http://themilitant.com/2017/8133/813353.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 81/No. 33 September 11, 2017
October ‘Che’ Cuba brigade less than 4 weeks away!
http://themilitant.com/2017/8133/813353.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 81/No. 33 September 11, 2017
October ‘Che’ Cuba brigade less than 4 weeks away!
BY ALYSON KENNEDY
In less than four weeks, workers and youth from around the world will
arrive in Cuba for the Oct. 1-15 “In the Footsteps of Che” International
Brigade. “As of today, we have 74 participants from the U.S.,” Bob
Guild, vice president of Marazul, which is organizing travel for the
brigade, told the Militant.
“I believe the U.S. contingent will be the largest on the brigade and
this is very exciting because the U.S. has had almost no one on previous
‘In the Footsteps of Che’ brigades,” Guild said. In the past Washington
imposed restrictions making it difficult for U.S. residents to travel to
Cuba to see the revolution firsthand. Some obstacles to travel have been
loosened in the last couple of years.
The “In the Footsteps of Che” brigade will commemorate the 50th
anniversary of Ernesto Che Guevara’s death in combat. Argentine-born
Guevara, a central leader of the Cuban Revolution, had gone to Bolivia
in 1966, where he led revolutionaries from Cuba, Bolivia and Peru who
fought to overthrow the U.S.-backed military dictatorship there. He was
killed in October 1967 by the CIA and officers of the Bolivian military
regime.
“The crisis throughout our own country has tremendously increased the
interest in socialism especially among younger people,” Guild said. Even
though the space for U.S. participation is filled, “it is still possible
to sign up and at least get on a waiting list!”
Members of the U.S. delegation will be coming from across the country,
from New York to California. They will meet and discuss with workers,
farmers and youth in Cuba as well as veteran revolutionaries who fought
side by side with Che Guevara during the struggle in Cuba and on
internationalist missions in Africa and Latin America.
“Last year I took a class on the Cuban Revolution and became a supporter
of the revolution,” Ash Eberle, 20, a political science student at the
University of Minnesota, told the Militant by phone Aug. 29. “I am going
on the brigade to see for myself and to learn about Che’s legacy.
“There are four people going from Minneapolis and when we get back we’ll
be explaining what we learned,” Eberle said. “One of my professors asked
me to make a presentation about the brigade in his class on Latin
America. Cuba shows a revolution is possible. It is a living example.
They have a sharing ethic in their hurricane disaster relief, which is
important with what is going on in Houston. Cuba evacuates everyone and
Cubans open their homes to people. No one is left to fend for themselves
and they organize a quick rebuilding process. New Orleans still hasn’t
recovered.”
Fundraising is being organized in many cities to make it possible for
brigadistas to go to Cuba in October. At their second fundraising event,
the Chicago Cuba Coalition showed the documentary “Cuba, An African
Odyssey.” The film describes internationalist missions in which hundreds
of thousands of Cuban volunteers gave decisive aid to anti-colonial and
anti-apartheid struggles in Africa.
The film also shows Che Guevara during a 1964-65 three-month tour of
Africa. He met with anti-colonial fighters and laid the groundwork for
Cuba’s internationalist missions in the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville,
Guinea-Bissau, and Angola. Twenty-two people attended the film showing
at the Workers Unite Union Hall, giving donations that pushed the travel
fund over $1,500.
To get involved in building the brigade, contact the Chicago Cuba
Coalition at (312) 952-2618 or ICanGoToCuba@xxxxxxxxx.
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home
October ‘Che’ Cuba brigade less than 4 weeks away!
BY ALYSON KENNEDY
In less than four weeks, workers and youth from around the world will
arrive in Cuba for the Oct. 1-15 “In the Footsteps of Che” International
Brigade. “As of today, we have 74 participants from the U.S.,” Bob
Guild, vice president of Marazul, which is organizing travel for the
brigade, told the Militant.
“I believe the U.S. contingent will be the largest on the brigade and
this is very exciting because the U.S. has had almost no one on previous
‘In the Footsteps of Che’ brigades,” Guild said. In the past Washington
imposed restrictions making it difficult for U.S. residents to travel to
Cuba to see the revolution firsthand. Some obstacles to travel have been
loosened in the last couple of years.
The “In the Footsteps of Che” brigade will commemorate the 50th
anniversary of Ernesto Che Guevara’s death in combat. Argentine-born
Guevara, a central leader of the Cuban Revolution, had gone to Bolivia
in 1966, where he led revolutionaries from Cuba, Bolivia and Peru who
fought to overthrow the U.S.-backed military dictatorship there. He was
killed in October 1967 by the CIA and officers of the Bolivian military
regime.
“The crisis throughout our own country has tremendously increased the
interest in socialism especially among younger people,” Guild said. Even
though the space for U.S. participation is filled, “it is still possible
to sign up and at least get on a waiting list!”
Members of the U.S. delegation will be coming from across the country,
from New York to California. They will meet and discuss with workers,
farmers and youth in Cuba as well as veteran revolutionaries who fought
side by side with Che Guevara during the struggle in Cuba and on
internationalist missions in Africa and Latin America.
“Last year I took a class on the Cuban Revolution and became a supporter
of the revolution,” Ash Eberle, 20, a political science student at the
University of Minnesota, told the Militant by phone Aug. 29. “I am going
on the brigade to see for myself and to learn about Che’s legacy.
“There are four people going from Minneapolis and when we get back we’ll
be explaining what we learned,” Eberle said. “One of my professors asked
me to make a presentation about the brigade in his class on Latin
America. Cuba shows a revolution is possible. It is a living example.
They have a sharing ethic in their hurricane disaster relief, which is
important with what is going on in Houston. Cuba evacuates everyone and
Cubans open their homes to people. No one is left to fend for themselves
and they organize a quick rebuilding process. New Orleans still hasn’t
recovered.”
Fundraising is being organized in many cities to make it possible for
brigadistas to go to Cuba in October. At their second fundraising event,
the Chicago Cuba Coalition showed the documentary “Cuba, An African
Odyssey.” The film describes internationalist missions in which hundreds
of thousands of Cuban volunteers gave decisive aid to anti-colonial and
anti-apartheid struggles in Africa.
The film also shows Che Guevara during a 1964-65 three-month tour of
Africa. He met with anti-colonial fighters and laid the groundwork for
Cuba’s internationalist missions in the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville,
Guinea-Bissau, and Angola. Twenty-two people attended the film showing
at the Workers Unite Union Hall, giving donations that pushed the travel
fund over $1,500.
To get involved in building the brigade, contact the Chicago Cuba
Coalition at (312) 952-2618 or ICanGoToCuba@xxxxxxxxx.
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home