[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1028-1029]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   A FAIR HEARING FOR ELIAN GONZALEZ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, the seas are stormy, the waves are 
beating against your frail little face, the winds are bitter cold. Your 
dark eyes are blinded by tears. You feel your mother's hands as they 
struggle to hold you above the waves. You hear her gentle voice praying 
to God to protect you, asking God to help you reach the land of 
liberty, and whispering to you to pray to your guardian angel.
  Suddenly, there is distress in your mother's voice. This turns into 
cries of anguish and the last words you hear from your mother are, ``I 
love you, my child. You are in God's hands now.''
  Committed to honor your mother's wishes, strengthened by her love and 
faith, you cling to an inner tube, all alone in the vast Atlantic 
Ocean. You continue to pray and on Thanksgiving Day, 1999, you are 
rescued by two fishermen off the coast of Florida.
  Despite the harrowing experience, you are filled with joy, joy in the 
knowledge that you made it to the United States, that your mother's 
sacrifice was not in vain.
  This is the story of Elian Gonzalez, who was then 5 years old and his 
mother, Elizabet Broton. One cannot help but wonder if there was divine 
intervention.
  Elian has repeatedly spoken about the schools of dolphins who 
surrounded his inner tube. He is emphatic about the fact that these 
dolphins protected him from the sharks while using their snouts to push 
him closer to our U.S. shores.
  Donato, one of the fishermen who saved Elian's life, has publicly 
stated and has personally said to many Members of Congress of this 
chamber how he as a Christian believes that God guided him toward Elian 
on that fateful day. Donato explains, ``At first I thought it was a 
doll. I would have never seen Elian's tiny little hands clinging to the 
inner tube had there not been some force driving us toward him.''
  Some who have looked into Elian's eyes have seen the purity of his 
spirit, the antithesis of the evil that is Fidel Castro and his atheist 
regime. Some can see the collective anguish of the Cuban soul, in 
chains since Castro came to power and banished God and religion from 
Cuba, replacing it with Communist doctrine and institutions.
  However, all who have come in contact with the child, including 
Jeanne O'Laughlin, who facilitated the meeting between Elian and his 
grandmothers, are touched by Elian.
  Sister O'Laughlin was hand-picked by Attorney General Janet Reno and 
the INS. She is a neutral observer who answers to a higher call. Yet, 
after looking into Elian's tiny dark eyes, she said, ``He would grow to 
greater freedom of manhood here.'' She believes that Elian should 
``live free of fear'' and that ``the final challenge of finding the 
best way for Elian to heal and to be nurtured should lie with a court 
that has experience in seeking the best interests of children.''
  Yet, there are those who shut themselves to this possibility and want 
only for Elian to be returned to his father in Cuba.
  For those, I would like to quote Sister O'Laughlin again. She writes, 
``It troubles me that Elian's father has not

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come to the United States. I realize how he must love Elian. What, if 
not fear, could keep a person from making a 30-minute trip to reclaim 
his son? And what might Elian's father fear if not the authoritarian 
Cuban government itself? Could we send the boy back to a climate that 
may be full of fear without at least a fair hearing in a family 
court,'' Sister Jeanne asks.
  Some would discount that this fear exists. Some would question that 
the regime takes any action that would instill fear. No, that would not 
be, they say. But imagine how intense the fear must be, how horrific 
the oppression and subjugation must be in Cuba, that thousands upon 
thousands of mothers and fathers risk their lives to bring their 
children to freedom here in the United States. Imagine how the spirit 
of the Cuban people is strangulated by the Castro regime that they are 
driven to such desperate measures.
  Imagine not being able to go to church or to turn to any religious 
leader for guidance or support because you would be arrested and 
interrogated. Where would those be who would doubt that there is fear 
in Cuba? What would they say to the dissidents who are persecuted 
because they want human rights, or to the political prisoners because 
they want freedom and democracy for Cuba? What would they say to the 
Cuban mothers and fathers who must relinquish control of their 
children's upbringing and education and leave it to the Castro regime, 
a regime which teaches children to read using books such as these:
  This one, for example, is used to teach Elian and his classmates and 
it says, ``G'' is for guerrilla. It also includes songs such as the 
ones where the children pledge their devotion to Castro, to Che 
Guevara, and to other Cuban revolutionary leaders. This one, for 
example, says, ``I want to be like him. I could be like him. I will 
have to be like him. Like whom,'' it says. ``Like Che.''
  Is this the environment that Elian should be returned to without so 
much as an opportunity to have him speak and express his desires?
  I ask that my colleagues search their consciences and let God guide 
their steps as they consider this issue.

                          ____________________

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