Miami, May 18 (EFE).- Young Cuban student Elian Gonzalez, who as a child was rescued at sea in 1999 by two U.S. fishermen, said in an interview Monday on ABC News that he wants to travel as a tourist to this country to thank everyone “for the love they give me.”

“To the American people, first I say thank you for the love they give me,” he said in an interview with ABC journalist Jim Avila.

Elian Gonzalez was 5 years old when in 1999 the flimsy boat in which he was escaping to Florida was shipwrecked and his mother drowned.

After being rescued, he was handed over to relatives in Miami, which sparked a bitter legal, family and political wrangle between Cuba and the United States.

What the young Cuban, now 21, said he would love to do is return to the United States to see a baseball game, visit the museums in Washington, and talk to Americans.

“Perhaps one day we could pay a visit to the United States. I could personally thank those people who helped us, who were there by our side. Because we’re so grateful for what they did,” he said.

In his first appearance as an adult before U.S. television cameras, Gonzalez referred to the statue of Cuban independence leader Jose Marti with a child – whom many identify as Gonzalez – that was erected close to the United States Interests Section in Havana.

It represents “every Cuban child…I see the father protect your son and it’s not only me. It’s every children in Cuba,” he said, adding that “I feel proud because I feel it is a statue that is evidence to everything that happened at that moment. It’s a symbol of loyalty of what happened…it represents a father that is trying to protect his son.”

Gonzalez answered the questions in elementary English and recalled the moment when his boat capsized: “We fell on the sea. I remember when I was put on the raft and my mom was covering me and I was raising my head, looking around…and at some point I raised my head and I didn’t see her again.”

“There was no-one else. I was alone in the middle of the sea…and that’s the last thing I remember,” he said.

He went on to say in the interview that, if his mother was no longer by his side, “it is because she fought until the very last minute for me to survive. After giving life to me, I believe she was the one who saved me. She was the one who gave life back to me at a time of danger.”

Gonzalez is a student of industrial engineering and, since reaching adulthood, has appeared in the media taking part in certain events, and has even given interviews. EFE