Posted on 08/01/2004 2:57:57 PM PDT by Libloather
4 years after return to Cuba, Elian a normal schoolboy
BY MAKI BECKER
New York Daily News
Posted on Sat, Jul. 31, 2004
NEW YORK - (KRT) - Elian Gonzalez, now 10, hits the books in Cardenas, Cuba, where he lives with his father.
Four years after little Elian Gonzalez was plucked from the seas off Florida's coast and sparked an international custody battle, the young boy is leading a sheltered and almost normal life back in Cuba.
Elian lives with his father in their hometown of Cardenas and he still sports the same impish grin that captivated the world back in 2000.
In an interview with NBC's "Dateline" to air Sunday, Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, says he has generally kept Elian out of the limelight, even moving to a secret location in town to avoid the press.
"The media (in Miami) intimidated him, pressured him most of all," Gonzalez said in his first interview in three years. "It totally overwhelmed him."
As Elian's American relatives fought to keep him in the U.S. and his father sought to take him back to Cuba, hundreds of reporters camped out outside their Miami home, recording every movement of the photogenic little boy.
The custody clash even led to a war of words between Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and the boy's fiercely anti-Castro American relatives.
The stalemate ended dramatically as heavily armed federal officers stormed the house in the middle of the night, snatched the terrified boy and took him into protective custody.
Elian still grieves for his mother who drowned when their boat capsized on its way to Florida, Gonzalez said, but he has adjusted to life well.
"I can truly say that since his return, my son has never had to see a psychologist, or anyone else," Gonzalez told "Dateline NBC."
Elian is learning karate and has two girlfriends, Gonzalez reports.
The Clintonistas lied through omission. The head of the INS squelched a memo indicating that Elian's father was being coerced by Castro's goons to get his son back. And the Clintonistas didn't want Elian and his father to have their day in court beyond the reach of Castro, where Juan Miguel's true feelings might have come out.
It was for political reasons. Fidel wanted that child back, period. Under no circumstances could a child whose mother had already died to get out of Cuba be allowed to live in America. It would be a living symbol of the hellhole his country had become.
He controlled Juan Miguel's every move in America to get him back. Fidel has probably ordered the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. We have no way of knowing what sort of pressure was put on Juan Miguel.
She made it a point to make her name as a prosecutor in child abuse cases. But it appears that the prosecutor may have really been a persecutor.
She and Fidel, et al., will have to agree to believe someday that children are Jesus with skin on.
Mt 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Oh, those photos want to make me cry. If any cubans vote for Kerry, I'll be damned.
It is LEGAL.
Thanks for the links, PD.
He actually became an American citizen-according to this article-in the Summer of 2003.
Oh OK, but also his grandson became a citizen in 1999. Thanks for the input.
Glad I could help.
It's always confusing with given names, especially if it's one of those hereditary things, where the father passes down his birth name to his son.
In my family at one point, there were two or three "Josephs", a few "Johns" and two "Gerards" running around.
Believe it or not, if my grandfather had been named Gerard, you'd be corresponding with Gerard Perry IV.
I know, it's kind of ridiculous, especially considering the fact that none of my relatives is an heir to Windsor Castle.
The word fascist has become somewhat trite and overused in our cavalier age, but it is more than appropriate to apply the adjective fascistic to this ghastly human being.
The fact that Janet Reno was handily defeated in the Democratic primary two years ago serves as an indication that at least some of the Dems down there exercise good judgment...at least occasionally.
Actually we could put the whole world in the state of Texas in 1500 sf homes at a rate of 4 per household the last time I looked. Most astounding when you do the math.
I hear you Victoria. The only silver lining I have digested over time is that if it wasn't for Waco, it would of been much worse in Miami, but we still would have the same people supporting that too. The Lord don't make it easy for sure. Just found this thread by accident, glad that you are well and pretty as ever.
And what kind of life would that afford to everyone?
The only silver lining I have digested over time is that if it wasn't for Waco, it would of been much worse in Miami, but we still would have the same people supporting that too. The Lord don't make it easy for sure.
I agree with that. It's unfortunate however, that little Elian was the sacrificial lamb in this case.
Thanks for the compliment, you're so nice.
He is alive, he is still very young, and he has a very good chance for freedom in the not so distant future. If it weren't for the 17 children killed at Waco, in effect putting the Clinton goons on notice, they would of killed him and others too. And all they had to do if that happened was to 'spin it'. That is the only soul they have, and that is what made them so dangerous. It was only the fear that a repeat of Waco that made them flinch enough to alter their thinking so as they had to develop a plan to steal him in the middle of the night like they did. All this is my MHO of course, but I did predict the "thief in the night" before it happened.
To those 17 children at Waco..........
Boy, I just depressed myself big time.
Sad statement indeed. I've been involved in politics since I was a kid (it's my dad's passion.) I remember the Clinton administration quite well… and to think these goons are advising Kerry. I just pray he never becomes president.
this is what / who I'm talking about. and thinking about. and praying for.
"never forgetting" sure does hurt. I'd make a small joke and say that's why I try not to do it very often, but . . .
bump that for latecomers to this thread.
Hey!
Sorry about the delay getting here, I'm busy with a hurricane outside my door right now.
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