Published Tuesday, April 4, 2000, in the Miami Herald
Tensions rise outside Elian family home
By Marika Lynch . mlynch@herald.com
As word spread Monday that Elian Gonzalez was likely to be turned over to his father soon, protest leaders called on demonstrators to gather outside the Little Havana house of his Miami relatives and stay there through the night and into this morning.
Democracy Movement leader Ramon Saul Sanchez asked the crowd of about 150 to stay overnight at the Gonzalez home Monday evening and take today off from work to protest at the house. He urged others in the community to join in.
During his speech to the crowd, he urged them to remain nonviolent and led them to a chant of ``El paro viene,'' the strike is coming.
``We will abide by the wishes of the family. They are the only ones with Elian's best interest in mind,'' Sanchez said afterward. ``If the government revokes the boy's parole and the Miami family doesn't come to an agreement with the government, there will be civil disobedience.''
LAWMAKER ARRIVES
At about 9 p.m., U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart swept onto the scene to address the crowd. Fresh from the MSNBC broadcast of A Town Meeting: Battle for Elian Gonzalez at the Knight Center in Miami, he urged the crowd to be peaceful.
``Violence is not an option. We cannot resort to violence -- we have to do everything within the law to make sure that the pending state court matter is resolved,'' he said.
About 8:30 p.m., a 20-car horn-honking parade with signs and Cuban flags began a noisy caravan up and down Flagler Street, just blocks from the Gonzalez home.
Earlier in the day, Sanchez led about 50 people in practicing to form a human chain and instructed them on how to be arrested nonviolently. He asked everyone to get on their cell phones and invite friends to the Gonzalez home.
`SITUATION CRITICAL'
``The situation is critical but not lost,'' Sanchez said to the crowd of people joined elbow to elbow. ``We need to show the world how we are going to act in civil disobedience nonviolently.''
Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas urged people to remain calm.
``We're commending people for the way they acted at the prayer vigil Wednesday night and saying that's the kind of activity we need, should something happen,'' Penelas said.
Family spokesman Armando Gutierrez declined to confirm that the Immigration and Naturalization Service had told the family that the boy would be surrendered to his father. But he also urged people to remain calm.
Sanchez told the crowd that about 150 federal agents are in town just waiting to intervene. Maria Cardona, spokesman for the INS in Washington, said those reports are ``absolutely false.''
Outside the house, protesters set up a stereo sound system and passed around a microphone, singing songs and urging people to tell everyone they know to come to the house. Overhead, a plane towed a banner that read, ``Virgin Mary, Pray to God, We Will Save Elian,'' from Mision Cristo Rey.
CHAIN QUESTIONED
Religious leader K.A. Paul, of the Global Peace Initiative, in town to support the Miami family, questioned if the human chain could stop anything: ``These people aren't trained. You need 10,000 people in five rows. They won't stop anything, but what can you do?''
He implored the crowd to ask God for help.
``We can't do anything without our own strength,'' he told the crowd through a microphone. ``We need God to be with us.''
The crowd bowed their heads, and even Francisco Gonzalez, a bridal shop worker selling 75-cent candy bars to protesters, prayed.
``I'm very hurt by the situation,'' said Gonzalez, 43.
Meanwhile, in a tent set up outside the home, six people continued a hunger strike they began Friday.
One sign hanging in the bushes said, ``You did the right thing, Al Gore. Promise if elected to fire Reno and denounce Clinton for treason, and the White House will be yours.''
Arrival of Elian's father is 'imminent,' U.S. says
Andres Viglucci, Jay Weaver And Frank Davies . aviglucci@herald.com
The arrival of Elian Gonzalez's father in the United States is ''imminent'' and the boy's Miami relatives have been told they must surrender custody soon after he lands, U.S. immigration authorities said Monday.
On Monday evening, the U.S. State Department approved travel visas for six people: the father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, his wife, their 6-month-old boy, a favorite cousin of Elian's, and Elian's pediatrician and kindergarten teacher.
State Department spokesman James Rubin said the visas could be issued as early as today by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. Cuban President Fidel Castro has said a plane ''is ready'' and could leave Havana today.
