Exactly. Not only was his son now alone in a foreign country, but he had just been drifting in the sea on an inner-tube for two-days after having lost his mother in a shipwreck. He was both emotionally and physically traumatized.
I think it was a crime of neglect against that little boy when his father, knowing fully where he was, didn’t come to be with him in that time of dire need. Either Castro’s Cuba, Juan Miguel Gonzalez himself, or both are guilty of that crime of neglect. They should not be surprised that the boy has now bonded with the only people that reached out to him when he needed them most. If they had the boy’s best interests in mind they would be grateful to the caring relatives that took him in during his greatest time of need.
I’m sorry. I addressed the first part of your post but not the second.
To my knowledge, I don’t think that the father was ever granted permission by Castro to come to the U.S. until recently. I can’t imagine how he could have refused such an offer.
My point is that something stinks, and it’s either his father, Castro, or both. What better way is there to find out which, then to get the father here and away from Castro? The only way that that has become possible was by keeping the child here until the father’s presense became necessary. Don’t think for a second that Castro likes the idea of sending the father here. Why do you think he demands on sending 30 others to escort the father and help convince the boy to return willingly? He doesn’t want to lose this battle regardless of what the father’s and his son’s interests are.
From what I understand, Castro is adopting an “all or nothing” stance on the 30-odd people he wants to come to the U.S. with the father. This, I’m sure, will be a significant point of contention. Until that is settled, there is no set date.
I find it distressing that you didn’t check into the realities of visas and travel beofre making your comment on the child’s father.
Think about this: Saudi Arabia requires a visa to enter their land regardless of length of stay. Say you’re married to a Saudi citizen and said citizen takes your child there. Now let’s say the Saudi government refuses you a visa. Well, I guess you’ll find your own action in not going after your child distressing, huh?
Voltaire: I wasn’t talking about your comment about the going to war; 'twas Elenfair’s comment. Try to keep up.
My point. I find it hard to believe that any parent would not rush to their child if capable. We know that the US was willing to let him come, so either:
A) The father is negligent
or -
B) Cuban authorities refused to let him go
I think we’re all pretty certain that B is true. However, I remember earlier in this mess hearing things like “Elian’s father refuses to come to the United States, fearing for his safety, and demands that the boy be returned to Cuba.” Whether those were the father’s true sentiments or not, it hardly makes a case for loving parenthood.
So… while my hope is that the father is really a good man (who is just powerless to respond appropriately), either way, his lack of appearance to pick up his stranded child is cause for concern, and I can understand those arguing that the boy should not go anywhere until the father comes to get him.
Meara: And much of what we’re “hearing” of what Elian and his father are saying is straight from the relatives in Miami. Not exactly the most reputable source of information in this matter, I take it.
He does? He is a Cuban citizen. What right does he have to stay here? The fact that he was picked up by a fisherman does not give him that right.
If it turns out that he is granted asylum and is allowed to stay, it sends the message that as long as some kind of tragedy occured during your illegal entry to the US, you are allowed to stay.
It’s a no brainer. Send the damn kid back already.
I would overall like to see the kid stay. Hey, I would like the father and his current wife and other children to be able to come over and live, but the bottom line is they still make all the other immigrants go back.
If I remember correctly, there’s a “wet foot / dry foot” policy. If Cuban refugees gets picked up by the <i>Coast Guard</i> in the water, they’re sent back. If they make it to land first, they’re almost always allowed to stay. I think Elian was picked up by a civilian, meaning he technically has “dry feet”.
If his mother had survived, they would be happily settled in Miami now. This is a question of guardianship, not immigration.
I always wonder what role television plays in a situation like this.
Apply what I call the “300-pound, toothless rule.” If Elian was 300 pounds, with zits and crooked or missing teeth, would this huhbub be the same?
[aside]The last time I could recall the 300-pound toothless rule applying was when that woman whose name escapes me was executed down in Texas. People wanted here life spared because she had found Jesus. She also happened to look really good on TV, and I wondered at the time if she were unattractive, if the situation would have been as controversial.[/aside]
“We are here for this – to make mistakes and to correct ourselves, to withstand the blows and to hand them out.” Primo Levi
Not a very good comparison since the father was prevented from leaving Cuba, not from entering the United States. I do not assign blame for this on the father but on his country.
There have been televised interviews with the father where he didn’t really elaborate why he couldn’t or wouldn’t leave Cuba. (hmmm, I wonder why?) So, it seems to me that even the father isn’t a very reputable source of information about his own feelings as long as he is under the influence of Cuban repression.
It has absolutely nothing to do with the tragedy. Had his mother and the nine others lived, and were picked up by a fisherman and brought to shore, they would all have been allowed to stay. The two other survivors of the tragedy have already been granted asylum and are now legal U.S. residents.
I’m sorry, I was incorrect about who picked the boy up at sea. This does not change the fact that this entire case is in the domain and jurisdiction of the INS and Attorney General Janet Reno. The law is clear, and both have spoken - the boy belongs in Cuba with his father.
Now the ‘relatives in Miami’ are saying that the boy will not be returned even when his father (who is an active member of The Communist Party) comes to the U.S. to bring his son home.
I have something to say on the “if your child was stuck in a foreign country” part of this debate.
My son is from South Korea. This is how it works. You apply to adopt, do a homestudy, and wait for a referral of a child. Once you accept the referral of the child, the US government and the Korean government start processing the paperwork to bring your child home (who legally is not yet your child, but emotionally is your child). This process takes somewhere between two months and - well, if you get caught in Korea’s quota, maybe seven months. Sometimes, during the wait, ignorant people will say “why don’t you just get him.” You can’t. He needs a Korean exit visa. He also needs a visa to enter the US. Horrible, but true. And not a darn thing you can do about it. So you wait, and try to remember that the folks telling you “if it were my child, I’d just go get him” are just ignorant.
By the way - then we have to apply for citizenship for our son - it doesn’t happen automatically, despite the fact that we are both US citizens. So the whole “let’s grant Elian citizenship” issue boils my blood. There are thousands of children of US citizen’s waiting for citizenship.
I know this isn’t the exactly the same situation, but there are some parallels. I’m sure Elian’s father needs an exit visa. Probably a passport. Maybe permission from the US government to enter. There isn’t a lot of travel between the US and Cuba, so the protocols for such a visit probably aren’t in place. And we’ve got to give both governments plenty of time for posturing. I agree that he could have arrived months ago, if he, Castro and the US had wanted it so, but it isn’t so simple as hopping on a plane.
I wonder what would happen if the protesters outside the Miami house would instead channel their energy towards fighting for their own fucking country. Maybe Castro wouldn’t be so tough if perhaps some Cubans wouldn’t run to the nearest raft with their tails between their legs and stand up and fight. Now, I’m not insinuating that Cubans are a bunch of chicken shit bastards, I just don’t understand how Castro can stay in power for so long if everbody in Cuba hates him so much. I see a lot of pride in the faces of the protesters waving that flag in my country. Wouldn’t they rather wave it around in Havana?
