THE BIGGER MYSTERY BEHIND ELIAN'S SURVIVAL

HONOLULU -- February 29, 2000 /Xpress Press/ -- Little Elian, the young Cuban boy, has been in the news for the past few months as family members and governments quarrel over where he will live.

But the bigger story according to Bobbie Sandoz, Honolulu therapist with two graduate degrees in education and social work and author of Parachutes for Parents and Listening to Wild Dolphins, is that Elian was surrounded by dolphins during his ordeal in the ocean following his mother's death.

Sandoz who is the Jane Goodall of dolphins, believes their presence explains why Elian lacked the kind of sunburn and other medical problems that would normally go with this kind of exposure, since an abundance of stories align with the research that suggests their healing abilities are related to the power of intention and directing their energy, yet go far beyond our own understanding of this new field of study.

Sandoz, who has swum with dolphins throughout the world for the past decade, also believes it is why Elian has not demonstrated the usual symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that would be expected from a child taken abruptly from his father in order to ride uncharted seas to America, then forced to watch helplessly as his mother drowned, followed by days alone in the open ocean before being rescued off a Florida beach.

Sandoz, a veteran therapist skilled in the new "energy psychology" that employs tapping specific points on the body to effectively release old trauma and pain, much like the dolphins pinging us with their sonar, believes the dolphins' well documented capacity for healing contributed to this unexpected outcome for Elian, whose fellow adult survivors required hospitalization to recover from their lesser traumas.

Sandoz also points out that the dolphins responded to this human child with great kindness at a time when their own families are dying by the 100s along the same Florida coast where Elian was found-most likely at human hands from exposure to intense levels of low frequency active sonar (LFAS) rumored to be in that area prior to these strandings.

Sadly, this carnage is accompanied by similar strandings on the west coast last summer and Europe this February, while the dolphins and whales continue to approach our boats, swim with us, and offer us rescue and healing. In fact, one group of San Juan Orcas even showed up to listen to a human concert given in their honor, and displayed a particular interest in "Amazing Grace"­or forgiveness without merit.

By contrast, our species has failed to work very hard to understand the intelligence of these large brained beings or uncover the "mystery" behind their deaths by checking their ears and lungs for rupture or tissue shearing-all symptoms of LFA sonar exposure predicted by the Marine Mammal Commission in 1997 to result in deafness, starvation, and eventual death of marine mammals if deployed.

Even more disturbing is that our government is moving swiftly toward premature activation of this risky technology of unprecedented force and untested power in 80% of the world's oceans, apparently to get it underway and classified before the public has a chance to hear about its potential to threaten all marine life.

Meanwhile, there seems to be a campaign against the friendliness of cetaceans, perhaps so that we won't care that our government is killing them. Yet, Sandoz says she has never seen one aggressive act in her decade of time with dolphins and whales in the water and questions the motives of those depicting them as unkind.

Sandoz further believes the sonar, if deployed, will surely result in a holocaust beneath the sea, which appears to already be underway. And, rather than watch passively as we have during past holocausts, she suggests we reach deep into our hearts to see if there is enough intelligence and caring in us to call our congressional representatives and insist that they halt all forward movement of the LFAS program.

Sandoz also hopes we will care more about Elian than politics and assure him the best placement for his spirit and life that she believes the dolphins helped to save.