August 18, 2001,  Medical Aid Caravan Crosses U.S./Canada Border:
photos and story; more photos!
Background on Let Cuba Live attempt to deliver aid to Cuba
 
 

Pamphlet available ¨Cuba´s Continuing Struggle:   In the Shadow of Goliath.¨ please read 
 

Let Cuba Live's May 2002  newsletter  available here:
articles on "Cuba: Victim of Ongoing Terrorism"; "Cuban Anti-Terrorists receive long U.S. jail sentences"; more

Let Cuba Live's September '01 newsletter available here.

INTERVENTION BY FR. GEOFF BOTTOMS AT THE 2ND WORLD SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE IN HAVANA DURING THE COMMISSION ON THE BLOCKADE ON SUNDAY, 12TH NOVEMBER 2000

Comrades, brothers and sisters, friends of Cuba, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to address this conference and express my solidarity with the heroic and noble people of 
Cuba.

As a Catholic priest and a member of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign in England I salute the capacity of the Cuban people to resist forty years of US economic aggression in defence of their independence and Revolution which is a beacon of hope for the world.

For me there is no contradiction between my faith and my political convictions because they both share similar humanitarian goals. As Che once said, “A true revolutionary is motivated by feelings of great love”. And isn’t Christianity supposed to be a revolutionary faith rooted in the same sacrificial love?

Yet Cuba has put into practice in just forty years what the Church has only been talking about for the last two thousand!

For example, it has eradicated illiteracy while the infant mortality rate has been reduced from 60 per 1000 live births in 1959 to 6.4 per 1000 last year. Life expectancy has increased from 59 in 1958 to 75 years today.

Meanwhile both a universal and free health and education system has been introduced with Cuban medical specialists producing the world’s only vaccine for Meningitis B. 

Considerable advances have taken place in the fields of culture and sport with Cuba winning eleven gold medals in the last Olympics. That is one gold medal for every one million inhabitants. On that score Britain should have won 57 gold medals!

Cuba has also educated doctors and teachers from the Third World, treated 16,000 Chernobyl children, and sent medical brigades to countries in crisis as well as dozens of thousands of teachers, doctors and other professionals to assist other developing countries. 

The latest project is the Latin American Medical School where over 3,400 students from Central and Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa are being trained as doctors free of charge to return to their own countries and work in the poorest areas.

Yet Cuba is paying a high price for its principles with the US economic, financial and commercial blockade. This morning I wish to concentrate on one particular aspect – the Cuban Adjustment Act - which was signed into law by President Johnson on the 2nd November 1966.

Cuba is the only country in the world whose nationals wishing to emigrate only need to set foot on US territory to be entitled to resident status. 

If you arrive in a boat from Haiti you will be turned back. If you try to scale the fence on the border with Mexico you will be thrown back - unless of course you lose your life in the process. I believe 112 Mexicans have died in the first six months of this year.

But if you are a Cuban arriving in a dinghy or on a raft the red carpet is rolled out with a band playing the Stars and Stripes! 

While consistently displaying their wealth and after dividing families the privileges granted to those who decide to emigrate illegally to the US not only serves as propaganda but also serves the interests of the Miami mafia and their henchmen in Congress. 

It is all part of the policy of the blockade in undermining the Revolution and the independence of the Cuban people.

Let us take the case of Elian Gonzalez. If it were not for the Cuban Adjustment Act Elian would not have lost his mother in such tragic circumstances and held hostage in the US by unscrupulous distant relatives who used him for their own political ends.

If it were not for the Cuban Adjustment Act there would be no trafficking in human beings by certain elements in Miami who profit from this obscene industry by charging up to $12,000 a trip.

If it were not for the Cuban Adjustment Act countless Cubans would not have lost their lives making the risky journey across the Florida Straits driven by the economic ravages of the US blockade.

All of which undermines the migratory accords of 1994 onwards. A strong message needs to go from this Conference condemning this unjust and unacceptable policy and demanding an end to the genocidal US blockade with its infamous Cuban Adjustment Act.

Therefore I propose that this Second World Solidarity Conference sends a message to the next President of the US - when they have finished counting the votes again – condemning the imperial policy followed against Cuba and especially the economic war of the last forty years.

Pope John Paul II when visiting Cuba in 1998 described the US blockade as “unjust and ethically unacceptable”. He called for the “globalisation of solidarity” instead of a globalisation of poverty with a just world for all instead of a rich world for the few. On the other hand Fidel prefers to speak of a “socialist globalisation”.

The truth is that we are in this together. Otherwise there is no future. As Jose Marti once said, “Humanity is my Homeland”. This is why Cuba is crucial to the process for it is at the cutting edge of the struggle against the New Imperialism.

The US blockade is illegal because it contravenes international law and the UN Charter. It has been condemned by the United Nations General Assembly on nine consecutive occasions by an overwhelming majority. During this Conference 167 countries have voted with Cuba while 3 voted against and 4 abstained.

It is immoral because it causes hunger and disease especially among the most vulnerable in society – the young, the sick and the old.

Finally it is unjust because it does not respect Cuba’s sovereign right to determine its own affairs.

That is why we renew our solidarity at this Conference. Cuba – you are not alone. You have many friends in the world. We will never let you down.

Viva Cube libre!

Viva la Revolucion!

Viva Fidel!

Unidos venceremos!
 
