I have no idea how this thread started other than me responding to a post that suggested that Elian be sent back to Cuba on a "raft". Unfortunately I have had to evaluate children for the courts & in child custody battles between selfserving adults in the midst of an acrimonious divorce. The horror that these children go through leaves emotional scars that don't disappear after a trip to Disney World. The Cuban community in south Florida appears to be using Elian as a pawn for their own political purposes & have no idea what is in the best interest of this 6 year old child. He has a father & grandparents in Cuba who appear to be loving & caring individuals who want the best for him regardless of the fact that they reside in a communist dictatorship where Castro's policies have made life most difficult for everybody on the island. I don't have all the data but my professional, gut opinion is that this child HAS to be returned to Cuba, not on a raft but on a Cuban jetliner.