, for various reasons, were themselves unable to leave the island. The Catholic Church and the U.S. State Department assisted in the operation. Pan Am flights took the children to Miami, Florida, which was referred to as "Never-Never Land," and the children became known as the "Peter Pans."
Singer Tori Amos wrote a song about the incident, by the same name/title, which was available as a B-side to the limited edition release of her single "A Sorta Fairytale." In it she expounds on the tragedy of the situation by using metaphor from the original Peter Pan story. The line "Second to the right, straight on 'til morning" comes directly from J. M. Barrie's novel; these are the directions on how to get to "Never Never Land."
The lyrics are: