| There doesn't seem to be a day that
passes without a new story about Elian Gonzalez, even if the new story
is to say that there still is no new story. On the one hand, we have the
boy's Miami relatives saying that the boy deserves to grow up in freedom.
On the other hand, we have the boy's father saying that Elian should be
with him, even if it is in Cuba.
Unfortuantely, the stories are weighing the merits
of freedom versus family, with both sides claiming that the law is on their
side. It doesn't seem to me, though, that either side is quite right.
Should we say that the form of government automatically
carries more weight than family? No, because then we would have a precedent
that would justify kidnapping (which, despite what you have heard, did
NOT happen in this case) children to bring them to America.
At the same time, though, family should not automatically
carry more weight than the government when we are taking about a communist
regime where freedom is a myth. That would suggest if a mother and child
are granted political asylum and something happens to the mother, we can
ignore the asylum in order to send the child back to the father.
At issue is who has custody of the child. It wasn't
his father while the boy was in Cuba, so he doesn't automatically have
custody now. It wasn't his Miami relatives while the mother was alive,
so they don't automatically have custody now. These kinds of situations
are supposed to be handled in family courts, where judges are able to weigh
the best interests of the child and even appoint counsel to represent the
child's interests, if necessary.
That didn't happen here, though, because the Immigration
and Naturalization Service issued rulings which stripped the family court
of its legitimate role in deciding this matter. Consequently, instead of
being decided by those looking out for the child's well-being, it is being
decided by politicians and diplomats, and regardless who prevails in the
Appeals Court, the loser will be Elian.
After all, in a tug-of-war, the rope never wins. |
