By Douglas Montero. The New York Post. January 21
THE grandmothers of raft boy Elian Gonzalez have the daunting task of proving to the Miami exile community they are acting in the best interest of their grandson -- and not on the orders of Fidel Castro.
And that's going to be damn tough.
"Obviously there is going to be a lot of pressure on these two women," said Dr. Damian Fernandez, a political science and cultural expert at Miami's Cuban Research Institute.
"They are going to have to convince them [the exile community] that the boy should be with them," Fernandez said. "I hope the Cuban-American community recognizes the rights these women have to their grandchild ... Those poor, poor women. I hope we treat them kindly."
Leaders of several prominent Cuban-American groups said yesterday the women, Raquel Rodriguez, 51, and Mariela Quintana, 51, are welcome -- for now.
"If they are bringing the grandmothers here to resolve this issue humanely, within the family, and the family agrees it's in the best interest to take him back to Cuba, the Cuban exiles will accept that," said Ramon Sanchez, who heads the hard-charging Democracy Movement.
"If the grandmothers are here just to give the appearance they are trying to resolve this and the civil rights of the child are being violated, the exile community will be disappointed."
Exile leaders are hoping the grandmothers knock on the door of Elian's Little Havana home, sit down for several cups of espresso and decide what to do.
No lawyers. No politicians. No exile groups. No media.
Just family.
"It depends on what they say and how they act," said Ninoska Perez, a spokeswoman for the Cuban-American National Foundation. "What we don't know is if they are being coerced to demand the child."
Elian's maternal grandmother, Raquel Rodriguez, has already irked the exiles by going on national TV to charge her daughter was tricked by her boyfriend to escape Cuba.
Despite the grandmothers' presence, Jose Basulto of Brothers to the Rescue hopes Elian isn't immediately sent to Cuba without a ruling from the federal judge reviewing the case.
"That would be outrageous," he said.
Many in the exile community view the grandmothers as Castro operatives.
Fernandez agrees in part by saying, "Obviously the Cuban government scripted their visit, instructed them on what to say and probably provided them with a guide to manage them."
The script, however, will melt, like their hearts, when they see Elian.
"The politics of passion is going to overtake the politics of affection," Fernandez said.
"What everyone should know is that these women are ordinary Cubans and they have the weight of the world on their shoulders."
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