Whether Elian heads directly home to Cuba with his father or they wait out a U.S. court battle over the boy's fate remained undecided Monday night. That could be determined in negotiations between the Miami relatives and immigration authorities. Those talks adjourned without resolution Monday
after nearly nine hours.
INS officials and representatives for Elian's Miami relatives gathered this morning for another round of talks. The only subject for discussion is whether the Miami family will agree to turn over Elian to his father peacefully, a Justice Department official said.
If they do, the official said, the government and an attorney representing Juan Miguel Gonzalez have agreed not to return the boy to Cuba immediately, but to await the outcome of the relatives' federal court battle to keep the boy here.
''I think they understand this transfer is going to happen no matter what,'' the official said. ''Our goal is to do this in the most cooperative way possible.''
But Elian's cousin, Marisleysis Gonzalez, disputed that in an impassioned statement outside the family home at 11 p.m.
''What does this country want to do to Elian? Drive him crazy?'' she said, with tears on her cheeks. ''Let the father come to this house and be with his son and ask him how he feels.''
Gonzalez, the surrogate mother for Elian, was taken to Coral Gables Hospital this morning after she grew faint and become ill during a round of early morning nationally televised interviews.
After Gonzalez finished one interview at La Carreta, a Little Havana restaurant, she turned pale. She put her head in a friend's lap and then hurried into a bathroom.
Minutes later, Miami fire-rescue paramedics arrived to treat her.
Gonzalez was in stable condition at Coral Gables late this morning, said family spokesman Armando Gutierrez. Her father and uncle were with her, he said.
Gonzalez, a loan processor in her early 20s, had arrived at the interview at about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, after Monday night's news conference.
Earlier this year, Gonzalez was hospitalized for exhaustion. Friends have also said she often spends days in bed, too tired to move.
Meanwhile, the family's lawyer Kendall Coffey recommended an additional step in the custody proceedings.
''We propose an independent panel of three psychologists to do an evaluation of Elian and decide what would be in his best interest,'' Coffey said. ''This should have been done a long time ago.''
DEADLINE SUPERSEDED
Bob Wallis, the Immigration and Naturalization Service district director in Miami, said after the talks recessed that a 9 a.m. deadline today for revocation of Elian's legal permission to stay in the country had been ''superseded'' by the father's expected arrival.
Instead, Wallis said at a news conference, the agency would begin transferring temporary custody from Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, once the boy's father arrives. But Wallis said the physical change of custody would not necessarily take place right away, raising the possibility of a
period of transition between Juan Miguel Gonzalez's arrival and the actual reunification with his son.
''The transfer of parole care does not mean that the child will be immediately removed from the home of the great-uncle,'' Wallis said. ''Instead, it is our hope to begin a smooth and orderly process that will create as little disruption as possible for Elian.''
He would not elaborate. Sources close to the talks, however, said both sides remained far apart.
PLAN NOT DIVULGED
The Justice Department official declined to discuss what the government would do if the Miami relatives refuse to turn over Elian. The family's attorneys have said they would do so if ordered to by the INS, which has sought a transfer at a neutral site. But the relatives have publicly insisted
Gonzalez would have to come to their house in Little Havana.
If the negotiations break down and the relatives refuse to surrender Elian, legal experts say, the INS could seek a court order forcing the great uncle to release the boy. Continued defiance could then result in his arrest.
Demonstrators who have been camping out around the clock in front of the relatives' Little Havana home Monday renewed vows to form a human chain around it to prevent Elian's removal, though they reiterated they would comply with the family's wishes. On Monday evening, protest leaders issued a
call for people to come to the house, spend the night there and skip work today if necessary.
At about 7:30 p.m., Lazaro Gonzalez approached the crowd of reporters outside his home and said, ''definitely, we will know tomorrow what decision we are going to make, the Gonzalez family and the government.''
He said he hopes the impasse can be settled privately once Elian's father arrives.
''Never doubt that the Gonzalez family has their house open for their family,'' Lazaro Gonzalez said.
