Changes in Cuba and the Caravan; same old blockade

Changes in Cuba and the Caravan; same old blockade

The 24th Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba will leave the US on July 16th, bound for Cuba.  This is an ongoing struggle against the illegal, immoral US blockade of Cuba, which uses denial of essentials like medicine and pacemakers as a political weapon, and it is a struggle we must win, not only for the sake of Cuba, but for our own sakes, so that, at least in this case, we can stop being responsible for deliberately causing suffering.

As people of conscience, we travel to Cuba as an act of conscious civil disobedience.  We are protesting both the blockade and the US government's restriction of travel to Cuba.  What is it we aren't supposed to go there and see?

Cuba is a process, not a fixed result.  We've been taught to think of socialist countries as stagnant bureaucracies.  There may have been some truth to this idea applied to Central Europe, but not to Cuba - it is the most innovative country in the world at this time.  This isn't just my opinion: Cuba was the only nation in the world that meets the Worldwide Fund for Nature's definition of sustainable development, for example.  Cuba's achievements in literacy, education, and health care are well known. Their biotechnology innovations are also widely recognized. They have managed some remarkable work-arounds to deal with restrictions and shortages caused by the blockade. They have developed methods of agriculture, including urban gardens, which are innovative, organic, and use human and animal power to limit the need for fossil fuels; and their transportation alternatives include the usual buses, but also bicycle and horse-drawn transport.  They have developed a system of representation which starts with elected delegates from the school, workplace and neighborhood level, and which eliminates the power of money in politics.

Does this all work perfectly?  Of course not.  Cuba has had a number of wrong and failed policies.  What is remarkable is that the Cubans have been able to recognize this and change things. Cuba and its revolution are in a continuing process of re-invention, and this is very obvious in regard to the attitude toward religion. Many people do not know that there are churches in Cuba. The churches are packed and there is no discouragement of religion.  The initial Soviet-style anti-religion hostility has been reversed.  The Cubans are pleased to be able to love both the church and the revolution without contradiction.

 Ebenezer Baptist Church, in Marianao, Havana

 A Catholic church in the same neighborhood

 The Martin Luther King Center is associated with Ebenezer Baptist Church.

 This poster hangs in a Baptist Church office: HUmanity is diversity; Campaign against homophobia.

 The youth choir

 For over half of all religious Cubans, Santería is part of religious belief.

Another obvious change shows in attitudes regarding homosexuality and sexuality in general, also quite influenced by Soviet attitudes previously.  There is no official stigma attached to sexual differences, there is an official anti-homophobia campaign, AIDS patients are not quarantined. A Cenesex (the official government department having to do with issues of sexual preference and sexuality) worker introduced us to the concept of LGBTH, in which H is heterosexuals, just another choice in the mix.

POSTERS FROM A BUS STATION IN SANTA CLARA

The worst symptom of AIDS is loneliness.  YOU CAN CARE FOR THIS.

Solidarity with people who live with AIDS has no boundaries.

Another recent change is the encouragement of more self-employment.  This is still a work in progress with an unclear future and self-employment is very small scale, but those who want Cuba to become a capitalist economy open to foreign exploitation are going to be disappointed.  Most Cubans, not all, and some US visitors, again not all, understand that the standard of comparison for Cuba may not be upper-middle-class US life but rather that of other Caribbean nations, which make Cuba look very good indeed.

TYPICAL SMALL-SCALE SELF EMPLOYMENT EFFORTS

 Reynaldo, with his bicitaxi, which has, in addition to the customized steering wheel, mascots, water bottle, awning and a boom-box

 Zaida, with a friend; in the background there is a fruitstand.

 A lot of sidewalk stands sell various goods, some of them junk.

The cotton candy stand at a carnival in Yaguajay

 There are many sidewalk take-out cafes operated from the front of people's homes.  This is a typical menu board.

This young cabinet-maker works from his back yard.

A note:  there are millions of working children in the world.  Not one of them is Cuban.

In the past year the requirement for exit visas for travel from Cuba was eliminated.  Cubans now have more legal freedom to travel than US citizens, who are prohibited by the US government from going to Cuba without special license.

No restrictions are placed on US citizens' travel by the Cuban government.  There is no requirement to stay with a group or to be accompanied or monitored in any way.  You can travel freely throughout the island.

