Welcome to the high hill of capitalism, Mr. Gonzalez. May we exploit you? Yeah, I know, you think we have heard enough of the 6-year-old boy, Elian, who floated onto American shores after losing his mother and stepfather when his makeshift craft sank. We all know about the legal battle that ensued between officials in the United States and in Cuba over whether the young child should be sent back to his biological father who lives on Castros’ communist island, or kept here “to enjoy his right to freedom.” During the fiasco that developed we have heard the battle of words that has raged between the families in Miami and Havana over who loves him more-in other words, who deserves him more. But the bottom line coming out of the governments, Cuban communities in Miama, the family and the media, is that everyone is working for the boy’s best interest. Well, let me show you what the papers and TV stations aren’t showing you.
Earlier this week I spoke by phone with an employee of Universal Studios in Florida who witnessed a rare inside perspective of the loving family. On Dec. 12 the City Commissioner, Mel Martinez, gave Elian and his family a free trip to Disney World, complete with food and souvenirs. After receiving the gift the family contacted Universal Studios’ publicity department and asked for accommodations to visit the park, working under the impression that the Disney Corp. had donated the visit themselves. Universal Studios provided the family with a plan they called their Executive Tour, which is worth $3200. No one waited in lines and they were provided with lunch (which is not usually included in the Executive offer). The tour itself took eight hours. The entourage included Elian; 31 family members including many children, aunts, uncles and cousins, three reporters invited by the family, three sheriff officers, four state police officers, and a handful of private body guards, all of whom rode the rides, ate the food and received gifts. My contact, who spoke under anonymity due to Universal Studio policy, reported that her first glimpse of Elian was of him crying in the arms of his great uncle. It was clear that Elian did not want to visit Universal Studios that day.
Despite the fact that the Studio’s staff was briefed on the family wishes to bring Elian there for a chance to relax and enjoy being a kid, his cousin Marisleysis instructed the tour guide that the family had “done all that kid stuff.” That day they wanted to do “adult stuff.” But because publicity was doing this for Elian, they started with the Barney and the Curious George areas of the park. Elian enjoyed these areas immensely and they helped to ease his crying.
As the family proceeded through the morning, they began demanding such items as free T-shirts and other Universal Studios items claiming, “Disney gave us free T-shirts,” when in fact all of that merchandise was provided as a gift from the city commissioner. Yet all of the aunts, uncles, cousins and bodyguards were given T-shirts and other gifts.
At lunch the demands increased. “We gave them pizza and soda and stuff, but they began to ask why they couldn’t have hamburgers downstairs. We don’t even usually include food on such tours,” said the employee.
Elian spent most of the day with his great uncle. The employee said, “Most of the rest of the family seemed to ignore him. Only [great uncle] Lazaro tended to him.”
“But every time the cameraman came up for a photo-op, they gathered around him to kiss him and smile. They all jostled to get in the papers.”
Universal Studios made a deal with the major networks, agreeing that if they stayed outside the park, then the Studio’s publicity film crew and cameraman would release tapes of Elian to them at the end of the day. This crew spent about four hours with the family. During one stop, they wanted to get a picture of him coming down a slide at one of the play areas. Elian began to cry, saying he didn’t want to. His great uncle demanded that he do this, which made him cry harder. Even after publicity told them that it really wasn’t necessary to have this shoot, the great uncle forced Elian to slide and smile, and get the pictures.
Throughout the afternoon, Marisleysis repeatedly asked whether they were going to have a chance to go on the “Jaws” ride. Universal Studios’ publicist decided that Elian should not ride that attraction since it involves a shark “attacking” a boat, and the boat seemingly sinking. Elian had panicked the day before while riding Disney’s “It’s A Small World,” also a boat ride. The employee stated, “We were going to avoid Jaws like the plague. But they were very pushy.”
Their insistence resulted in the following story: “We had an attendant put a rope across the entrance of Jaws to make it seem like it was broken.” Yet after they passed by the attraction on the way to another ride, the cousin who did most of the family’s interpreting demanded that the tour guides were lying about Jaws being broken, and threatened to sue the park if they didn’t get to ride. Eventually, the marketing representative spoke to the woman, explained the ride, and then said, “If you want to submit Elian to the experience, then it is on your shoulders.” The woman listened, and finally decided to leave Elian outside with another family member, reporters, crowds and bodyguards.
The end of the story is the most astonishing. As the reporters, tour guides and my contact stood around waiting for the ride to end an Associated Press reporter remarked that he was astonished at how superficial the family was. He was shocked at how they seemed to care nothing about the boy, but more about what the boy could get them. My contact then asked him if that was what he was going to write. He said, “Of course not.”
The fact is we are being asked to make a decision on an issue that is handled deep in the government’s bureaucracy, but that has now even begun to effect our presidential campaigns. We are told how much each side of the family loves the boy, and they would just love to have him. But Elian, capitalism is all about how much each person can get for themselves, and the 31 family members, who you had never met before, seem only to want to see how much they can squeeze out of you.
Yes, my boy, it is for your “right” to live in this type of environment. I am not sure what would be better for the boy: exploitation or decrepit communism.
A quote from a friend of mine sums it up best: “His life is going to suck. Should it suck here or there?” I am not even going to attempt to form an opinion.
But this showed me a side of the story that we are never going to get from news shows that just want to give us the warm, fuzzy side of a story that is nothing but a tragedy. So here it is: the side of the story that no one has heard. In search of newspaper reports on the topic, not a single one reported the abuse from the fame Elian has gained.
They talk about the immorality of not giving the boy to the father. They talk about the abuse of giving the boy a Nintendo 64 and then sending him back to Cuba.
But never once did you hear, “Hey this family doesn’t give a darn about this kid.” It sure has made me realize that we are debating a topic we don’t understand. So do with this what you will, but as far as I am concerned, the boy just got a crash course in child exploitation, rather than a demonstration of the glory of the American dream.
