By William E. Gibson, Sun-Sentinel. Web-posted: 11:14 p.m. Jan. 26, 2000
WASHINGTON -- Six-year-old Elián González does not want to return to Cuba and fears that his grandmothers will drag him back, the boy's South Florida cousins told members of Congress and the national press corps on Wednesday.
The South Florida Cuban-Americans made their own emotional pitch to Congress, following in the footsteps of Elián's Cuban grandmothers, who on Tuesday tearfully lobbied for his return to his father in Cuba.
Both factions of the family hope to influence a possible congressional decision -- perhaps as early as next week -- on whether to grant citizenship to Elián. Giving him citizenship would allow a Florida Family Court in South Florida to decide who holds custody.
The South Florida contingent included two of Elián's second cousins, another survivor from the boat that capsized off Fort Lauderdale in November and one of the fishermen who rescued him. The Cuban American National Foundation, which has considerable clout on Capitol Hill, organized
the lobbying venture and a news conference at the National Press Club.
"We wanted to get the Congress involved and see how they can help us trying to get Elián's rights to be heard," said Georgina Cid, a second cousin.
"Elián right now is very scared," Cid said. "He knows that the grandmothers are here. He wants to see them but he's scared that they want to take him. I think that the world should know that Elián doesn't want to go back."
She said Elián has been seeing a psychologist to help recover from the shock of his mother's death at sea. Cid said when Elián was asked to draw his house in Miami and his house in Cuba, he depicted the Cuban home with bars on the doors and windows.
A fellow survivor on the journey from Cuba, Arianne Horta, said the dying wish of Elián's mother was to secure his freedom in "the land of liberty."
"'I ask all of the mothers of the world to respect the wishes of that mother," Horta said. "Respect the memory of that mother, and work with us in trying to keep Elián here after all the trouble we went through. Respect her memory, respect her wishes and the last wish
before she died."
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., has promised quick action on the special citizenship bill, but it probably will be delayed until after Senate consideration of bankruptcy-reform legislation early next week.
The citizenship bill's prospects are shaky because of concerted opposition from senators of both parties who can delay it and perhaps kill it with procedural moves. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., introduced a resolution on Wednesday calling for the return of Elián to his father.
"The House and Senate should not use this case as a way to advance the debate on Cuba," Dodd said on the Senate floor. "Elián belongs with his father."
But the South Florida cousins said they will fight to keep Elián in South Florida because they believe his life would be severely impaired if he was returned to communist Cuba.
"They are going to destroy his little mind (if returned)," Cid said. "They are going to talk bad about his mother, because that's what they do. They are going to destroy him. They are going to make him a communism symbol."
William E. Gibson can be reached at wgibson@sun-sentinel.com or 202-824-8256 in Washington.
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