Graciela Alfonso
HAVANA, APRIL 20 (Graciela Alfonso) - The custody of the boy Elian Gonzales Brotons continues at the center of the news. Father, grandparents and stepmother demand his return to Cuba. Great uncles and cousins want him in Miami. Things have been like this since November 25.
The Cuban government supports the motion for his return. "Save Elian", you read in the placards in the stores, roads and in the hands of thousands of demonstrators, because for a child the equilibrium of a family is very important. Agreed.
We will always defend the rights of the primary cell of society: a healthy family equals a healthy life. But those rights which are being defended by the State at a loud roar and by the multitudinous throng, are not exclusive to the Gonzales Brotons family. There are no rightist, centrist or
leftist children. It's the parents who profess diverse ideologies.
We saw the little rafter say in the family video, "Papa, I don't want to return to Cuba," with somewhat disperse gestures and vocalization. We then remembered another girl, only three years older than Elian. It was on the 17th of January at the Baragua Farm of San Miguel de Padron,
where Rosalia de las Nieves Ibarra Lugo, gigantic in her small size, wrote on paper from her school notebook the placard: "Freedom for my mother".
Rosalia's mother didn't attempt to leave the country illegally. She, Mrs. Maritza Lugo Fernandez, defends her ideas peacefully. She didn't drown at sea, but the authorities attempt to asphyxiate her example in a cell since December of last year.
All parents, without distinction of political creed, love their children and worry about their destinies. But it remains to be seen how much the Cuban government suffers when little Marcel cannot hug his papa because the bars of the cell make it impossible, or for the children of Dr. Oscar Elias
Biscet, serving his sentence in a prison hundreds of kilometers from where they live.
And why not include in the protest the grandson of lawyer Roberto de Miranda? Who with his three years understands that his grandfather needs protection; when a stranger arrives, he warns, "Don't come in, Daddy isn't here."
Add to the list the children of Rene Montes de Oca, Jose Aguilar or Marcos Lazaro Torres. 365 marches in the same number of days would be insufficient to defend the stability of the children of the opponents of Fidel Castro's regime.
Let's save childhood, that would be justice indeed!
Versión original en español
CubaNet does not require sole rights from its contributors. We authorize the reproduction and distribution of this article as long as the source is credited.
|