Jan. 23 — In what has become a bitter tug-of-war
between two families and two countries, the
grandmothers of Elian Gonzalez this weekend
flew to the U.S. to meet with Attorney General
Janet Reno to appeal for his return to Cuba.
Mariela Quintana, Gonzalez’s paternal
grandmother, and Raquel Rodriguez, the child’s
maternal grandmother, spoke with Newsweek’s
Gregory Beals Saturday about their fight to bring
Elian back to Cuba. Some excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: Is this the first time you have left Cuba?
Raquel Rodriquez: Yes. This is the first time.
NEWSWEEK: Previously you have said that you were
afraid to come to the U.S. Why?
Rodriguez: We were afraid of the family in Miami
where the child is located.
NEWSWEEK: Why is that?
Rodriguez: What can we expect as old people? We
don’t see any respect on their part for human beings.
Mariela Quintana: How can I not be afraid, with all
the people who did all those crazy things in Miami?
NEWSWEEK: Why didn’t Elian’s father come to get
his son?
Quintana: I have power of attorney to represent my
son. The decision was that I would come in his name to the
United States to represent him. If he came, he might have
been put in a legal position where he could not leave.
Rodriguez: I want to say another thing: the only
communication that we had with the child was over the
telephone. It has been four days that we haven’t spoken
with him ... from when we left Cardenas until now. We
understand that the father hasn’t spoken with him, either.
Normally, every day we would have the chance to talk with
him, usually for 10 minutes. A boy is a boy so we can’t
have long conversations. Each time we talk to him, he says
he misses us and wants to return to Cuba. He has a lot of
desire to see his father. He wants to sleep with him like he
normally does. They always used to sleep in the same bed.
He would never take a shower if his father was not in the
shower with him. When they cut their hair, they did it
together. His mother and father worked at different times.
She was working every day and he worked every other
day. Every time his father didn’t work, the child would stay
home with him. He was close to his mother, too. He called
her “Mama linda” (beautiful mother).
‘A MIRACLE OF GOD’
NEWSWEEK: Was there a time when you were afraid
that Elian had died at sea?
Rodriguez: It was a miracle of God. Only God can
make that kind of miracle.
NEWSWEEK: Can you tell us more about the time
when you learned that Elian and your daughter had
disappeared?
Rodriguez: It was so strong, so devastating for us
because it never crossed our minds that it could happen.
First we heard that at her job, people said she had left.
After several days, we heard that a little boat had sunk and
that there were two survivors — among them a child. The
one who must be blamed for this situation was the
boyfriend. He was a person who was very violent. When he
wanted something, it had to be done. She was constantly
under [some kind of] threat. She had no reason to leave
Cuba. She had a very good salary. She worked in tourism,
so she had access to everything she wanted for the child.
She took that step under the influence of this impossible
man.
NEWSWEEK: How was the meeting with Janet
Reno?
Rodriguez: We didn’t receive anything concrete. She
listened to us. We gave her our letter of petition. We hope
to go home to Cuba on Monday. But we also hope that
another miracle will happen.
NEWSWEEK: Why are you leaving so soon?
Rodriguez: Our objective was to make this trip and
make [it] clear what we want. We are ready to stay longer
if there is a solution.
NEWSWEEK: Would you be willing to return if
there were a court decision in your favor?
Rodriguez: We are ready to pick him up.
NEWSWEEK: Are you ready to pick up your
child with the help of U.S. Marshals?
Quintana: I am ready to go anywhere to
pick up my little heart. Even if it costs me my life.
A FAMILY MATTER?
NEWSWEEK: People have asked why this is such a
political problem for the government of Cuba and the
United States. If this is a family problem, why haven’t you
resolved it as a family?
Quintana: Let me answer this one. My husband, who
is the brother of the one who took Elian, has tried in several
ways to reach an agreement. My son, Elian’s father, was
trying. After the INS and Janet Reno confirmed the father’s
right to take the child, he called the relatives to find a way to
do it without harming the little boy. To keep the relationship
with the family, we wanted to have the child returned in 48
hours back to Cuba.
NEWSWEEK: What happened?
Quintana: They didn’t want to come to any
agreement. They said they would not return the child. My
question is, “What authority do they have to do that?”
NEWSWEEK: What is going to happen to the child
after all this conflict?
Quintana: You can’t imagine the psyche of that child.
He saw his mother dying. When he needs his love, he
doesn’t have his father to help him. They say in Miami that
they love him very much. But if they love him, why don’t
they return him?
NEWSWEEK: Why is Elian so important to the
family?
Quintana: His mother had seven miscarriages. For
her, Elian was a special boy — the boy they wanted for a
long time. They [his relatives in Miami] are just distant
relatives. They [have] kept him for just 45 days. ... What
love do they have compared to us, who have been with him
for five years, seeing him grow up?
NEWSWEEK: What do you think of the justice
system in the U.S.?
Quintana: I have never seen these types of things. It is
agreed that he [the father] has the right to the child.
Immigration and the Justice Department support him. Even
President Clinton agrees. How come nothing has been
done? It has already been more than two months and
nothing has been accomplished.
NEWSWEEK: Do you think Elian will ever be normal
again?
Quintana: If he returns to Cuba to be with us he can
live a normal life. With the love of the father and his family,
with his classmates at school, he will return to being a happy
child again.
© 2000 Newsweek, Inc.