Unfortunately for Eli n, we will never know. In a unanimous ruling, the 11th Circuit Court ruled that any alien even a child can ask for asylum. This ruling has worried those who fear the legal ramifications. Time writer Richard Lacayo wonders if first graders will be allowed to sue their parents if they are punished 1 . Perhaps children should be given this right.
Punishment solves nothing and just makes a bad situation worse.
In Scandinavian countries, there are child ombudsmen that all children can turn to if they are not receiving the loving care and compassion that every child needs and deserves to have. Children in those countries have won the right to be heard when their human rights are overlooked. Soldiers, slaves, people of color, women, the handicapped, gays, people of color, pets, and endangered animals have all had their day in court, and their rights recognized. Throughout this episode, I read the views of many people, but there was scarcely any discussion of Eli n s own feelings on the matter. If we have learned anything from his situation, I hope it is that all children deserve to be heard, and to be treated with compassion at all times, even when the adults around them have run out of creative solutions.