Vigil for Elián goes all night

 BY CAROLYN SALAZAR

 It's two minutes, 34 seconds of history that may take years for the community to mend.

 On Sunday, about 100 Cuban activists peacefully gathered to reflect upon the 154 seconds that began April 22, 2000, in which federal INS agents stormed into the
 now-famous Little Havana home and seized 6-year-old Elián González so he could be reunited with his father.

 They came together to pray and sing on the first anniversary of the raid, a stark contrast to the chilling rage that filled the streets a year earlier.

 ``We are here to commemorate a person who touched our lives during the seven months he was here in Miami,'' said Ramon Orin, who was at the house when the boy
 was seized. ``A boy we will never forget and the world will never forget because it forced everyone to see the injustices that happen in this country.''

 The block was not the media circus of a year ago, where pitched tents filled with reporters from across the world lined the street. This year, only a handful of local media
 were on hand. And it was not the violent scene of a year ago, when raging protesters hurled bottles and rocks and screamed obscenities at everyone.

 While this year's event was void of anger, there was still plenty of passion.

 When the clock struck 5:14 a.m., the crowd held up lit candles, gathered in the middle of the street and huddled around a large Cuban flag.

 A voice rang out: ``The marshals arrived!'' and all present began singing and praying for the next two minutes, 34 seconds. Then, a minute of silence followed by shouts of
 ``Viva Elián!'' ``No Castro, No problem!'' and ``God save Elián!''

 Protesters draped their arms around each other, weeping and denouncing the federal government for allowing Elián to return to Cuba.

 Many wore T-shirts with a photo of Elián embracing his mother, others clutched signs that said ``Racist raid.''

 ``Although many of us knew it was going to happen, [the raid] was very painful for us,'' said demonstrator Rafael Castrellón.

 ``It's sad remembering what happened, but this is important for us. And we also want to show our satisfaction for being successful in getting rid of [former president Bill]
 Clinton and [former U.S. Attorney General] Janet Reno.''

 Lazáro González and Delfin González, Elián's great-uncles, stood silently behind the home's chain-link fence during the ceremony.

 The peaceful vigil started about 5 p.m. Saturday, with a religious ceremony held on a portable stage in front of Elián's old home, and lasted more than 24 hours.

 In Miami Beach Sunday, Ambassador Sally Grooms Cowal, who housed Elián and Juan Miguel González during their month-long stay in Washington after the raid, spoke
 out in support of the reunification and called for an end to the Cuban embargo.

 Speaking in South Florida for the first time since federal agents seized the boy, Cowal said the tense situation turned out for the best, with Elián now ``well-adjusted'' to
 his new life in Cuba.

 Cowal spoke with the family Tuesday. ``Juan Miguel reports that Elián is doing very well,'' she said. The anniversary of the raid ``is a very quiet, low-key day for them.''

 The former U.S. ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago said her experiences with Elián changed her life, paving the way for her to become president of the Cuban Policy
 Foundation, a new centrist public interest group that opposes the United States' embargo on Cuba.

 Herald Staff writers Nicole White, Michael Greenwald and Daniel A. Grech contributed to this report.

                                    © 2001