BARRICADES DOWN
Three hours later, about half of the 200 protesters tore down the barricades and converged upon the front of Elian's Little Havana home, chanting: ''Liberty!'' and ''Justice!'' Moments later, the family made its late-night statement, calling for a family reunion in their home and a psychological
evaluation of the boy.
The government, however, is more focused on how it can transfer the boy to his father without incident.
Its newest demands came as the Cuban government applied for U.S. visas for Gonzalez, his wife and child, and 25 others, including Elian's classmates and teachers and the president of Cuba's National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon. Rubin, the State Department spokesman, said the other 22 visa requests
are under review.
''The U.S. Interests Section in Havana will be submitting a list of questions to the Cuban government concerning these requests for visas to determine the merits of the individual cases,'' Rubin said.
A source familiar with the negotiations said there was a possibility that Gonzalez could come directly to Miami to be reunited with his son. Under the Cuban government's original proposal, first floated last week in a speech by Cuban President Fidel Castro, Gonzalez and his entourage would
settle in Washington with Elian while the Miami relatives' court appeal is concluded.
CASTRO'S PRAISE
In a televised speech Sunday night, Castro lavished praise on U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, who last month upheld U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno's authority to send Elian home, as well as on the Clinton administration and the American public, for supporting the boy's return to Cuba.
''Our people will be grateful for that,'' Castro said. ''American authorities, as well as outstanding and prestigious political figures, have expressed their hope that the father's presence can decisively contribute to solving the embarrassing issue. This encourages us to persevere in our
efforts.''
Castro said a plane ''is ready . . . provided the visas applied for were ready.'' It was unclear Monday whether the delay in approving the 22 other visa requests could hold up the father's trip.
Castro defended his proposal to send Elian's teachers, doctors and classmates along with the boy's father, saying it was necessary, according to psychologists, to bring some normalcy to the boy's life while the appeal is heard.
HEARING SET
The appellate court in Atlanta has scheduled a hearing for May 11. If they lose there, the Miami relatives have said they would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
''It is said that Juan Miguel will have to remain in the United States for at least two months, but that does not take into account the appeals, tricks and delays of all kinds to which Elian's unpunished kidnappers presumably will resort,'' Castro said.
Meanwhile, the Cuban government erected a nine-foot bronze statue of patriot Jose Marti outside the seaside U.S. Interests Section in Havana. The statue holds a boy in his right arm and points his left index at the U.S. diplomatic mission.
The government held a rally Monday, attended by a smiling Castro, Elian's father and about 3,000 university students, to inaugurate the statue and a massive concrete and steel stage evidently built for future protests.
Luis Fernandez, spokesman for the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, said the members of the Cuban delegation would stay in the home in Bethesda, Md., of the chief of mission, Fernando Remirez, and in the homes of other Cuban diplomats in the Washington area. Fernandez said a school for
Elian and the visiting children would be established in Remirez's house.
Castro said Sunday that he had asked Remirez to strip his home of diplomatic immunity because Elian's Miami relatives said ''they would never surrender the boy to a residence considered Cuban territory.''
The three Cuban-American members of Congress said they fear that Gonzalez will be the virtual prisoner of Cuban security agents.
They sent a letter to the father, through the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, promising him ''that all necessary steps shall be taken immediately'' to allow him to remain in the United States with his new wife and infant child.
''We truly hope that you, your wife and your infant son, somehow, shall find a way to evade the control of the multiple Cuban security agents who will be attempting to keep you and your family captive,'' wrote Miami Republicans Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and New Jersey Democrat
Bob Menendez.
Of the pending visa requests, Alarcon's is the most problematic for U.S. officials.
In the past, the State Department has approved requests for Alarcon, known as Castro's ''point man'' on the United States, to travel to New York to speak at the U.N., but rejected his bids to travel to other parts of the United States.
Herald staff writers Marika Lynch and Eunice Ponce, Herald news services and Herald translator Renato Perez contributed to this report.
Most say Elian belongs with dad
Herald Staff Report
More than ever, a majority of Americans favor returning Elian Gonzalez to his father in Cuba, according to the latest in a series of national media polls.
