Note: There was a passionate outpouring of responses to the Elian Gonzalez case from members. We obviously can't print all of them due to space considerations, however if you wish to read some more reaction from ASFAR members on this issue feel free to use the ASFAR Email List Archives, and go to the Year 2000, April and early May section.

What about what he wants?

The majority of people in this country seem to be pitying
his father, but nobody is concerned about the rights of Elian! Now I am
not saying that Elian's father is a bad person, but I am saying that Elian's word should count. And this is actually very deeply rooted in the concerns we have for youth rights.

I doubt that Elian is 100% sure of what he wants. Most
likely, he does care about his father to some degree (as most people should and
do). It is also probable that he does not want to go back to Cuba. So he is most likely torn between two sides, and has probably not set his mind in
stone about what decision he would make. But his opinion should count! And
he deserves due process under the law, and the right to seek asylum if he
so chooses. It is also important that he is not forced into a situation that
might place him under the risk of being pushed out of this country. One must realize, that as long as he remains in this country he has some choice, but
if he goes back to Cuba, it is unlikely that he will be able to come back.

Whether or not he really meant it, his word must count.
There is no significant evidence to show that Elian is being
physically forced by his relatives in Miami to say that he does not want to go back to Cuba. And it is dangerous to discredit what he has to say on the grounds
that he may have been psychologically manipulated.

One should also question the motives and interests of
Elian's "passionate" father. His father is demanding his right to the custody of his son, but has shown little in the way of concessions or compromise to get such. You'd think that if his father really cared about his son as a first priority, he might be willing to live with his son in this country...but he has clearly made an
either-or situation with no compromise, and thus more pressure and a more difficult situation falls upon Elian. He is not even
willing to talk to Elian's relatives in Miami! Instead he seems content to
allow the government to pull Elian out by force, regardless of what stress or
damage that might cause. The father is being backed by a big name lawyer, a
foreign dictator, and our own government! Elian already has a tough decision to make (between
his father and freedom), and his father is unwilling to make it any easier.
At best, the father is simply stuborn and callous ...at worst, he does not
even care about his own son and is simply the puppet of his country's political interests.

It is also important to realize what will happen to Elian,
once he leaves this country's soil. He would have to give up many of the human rights that both children and adults experience in this country. Who has the right to decide whether Elian should have to give up those rights for the rest of his life? If anyone other than Elian decides, then we as a country are saying that we know what's best for him...and that he should be
made to give up the rights that we take for granted every day. Is that fair? One must also remember that Castro himself has promised to "rehabilitate" Elian once he
returns to Cuba. Who knows what type of psychological torture that might include.

This case is also imporant, because it relates to the issues that concern youth rights in general for this country. There have been
many minors who are US citizens, and have been forced out of this country by
their legal guardians. If someone is a citizen of this country, they have a right to remain here! People have literally been kidnapped from
this country and sold into child slavery, prostitution, and other forms of abuse! It is critical that youth get the right to speak on their own behalf concerning issues that concern them, especially in court. We must ensure that all
people are protected by the rights of the Constitution, and part of
the remedy includes giving youth some of the rights which had previously only
been delegated to their legal guardians. Also, certain laws meant to protect
the privacy of children have actually hurt them more than they have
helped. In California, youth who have been convicted of felonies (and doing time
in real jail) are unable to speak on their own behalf to media, supposedly
for their own protection. People question why things like the incident
at Columbine happened, and politicians look to issues such as
increasing censorship and gun-control. When will they realize that we are not
another species separate from humanity, but we have free-will just like any other individual!

While it is true that youth are influenced by their
surroundings to some degree, the same can be said for any person of any age. It
is true that we can be arrogant, gullible, and self-serving...but we can
also be logical, open-minded, and have strong convictions about justice.
This is true for people of any age. Whenever a youth does something that is
wrong, adults like to distance themselves from it, in order to deny the fact
that they suffer from the flaws. These are the flaws of humanity that cause
us to do wrongful things and to sometimes hurt other people. These flaws
will always exist in our society, and the best thing we can do is to acknowledge their existence.
Instead we look towards trying to manipulate society
through psychological conditioning. Adults who do hideous crimes are called
"crazy". Children who do hideous crimes, are called "children" who do not know
any better. Both of these terms are used to separate "normal" people from
those who are un-normal, and justify why there are problems in our "normal" society.
However, I believe that anyone of any age or any condition
has free will. The only difference is that a child has less acquired knowledge than he would have if he was an adult...he still makes his decisions based on what he knows. He still knows right from wrong, even if he is
unfamiliar with the consequences of his actions. You cannot make a child be an
upstanding citizen through conditioning, just as you cannot make an adult do
anything. The only way you can really persuade anybody to do anything is through reasoning, but this is something that society has already concluded is impossible for children.

There is no real line that distinguishes a child from an
adult. An adult is assumed to have a certain level of knowledge and
experience, but such is gained progressively and at different rates by different
individuals. And children make just as many mistakes as adults, and they
are often forced to make just as many hard decisions. However, we like to deny
this. We'd like to think that it is possible to raise children perfectly,
like raising perfect live stock! We'd like to think that we can keep children
from having to make any hard decisions, by making it for them. Thus we deny
the fact that people have to make hard decisions all the time, no matter what their age is.

Therefore, it is my conclusion that as a principle, youth
of any age should be allowed to make any decision concerning anything which
might jeopardize their own future. Only Elian can decide whether he's
willing to take the consequences of going back to Cuba.

-"Aretnom"

Reason for hope

To take Elian screaming & crying from the only home he's known for almost 1/2 a year is in direct contradiction with what this nation is supposed to be.
Our govt. should be hanging its head in shame, not patting itself on the back.

As for Elian, I'm sure he's relieved to be back in his
father's arms after what happened Saturday morning.  It's just too bad it had to be so violent.
However, all is not lost.  Elian has won the right to seek
asylum on his own. If he is granted it, he'll be able to stay in this
country, & then his father will either have to stay here with him, or return
to Fidel empty-handed.

-E.G.

Free to Choose

A 6-year-old is being denied his right to
freely determine his life course - why?
Not because he's incompetent (that's never even attempted
to be determined)
Simply because he has only lived for 6 revolutions of the
earth around the sun and that means in our society you hold no freedom.
That is what i find despicable.

-Kevin Sanchez