MSNBC
January 23, 2000
 
 
‘Even if it costs me my life’
 
In an exclusive interview, Elian’s grandmothers voice their determination
 
                                                                   NEWSWEEK

               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.