Cuban school to treat Elian 'just like anybody else'
CARDENAS, Cuba -- This time, it was hard
for Elian Gonzalez to stand out in the
crowd: among schoolmates in school uniforms
of red, white and blue, he was just
one of 2 million other Cuban students returning
to classes.
``My name is Elian,'' piped the six-year-old
today on the first day of classes, when
the teacher asked all the kids in his second-grade
class to introduce themselves.
There was no applause, no comments, until
every child had said his or her name
-- and then they all applauded themselves.
Outside the classroom, photographers here
in the boy's hometown of Cardenas
held what many hope will be the final stakeout
for Elian -- possibly the world's
most-photographed 6-year-old.
It all appeared so tranquil in comparison
with the chaotic, 24-hour-a-day media
camp that grew up outside the Miami home
where Elian's relatives defied the U.S.
government in a bitter seven-month custody
dispute with the boy's father.
The 20 or so journalists on hand arranged
themselves quietly on one side of the
school's inner courtyard, as parents accompanied
their kids into school on the
first day. No security personnel were in
sight.
There were few tearful scenes at the flag-decked
school, as parents went up to a
balcony to observe the traditional opening-day
ceremony held at every Cuban
school, while the kids chatted calmly among
themselves in the patio below that
doubles as a basketball court.
Elian came to the Marcelo Salado school
in the coastalCardenas, about 90 miles
east of Havana, accompanied by his father,
Juan Miguel Gonzalez, his
grandmothers, stepmother and stepbrother,
took a seat in the front row of his
class, then went off to the patio for the
opening ceremony.
There was no showing off of new clothes
-- all the kids wear white shirts, blue
bandanas and red shorts for boys, skirts
for girls -- with only the brands of
backpacks or sneakers marking a difference.
The first day of classes is traditionally
lighter than the average four- to five-hour
school day. Children meet their teachers,
notebooks are handed out, and a
wreath is placed in honor of the bronze
bas-relief of independence hero Jose Marti
that decorates most school here.
The school's director, Maribel Reyes, welcomed
students to a new year of
classes, and then a little girl sang a
song that had become familiar here during
the Elian custody battle: ``Let the children
sing, let them sing with love.''
Elian's schoolmates have been encouraged
to treat the shipwreck survivor ``just
like anybody else.'' The Cuban government
also made it clear that reporters
wouldn't be allowed to swarm the boy on
the first day of school, or thereafter.
``We think we have been successful at preserving
the greatest intimacy possible
for this family that has suffered so much,''
Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque
said Thursday.
``Don't be hanging all over him. The poor
kid has had a lot of problems, and
everything ss normal as possible for him
now,'' said Luanda Leon, recounting
advice given at a meeting this week among
teachers and parents of Elian's 27
new classmates.
Leon's 7-year-old son, Ariel Cisneros, will
be in Elian's class at the high-ceilinged
old school.
Elian has lived away from the public eye,
reportedly at a Havana boarding school,
since he returned to Cuba on June 28. His
first day at school was his first public
appearance in months.
Workmen this week spruced up the Marcelo
Salado school, named after a
revolutionary youth leader. They put in
new toilets and replaced bricks in the
building, which holds about 900 students.
The school will have water coolers, TV sets
and videocassette recorders in every
other classroom -- a wealth of equipment
found in some, but not all, Cuban grade
schools.
Elian was found clinging to an inner tube
off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving
after his mother and 10 other Cubans drowned
when their boat sank during an
attempt to reach the United States. He
was returned to his father after U.S.
authorities seized him from the home of
his Miami relatives during a nighttime raid
in April.
Snippets of video broadcast on state-run
television have shown Elian playing with
friends, riding in a small boat with his
father and swimming among dolphins near
an undisclosed beach location. He was also
shown making up schoolwork,
practicing cursive letters.
``He's been able to enjoy some vacations
in prwith his family,'' Perez Roque said.
``I think I can say that things have gone
well for Elian Gonzalez.''