Elián González: Background information when reading Say Hello to My Little Friend

Elián González

This article relates to Say Hello to My Little Friend

In Say Hello to My Little Friend, main character Izzy Reyes traveled by raft from Cuba to the United States in 2003 at age seven with his mother, who drowned during the trip. It is mentioned in the novel that his Tia Teresa exploits the sympathy of teachers who note the similarity of the circumstances between Izzy's journey and that of Elián González, a Cuban child who traveled to the US with his mother and her boyfriend in November of 1999.

At the time of the journey González was five years old. He and his caretakers, along with several others, navigated through the Florida Straits on what would be a 90-mile trip. Their raft capsized, killing everyone aboard except for Elián, who was discovered floating on an inner tube and rescued by fishermen. Immigration officials granted him refugee status and allowed the boy's great aunt and uncle to take custody; they planned to keep him in the States. Instead, he became the object of an international tug-of-war.

Fidel Castro accused the US of "kidnapping" González and demanded he be returned to Cuba. Cubans protested in the streets, while Cuban Americans (among others) in Miami showed up at the home where he was living in Little Havana and cheered for him to stay. When Immigration and Naturalization Services declared that Elián's father, who remained in Cuba, was his legal guardian, and Attorney General Janet Reno agreed, the great aunt and uncle's home was raided. A photograph from that night (April 22, 2000) showing González sobbing in a relative's arms while a SWAT officer points a rifle at them won the Pulitzer Prize. Elián was taken to Washington D.C., where his father waited to take him home. His Miami family was furious, as were many other Cuban Americans living in the city at the time. Many felt that the child was being used by both Cuban and American officials as a "political pawn."

Now 30 years old, Elián González became a member of the Cuban congressional body the National Assembly of People's Power in 2023. His political opinions are fairly moderate — according to the AP he blames US sanctions for Cuba's economic woes while admitting that the Cuban systems of free education and health care are presently imperfect. On those who flee Cuba seeking a better life in America, he says, "I respect all those who made the decision to leave Cuba, I respect those who do so today, just as I do my mom," before pleading with Cuban Americans to do what they can to reduce the sanctions on their homeland.

In Say Hello to My Little Friend, Izzy's mother's journey to the United States is shrouded in mystery, as those who knew her recalled she was an ardent pro-Castro communist. Izzy is left grappling with not only the loss of his mother, but the loss of any chance to understand her.

Cuban migration to the United States is currently at an all-time high due to a combination of factors including the Covid-19 pandemic and US sanctions that were intensified by the Trump administration's decision to return Cuba to the list of countries that sponsor terrorism in 2021.

Elián González's journey from Cuba to Fort Lauderdale, drawn on public domain map by Zleitzen (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Filed under People, Eras & Events

This article relates to Say Hello to My Little Friend. It first ran in the March 20, 2024 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.