Fifty-nine percent of those who responded in an ABC News/Washington Post poll released this weekend said the boy should be returned to Cuba -- up from 55 percent in February.
The poll also showed a steady increase over polls in January, when 52 percent said he should be reunited with his father, and in December, when 46 percent favored return.
While those who favor the boy staying here remained the same, the poll results reflected movement in the undecided category.
In December, when the case had not gained as much national attention, 20 percent of those polled had no opinion on whether the boy should stay in the United States. By last week, only 9 percent had no opinion.
Fieldwork by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa., conducted the latest telephone survey for the news agencies Friday and Saturday, using a random national sample of 930 adults. The results have a 3.5-point error of margin.
Political party affiliation had little effect on opinions, the poll found, with 64 percent of Independents, 60 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of Republicans favoring return. Thirty-five percent each of Republicans and Democrats said Elian should remain in the United States.
The poll question was this: ``I have a question about Elian Gonzalez, the 6-year-old Cuban boy whose mother drowned when their boat sank off Florida and whose father lives in Cuba. Do you think the boy should be returned to his father in Cuba, or remain with his relatives who want to keep him in
the United States?''
Remarks by President Fidel Castro of Cuba at a televised roundtable discussion by university students in Havana, Sunday April 2, 2000. .
Translation is by The Miami Herald. Published Monday, April 3, 2000, in the Miami Herald Internet Edition
On March 22, 24 hours after federal judge Michael Moore announced his historic and fair verdict, we expressed to the United States authorities our concern and that of Elian Gonzalez's father and other close relatives over the risk of psychological and even physical injury that could be
intentionally inflicted on the child, given the violent nature and the habit of acting with impunity and contempt for the law showed by the Mafia surrounding the family that was holding Elian captive, once they realized that their cause had failed legally, morally and politically.
The note, drafted in the most sincerely constructive spirit, added: ''Although wide and profound differences exist between the United States and Cuba on many issues, we harbor the hope that in this particular and delicate matter, which in our view may be close to a fair and reasonable solution,
both nations will realize their duty to prevent truly calamitous risks that are entirely possible.''
Despite our conviction that it would have been advisable to immediately issue an public denunciation of this matter, we abstained from doing so at the request of the U.S. authorities who received our message, in order ''to prevent tempers from becoming even more heated in this complex
situation.'' For several days, we did not say a word about the matter.
We did not doubt the good intentions of the executive branch of the [U.S.] government, which desires to solve this embarrassing problem decorously. It also became clear that there may be honorable people among the federal judges.
The unusual and scandalous disregard for the INS' orders showed by the Miami Mafia groups and their growing threats, combined with an outrageous and perfidious publicity campaign aimed at swaying the opinion of the vast majority of Americans who favor Elian's return to Cuba and the restoration
of his father's unquestionable rights, made it inevitable for us to make public our concerns on the mental and physical risks the child was running.
Our words were intentionally distorted. No mention was made of our accusations against the Cuban-American Mafia as being principally responsible for the crisis created and the dangers to the child brought about by such crisis. We were portrayed as holding the [Miami Gonzalez] family exclusively
responsible for these dangers. It became necessary for us to clarify and specify the sources of information and arguments on which we based our fully justified fears.
It soon became obvious that chaos reigned in Miami. Some counterrevolutionary leaders even spoke of a possible massacre, like the one in Waco, Texas. The mayors of Miami rebelled publicly and disavowed the authority of the federal government, announcing that the police forces under their control
would not cooperate with the authorities in Washington in any way whatsoever.
The house where Elian is being held was surrounded by a permanent guard of organized provocateurs who threaten to forcibly resist any legal procedures undertaken to comply with a court ruling or administrative orders related to the illegal detention of the child. The mere idea of provoking a
major scandal that would generate images of violence was the ideal weapon for the provocateurs in the midst of an election year. The criterion was not justice, but the pettiest electoral interests. This led all of the candidates and potential candidates to unanimously pronounce themselves in favor
of unlawfulness and injustice, which further fueled the Mafia groups' brazenness and arrogance.
