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Flight of a Bumblebee
By Sid Harth
Elian Gonzales has been taken from his Miami abductors, relatives but rascals in demeanor, Elian's great uncles in a swift predawn armed raid of Janet Reno's armed Federal agents who had to break the fence and the doors to get inside the house.
You don't want to mess with Janet, she knows what is good for Elian Gonzalez, a victim of senseless anti Castro Cuban hooligans holed up in Miami since Cuba was taken over by Castro led communist revolutionaries. The justice must be served as American system of justice is so fractured that hardened criminals bide time by appealing previous valid judgments endlessly and postpone their imminent deaths.
No one committed a crime, least of all poor six year boy, Elian Gonzales. They ought to thank American law enforcement officers who rescued little child while he was traveling illegally with his mother to freedom. The relatives of Elian did a fine job in allowing him in their humble abodes and taking care of him during these trying times.
I am sure that they realize their mistake in holding Elian hostage in an international drama, second to only the Bay of Pigs failed invasion of Cuba under the Kennedy administration.
That sorry episode made the whole world unsecured as Russian missiles were ready to take off to destroy American targets with
atomic weapons. This time around the crisis centered on morality more than
political and military superiority. Cubans saw this as an issue where they
hoped that the world would see their point of view.
Having a custody of
Elian is not the same as having Elian all unto themselves. Elian's father,
the most closest relative of Elian has more rights by law, both American laws
and the international laws. His rights were denied, his person was vilified
along with that of Fidel Castro.
I admit that Elian's father was
coerced into making a big hue and cry over Elian's custody and his
repatriation to Cuba. I also admit that Cuban interests are more
political and diabolic than those of Elian's Miami relatives.
However, Elian cannot be raised on this international acrimony no
matter how kind each party is to save Elian from being treated like a
football.
Nobody made a case that Elian's father was unfit to raise
Elian in Cuba. Elian would have been a Cuban if his mother did not try
to abduct him and dash to American borders. If the boat carrying Elian were not
to meet with disaster the American agents would have safely repatriated the illegal
immigrants. In that case Elian would have subjected to another flight from Cuba as
one single failed attempt does not deter the determined Cubans to seek political
asylum in the United States of America.
With this publicity we gather more
information about Miami Cubans instigating illegal asylum seekers whether such
people have suffered under Cuban regime or not. It cannot be taken as genuine
cases of political asylum seeking just because Cuba has a communist regime. It
is not like former Soviet Union satellites states including but not limited to
the East Germany citizens taking risk to cross the barbed wire borders.
Things are bad in Cuba but not as bad as some of the war torn countries like Sri
Lanka where ones life and property cannot be taken for granted under constant
battles being played by the contestants. There is no such social turmoil in Cuba.
Some Cubans see this as a economical opportunity not political protest.
Elian would be a happy kid in Cuba as happiness cannot be measured in the number
of toys he can play with. No one owns a child as young as six year old Elian. His
country and his father have a total jurisdiction. If Elian grows up to be anti
communist, there are more chances of that happening, he may change the political
system of Cuba. On the other hand Elian may grow up in Miami as one of the
uneducated, jobless gang member of various criminal gangs in Little Havana
section of Miami. Mere freedom is no guarantee that child would overcome social
stigma of being a Cuban, Spanish speaking person.
Thanks to the MSNBC
dated
April 22, 2000. |
Sumit Ganguly Writing for Earth Times dated April 25, 2000 |
Sid Harth..."Poverty is bad but not as bad as poverty of mind, Elian is poor but his father can take care of him better than Elian's rich Miami extended family members."
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