The Caravan this year will be organized differently.  We will still send the message that the blockade is immoral and unacceptable and must be lifted.  We will still take aid to Cuba - medications and other portable aid carried in our baggage.  There will be no bus routes; we will gather in cities across North America during Cuba Caravan Week, July 8 - 15.  The event in Fresno will be July 12 at 6:30, potluck, music, and speaker, at College Community Congregational Church 5550 N. Fresno between Bullard and Barstow.

Caravanistas from Fresno will then participate in a major event in the Bay Area on July 15, fly to Mexico City for orientation, and then to Santiago de Cuba.

Santiago is a wonderful city, located on hills above a harbor like a little San Francisco, but founded in 1515.

 I was there in 2010 and it was remarkable for the friendliness of the people, their revolutionary spirit, and the vibrant music scene. It was the cradle of the revolution, where the attack on the Moncada Army Barracks took place.  We'll be able to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the start of the Revolution on July 26.

Santiago suffered very serious damage in Hurricane Sandy, which devastated eastern Cuba.  More than 130,000 homes were lost along with schools, hospitals and other infrastructure; crops were totally destroyed.  We will work with our Cuban partners to help reconstruct homes and buildings.  It's a different Caravan, and a very exciting change.  If you can't go with us, be sure to be there for our send-off on July 12, 6:30 PM, at College Community Congregational Church 5550 N. Fresno between Bullard and Barstow, and for our report-back afterward, when we'll tell you all about it.

And please, go see for yourself.  If you do not wish to engage in civil disobedience or "illegal" (does the government have the right to tell you where you can travel?) personal travel, seek out a licensed cultural exchange tour.  But go check it out.  Cuba has many problems, but Cubans are innovative, vibrant, educated, and friendly and they are in the process of constructing a working alternative to corporate capitalism.  It's worth seeing.

photos from 2011 caravan

I- 5 bus

orientation

fixing the bus

security

press conference

border crossing training

through Mexico

The first event in Havana is the graduation of the Latin American School of Medicine.  American students from poor families can study medicine for free with students from many other countries.  After graduation they return to the US to practice in
"underserved areas." ELAM graduate with Tom Smith

ELAM graduates

diploma!

doctoras

Childrens' theater La Colmenita in Havana

El Malagon - veteran of one of the first organized militias in Cuba

In Pinar del Rio, we stayed in a rural church

Dancing in Pinar

Being short of sleep can be the hardest part of the Caravan

Luis Barrios, now one of the Co-leaders of IFCO, with Cuban translators

We met with the local chapter of the Cuban Women's Federation.  Maria Estrella is the oldest member.

We asked the group of women, "What do you you do if a man is hitting his wife?"  "Well," they said, "We ALL go to their house..."
They said that Cuban men have changed greatly in the past 10 or 15 years and that now there are many men who help with household tasks, cooking, and children

Pinar is full of limestone cliffs and caves

Anayanci is the head of the local Young Communists.  She was puzzled by our lack of a young communist section but spent time with our group anyway.

Water buffalo are less likely to need unavailable spare parts than tractors are.  Anayanci does not normally ride them; I dared her.

The meat eating table

the vegetarian/vegan table

On our return to Havana, we attended a racism conference and cultural event at the African Museum

The whole world owes a debt to Africa and only Cuba has begun to pay back.  The apartheid government could have lasted many years more without for Cuban help in defeating South African mercenaries in Angola.

Eleggua abre el camino

Lucius Walker's plaque was added to this monument just below Harriet Tubman's.

A caravanista fell, struck his head and had a seizure.  He was taken to Cira Garcia Hospital, where blood work, head CT, EKG, Neurologist exam (on a Saturday) and medications were given.  The cost was $0.00.

Improved after treatment.  Ojore asked me to translate to the hospital staff his exact words,  "Thank you, thank, thank you a million times.  There is no way a poor Black man could get this kind of treatment in the United States."

We prepare to cross the border back into the US, and the border officials prepare for us.  P4P means Pastors for Peace, of course.

A number of computers were confiscated on leaving the US this year and last year also.   This year they were returned to us on re-entering, since we can't take them to Cuba, and after all they ARE ours.

But we carried them all across the International Bridge into Mexico, where our Mexican companeros drove them to Tampico in time to join the rest of the aid shipment.