Elian's great-uncles mark anniversary with supporters at former home

MIAMI - Elian Gonzalez's great-uncles marked the anniversary that the 6-year-old Cuban boy was rescued following a shipwreck off the Florida coast by returning to the house where he lived with his extended family.

They found themselves once more behind perhaps the most photographed chain-link fence in America, staring out at a crop of reporters who gently coaxed them for quotes on Thursday.

There were also a few sign-toting demonstrators, their defiance now just a whisper compared to the rage that swept through the Cuban-American community a year ago.

Thursday marked a year since Elian, his mother and 12 others clambered into a small, fragile boat and left Cuba for a life in South Florida. Three days later, only Elian and two others survived a shipwreck; his mother and her boyfriend were among those who perished.

''We all know what this day represents,'' Lazaro Gonzalez told reporters. ''It's time that we remember Elian. Today, tomorrow and forever.''

About 20 people, some wearing Elian T-shirts and carrying signs left over from the height of the custody struggle seven months ago, came to mark the anniversary.

A pink wreath in honor of Elian's mother was laid against the fence.

During a brief prayer outside the home, the Rev. Manuel Salabarria compared Elian to Moses. The preacher reminded the crowd that Moses was also found adrift.

Later, Salabarria acknowledged that the country has moved on. ''Deliver us from this crisis and give us a president,'' Salabarria said.

The Gonzalez family moved out of the rented home after the April 22 raid in which federal agents seized the boy and reunited him with his father. The family now lives about five miles away.

Earlier this month, Delfin Gonzalez, another great-uncle, bought the home. He wants to turn it into a permanent shrine to Elian.

Lazaro Gonzalez, at times tearing up, said he's ''moving on, living a normal life like always, and always remembering Elian.''

He said his daughter, Marisleysis, who served as the boy's surrogate mother, is attending community college. She was absent from Thursday's gathering.

A vigil is planned Saturday, but she will likely miss that too, her family said, because of the emotional stress.

Lazaro Gonzalez says he has had no contact with Elian or the boy's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez.

When asked if he's tried calling, he declares: ''I don't dedicate myself to calling them.''