IFCO/Pastors for Peace 2005 Caravan to Cuba

The 16th Pastors for Peace US-Cuba Friendshipment is coming…….are You??

The US embargo of Cuba causes shortages of food, medicine and other important supplies for eleven million people. The embargo is an immoral policy that uses hunger and disease as political weapons.

IFCO/Pastors for Peace has begun making plans for this year's caravan to Cuba. With Bush talking about ensuring that Cuba is "liberated" during his second term it's important that we keep up the counter pressure, and it is especially important that we do so this year so that the momentum is flowing our way rather than his. We know that there is a majority in Congress and the country to at least partly lift the blockade and travel ban and that the policy of the Bush administration and its Miami allies to achieve regime change is increasingly isolated in the US and the rest of the world. The European Union has just voted to resume full diplomatic relations with Cuba and even in Miami there is now opposition to Bush following his crackdown last year on the rights of Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba.

So once again in July we will be heading south along 13 routes in the US and Canada. The precise dates are below but basically it's about two weeks later than last year. Most routes won't start till July 5th to avoid the July 4th long weekend, though at least two, from British Columbia and Quebec/Maine, will need to be on the road that weekend. Our stay in Cuba will coincide with the July 26th celebrations commemorating the attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago in 1953 which marked the beginning of the new struggle to overthrow the dictator Batista. Once again we are mounting a joint travel challenge with the Venceremos Brigade. We will be in Cuba at the same time as them and return on the same day - August 1st.

What you can do

• Come as a caravanista - get in touch with our office to get an application form
• Recruit other caravanistas - get them to request an application form (we know that every year our best recruiters of new people are former caravanistas who've spread the word amongst their friends and colleagues).
• Get involved with your local host committee - or if there wasn't one last year then how about you taking the initiative. Let IFCO know if you want to take on or help with being the host for a caravan event in your community.
• Help out as a volunteer in the IFCO New York office.
• Collect material aid - let IFCO know so we send you the material aid pack.

Caravan schedule

• July 5-16: Caravan routes with educational presentations and aid collections throughout the US and Canada
• July 17-22: Participant orientation in Texas. Border crossing into Mexico. Travel to Tampico, Mexico and load material aid onto cargo ship
• July 23-30: Fly to Havana for Caravan educational program in Cuba.
• July 31: Return to Tampico, Mexico and travel to Mexico/US border
• August 1: Reverse challenge; cross the Mexican border into the US, delivering aid from the Cuban people to the people of the US

Is the caravan coming to your city?

Pick your state from the list below to see when the caravan is coming near you.

-- choose your state -- ---------- British Columbia Manitoba Ontario Quebec ---------- Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Winsconsin Wyoming

How you can be a part of the 16th Friendshipment

JOIN US!! If you are interested in hosting the caravan or you would like to travel with us please contact the IFCO/Pastors for Peace US-Cuba Friendshipment Coordinator at cucaravan@igc.org or by phone 212-926-5757, or else you can get in touch with us at:

IFCO/Pastors for Peace
418 W. 145th St.,
NY,NY 10031
Ph: 212-926-5757 Fax: 212-926-5842
Email: p4p@igc.org
www.pastorsforpeace.org