Posted on 12/21/2008 7:18:54 PM PST by Mike Bates
Parade magazine, a supplement to many of the nation's Sunday newspapers, claims to have over 72 million readers. Today in the magazine's "Personality Parade" section, readers saw this question and answer:
Q Can you give us an update on Elian Gonzalez, the boy rescued off the coast of Florida in 1999, then returned to Cuba over the protests of his U.S. relatives?--Mark Larsen, Calhoun, Ga.
A Elian, 15, has been well taken care of by Fidel Castro. His dad was rewarded with a seat in Cuba's national assembly, and the family was given a spacious home. Says Ann Louise Bardach, whose Without Fidel will be published next spring: "Fidel has been known to forget the birthdays of his own children, but never Elian's."
Heartwarming, isn't it? That Fidel is such a sweetheart. So massive is his affection for the young man that he, with the complicity of the U.S. government, forced the terrified boy back to Cuba. Just yesterday, the Associated Press reported that Cubans:
are preoccupied with staying afloat in a sclerotic economy where basics like toilet paper often disappear from store shelves and most people eat meat only a few times each month.
That's not surprising in a Communist country where, according to CNN, the average monthly income is around $15. Economic privations are accompanied in Castro's Cuba with a long history of human rights violations. As AP noted:
The last time Cuba carried out executions was in 2003, when three men went before a firing squad for trying to hijack a passenger ferry to the U.S. Their deaths followed a crackdown that condemned 75 government critics to long prison terms, dashing hopes of any relaxation following Jimmy Carter's visit, the first by a former U.S. president to Castro's Cuba.
In jails scattered across the island, Cuba holds 219 political prisoners, according to Elizardo Sanchez, of the independent Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation. In 1964 Fidel Castro acknowledged holding as many as 15,000 political prisoners.
Parade is correct about Castro placement of Elian Gonzalez's father into the national assembly. Placement's the right word when, as pointed out by the New York Times: "Candidates for the 609 seats run unopposed. . . "
Readers of more substantial periodicals than Parade may well recall that two of the men who forced little Elian back to Cuba were Greg Craig and Eric Holder. Craig has been selected by Barack Obama as his White House counsel and Holder's been named his attorney general. Hope and change, anyone?
There was little hope for poor Elian who, kicking and screaming, was taken back to Cuba. And for most of the country's 11 million residents, there's little reason for hope for change. Castro and the other Communist thugs show no signs of leaving.
If Castro genuinely wanted to take good care of Elian Gonzalez - and Cuba's other citizens - he'd release them from his prison.
Of course Elian would be well taken care of. He’s an important propaganda tool!
“Gonzalez ‘Has Been Well Taken Care of By Fidel Castro’”
And Russia took very good care of Lee Harvey Oswald before he returned to kill JFK.
Meaningless....
Not if his intent were to abuse Elian. Dragging his son back to live in the subhuman environment of Castro's Cuba was, imho, a form of child abuse.
Simple. Because no Cuban parent HAS custody of their child. They are the PROPERTY of the state. Elian was returned to his owner, Fidel Castro.
Papa was ordered by Fidel to “claim” Elian, and his failure to do so would’ve resulted in an extremely stiff penalty to his other relatives. You can guess what that would be.
And what conditions would he be living under if Castro didn’t need to make his life easy in case the world asks “Can you give us an update on Elian Gonzalez”?
“Not if his intent were to abuse Elian. Dragging his son back to live in the subhuman environment of Castro’s Cuba was, imho, a form of child abuse.”
So what we need is the U.S. government deciding this? Yeah, that’s a conservative idea.
What entity would you prefer, the UN?
I object because it contravened the existing US laws and regulations concerning Cuban refugees. When Elian’s mother died the US family courts gave custody to his uncle and relatives here. They were pursuing the situation through Family court in Florida and the case had not yet exhausted all avenues.
The Clinton regime and Janet Reno’s thugs weren’t satisfied with legal means. So, they took the law into their own hands, and with the abuse of their authority kidnapped Elian and sent him back into Cuban slavery.
Ping
IIRC, you joined FR when this outrage occurred.
Elian’s mother died freeing him from a slave state. The US government decided that she should have died in vain.
There was no problem releasing him to his Father. The problem was sending him back to Cuba.
**While I do not like his politics, he does have a legal right to his child.**
In Cuba, Parents have custody of their children... as long as they do not teach the children anything that CONFLICTS with the STATE. All Children are basically Property of the STATE. THAT is why we spoke out AGAINST RETURNING Elian to Cuba.
which is also the same as the “Universal rights of the Child” from our beloved COMRADES at the UN.
So Fidel has taken good care of him. But gee I thought the whole point was that he should go back to Cuba so “he could be with his father.” That’s what all the lefties and air-headed RINO’s told me. Hmmmm.
Since it’s Christmas, I’ll add that he was returned to a country where it is illegal to teach him about Jesus.
Whatever else they may give him by way of material goods (and that’s not much) won’t make up for what they fail to give him.
The US government did decide this. And it appears that the decision makers are prospering in their careers. One of them gets to be our new attorney general, in fact. The quality of their 'idea' is for you to judge.
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