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Vol. 82/No. 5 February 5, 2018
May Day Brigade to Cuba builds in Appalachia
BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
Supporters of the Cuban Revolution are getting out the word and signing
people up to participate in the 13th annual May Day International
Brigade to Cuba from April 23 to May 6. Come see Cuba for yourself! The
brigade is being organized by the Cuban Institute for Friendship with
the Peoples (ICAP).
“So far about 10 of us are planning to go from Central Appalachia,”
Samir Hazboun told the Militant by phone from Knoxville, Tennessee, Jan.
24. They’re young people from Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia,
Virginia and North Carolina, working together in building the brigade
and raising funds to cover expenses.
One highlight will be marching in the May 1 International Workers Day
mobilization in Havana and participating in the International Meeting of
Solidarity with Cuba the following day.
Brigadistas will go to factories to exchange experiences with union
workers, meet with members of the Committees for the Defense of the
Revolution, and see firsthand how working people led by their
revolutionary government met and overcame the impact of Hurricane Irma —
organizing evacuations to save people’s lives and rapidly repairing and
rebuilding afterwards.
They’ll visit the provinces of Villa Clara, where Che Guevara led some
of the key battles that led to the victory of the revolution, and to
Camagüey. They’ll meet with representatives of students’, women’s, union
and other mass organizations, and visit museums and sites of
revolutionary struggle. Over several mornings they’ll do voluntary
agricultural work alongside Cuban farmers and brigadistas from other
countries.
“In preparation for the trip, we all recently got together to study The
First and Second Declarations of Havana together over an internet video
conference,” Hazboun said. (See excerpt from this book on page 8.)
The visit of Cuban literacy veteran Griselda Aguilera to the Knoxville
area Feb. 20-21, he said, “will help publicize the brigade and encourage
others to attend and raise funds.”
At the age of 7, Aguilera was the youngest participant in the
revolution’s mass literacy campaign in 1961 that taught workers and
peasants across the island how to read and write. And she has been a
staunch participant in the revolution ever since.
Her tour includes a public meeting at the University of Tennessee at
Knoxville, sponsored by the Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Department, and speaking to high school students in the city, Hazboun
said. Tour stops also include Boston; Hartford, Connecticut; New York;
New Jersey; Baltimore; and Washington, D.C.
The National Network on Cuba is coordinating efforts to sign up U.S.
participants for the May Day Brigade and it’s being publicized and built
by local Cuba solidarity groups around the country. Registration is open
until March 16. The cost of the package, which includes all meals and
lodging in Cuba, is $675 plus airfare. For more information on the
brigade and to download an application, go to NNOC.info and click on
MayDay Brigade.
Related articles:
Cuban Revolution brought millions into political action
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