Meanwhile, for almost an entire week, a popular television program, tendentious and biased, which called into question the most basic ethics that should govern the role of the mass media, exacerbated emotions in both Cuba and the United States. Scenes of blatant psychological torture and abuse
of a young child, as well as irrefutable proof of his kidnapping, were seen by millions of people in the United States and elsewhere.
Still, this did not diminish the support of the American people for the return of Elian to his father, his closest relatives, and his homeland; on the contrary, it increased it. Our people will be grateful for that.
For days on end, the INS' efforts were rejected, one by one, as the agency attempted to secure from the plaintiffs in Miami and their large contingent of lawyers a simple pledge to comply with the courts 'ruling and return the child in an orderly and peaceful way in the event that the courts
ruled against them. Respect for the courts is in itself the duty of every citizen.
International opinion has watched in amazement the events taking place in the heart of a country so powerful and influential in the fate of the world. The latest incident was the highly unusual case of a vice president and presidential candidate from the ruling party who, as part of his
competition with the rival candidate, now takes sides with those showing contempt for the law and the government's provisions, calling on the lawmakers of his own party to support a bill put forward by their adversaries in the Senate aimed at swindling the courts out of their right to decide the
case.
Major publications and television networks, which could never be suspected of sympathizing with Cuba, have been harshly critical of such events and some have even recognized the constructive spirit and viability of the offer made by Cuba, with the advise and consent of Elian's father, Juan
Miguel Gonzalez, and his family.
This offer, which was received with interest and respect not only in our country but also in the United States and elsewhere, is at present the only rational and honorable way out of the complex and apparently insoluble problem created by the kidnapping of Elian.
Based on the real fact that the position of those who created the problem is totally unsustainable from a legal, ethical and political point of view and that the overwhelming majority of American and world opinion favor the boy's return to his father without further delay, the proposed formula
should be seriously and urgently analyzed, for it is no longer possible to continue torturing the child and inflicting suffering on his real family. The problem also is emotionally and psychologically harming millions of Cuban children, mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers. It can be said
that it is harming all [Cubans,] whose unshakable determination and fighting spirit nobody should doubt.
Both the child's father and the Cuban authorities have made a major concession, even though they do not recognize the jurisdiction of U.S. courts to rule on a case which, in accordance with international law and standards, can be decided only in the courts of the boy's country of origin. Without
renouncing this principle, which recently was acknowledged in a ruling issued by a U.S. court of law on the case of a Jordanian-American child, it has been agreed that Elian's father will travel to the United States with his wife and youngest son to take over custody of Elian, until the Atlanta
court reaches a decision and the sentence is firm.
Nothing further can be done to cooperate in the search for a solution to a problem created by the U.S. authorities themselves, who never should have turned the child over to a distant relative instead of returning him to Cuba as soon as he was identified, and who so far have failed to be firm
enough to immediately enforce the INS' decision, as ratified by the Attorney General and confirmed by a federal court judge.
That executive power has never been waived. Only election-year interests and the defiance of the Cuban-American terrorist Mafia can explain the crime committed against a Cuban boy who has already suffered considerable psychological injury.
It is said that Juan Miguel will have to remain in the United States for at least two months, but that does not take into account the appeals, tricks and delays of all kinds to which Elian's unpunished kidnappers presumably will resort.
The fact that Elian's father did not travel to Miami, where all manner of hostility and danger awaited him, including the risk of indefinite detention on the basis of McCarthy-like procedures still observed in that country, was the sole argument wielded [by the Mafia groups] in their attempt to
discredit and slander Juan Miguel, claiming that he was not in the least bit interested in his son. They chose to ignore the brutal actions carried out in Miami against all targets of the powerful Cuban-American terrorist Mafia.
That Mafia perfidiously accused Juan Miguel and his family of being hostages of the Cuban government. It promised him that everything could be worked out, that his son would be returned to him along with countless privileges and riches if he renounced his homeland and defected, something truly
repugnant to a man of his character and deepest beliefs.
In a telephone conversation he had with his cousin Marisleysis as early as December 11, barely two weeks after the kidnapping -- a conversation made public here on Friday that clearly reveals his dignity -- Juan Miguel bitterly denounced the attempts to bribe him from the very first days of this
episode. Moreover, because of his refusal to travel to Miami, he was accused of being a coward as well.
