Read Online one hot summer by carolina garcia aguilera - Free Book Online
Authors: carolina garcia aguilera
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thing was front-page news and then started the lawsuits, the allegations, the court orders.
Even before Elian, Cuban exiles had been perceived differently from other immigrants to America; rightly or wrongly, we enjoyed special immigration status and were able to bypass a lot of restrictions other groups faced in establishing residency. As a result, there was always resentment. During and after Elian, public opinion vilified and attacked Cubans in a way that truly shocked us. Not all Cuban exiles believed the boy should be kept in America, away from his father, but it was definitely a minority opinion. It didn’t matter what an individual thought, though—we were all tarred with the same brush.
The fact is, Americans never really understood the Cuban exiles’ side of the story. They didn’t want to hear about the fact that one and a half million Cubans had left the island, abandoning everything they knew and loved because of political persecution. For most exiles, it was unthinkable that a boy who succeeded in escaping should be ordered to return. Few in America wanted to consider what awaited Elian after he got back to Cuba. His life would change in very real ways—and not simply because he would no longer have access to Disney World and Toys “R” Us, as was portrayed in the press.
Under Cuban law, a child didn’t belong to his family. He belonged to the patria, and the government made final decisions concerning his welfare. Parents’ wishes were secondary. As a teenager, he would be removed from his home and sent to work in the countryside. He would live in camps and coed dormitories, where sexually transmitted diseases were common and the rate of pregnancy was sky high. At age seven his rationed provisions would start limiting his diet—he wouldn’t be eligible for the milk, beef, and proteins that he’d gotten used to. And, of course, the first order of business upon his return would be to openly denounce his mother as a traitor. That was required of everyone who came back. However, these realities were not portrayed in the press, which saw it simply as a father being kept from his son.
Elian’s great-uncle was a mechanic, his wife worked in a factory sewing garments, and the daughter was a bank clerk. They were unsophisticated people and had absolutely no media savvy. They made a big mistake when they picked as their spokesman a political operative, a slickster who did them a disservice with the decisions he made on their behalf. There were no winners in the Elian Gonzalez family. The little boy had to return to live under Castro’s regime, and the Cuban exiles were cast in a harsh, negative light. Miami was incredibly polarized. Americans and Cubans who had been friends, neighbors, and business partners broke off relations. Some thought that the divisions had always been there, and that the Elian disaster simply brought them to the forefront.
Cubans used to enjoy an image as industrious good citizens and, believe me, it was an impression that we worked hard to project. It had evaporated in the space of a few months, and it was devastating. I knew of deep personal relationships that had been permanently and completely severed because of rancorous arguments about Elian.
“What would Ariel do if he found out you met with Luther?” Vivian asked me.
“He wouldn’t like it,” I admitted. “But Ariel has always let me do pretty much whatever I want.”
“Margarita, Ariel might be liberated and all that, but chica, he’s still a Cuban man,” Anabel pointed out. “He might have trained himself to be open-minded about women—or you might have trained him, I don’t know—but you can’t change what’s in the genes.”
“You know, I think what’s troubling me is that I don’t feel like I’m being unfaithful to Ariel.” To make sure my friends didn’t get the wrong idea, I hastened to add, “I mean, I’ve done nothing wrong and I have nothing to hide. I’ve been to lunch with
Even before Elian, Cuban exiles had been perceived differently from other immigrants to America; rightly or wrongly, we enjoyed special immigration status and were able to bypass a lot of restrictions other groups faced in establishing residency. As a result, there was always resentment. During and after Elian, public opinion vilified and attacked Cubans in a way that truly shocked us. Not all Cuban exiles believed the boy should be kept in America, away from his father, but it was definitely a minority opinion. It didn’t matter what an individual thought, though—we were all tarred with the same brush.
The fact is, Americans never really understood the Cuban exiles’ side of the story. They didn’t want to hear about the fact that one and a half million Cubans had left the island, abandoning everything they knew and loved because of political persecution. For most exiles, it was unthinkable that a boy who succeeded in escaping should be ordered to return. Few in America wanted to consider what awaited Elian after he got back to Cuba. His life would change in very real ways—and not simply because he would no longer have access to Disney World and Toys “R” Us, as was portrayed in the press.
Under Cuban law, a child didn’t belong to his family. He belonged to the patria, and the government made final decisions concerning his welfare. Parents’ wishes were secondary. As a teenager, he would be removed from his home and sent to work in the countryside. He would live in camps and coed dormitories, where sexually transmitted diseases were common and the rate of pregnancy was sky high. At age seven his rationed provisions would start limiting his diet—he wouldn’t be eligible for the milk, beef, and proteins that he’d gotten used to. And, of course, the first order of business upon his return would be to openly denounce his mother as a traitor. That was required of everyone who came back. However, these realities were not portrayed in the press, which saw it simply as a father being kept from his son.
Elian’s great-uncle was a mechanic, his wife worked in a factory sewing garments, and the daughter was a bank clerk. They were unsophisticated people and had absolutely no media savvy. They made a big mistake when they picked as their spokesman a political operative, a slickster who did them a disservice with the decisions he made on their behalf. There were no winners in the Elian Gonzalez family. The little boy had to return to live under Castro’s regime, and the Cuban exiles were cast in a harsh, negative light. Miami was incredibly polarized. Americans and Cubans who had been friends, neighbors, and business partners broke off relations. Some thought that the divisions had always been there, and that the Elian disaster simply brought them to the forefront.
Cubans used to enjoy an image as industrious good citizens and, believe me, it was an impression that we worked hard to project. It had evaporated in the space of a few months, and it was devastating. I knew of deep personal relationships that had been permanently and completely severed because of rancorous arguments about Elian.
“What would Ariel do if he found out you met with Luther?” Vivian asked me.
“He wouldn’t like it,” I admitted. “But Ariel has always let me do pretty much whatever I want.”
“Margarita, Ariel might be liberated and all that, but chica, he’s still a Cuban man,” Anabel pointed out. “He might have trained himself to be open-minded about women—or you might have trained him, I don’t know—but you can’t change what’s in the genes.”
“You know, I think what’s troubling me is that I don’t feel like I’m being unfaithful to Ariel.” To make sure my friends didn’t get the wrong idea, I hastened to add, “I mean, I’ve done nothing wrong and I have nothing to hide. I’ve been to lunch with
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