OT...............................
I wanted to stay clear of this but a friend PMed me this message...<<Thursday, May 4 2000 1:31PM ET
To: IQBAL LATIF
From: ----
IKE,
I hope all is well with you and you are enjoying yourself.
I have a question for you. How do you view the Elian situation here in the US? Clearly there is a very strong dichotomy here in the US. Curious what you would observe from outside the US and from your background in following politics and world events.
Thanks.
......
This was my answer..... my friend PMed me back and he advised that may be it would be good to discuss this on the open thread....
Thursday, May 4 2000 2:11PM ET
To: SE (who wrote)
From: IQBAL LATIF
The boy was living with his mother, she decided to escape from that hellhole what we call Cuba, she took immense risk and paid dearly by sacrificing her life. Now what she did was for that little boy's future, he wanted that boy to become like other million's of successful immigrants who made big in US, if I was in Cuba I would do the same thing for my children. Ofcourse, the boy is minor the mother is dead in an attempt to reach the shores of a free land. Now the legal question is that who has the real responsibility and custody. The father who still lives in that hellhole where basic freedoms are denied or the state whose shores present a beacon of hope and freedom to a mother who takes on to high seas with her most precious of possessions that is Elian and ends up sacrificing herself.
I would think that the boy cannot and should not decide for him it has to be the father or the one other interested party that is the state. It is given that the interested party is not those darn relatives of him in Miami or little Havana. The real party is the 'constitution' of US, give me your poor and hungry is the call of the founding fathers. Nothing is more important than giving this boy a life he deserves that of freedom from oppression. The only criterion for me here is this one question that overrides all legal claims. Will you hand over a child to someone who is sure to 'chain the child's mind' in that rat hole? For me it is absolutely foolish to send the child back may be he is another Colin Powel in making. Cuban education and mentality and constitution practices intolerance and discourages pluralism.
I would not allow the child to go to Cuba if I was the judge. I will hold him under supervision in US until he is 18. This is in a partial respect of her mother's wishes and for that monumental selfless attempt to escape in open seas. Give his handsome father visiting rights even at taxpayer?s cost. US can contribute to foot the bill, but the child mother had dream to live in free US that is what US, the land of opportunity and freedom is suppose to do, that is what the custodians of constitution should do. This is the litmus test where I think state is superior to individual rights.
Freedom of thinking and pluralistic attitudes is something I hold dear for myself and hope that everyone else does the same and enjoys the same. I have been denied that many a times in past however, I will not allow an innocence child to be denied what is his basic right. An innocent child is even by force saved from doing something that hurts him same principle should apply here. If you want I would like you to share these thoughts with others I would love to see a response on how much skewed my thinking is! Ike
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