4 years after return to Cuba, Elian a normal schoolboy

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Sat, Jul. 31, 2004

4 years after return to Cuba, Elian a normal schoolboy

BY MAKI BECKER
New York Daily News


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."
(snip/...)

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/9288862.htm



Miami tantrum when Elián got to go home:

[sushi]

1. I'm glad to see Elian

looking so well. I hope he studies hard and doesn't touch drugs.

[akitamata]

2. Cuban children have more opportunities for...

self-actualization. Drugs are not a problem because of a commitment to people instead of profits. Cuba is essentially drug-free. Coupled with a traditional sense of Hispanic "propriety", most Cubans are totally clueless as to why drug-use is so high in the rest of the world.

[Greedy Oil Puritan]

10. You're far too kind...

The best thing that can be said about Fidel Castro is that he's not Fulgencio Batista.

[Mika]

12. I saw no comment about Castro by the poster

The poster is correct. There is no drug problem in Cuban schools.



Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that


Castro on the brains. (((((Yawn)))))

[BiggJawn]

15. Cuba=Castro=BAAAAAAAD....

I don't get it. Oh, alright, I get it. Poppy "punished" JFK for the Bay of Pigs, and Castro is "unfinished business" for the BFEE.

But is it the Communism? Then why do we call other Communist countries our "Favoured Trading Partners", like China, then?

Hmmmm?

[SemperEadem]

28. people totally fixated on Castro are stuck in a way back machine

Bush and his myrmidons are eroding our freedoms and rights to the point where we will have even less than the Cubans in their worst situation.

As far as I'm concerned, all of this manufactured hysteria set in place 50 yrs ago has outlived its usefulness and credibility as a real threat to our country.

That dog won't hunt no more.

[Baltimoreboy]

29. There is no statute of limitations on murder

that explains some of the fixation.

[Judi Lynn]

35. Wouldn't hurt to do a little reading, would it?

PLIGHT OF ELIAN GONZALEZ: AMERICAN OBSESSION WITH CUBA

Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.
President International Association of Educators for World Peace, NGO, United Nations (ECOSOC) UNDPI, UNICEF, UNCED & UNESCO, Professor of History and Philosophy Alabama A&M University



One of the leading stories at the close of the twentieth century and the beginning of the new millennium, which hit the American news media widely, dealt with a six year old Cuban boy whose name was Elian Gonzalez. In order to comprehend the complications surrounding this case, one must have a concept of American-Cuban relations during the second half of the twentieth century.

Recent History in Perspective

More than forty years ago, Cuba was governed by a brutal military regime headed by Fulgencio Batista who, in spite of being a wicked dictator, was shrewd enough to have the full-fledged support of the United States. People often asked: Why would the United States, a nation of democracy and freedom, align itself with such a ruthless dictator? Batista was so abominable that anyone suspected to be critical of him would be jailed and even tortured without trial and at times even killed along with the spouse and children.
(snip/...)

http://www.iouedu.com/press/02merc/merciera/merc28.html

[Fed Up]

3. Castro is a rotten bastard, but his Cspan2 thing was hilarious

He spent about an hour trashing Bush, calling him a dry drunk, saying his favorite children's book was published when Bush was in college. It was just nonstop insults.

Mr. Gonzalez was in the audience, and Elian too. At the end they brought Elian to the stage where Castro embraced him. Ugh.

[robcon]

4. Castro is scum,

and Elian will be used as a political pawn until Castro dies or is overthrown.

[mikehiggins]

6. Come on now

If Elian was still being held in the US don't you think BushCo would be parading him out everytime they hit Florida? He would at least get a front row seat in NYC at the GOPcon.

[Sean Reynolds]

21. Scum?

Like the government before Castro? Scum like the US governments of the past? I'm not grasping your comments here. Why is Castro scum? Oh, because you're easily sold on the anti-Cuban rhetoric pushed by not only the American media, but the American government as well.

[bobthedrummer]

22. I agree about the Batista's 100%. Organized crime is an asset of US

intelligence community since Lucky Luiciano deal by OSS.

[lumpy]

23. Tell us why Castro is a rotten bastard.

Or scum or what other crap you can think of. Is it because the Cubans haven't allowed the US to run their show? Is it because you know absolutely nothing about Cuba and can't even find it on a map? Is it because you parrot the right wing of the Repub party? Ignorance is bliss when you can disparage other people without knowing anything about them.

