A Vote's too Valuable to Forsake to This American

 

 By Sgt. William P. Bradner
 
Special to the American Forces Press Service
 
 FORT BLISS, Texas, Sept. 28, 2000 -- More than 40 percent of 
 Army personnel didn't take the time to vote during the 1996 
 presidential election. During this year's election, at least one 
 soldier will be in line waiting for the doors to open.
 
 Spc. Giraldo Gonzalez of William Beaumont Army Medical Center 
 here lists one of his immediate goals as voting in the 2000 
 election. He's encouraging everyone in his section to do the 
 same. 
 
 "It's a privilege, one that is too valuable to forsake," 
 according to the Cuban-born naturalized U.S. citizen. "My co-
 workers, more than half didn't care. I'm trying to push them to 
 vote. For me, it's even more exciting, because this is the first 
 time in my life I can have a choice."
 
 Gonzalez fled Cuba in a 10-foot boat with five friends. They 
 built a small motor by jury-rigging a propeller onto an engine 
 used for fumigation. They left behind everything for a chance to 
 win their freedom of choice in America. They became lost between 
 the Bahamas and Florida, but were sighted by a fishing boat and 
 picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard. Their ordeal lasted four 
 days.
 
 "It was dangerous and risky," he said, "but worth it to live in 
 the United States."
 
 Gonzalez was a medical doctor in Havana, Cuba, before fleeing to 
 the states. He's now an operating room technician at Beaumont. 
 He gave up his life there to, in his words, "become a person."
 
 "It was hard to live there," he explained. "It was hard to do 
 anything without being scrutinized. I was tired of living the 
 life where you have two faces. 
 
 "This is me," he said. "This is who I am."
 
 Gonzalez recalled friends and family members who were fired or 
 denied job opportunities because of they expressed views not 
 shared by the political party. He spoke of times being 
 "obligated" to participate in anti-American or pro-Cuban marches 
 and rallies, out of fear of repercussions at his hospital if he 
 failed to attend. He remembered the time his mother was denied 
 the chance to attend a career-development program because it 
 took place outside Cuba. 
 
 "It was hard leaving my mother and all my family," he admitted, 
 "but she was afraid for me and wanted what was best for me."
 
 Gonzalez had no contact with his family in Cuba for almost four 
 years after arriving in the United States, but he doesn't regret 
 his decision. He recently re-established contact by phone, but 
 he doesn't see himself going home to visit any time soon.
 
 "I'd like to go, but I simply can't right now. Maybe someday," 
 he said. Until then, he's focusing on his life in America. He 
 enrolled in an English language course and began taking medical 
 assistant classes shortly after arriving in Florida, but changed 
 tracks after visiting in-laws in Panama.
 
 "One of my relatives there was a U.S. soldier," Gonzalez 
 explained. "I used to say 'the last thing in my life I'm gonna 
 do is be a soldier,' but that was in Cuba."
 
 Gonzalez was impressed with what he saw on the U.S. military 
 base. He saw the Army as a melting pot of American society, and 
 remembered the soldiers he met as being professional, treated 
 well and having lives of their own. He was so impressed that he 
 enlisted shortly after returning from vacation.
 
 His next step was to become a citizen. 
 
 "No one influenced me (to become a citizen)," he said. "It was 
 my love of this country and my desire to serve in an 
 unrestricted capacity."
 
 He began a 10-month process of paperwork and took the oath of 
 citizenship just a few months ago. His study guide contained 
 more than 200 questions on the history and government of our 
 nation, but the most difficult part, he said, was the red tape.
 
 "The Army didn't really help in any way," he said. "I did it all 
 on my own through the immigration office." The only assistance: 
 His co-workers helped him understand the government and U.S. 
 politics.
 
 "Becoming a citizen was my way of saying 'thank you' for the 
 opportunity to become what I have dreamed," he said.
 
 Gonzalez faces a couple more examinations before attaining all 
 his goals. One he intends to take in the not-too-distant future 
 is the U.S. Medical License Examination.
 
 "I'm not prepared to take it yet, but I will be," he said.
 
 "It tastes better -- the triumph -- when you attain your goals 
 on your own," he explained. "I don't have a lot, but everything 
 I have came through my sweat. After four years in America, I 
 feel better and trust myself more. I've discovered more 
 potential that I never knew I had before."
 
 He has three pieces of advice to share. He encourages those 
 newly arriving in the United States to "learn the language and 
 the culture because it's a whole new life. I haven't forgotten 
 I'm Cuban -- my culture, religion, and folklore -- but you have 
 to adapt to the new culture."
 
 The biggest differences between America and anywhere else, 
 according to Gonzalez, are you can be a person here and you can 
 be whatever you want. "You don't have to be rich to reach your 
 dreams, you just have to work hard," he said.
 
 His final piece of advice: Vote.
 
 "People complain, but they don't play their role," he said.
 
 (Sgt. William P. Bradner is assigned to the Beaumont Army 
 Medical Center Public Affairs Office.)
 
 

Operating room technician Spc. Giraldo Gonzalez (right) helps a student prepare for a test on identifying surgical instruments at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas. Gonzalez, a doctor in Cuba, escaped from his homeland in a small boat, recently became a U.S. citizen, and today looks forward to voting in this year's presidential elections. Photo by Sgt. William P. Bradner, USA.

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