Elian's grandmothers, in a CNN interview, said Cuba is where Elian can have the best life

January 25, 2000
Web posted at: 7:33 p.m. EST (0033 GMT)

In this story: 'I know the pain of the exile community' Washington-bound Miami relatives grounded by snow Family portrait, without Elian Clinton: Let court handle it 'This is a family issue' RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Roman Catholic nun is preparing the site where the Cuban grandmothers of Elian Gonzalez are to be reunited with the 6-year-old boy Wednesday, after his Miami relatives agreed to obey a federal order to let the reunion take place in a neutral site.

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service had told the relatives that failure to comply would be a "breach of Elian's parole," requiring an emergency hearing in federal court.

VIDEO CNN's Mark Potter reports on the obstacles that had to be overcome for the meeting to take place. Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Sonia Russler interviews Elian Gonzalez's grandmothers, Mariela Quintana and Raquel Rodriquez. Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD US/Cuba relations

The Miami Beach home of Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, president of Barry University, a Roman Catholic college, was chosen because it is a neutral site in a gated area where security can be assured.

"I would hope the family would truly trust me, to really know that nothing, nothing would happen to this child in my presence," said the 70-year-old O'Laughlin.

Members of her Dominican religious order are gathering snacks, coloring books and puzzles for Elian and his grandmothers because, O'Laughlin said, there is only so much a young child and older women can find to talk about.

'I know the pain of the exile community'

The college president said it was not her job to take sides in the dispute over where Elian should live. His grandmothers want to take him back to Cuba to live with his father. Elian's Miami relatives want him to remain with them in the United States.

"I know the pain of the exile community, I know the sorrow of separated families, I know the anger of a community, and I cannot solve all those problems," said O'Laughlin.

INS Commissioner Doris Meissner ordered the meeting in a letter to lawyers representing Lazaro Gonzalez, the boy's great-uncle and temporary legal guardian.

Elian's grandmothers turned to the INS for help after Elian's Miami relatives refused to let them meet the boy anywhere other than the great-uncle's house, which was surrounded by crowds of Cuban exiles, supporters and media.

The grandmothers said the boy was being hurt as the relatives used him as propaganda.

"He is very affected, terribly affected. Every day that goes by, you can see it in his eyes, his sadness. Every time we speak on the phone with him, he tells us he wants to be with us -- to see us, to hug us," said Mariela Quintana, the boy's paternal grandmother.

Washington-bound Miami relatives delayed by snow

Their flight, chartered by the anti-Castro Cuban American National Foundation, arrived at Dulles Airport Tuesday night with Gonzalez; two of Elian's cousins; the survivors of the ill-fated boat trip in which his mother and 10 others drowned; and the man who rescued Elian.

In the Capitol, the two grandmothers were able to meet with sympathetic members of Congress. Quintana and maternal grandmother Raquel Rodriguez toted a photo album and pleaded for their grandson's return to Cuba.

"How can I continue living when I have no one else?" said Rodriquez, whose daughter Elizabeth, Elian's mother, died on the ill-fated boat trip to the United States.

The grandmothers toured Capitol Hill as lawmakers began discussing a bill that would make Elian a citizen.

At the White House, President Bill Clinton said he was saddened that Elian is being "competed for." He left open the possibility he would veto any congressional bill granting U.S. citizenship to the young shipwreck survivor.

"I have not decided what to do, and I would not rule that out," Clinton told reporters.

Family portrait, without Elian

"He belongs in Cuba," Quintana told reporters after meeting with Jackson-Lee. "He was born in Cuba, and he's a Cuban citizen."

Rodriquez, fighting back tears, said she hoped "to stop the possibility of granting citizenship to the child, for it would be more painful" to his Cuban family.

The grandmothers said they still hoped to be able to take Elian back with them when they return to Cuba.

Jackson-Lee shows a picture of Elian's family in Cuba (Click for larger image of picture)

They denied that Elian would have a better life if he stayed in the United States. "That's not true," Rodriquez said, noting that the boy's family has several homes in Cuba, where there is access to free schooling and health care.

Flanked by the two women, Jackson-Lee displayed a picture in a photo album brought by the grandmothers to show the boy comes from a loving family.

"This is the picture of the family without Elian -- grandmothers, grandfathers, new baby brother, father -- all of them waiting for Elian," the congresswoman said. Jackson-Lee said the photo album would be shown to other members of Congress.

Clinton: Let court handle it

He urged lawmakers and others involved to think first about "what is right for the child."

"Plainly, he would have more economic opportunity in this country," Clinton said, "but all the evidence indicates that his father genuinely loved him and spent a great deal of time with him back in Cuba."

This is a family issue'

His Miami relatives, who are fiercely opposed to Cuba's Communist president, Fidel Castro, are appealing that ruling in federal court.

"My concern is the trauma that is occurring with young Elian," Jackson-Lee said prior to her meeting with the grandmothers.

"None of us know what it is to have lost a mother, to have been adrift at sea, to be away from grandparents who obviously love him, as well as (his) father," said the Texas Democrat.

"This is not a Fidel Castro/United States issue," she said. "This is a family issue, and we have taken it away from where it should be."

Correspondent Bob Franken contributed to this report.

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