From the beginning of the battle over Elian Gonzalez, I have been struck by the willingness of our country to ignore the rights of his father. A problem often faced by fathers in family law courts in many states is apparently just a continuation of national policy — when a marriage falls apart, a father must struggle for the right and opportunity to raise his child and maintain a meaningful relationship.

This story, in its base form, is about a woman who abducted her child and put his life at risk to take him somewhere that would end his relationship with his father. This father is enduring the loss of his child and the poor boy is now with relatives he barely knows grieving the loss of both parents. It is unconscionable to keep Elian and his father, Juan Miguel, apart any longer.

I am baffled by a government policy that turns away Haitian refugee boats with children aboard, yet refuses to return a small boy to his only living parent. What exactly is the message we are attempting to send? If U.S. sentiment toward Cuba, with our already relaxed immigration policy, is such that we cannot fathom the thought of returning a child to communist Cuba, then we ought to extend the offer of citizenship to both Elian and his father and allow the father to decide in which country he will raise his son.

While we allow the process to churn on, productivity is halted. The system now is like bad middle management. Everyone wants a chance to get his or her say or to do more study, and no decision gets made and nothing good happens. Contact your elected representatives and tell them to make a stand today and have Elian returned to the loving arms of his father. Ben Williams Bangor