Pastors for Peace Caravan To Cuba Prepares to Cross US Border Into Mexico on Wednesday July 21.
Pastors for Peace Caravan To Cuba Prepares to Cross US Border Into Mexico on Wednesday July 21.
Media Advisory
JULY 20, 2010
CONTACT:
IFCO/Pastors for Peace: in McAllen: Alison Bodine 303/638-9799
in New York: Lucia Bruno 212/926-5757; 347/423-4330
“WHY DOES THE U.S. GOVERNMENT CONTINUE
TO PUNISH CUBAN CHILDREN?”
“WE MUST END THIS IMMORAL BLOCKADE”
On July 21, the IFCO/Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan will break the illegal and immoral US blockade of Cuba for the 21st time when they cross the border with 100 tons of humanitarian aid for the Cuban people.
This year’s caravan is dedicated to the children of Cuba. “Half the world-class medicines are virtually unavailable in Cuba because of the US blockade,” said Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace. “Why should Cuban children be deprived of life-saving medicines? This is not a policy that the people of the US are fully aware of, and not one that they would approve.”
“If the people of the United States were aware of how the US blockade deprives Cuban children - not only of medicines but also school supplies, art and sports equipment, and so many things -the blockade would have ended long ago.” said Rev. Walker.
“Anything that Cuba has to import is harder to get and much more expensive because of the US blockade,” said Rev. Tom Smith, chair of the IFCO board of directors. “Why must the US government maintain such a mean-spirited policy toward our neighbors?”
Nine brightly painted school buses and a car will be donated to Cuba, for use by hospitals, churches, and schools. The 100 tons of humanitarian aid includes educational and medical aid, hospital equipment, computers, sports equipment, and construction tools.
An important aspect of the caravan to Cuba is also breaking the travel ban to Cuba. Citizens of every other country in the world have the right to visit Cuba, yet US citizens are denied that freedom. We must ask ourselves why the US government tries to prevent US citizens from traveling to the Cuba. This caravan enables US citizens to see Cuba for themselves, and challenges the travel ban.
85 caravanistas from 21 different states of the US, plus Canada, Mexico, and Europe, will travel to Cuba without US government permission in an act of civil disobedience against the travel ban and economic blockade. The group spans a broad age range from 18 to 80, with a large representation of youth and a great deal of cultural and professional diversity. More than half of the caravanistas will be visiting Cuba for the first time.
As the caravanistas visited 125 cities in the US and southern Canada, they encouraged community members to call their Congressional representatives and ask them to support the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act (HR 4645), the new bill that would end the ban on travel to Cuba as well as ease restrictions on agricultural sales. This bill is also beneficial for US farmers who want to sell to Cuba. The House Agriculture Committee approved this bill on June 30, 2010, and because it has been approved in committee, it can be brought to the House floor for a vote at any time. Now is a critical time for people to call their congressional representatives and senators, and encourage them to vote in favor of the bill.
While in Cuba, caravanistas will attend the graduation ceremony at the Latin American School of Medicine, which offers full medical scholarships to students from more than 40 nations. 14 of this year’s graduates come from the US, and will return to the US to work in medically under-served communities.
Pastors for Peace is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), a national ecumenical agency that has been working for social justice since 1967.
A short video about the caravan is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8rI6vrDYl0
More photos and information are available at www.pastorsforpeace.org
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