[Fed Up]

40. calling Castro a name isn't propping up Bushco or parroting the right.

Castro has done some good things in Cuba like having everybody literate, whereas in other places literacy is at 10%, and ousting a right wing dictator. And I hope Kerry wins so he can stop this moronic Cuba policy we have. I guess my beef was that Castro has never called for free and open elections in over 40 years. And he could do a world of good for his people if they would be allowed to come and go with ease. and yes, our policy towards the Cuba is shameful. Even Repuke ex Gov. George Ryan knew this when he headed a delegation to the island nation.

[Judi Lynn]

41. DU posters from South Florida are aware that Cubans used to come and go

to points all over the country. They visited their relatives in Miami, went to Disneyworld, even went to New York, etc. This is unfamiliar to people who have never known South Florida Cuban Americans who bring their relatives over for visits.

Since _Bush stole the White House, all of that traffic has ended.

Since I started reading about Cuba when Elián arrived, I've read of tons of Cubans who come and go for any number of reasons. One reason you don't see a lot of travel is economic, as in any other country in Latin America.

It was terrific when Gov. Ryan started arranging commerce between Illinois, (a LOT of corn, etc.) and going there in person, himself. That was really cool. He was one of the first after the slight opening in the embargo occurred during Clinton's Presidency.

[Fed Up]

42. George Ryan is a good man.

He's a centrist Republican. In 2000 he was for Bush, all right, but he never bought into the neocon claptrap.

stopping the embargo would be a windfall for Illinois farmers. I can't wait till Kerry changes our policy.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

45. Yes, I recall from Elian's story that

the man who was "smuggling" him and his mother into Florida had been back and forth several times.

[kskiska]

47. Yes, he was back and forth

and would probably have been back and forth again and again. That particular time he happened to take his girlfriend and her child, along with some friends. This wasn't a flight to freedom, as the r/w likes to think. This was business as usual. Juan Gonzales was quite happy living in his homeland with his second wife and their children.

[Mika]

25. Those weren't insults.

"He spent about an hour trashing Bush, calling him a dry drunk, saying his favorite children's book was published when Bush was in college. It was just nonstop insults."

Those weren't insults. They were truths.

[Judi Lynn]

27. Absolutely! I fail to see any kind of insult whatsoever.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious. Sometimes it's hard for certain kinds of peeps to recognize what everyone else saw immediately.






My pet goat ate Bush's 9-11 story
http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/031904Arvey/031904arvey.html



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[montana_hazeleyes]

44. Is that bush* in the 'drunk with power "photo?

It looks like Bob Hope .:-)

Regardless of Castro or any others politics, I'm just glad he is home where he belongs with his dad who seems to love him so much and is protective of him.

[Fed Up]

43. sorry. poor choice of words n/t

[mrbill]

5. viva fidel, che and elian..............

n/t

[lebkuchen]

7. Elian is guaranteed to become literate in the Cuban school system

98% literacy rate beats the hell out of the US'.

How is that hopelessly screwed-up family in Miami doing?

[Mika]

31. Cuba's ed stats better those of the USA

Learn from Cuba
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/learn.htm

Net primary enrolment for both girls and boys reached 100% in 1997, up from 92% in 1990. That was as high as most developed nations - higher even than the US rate and well above 80-90% rates achieved by the most advanced Latin American countries.

“Even in education performance, Cuba’s is very much in tune with the developed world, and much higher than schools in, say, Argentina, Brazil, or Chile.”

It is no wonder, in some ways. Public spending on education in Cuba amounts to about 6.7% of gross national income, twice the proportion in other Latin American and Caribbean countries and even Singapore.

There were 12 primary school pupils for every Cuban teacher in 1997, a ratio that ranked with Sweden, rather than any other developing country. The Latin American and East Asian average was twice as high at 25 to one.

The average youth (age 15-24) illiteracy rate in Latin America and the Caribbean stands at 7%. In Cuba, the rate is zero. In Latin America, where the average is 7%, only Uruguay approaches that achievement, with one percent youth illiteracy.

“Cuba managed to reduce illiteracy from 40% to zero within ten years,” said Ritzen. “If Cuba shows that it is possible, it shifts the burden of proof to those who say it’s not possible.”

-

Now remember, the intransigent castrophobes want you to believe that.. Castro singlehandedly did this, all while forcing good education on the Cuban people and their children all against their will (cause, y'know.. Cubans don't really want good schools or universal health care). :crazy:

[SHRED]

8. If Elian could throw...

a mean fastball then there would be no controversy.

