Thousands join glowing prayer vigil

español

Published Thursday, March 30, 2000, in the Miami Herald 

Exiles raise objects of light to the heavens

BY AMY DRISCOLL AND SANDRA MARQUEZ-GARCIA

In a vast, flickering cross of humanity, tens of thousands of Cuban Americans gathered Wednesday night in the heart of Little Havana, holding candles, flashlights and glow sticks to the heavens in a mass prayer vigil for Elian Gonzalez.

Filling the intersection at Southwest Eighth Street and 19th Avenue, parents with baby strollers chanted in thunderous unison with factory workers and grandparents, filling the warm night air with their prayer: ``Elian no se va. Lo dijo su mama.'' (Elian is not leaving. His mother said so.)

Their hope: In sheer numbers, Miami's exile community can find the strength to keep 6-year-old Elian from returning to Cuba and the repression they believe awaits him there.

``For God, nothing is impossible,'' said Dayse Gallego, 62, of Miami. ``We are not going to permit that the boy be taken.''

Gallego said she believed that Elian's supporters could be successful without resorting to violence.

``This is a peaceful protest -- a protest of love,'' Gallego said.

But some of the signs carried by protesters offered harsher views: ``Janet Reno killed innocent children in Waco,'' one said. Another read: ``Shame on you Mr. Clinton for sending a child to no future.''

Jorge Mas Santos, chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation, stood in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. ``I think it's all of our responsibility to be united and show the world that we are advocating for the rights of the child,'' he said. ``Praying in a religious ceremony is the best way to show our support.''

Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, who earlier in the day chided the federal government for its tactics with Elian, attended the protest with his wife and children.

``There is a perception in the national and international media that the only way the Cuban exile community knows how to protest is through blocking traffic,'' Penelas said. ``This peaceful protest shows that we do know how to do things correctly.''

For some marchers, like Neryda Gordillo, 61, of Hialeah, Elian's case has taken on a special meaning.

Gordillo recalled her escape from Cuba on a motor boat 38 years ago. She said she and her family nearly drowned during the perilous boat crossing.

On Wednesday, Gordillo said she came to make a special plea: ``I want to ask God to help Elian like he helped me,'' she said.

Demonstrators started gathering near the intersection long before dark. Elario and Migdalia Alvarez, who have been in the United States since 1990, came in the late afternoon armed with beach chairs.

Elario Alvarez, 71, formerly a political prisoner in Cuba, wore a Cuban Political Prisoner T-shirt, a baseball cap emblazoned with a Cuban flag and the word volveremos -- we will return.

But he was putting his faith in a charm of Cuba's patron saint, the Virgin of Charity, which hung on a chain around his neck: ``She will save the boy,'' he said confidently.

At Southwest 22nd Avenue and Eighth Street, the crowd filled the streets, with men in suits, women in fancy silk scarfs and others fresh from their blue-collar jobs. Many were monitoring the news with cellular phones, portable televisions and radios. Every time a news chopper whizzed by, they raised their flashlights to the sky, and blinked them on and off.

One Miami police officer estimated the crowd at 20,000 as priests led the people singing the American and Cuban national anthems.

``It's moving when you hear it like that,'' one woman said, wiping a tear.

Several blocks away, at the home of Elian's Miami relatives, a crowd gathered and overwhelmed the barricades. Police ordered them to move away from the house, and they complied.

One man shouted, ``We are law-abiding citizens, unlike Janet Reno, a criminal.''

Reno wasn't the only politician criticized by the crowd near the house.

Angela Gonzalez, dressed as Bill Clinton, and her husband, Tony Gonzalez, dressed in camouflage with a mask of Fidel Castro, kissed in front of the crowd. They held a red sign with a big white heart that said, ``Just married.''

The protesters yelled, ``Clinton, Fidel -- husband and wife.''

``We believe they are truly friends right now,'' said Angela Gonzalez of Hialeah as the crowd shouted, ``Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!''

Herald staff writers Sara Olkon and Elaine de Valle contributed to this report.

Publicado el jueves, 30 de marzo de 2000 en El Nuevo Herald

Miles toman las calles exigiendo que el niño se quede

JOAQUIM UTSET
Decenas de miles de personas armadas con linternas formaron ayer por la noche una espectacular cruz luminosa en la Calle Ocho, en un ensayo de nuevas movilizaciones de exiliados cubanos para evitar la repatriación del niño Elián González.

``La idea de la demostración es que Dios hable'', señaló el padre Gustavo Miyares, miembro del grupo de clérigos protestantes y católicos organizadores del multitudinario acto.

El alcalde de Miami-Dade, Alex Penelas, acudió a la manifestación con su esposa y sus hijos.

``La prensa nacional e internacional tiene la percepción de que la única forma en que los exiliados cubanos saben protestar es bloqueando el tráfico'', dijo. ``Esta protesta pacífica demuestra que sabemos cómo hacer las cosas correctamente''.

Banderas, crucifijos, rosarios y pancartas compartieron espacio en las dos filas de personas que formaron la llamada Cruz del Dolor en la Calle Ocho entre la avenidas 22 y la 17. ``Este es un mensaje de fe'', afirmó Ileana Simón, de 42 años, quien vino de Fort Lauderdale junto a su esposo.

``Tenemos que manifestar que no nos pueden pisotear los derechos. Donde la ley del hombre termina, la ley de Dios empieza'', agregó.

Los clérigos leyeron pasajes de la Biblia, rezaron un Padre Nuestro, y la Coral Cubana entonó el cántico Tú reinarás, compuesto según los organizadores en memoria de los cubanos fusilados por el régimen del gobernante Fidel Castro que murieron con el grito de ``Viva Cristo rey''.

Aunque el acto tenía un marcado carácter religioso, las consignas en contra de la Casa Blanca y en favor de Elián se repitieron, especialmente las ya conocidas: ``Clinton cobarde, Miami está que arde'' y ``Elián, amigo, el pueblo está contigo''.

``Ese es el sentimiento cubano --dijo Luis Traveria, 64 años--, toda esta gente va a salir mañana si se lo quieren llevar''.

El líder de la Fundación Nacional Cubano Americana, Jorge Mas Santos, coincidió en que el evento del miércoles significa una señal a la administración del presidente Bill Clinton.

``Es un ejemplo del poder de convocatoria de un exilio unido'', acotó.

Horas antes, el Movimiento Democracia efectuó un ``ensayo general'' al organizar una caravana de unos 20 camiones por los alrededores de la casa de los familiares del niño, ante la que se mantuvo durante todo el día un grupo de unas 100 a 150 personas.

Copyright 2000 the Miami Herald.
Republished here with the permission of the Miami Herald. No further republication or redistribution is permitted without the written approval of The Miami Herald.