But the outcome was not exactly what the plotters of the terrorist Mafia had expected. As soon as his willingness to travel to the United States was announced, because it was felt that the time had come for him to resume custody if the boy was immediately turned over to him -- according to the
INS decision and Judge Moore's ruling -- and remain with him in the United States for as long as necessary, new pretexts and threats were raised, along with hysterical, loud refusals to surrender him. All this developed into an increasingly chaotic and uncontrollable situation in Miami.
They said he had to go collect his son at the place where the boy was being kept -- a house surrounded by ruffians -- in which case they would surrender him only if the boy wished to leave. They were convinced that the child would refuse, since they trusted he would react as a tamed little
animal subjected for four months to pressures and psychological torture, as well as to gross attempts to buy his attention with the most varied and sophisticated toys.
Although the Mafia was paralyzed when it learned that Juan Miguel would be traveling to the United States, as soon as they heard that he would be staying with his family and others at the residence of the head of our Interests Section, they stated that they would never surrender the child in a
place that is Cuban territory since he would not be free there but just a prisoner of the Cuban government.
According to them, the doctors traveling with Juan Miguel to attend to the boy's recovery will be Cuban State Security agents assigned to watch [the father.] The number of people accompanying the family was questioned, and the old demand that Juan Miguel travel only with his wife, who is
breastfeeding a 6-month-old baby boy, and perhaps with Elian's favorite cousin, who is in fifth grade of grammar school, was recycled.
Accustomed as they are to rallies seldom attended by more than 100 people, the 30 persons traveling with Juan Miguel to Washington seemed like a large crowd to them. And of course, no advisor should accompany the young and modest father, who has never traveled to the United States; he should
manage alone in that enormous and complex country he knows so little about. He should go stay in a hotel room, live there for months and perhaps then they might surrender to him his child, so badly in need of urgent psychological and physical care.
It is outrageous to think that anyone from our country would agree to such demeaning conditions. Even a [U.S.] government spokesman, undoubtedly deceived by a provocative question, described Castro's proposal as threats and pressures and described as a ''long litany'' the list of 12 6-year-old
children -- only two of them are 7 years old -- two teachers who taught the boy in kindergarten and first grade, plus a selected group of psychologists, psychiatrists and medical specialists and two licensed nurses to carry out their noble and humane work at no cost to the United States government.
Public opinion in that country welcomed that proposal with respect and satisfaction. American authorities, as well as outstanding and prestigious political figures, have expressed their hope that the father's presence can decisively contribute to solving the embarrassing issue. This encourages
us to persevere in our efforts.
Those bent on creating obstacles to the father's presence in America, those intent in petty and ridiculous intrigue, should know that Juan Miguel has absolutely no fear, that in our country nobody is fearful, not even the children and their parents, eager as they are to help Elian. Everyone,
without exception, has been supportive and the more than 800 students at the school in Cardenas where Elian studied are anxious to see their famous little classmate back, and they all would volunteer to be among the 12 selected children.
Twelve children were chosen among his closest classmates because that was the minimum required, according to eminent educators, to establish a functional classroom to meet Elian's needs. His two teachers, known and loved by Elian from kindergarten and first grade, are considered indispensable. A
properly qualified group of psychologists, psychiatrists and medical specialists working as a team would provide care not only to Elian but also to his family, among them Juan Miguel's wife, Elian's 6-month-old baby brother and his 12 classmates, whose parents hold us accountable for the
continuation of their studies and the preservation of their health.
If the kidnappers' excuse -- and that of the Mafia and extreme right-wingers who support them -- to avoid returning the child to his father or to urge the authorities not to grant the visas, is that they will never surrender the boy to a residence considered Cuban territory, our Interests
Section in Washington is willing to waive the diplomatic immunity that protects the home of the chief of that section. It would not be the first time we have done something similar.
Nobody would dare do anything against those children, because they will be protected by American public opinion, the American people, the nation's honor, and all the men and women who work in our Interests Section in the United States capital, who are willing to lay down their lives for them.