He'd be in a baseball farm system right now.

[playahata1]

46. Now that I know that Cubans can come and go as they please,

does anyone buy the stories about Livan and Orlando ("El Duque') Hernandez and Jose Contreras "defecting" to play Major League Baseball? Sportscasters are some of the biggest RW shills around.

[clydefrand]

9. I'm glad Elian is with his father

but I wonder how normal a child can be after experiencing the trauma of losing his mother and his having drifted on an inner tube and the fiasco in Miami? I know children are resilient, but horrors are deeply embedded in his psyche.

[SemperEadem]

30. I, too, wonder how a child would feel who has been taken from his father

without permission or knowledge, set out to sea, watching his mother--who took him--drown, leaving her child defenseless and adrift in the middle of an ocean, picked out of the sea by the US coast guard and then used as a pawn by people he really didn't know? I'm very glad that he was sent back to his father because if our country kept him, it would have dealt a death blow to father's custodial rights in this country.

It's quite obvious that Elian and his father have a good and loving relationship, one that many children in the US don't have with theirs. His father did nothing wrong and it was right that he was not punished for being a Cuban living in Cuba with the confiscation of his flesh and blood by opportunistic relatives using him for their own selfish ends.

[Mika]

36. Actually he wasn't "sent" back. His father came to pick him up.

His father was offered a million dollars, houses, cars, jobs, etc, to stay in the US of A.

Nope. Juan Miguel came for his son, thanked the people of the US who worked for justice and the rescue of his young son, and then he got the hell outta here.


Viva Juan Miguel Gonzales!

Viva Cubañia!

---

Mr Kerry, Tear down the wall!

[lottie244]

11. Just think what he might have been like had he stayed in US...

just like one of those manic family members in FL.

[argonne]

13. Elian would be totally "amerikanized" by

his crazy aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Marilys (sp?), after being hospitalized from stress, would have gotten Elian a high paying job at Disneyworld, where he would ride the whalerider forever!

[BiggJawn]

14. "Totally Amerkanized"...heh-heh...

Living with that bunch in Miami, he'd be on his way to being obese, still not speaking English, a gameboy wizard, and traveling with shrub whenever in Florida...

[kskiska]

48. The two sons of Uncle Lazaro (where Elian was held hostage)

have criminal records for robbing tourists. The uncle was unemployed, also. Those people would never have passed muster with any adoption agency or the DSS.

[BiggJawn]

49. No, but they claimed "Blood Relation"

And that allows even a serial killer to take custody of a child...(ironic)

[Mika]

51. They wouldn't pass muster with a normal INS office either

But, then INS chief Dorris Meisner was placating the rightwingnut CANF reps and lawyers - who planned to use the plight of this child abduction for anti Castro political purposes at the WTO meeting in Seattle just at that same time (Castro was supposed to speak there, but did not attend).

[The Animator]

17. Since when are there high paying jobs at Disney World?

[argonne]

39. "Since when are there high paying jobs at Disney World?"

Uh. Satire.

[kidrocks]

16. God Bless Elian Gonzalez

Looks to me like little Elian is alive and well and probably very happy in Cuba.

As promised, we have not seen much of Elian so it is good to see pictures of him and his father enjoying themselves. There is no doubt in my mind that Elian will return to America someday, as a man, and thank Americans for returning him back to his father and his homeland where he belonged.

You rock Elian!

[napi21]

18. When this is on Dateline on Sun, will some shrub loving cubans

in Miami change their mind? I think this was another negative for Gore in 2000. Could it help the Dems this time?

[Mika]

19. Please explain.

Why do you think this was a negative for Gore in 2000?

:hi:

[napi21]

24. If I remember right, Gore was for sending Elian back to his Father

The Pubs were siding with the Cubans in Fla. I'm sure they didn't forget that by election time and held it against Gore just because he was a Dem.

[Mika]

33. Nope. Gore supported US jurisdiction

Gore supported the "exiles" demands that Elian's case be determined by Miami-Dade family courts (which in Miami are kangaroo courts w/locally elected judges).

The 11th circuit court ruled (rightly) that jurisdiction of custody of minors belongs in the place of the child's (and parents) country of residence, in accordance with the Hague treaty on child custody.

