For votes?
Because they think its the right thing to do?
What if he were from another country?
If you can’t convince them, confuse them.
Harry S. Truman
For the same reason Castro is: It makes great press!
shema yisrael adonai eloheynu adonai echad
-
Uh, yeah, that’d be my guess.
-
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Congressional Republicans? Are you kidding?
-
I commented on this in the other thread.
IMHO, the subpoena is the most vile, indefensible thing they’ve done in a long, long time.
Rabbi Sam ? Some Talmudic scholar…
Barring an abusive relationship with him personally - and there is ample evidence to the contrary - the kid goes with the remaining parent, simply. This is true in nearly every culture I can think of, other than some matrineal/avuncular tribes in PNG.
Therefore, just what would you expect the father’s gov’t to say, nothing ? Based on int’l law, and US immigration practice, of course the Beard’s gonna complain.
Clearly it’s all politics in the Congress, angling for the Florida electoral votes… and some creative use of the political asylee exemptions, much like the asylum interviews for illegal Chinese immigrants. For that matter, we send 'em all back to Mexico, often to conditions far worse than Cuba.
I consider myself a solidly right-wing Republican. In THIS case, as much as I loathe Fidel Castro (and hate giving him a propaganda win), I’d probably hold my nose and give the boy back to his father. My family values instinct leads me to conclude that the best thing for the boy is to be returned to his closest relative.
Are some Republicans “playing politics” with the issue? I suppose. So is AL Gore (who has waffled on the issue, and now says the father should be allowed to come here). But then, where you stand on this issue depends on what you think of Cuba. If you’re a left-winger, you think this is a no-brainer. BUT… just for you left-wingers, consider a few other hypotheticals.
-
A mom from West AFrica illegally came to America with her 12 year old daughter. She was trying to save her daughter from impending circumcision. THe Mom dies, and her family back in Africa demands the return of their child.
-
A woman from Afghanistan flees with her daughter from the Taliban, hops on a boat, and illegally comes to America. The Mom dies in America. Her fundamentalist Moslem family demands the return of the child.
-
In 1937, a divorced Jewish woman flees with her children from Germany, sensing that bad things are coming, and comes to America. On the ship, she dies. At Ellis Island, the U.S. authorities are trying to decide what to do with the children. They receive a wire from Germany, from the woman’s ex-husband, saying the woman was a crackpot worried about nothing, and demands the kids be sent back.
-
What if Elian’s mother survived the trip, and his father STILL insisted the child be returned? Would you send him back, or would you think the mother’s wishes were paramount?
Now, in these cases, would you so quickly proclaim the case “a no-brainer,” and immediately order the kid sent back to the family?
True enough, Elian is not in imminent peril of his life. That’s why I’m inclined to send him back. I just hope I’ve made you think about this. MAYBE you’re not quite as smug in your opinions now.
Why are the republicans playing politics with the boy from Cuba?
Because they’re politicians. I mean, duuuh.
Jorge: Lighten up! If you had read an earlier post of mine on a thread dedicated to the subject of should the boy stay or be returned to his surviving parent you would have seen my serious Talmudic response.
Does it say somewhere that a Rabbi cannot have a sense of humor, even in areas such as this? One of the things that has gotten us Jews through all the crap thrown at us over the last 4000 or so years has been our ability to lighten up a bit.
Try it, you’ll like it! 
shema yisrael adonai eloheynu adonai echad
Astorian: In your points 1 and 3, there are legitimate fears for the health and safety of the child, which don’t exist in Elian’s case. In point 4, it would depend on the custody agreement.
#2 is the only one I have any question about. I’m not sure whether being a woman in Afghanistan is genuinely dangerous or just shitty. Barring evidence for the former, my inclination is that if the father is alive, non-abusive, and wants the girl back, then yes, she has to go back.
Sorry but I see absolutely nothing in your post to challenge my view of Elian’s case as a no-brainer.
if the kid says he wants to be here . . i say he stays . . hes not a baby . . theres obviously some shit been going on within the family; otherwise mom wouldnt have left cuba; hes floating around on an inner tube in the atlantic ocean . . his moms dead . .
you gotta think everything wasnt so holy back in cuba with dad. children MUST have rights . . if in 1 year he wants to go back . . fine . . let him go . . the kid has gone thru hell, if dad loves him now . . hell always love him . . whether hes in cuba or miami . . or iowa.
Sorry there , Rabbi Sam … I had not indeed read any earlier post, so I judged it based on this thread alone.
As for Astorian’s examples ? Not related to the present issue, really. Both female circumcision and current Afghan practice are gender rights issues, splitting the issue and the parents’ rights, as it were; that is, the mother & child are fleeing the husband, too, and the government’s complicity argues for the asylee status. The German example ? If you mean 1937, yeah, should be sent back, you can’t use hindsight. Post-Kristallnacht, the issue leans more towards staying in the U.S., perhaps ? In either case, perhaps something a bit more verifiable and substantive than a telegram… such as a deposition at the overseas Embassy.
in a case like this, i would monitor the childs emotional status/progress. he has family here . . he wants to stay here. done. i dont believe children are “possesions” of anyone. i was raised in a broken home, from 5 years old, a child needs to stay where he is happy . . and one parent might be unhappy with that decision. so be it.
Whatever the outcome, you can be sure of one thing. The US and Cuba will be watching him as he grows. If he goes back and doesn’t do well there - the people in the US will say - “See? We TOLD you what would happen!” If he does well, Castro will say “See! We TOLD you it was best for him to return!” and if they don’t send him back, then Castro will be saying “See? We TOLD you that would happen!” if he screws up here. Just because he’s in America doesn’t mean he automatically has made it. If he can stay out of the Barrio in Miami, THEN he MIGHT have made it.
I say, grant him dual citizenship. That way, if he gets into trouble either place, he can do what he feels he should do when the time comes.
An unnamed U.S. official was quoted as saying in Time magazine “I wonder if 20 years from now the boy will be sitting in Cuba thinking ‘I could be in the University of Miami right now.’”
It’s strange that no one seems to feel the same sympathy for the more than 400 Haitian “boat people” that were sent back to Haiti last week.
As far as Castro using this for politics: this is an egregious case of the USA overriding common sense and accepted childhood custody practice. But of course, the Cuban government shouldn’t say anything, because the USA is always right.