Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 24, 1993 TAG: 9312240085
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: COLUMBUS, GA. LENGTH: Medium
So the former fashion model gained weight, acquired a fake Spanish passport and donned a wig, large coat and heavy makeup in preparation for flight.
"Plans were made to take me to the airport and try not to attract attention," Alina Fernandez Revuelta told reporters Thursday at a home of a supporter. "I had to prepare . . . like a tourist person."
Fernandez fled Cuba on Monday, leaving her 16-year-old daughter, Alina, behind. She flew to Spain and was granted political asylum by the United States.
Long estranged from her father, she said she had nothing to say to the Cuban leader whom she considers a "tyrant."
Her main concern now is seeing her daughter again.
"You have to realize the desperation it takes to turn a person's core to iron to withstand the hardship of escape and the possibilities that there may be no hope of seeing your child again," she said.
She said the poor condition of Cuban schools and her daughter's education were among her chief reasons for leaving: "The only way to help my daughter is to come out first."
Most of the island's population has been reduced to poverty since the Soviet bloc began to crumble in 1989.
That, combined with the continuing U.S. economic boycott of Cuba, has sent record numbers of refugees seeking political asylum to the United States this year.
Fernandez, who arrived in the United States on Tuesday, appeared at the home of Elena Amos, a wealthy Cuban-American who has helped other Cuban defectors.
With a U.S. immigration official acting as an interpreter, she gave a brief statement and left. She returned moments later to answer questions after reporters protested.
Looking tired, Fernandez described how she disguised herself and acquired a fake passport.
Alina knew of her escape but "acted unaware of my plans as she was celebrating her 16th birthday the day before," she said.
Fernandez said she had spoken to her daughter and mother Thursday and learned they had not been questioned by Cuban authorities.
In an interview later Thursday with CNN, she was asked how she expects to get her daughter out.
"I expect the government will give me a visa for her," she said. "I hear . . . the Cuban government says officially that I left the country freely, so I expect it will [not] be any problem."
by CNB