Even though Gore pandered to the wrongful and illegal demands by the kidnappers CANF paid lawyer (now Miami mayor, Manny Diaz), and Joementum even came down to Miami to pray at (CANF founder) Mas Canosa's graveside and talk tough agin Castro it did no good.

[Judi Lynn]

34. So Manny Diaz used his community support for Elián's "defense"

to get elected as the Miami mayor. Figures.

I heard Kathy Fernandez Rundle, one of the other lawyers the CANF called in became the Miami-Dade District Attorney or some such nonsense, as well.

I've read BOTH their sons have been in trouble legally since they took office. Diaz's son for counterfitting money with his dad's office computer, etc., and Rundle's son for getting caught GOING TO JAMAICA with marijuana.

Both sons got off really lightly, as I recall, even though passing funny money and getting onto airplanes with marijuana could bring others a little trouble.

[Mika]

38. Yes he did

KFR was Miami-Dade state attorney (Janet Reno's replacement) during the Elian case. She stayed a MILE away from the case because she knows what the law is regarding the jurisdiction of child custody cases (Cuba, in this case) and she would have to enforce it. Janet Reno knows the "exile" territory very well (after all, she exploited the issue to her gain in Miami-Dade also) so she, as the US AG, took over the case from Kathy F-R to get Kathy off of the elected hot seat in Miami-Dade.

All Florida politicians exploit the "Castro issue" to the hilt.

This is why the "Castro issue" is always on the table - never resolved. It works for both parties. The Elian case is a prime example.

[Judi Lynn]

20. Jeez, THANKS for reminding us he's going to be on Dateline, Sunday!

I had forgotten already, as it didn't stick the first time, and would have missed it altogether.

That show. should be very interesting.

The Miami relatives are going to have to come up with a whole new set of explanations for why he's doing o.k. They had some fantastic thoughts to share when he left to go to the Washington D.C. area to wait out the legal untanglements, like:

• They were hiding the real Elián, because the one in the news photos had longer hair!
  
  
• Elián was being drugged by the Cuban doctor who came up with the Cuban school mates and Elián's cousin (although she had been thoroughly searched, and not allowed to bring any drugs whatsoever in her medical bag into the compound when she arrived).
  
  
• The father and his family was being blackmailed into cooperating because some of the other relatives in Cuba would be harmed, otherwise.

I wanted to mention the lady in the photograph with the kid and his father, Juan Miguel is the paternal grandmother. (You may remember she and the other grandmother made a trip to Miami to try to see Elián in person while he was being held by the relatives.)

She and the other grandmother were actually slurred by claims from the Miami Cuban "exile" community that one of them made lewd remarks to the child while visiting him under the close eye of a Catholic sister. What a madhouse.

Thanks, again, for reminding us to watch Dateline.

[bitchkitty]

26. It was idiotic -

she "checked his peepee". The freepers went nuts. As you know, penises are not allowed in Freeperville.

[Judi Lynn]

32. Yep, idiotic, all right!

One look at the photo would almost convince the unsuspecting that the kid is turning out just fine, and that he somehow survived whatever evil the grandmom represents, as the Miami Freeper "exiles" see her.

Personally, I think she looks darned cute for a grandmom. Very calm, reassuring, protective.

More exciting Miami relative data:

Great Uncle Delfin also pursued the freedom to drive while inebriated. But he paid the price for it. He lost his license for two years. And only two of his four drunk driving accidents involved property damage or personal injury. Last month, cousin Jose, one of Lázaro and Delphin's nephews, began serving a 13-year sentence for grand theft, forgery and violating probation. His twin brother, Luis Cid, goes on trial next week for robbing a tourist last year. Just because his relatives have criminal records and drive while drunk doesn't mean they don't love the kid. Loving the little boy is the opposite side of the hating communism coin. Just compare the risk of Elian driving in a car with Uncles Lazaro or Delfin, or accompanying one of his cousins on a second story job, when they get out of prison, with the risk of sending him back to his Marxist father.
(snip/...)

http://www.zmag.org/ZSustainers/ZDaily/2000-02/18landau.htm

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

37. I always thought that "The Miami Relatives" would be a good name

for some kind of punk band. Or "Elian's Miami Relatives".

[kskiska]

50. There was a great cartoon in the New Yorker

It was a highway scene. A big billboard read, "Welcome to Miami – Home of the Miami Relatives."

[Mika]

52. "The Miami Relatives" was a band - on an HBO Sopranos episode

Not kidding.