[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4713]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        ELIAN'S UNCERTAIN FUTURE

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, this morning, Juan Miguel Gonzalez 
arrived in the United States, more than 4 months after his little boy 
Elian was rescued at sea under miraculous circumstances.
  Elian's fate is still uncertain. However, if deported there are 
truths we could be certain about. If deported, Elian will become the 
property of the Castro regime. Castro officials themselves declared 
just this week that Elian is Cuba's possession.
  If forced to return to Cuba, Elian will be hospitalized for an 
undetermined period of time, and hospitalized is Castro's euphemism for 
reeducation and reprogramming.
  If deported, 6-year-old Elian will be subjected to the type of 
education pictured here where children are given combat training and 
are forced to use rifles and other weapons as part of their elementary 
school curriculum.
  Despite Elian's mother's ultimate sacrifice for him to live in 
freedom here in the United States, despite Elian's struggle to survive 
the perilous journey from Castro's Cuba, despite Elian's desire to 
remain in the United States, his days of liberty may give way to a 
future of forced child labor, enslavement, and oppression.
  Today may mark a sad day for democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.

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