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Whatever happened to Elian Gonzalez?
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Sunday, June 28th marked the ninth anniversary since
Elián, you no doubt recall, was the young Cuban boy who was rescued by fisherman after his mother died in an attempt to escape from Cuba in November of 1999.
He was taken to Miami where he lived for several months with relatives while his father, who still resided in Cuba, fought for his return.
The case set up an interesting and, certainly, emotional legal dispute, one in which the Clinton Administration and the media clearly sided with the father. It was a relatively rare instance in which the media displayed concern over the issue of father's rights.
There wasn't much stated concern on the left over whether the father was acting freely considering Cuba is a de facto prison.
One couldn't help but wonder whether if his mother had escaped from a conservative religious sect (and not a communist dictatorship) if that same concern over father's rights would have carried the day in the media.
This is not to say that Elián should not have been returned to his father -- just that the legitimate issues of the other side were dismissed by an administration and liberal press that displayed an inordinate amount of sympathy for a communist regime that strips away the free-speech (and other) rights of its people. But then they supposedly deliver first-rate government-controlled healthcare.
What this is to say is that the issue of Elián's custody should have been allowed to work its way toward final resolution in the courts (which is, oddly, where liberals want everything else decided) and not at the point of a gun as it was when when federal agents burst into the Miami home of the Gonzalez family in what amounted to a government-sanctioned abduction.
In this observer's opinion, particularly given the unique issues involved, the Miami Gonzalez family was not given a fair opportunity to appeal the Florida family court ruling that provided the excuse for the dangerous home invasion and seizing of a child who was not in any physical danger. (We're more careful about the use of force when dealing with pirates.)
But, no worries. Those concerned about Elián's freedom once he was returned to Castro's Cuba were, at the time, assured by the media that his situation would be watched like a hawk by a vigilant American press.
Of course that was not the case. While it has been reported that he joined the Young Communist Union of Cuba last year, "vigilant" would probably not be best adjective to use to describe the media's follow-up coverage of Elián González . "Almost nonexistent" would be better.