 

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And, from the March 2001 Let Cuba Live Newsletter:
 

Solidarity and Friendship, 
a report from the Second World Meeting in Havana, 
November 2000
 

“Toda la tierra debía ser un gran abrazo.”
All the earth should be a big embrace.
José Martí

These words adorned a banner hanging above the podium in the Karl Marx theater on Havana’s waterfront and served as an apt greeting for the 4000+ delegates representing 118 nations. It is somehow so Cuban to set such a standard of humanness for an international conference, as it is Cuban to even conceive of inviting your friends from around the world to come to Havana and spend five days talking about friendship and the meaning of solidarity. 
ANC delegate in Havana

Spirit was the key ingredient of the conference in November; there was so much high spirit that it almost got in the way at times. Attendees arrived hours before the scheduled opening each day to have extra time to chat with old and new friends, to wave flags and banners and sing out solidarity chants. This writer was fortunate to be present when on the second day the ANC chose to march the two blocks from buses to theater, singing and stomping in traditional African style, fists raised and faces beaming. Not to be outdone, the delegation from India held an impromptu rally in the middle of the street, shouting “Cuba, Cuba, up with! Blockade, down, down!”

“He who rises up today for Cuba, rises up for all time.”  -- Martí

We were all happy to be there, but there were serious issues to discuss. Most of the five-day meeting was spent listening to the statements of the diverse delegates and in working sessions to develop strategies for continued resistance to the blockade. But, for me, the most compelling meetings were with members of the Cuban government. Sergio Corrieri, director of ICAP (Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples) welcomed the delegates on the first day and shared with us how solidarity within and without Cuba continues to grow. During the 1990s the number of groups in solidarity with Cuba has tripled. Although there has been 40 years of blockade, there has also been 40 years of solidarity. During the Elián crisis, 80 committees in 57 countries were established to demand the return of the Cuban boy. Corrieri summarized: “A beautiful flower has blossomed forth out of the bloody and bitter ground of our common struggle. Let us take care of it, it is the daughter of rebelliousness and of the refusal to put up with injustice.”

“Prosperity that is not accompanied by virtue degrades and corrupts the people.” – Martí

Economic minister Carlos Lage informed the conference about economic recovery. Since 1995 growth has averaged 4.4% (1999 = 6.2%). This is in spite of an increase in the cost of oil and decreased income from sugar exports. Nutrition is still an area of concern. Prior to the Special Period, Cuban daily caloric intake was nearly 3000. During the worst times it dropped to under 2000. It is currently at 2400 (while the World Health Organization recommends 2500). Lage was asked if he was sure that in all Cuba’s foreign market agreements, no U.S. capital is involved. His response was “No, and we don’t care. We don’t blockade the U.S.” As an example, he cited that the U.S. is trying to ban travel of U.S. citizens to Cuba, but Cuba does not prevent U.S. citizens from visiting.

“You can only gain the support of the U.S. people for an unjust cause by deceiving them.” – Fidel

Ricardo Alarcón, head of Cuba’s National Assembly, spoke about U.S.-Cuba relations. He said that the people of the U.S. are not prepared to allow their country to be turned into a synonym for evil and injustice. The Vietnam war will always serve as irrefutable proof that “you can’t fool all of the people all of the time,” and that when the moment of truth arrives, there is no force that can overcome the power of the people. The struggles against Helms/Burton and NAFTA are struggles for truth in a world in which those in control use fabrications. The field of information is where we must wage our battle.

When questioned about the conception that Cuba uses and needs the blockade, Alarcón replied: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Let them lift it, even for one year, and we shall see. It is an insult to human intelligence that the U.S. media has tried to create this idea.”

“All the various organizations of the Cuban people are a clenched fist of unity.” – Roque

Foreign minister Felipe Pérez Roque had just returned from the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, where Cuba presented two resolutions: a resolution in favor of independence for Puerto Rico, and a condemnation of the U.S. blockade against Cuba. The latter succeeded in garnering the largest number of international votes of support since it was first presented nine years ago. 167 nations voted in favor of Cuba’s resolution. 4 nations abstained. 3 nations voted against the resolution: the United States, Israel and the Marshall Islands.  Cuba now has diplomatic relations with 171 countries, 98 of which have representation in Havana. Roque went on to briefly outline for the delegates Cuba’s foreign policy objectives for the coming years: 1) End the blockade 2) Preserve respect for international law and the United Nations charter; strive for a true democratization of international relations. 3) Struggle against the new international economic order. (Neoliberalism has failed.) 4) Work for the integration of Latin American and Caribbean countries, in the dream of Bolivar and Martí. (Unite in order to not be swallowed.) Roque said: “I would like to say to all the honest men and women of the world that Cuba will never let you down. We will never give up the struggle.”

“We have an unconquerable fortress of ideas and stones.” – Fidel

For those of us who had been in Cuba more than once during the past decade, the changes observed in general quality of life were often a topic of discussion. So, too, for Fidel. When Fidel addressed the conference on the last evening, he pointed out many differences between 2000 and 1994 (the date of the First World Meeting of Solidarity). The value of the Cuban peso has gone from 150cu/1USD to 20cu/1USD. “The World Bank, that awful institution,” he mused, “what would they say about that?” 1994, he said, was the most difficult year. For example, in 1994 there were 14 to 16 hours of power outage a day in many areas. “If this had happened two to three years after the triumph of the revolution,” he said “our people would have died. But our people are fighting the battle, and are winning.”