Family friend says Elian anxious to return to Cuba; family to relocate to Washington 'soon'

Campbell says Elian and his father will relocate to a Washington, D.C. estate 'soon'

May 24, 2000
Web posted at: 9:11 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT)

QUEENSTOWN, Maryland (CNN) -- A woman close to the Cuban family of Elian Gonzalez visited the family Wednesday at their temporary home in rural Maryland and said the boy told her, "I'd like to go to Cuba."

The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell said the family is anxious to return to Cuba but has at least one more temporary move in mind -- relocating to a residential estate in Washington as they await a court ruling on a bid by Elian's Miami relatives to keep him in the United States.

Campbell said Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, went to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to tour the Rosedale Estate, which is owned by an international student exchange group.

RESOURCES Who's who in the Elian Gonzalez case     MESSAGE BOARD US/Cuba relations     ALSO Appeals court in Atlanta hears Elian's asylum bid Court of appeals to consider who speaks for Elian     Boy in the Middle: Legal background on the Elian Gonzalez case · CASE FILE ·TIMELINE ·DOCUMENTS

The Gonzalez family -- along with an entourage consisting of Elian's favorite Cuban cousin, four of his Cuban kindergarten friends, and some of their parents -- will relocate to the estate "soon," Campbell said.

The move will put them closer to Elian's father's Washington attorney, Gregory Craig, who lives near the estate, not far from the National Cathedral. It also will locate the group close to airports from which they could depart more easily for Cuba.

"Well I certainly think they want to leave as soon as the ruling comes," Campbell said, adding that the father is so anxious to return that he's not interested in a "going away" party that Campbell and supporters have considered throwing.

She added, "I think they hope to do some things in Washington, to see some of Washington (like) the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, walk past the White House."

Asked whether that would contradict Elian's father's stated reluctance to put Elian in the spotlight, Campbell said, "Parading them around is not their problem, it's really our problem, the fact the press follows them everywhere."

She said, "They don't want Elian to be on parade as he was in Miami. Juan Miguel is very definite about that; he does not want a lot of exposure. He felt that was not good for Elian."

Campbell said the family hopes the news media will maintain a respectful distance as the group spends time in Washington -- what could be their final days in the United States.

An Atlanta federal appeals court has yet to decide whether the 6-year-old Cuban boy can apply for asylum in the United States.

Elian's Miami relatives took custody of him after his rescue from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida last November and has fought for him to remain in the United States. The boy's mother and 10 other Cuban refugees drowned when their small boat capsized and sank.

Elian's Cuban father has been living with Elian, the boy's stepmother and infant half-brother at a secluded Maryland residence since federal agents removed him on April 22 from his great-uncle's home in Miami.

Campbell responded to questions about whether Elian, now being instructed along with his classmates by a Cuban government educator, is being prepared to join other youth in a system urging them toward Communist Party doctrine.

She said no, that "I think they're being taught school work. There's no evidence that when he returns he will be taken from his parents."

Campbell said she believes that if Elian returns to Cuba, he "will live at home with his father, he will go to school all day like the kids do. They wear uniforms -- it's much more like what we think of as Catholic schools, where they wear uniforms and they are taught values and discipline."

Elian's grandparents angrily await visas to visit grandson
May 11, 2000
Battle over Elian to resume in Atlanta court
May 10, 2000
Elian to start getting visits from social worker, psychiatrist
May 4, 2000
Social worker picked to monitor Elian
May 3, 2000
Elian's Dad: Hearing would violate rights
May 1, 2000

U.S. Attorney General
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
U.S. Department of Justice
Executive Office of the Governor of Florida
Eleventh Circuit Published Opinions
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
LibertyForElian.org - Foundation to Help Save Elian
Granma Internacional Digital, Cuba
  •  Kidnap in Miami
Cubaweb
Cuban American National Foundation

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.