From this prison, there is no parole, no commutation of sentence. If Elian is returned to the island it will not be to his father's care but to the custody of the Maximum Leader. From nursery school, children are indoctrinated in Marxism. Youth are channeled into the Communist Pioneers. Children are taught to inform on parents.
Schools keep permanent dossiers on students whose loyalty is questioned.
Alina Fernandez explains that teen-agers are sent to schools in the countryside where parents may see them only once every few months. There, they are forced to work half days in the fields. These schools are notorious for high rates of venereal disease and abortion. Fernandez, who fled Cuba in 1993, is somewhat of an authority on family relationships on the island. In a sense, none of this is extraordinary.