Not deterred by tougher U.S. laws
Brigadistas prepare new trips to Cuba
By Minnie Bruce Pratt
The U.S. government has recently intensified its attacks on
Cuba. But supporters of that revolutionary country are breaking
the U.S.-imposed economic and travel blockade in ever greater
numbers. And the Venceremos Brigade is leading the way, as it
has for the last 35 years.
On July 19, brigadistas who had traveled to Cuba defied the
U.S. government once again, completing their trip by crossing
the border with a march across the International Peace Bridge
between Canada and Buffalo, N.Y.
Joined by activists from the African Awareness Association
and the U.S. Cuba-Labor Exchange, brigadistas chanted, "Who's
gonna break the travel ban? We're gonna break the travel ban!"
and "Cuba sí, bloqueo no!"
The Brigade has never requested U.S. permission to travel to
Cuba.
Immediately on their return, brigadistas began organizing
for next year's trip. Regular meetings and committee structures
are already in place. Interest in traveling with the Brigade is
reaching an intensity not seen for decades.
Teresa Gutierrez, Workers World Party's vice-presidential
candidate, was a Brigade member this year. She thinks the Bush
administration's tightened restrictions are not working:
"Instead of fostering fear, the U.S. threats are fostering
resistance, and more are traveling than ever before."
The heightened travel ban now restricts Cubans living in the
United States to visiting their family members in Cuba only
once every three years. The ban also severely limits how much
money those in the United States can send to relatives and
friends in Cuba.
These strangling new restrictions prohibit any significant
contributions from people here to the Cuban victims of Hurri
cane Ivan, classified a Category 5 storm, the worst to hit the
island in over 80 years. Despite this, defiant supporters of
the revolution, like the Bay Area Cuban Alliance, are
mobilizing to send help.
Of the increased interest in travel to Cuba, Brigade
spokesperson Bonnie Massey says: "I think people are upset
about the war in Iraq, about what's going on domestically--with
women, with people of color, and with poor folks--so they are
more willing to keep an open mind about the role that the U.S.
is playing in the world. Also, the extreme measures that Bush
has taken against Cuba and those of us who do travel there have
definitely galvanized people."
Venceremos means "We will win!"
Formed in 1969, the Venceremos Brig ade is the oldest Cuba
solidarity organization in the world. Brigadistas travel to the
island every year to show solidarity with Cubans by working
alongside them, and also to challenge the economic blockade and
travel ban imposed by the United States. In addition to work
assignments, the brigadistas participate in educational and
cultural visits.
Bonnie Massey comments: "Traveling with the Brigade gives
you a chance to contextualize the things you see and hear--and
there is also a tremendous sense of history. Cubans all over
the island know about the Brigade, and repeatedly have expres
sed how important the work we do is to them. This year, for
instance, we were given the prestigious 'Distinguished Visitor
to the City' award by the mayor of Santiago."
LeiLani Dowell, Workers World Party congressional candidate
in California, also traveled on the 35th Brigade. She noted
that participants this year spent a week in Santiago de Cuba
and another week in Havana. Their mornings were filled with
construction work on schools, and their afternoons with
solidarity meetings.
They met the families of the Cuban Five, who are imprisoned
in the United States, as well as artists from the Cuban Hip Hop
movement and organizers from the Fede ration of Cuban Women.
They visited several neighborhoods as guests of the local
Committees for the Defense of the Revolu tion. These
community-based organizations are legendary for uniting the
daily lives of the Cuban people with the broader plans and
hopes of the revolution.
Some participants spent time with Assata Shakur, a former
Black Panther leader who escaped a U.S. prison in 1986 and
sought asylum in Cuba.
More plans for strengthening support for the Cuban
Revolution are under way. The National Network on Cuba, an
umbrella group that opposes the U.S. travel ban and blockade
and advocates "normalizing" U.S. relations with Cuba, will hold
a con ference in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1-3. For more
information, go to www.CubaSolidarity.com.
IFCO/Pastors for Peace provides ongoing support for Cuba as
well. This includes the annual Friendshipment Caravans breaking
the blockade to bring educational supplies, books, art
materials, construction supplies and even vehicles like school
buses and ambulances in solidarity to Cuba. For more
information, see www.ifconews.org.
Contingent forming now
Massey urges people who wish to travel with the Brigade to
apply soon, saying, "Crossing the border as a brigadista, doing
a travel challenge, has been one of the most politically
fulfilling experiences I've had."
The Brigade actively organizes contingents that are diverse
in many ways, including a wide range of ages, nationalities,
socioeconomic classes and sexual orientations. It is currently
accepting applications for the 36th Contingent, tentatively
scheduled for July 17-Aug. 1, 2005. Scholarships are available,
depending on the success of fundraising efforts.
Completed applications received by the Brigade no later than
Dec. 31 will get a $100 deduction off the total cost of the
trip.
For more information about costs and schedule, contact the
Brigade web site at www.venceremosbrigade.org, send an email to
vbrigade@aol.com, phone
(212) 560-4360 or send a letter to Venceremos Brigade, P.O. Box
5202, Englewood, NJ 07631-5202.
Reprinted from the Sept. 30, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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