4 Acrobats Defect to U.S.

Regarding the four Romanian acrobats who “jumped” to freedom, I find little to applaud in their actions. For these women the lure of more money and “artistic freedom” was apparently of such overriding interest, that one of them saw fit to leave behind her 15-year-old daughter and three abandoned their husbands. One can only imagine the pain and incredulity experienced by those people.

We can assume from the reasons given by the defectors that theirs were not the acts of desperate people, persecuted for their ideologies or living in abject poverty. Yet we will probably accord them the status of heroines, while we continue to place all kinds of restrictions on those who come here seeking only to earn food for their very much deprived children. For this latter group, at least, the family does not come last!

ANNEKE MENDIOLA

Santa Ana