ben, i'm not a parent so that does limit my experience. however, i didn't say that the boy shouldn't be w/ his father. neither did the miami relatives.
this is ALL about hating castro and his cuba - no doubt. i don't think this is even about the father. the father just happens to represent castro and his cuba right now.
let me ask you a question. would you want your child to grow up in cuba? if yes, then you would the exception to the rule. the next question is what are you willing to give up to prevent your child from growing up under castro's thumb (and he WILL have to do the bidding of castro if he returns, you can bank on that!). getting elian to renounce his miami family and the evil us (by all means necessary!) will be worth lots of points to castro.
would you fight to have your jewish nephew that was rescued from sea to prevent his return to his father in germany who you felt was being controlled by hitler? or, would you let him go to what you felt strongly was a concentration camp? i hate to be so frank, but that's how i think these folks see it. and they may be right.
throw in a little religion and it is a mess. to some, sending the kid to cuba means renouncing god and losing eternity. while i'm of the belief that all such matters will be worked out in some unforeseen way (maybe after this life), others believe the here and now is it. something to add to the mix. what is your salvation worth?
i don't believe this was ever against the father. if he asked to stay in the us then he would have had the kid in hours.
i'm not sure of all the details, but i'm sure that many cubans in miami have had relatives jailed, tortured and/or killed by castro's cronies. maybe that is what juan is concerned about now. that adds a different angle to the passions.
i'm not really sure how this should be handled. i am mad at the govt for attempting to mislead the public once again w/ the "no gun point" statement and the lack of accountability for the err (or outright lie). i am convinced the govt doesn't care about this child and bill clinton doesn't "feel his pain." i am convinced that there were other alternatives that pompous, arrogant politicians felt was beneath their "position." i also feel the miami relatives stooped pretty low to prevent the child from returning to cuba (the video was really sad, imho).
if castro killed my family i might fight to keep folks from returning. the irony is that decent folks are returned to tyrants all the time and nobody cares.
i'm somewhat dispassionate b/c issues that involve millions are overlooked to peep into and issue that involves a child and his relatives. this doesn't make much sense to me.
if i were under an evil, corrupt, violent regime and i had the opportunity to send my child to live w/ relatives in america, i would send my child. the personal reasoning w/b that i'd feel selfish destroying my childs future - and the future of his offspring - just so he could grow up w/ me. whether that view is widly held or not, i don't know.
btw, this decision is made by thousands of people and will continue to be made. perhaps juan feels this way, too. perhaps castro has threatened to jail and slowly torture (for years, maybe) his entire family if he doesn't bring this child back to cuba. we know castro is milking this and he had plenty of time to "work" on juan.
it is a complex issue that raises conflicting views in my mind that haven't been resolved. if i was elian, though, i'd want to stay in the us. but, alas, i'm biased. maybe castro is a really nice guy who is just a little misunderstood.
ben, there is a simple, eloquent, obvious solution to every complex problem. it is always wrong. this IS complex. |