Eleven million Cubans remain here as a guarantee that no one in the world would dare to even touch those children.
As we have no time to lose, tomorrow Monday, as soon as the U.S. Interests Section in Havana opens, we shall apply for visas for 28 people -- after writing off three people, since their tasks could be performed by other team members -- who together with Juan Miguel and his family will form a
working group.
The plane will be ready for departure on Tuesday, provided the visas applied for were ready by then. We'd rather have everything ready before Elian is handed over. That way, Juan Miguel, his wife and baby, and Elian's 10 years old cousin will be accompanied by 10 boys and girls who are 6 years
old, two who are 7 years old and two teachers, for a total of 18 people. Also, nine others, including psychologists, psychiatrists, medical specialists, nurses, and the person who has been Juan Miguel's advisor for four months.
We don't want any of those Cuban children to go without medical care as is the case with millions in that country, mostly Hispanics and blacks. We hope nobody now says this is a terrible commando planning to land in the United States, kidnap Elian and destabilize that nation.
Juan Miguel, the boy's father and the only one with full custody rights, has asked me to make public his position concerning everything that has recently been said to question his honor, his dignity, his love for his son and the reasons for which he requested to be accompanied by the children
and others. He said:
''If it's a question of surrendering the child so he can be immediately returned to Cuba, I am ready to travel tomorrow, Monday April 3, absolutely alone, to any place in the United States of America and go from the airport to any place where the boy might be to fetch him, return to the airport
and fly back immediately to Cuba. I do not wish to talk to any kidnapper or accept any conditions, least of all a media show or publicity over Elian's return. Only the U.S. government can say if it prefers this alternative.
''If it's a question of traveling to the United States to receive Elian and remain there waiting for two months with my wife, who is breastfeeding and caring for my other son -- a 6-month-old baby sensitive to the tension endured by his mother -- and a cousin who studies in fifth grade of
grammar school and might fail his school year due by helping me recover my son, severely traumatized by a shipwreck and four months of psychological pressures and political and publicity manipulations, including eight hours of a shameful televised interview, then it should be understood that it is
my right to create the minimum conditions required and to get the support of Elian's classmates and teachers and highly qualified people I fully trust to help me in this task and my whole mission in America. Otherwise, such a trip would be meaningless.''
Here, his message ends.
Last Friday, during the latest round-table discussion, Marisleysis, the distant cousin who suddenly found a son she had never seen before, as a gift from Heaven, and hoped for a miracle to keep him -- as if God shared her views about family and justice -- so awash in tears that we feared she
would drown, said mournfully that she would like to visit the child but was afraid that we would never allow it.
If she really felt the need to see Elian, whose presence, according to her, has been the greatest thing that ever happened to her, or if she sincerely believes that it would hurt the child to be separated from her after four months of kidnapping, she should know that she can visit our country as
many times as she likes, every weekend if she so desires. Our people, who have angrily condemned what has happened, are not vengeful or rancorous. They would never treat her with any hostility. Our humane and noble people respect everything that might seem noble and humane.
Although only Elian's father and grandparents have the final word on that, I know them well enough to say that, being decent people concerned only about their dear Elian's health, safety and happiness, they would be generous and forgiving.
If our offer to the United States is implemented transparently and sincerely, an honorable and reasonable solution is perfectly possible. That would be of benefit not only to Elian, his father and family but also to the United States.
That boy not only is running a mental risk due to the suffering he has endured so far and will continue to endure in his grim captivity, but also his life is in danger. The sooner he is returned to his father, the lesser the moral risk to the United States, whose government cannot ignore what
that criminal Mafia can do. If anything happened to that boy, an indelible blot would stain that nation's history.
If an adequate and possible solution is reached, Cuba will enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done, but it will waste no time pointing out that the causes that led to -- and will continue to lead to -- Elian's tragedy, and to similar or worse tragedies, have not been addressed. I will continue
to fight for as long as it takes, until this and many other situations that for more than 40 years have caused pain, humiliation and great harm to our people cease to exist.
Everything has been stated very clearly. We hope it can be useful.
Copyright 2000 Miami Herald |