Cargando...The Los Angeles Hands Off Cuba Committee (LAHOC) is launching a new campaign to help Cuba. This time, they want to send pediatric and general emergency medical supplies that are in short supply «as a result of the U.S. blockade and the island’s inclusion on the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list».
The call has the collaboration of several organizations, as well as U.S. graduates of the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), local doctors, activists from the Not Just Tourists campaign and Global Health Partners (GHP). The latter are the only ones licensed by the U.S. authorities to export medicines and medical supplies from the U.S. to Cuba.
The campaign focuses on painkillers, but also includes other products for Cuban public health. The goal is to fill a 26-foot container that will be transported from Los Angeles to New Orleans by volunteer drivers who will make the trip in sections until they reach the port where they will be shipped to Cuba by GHP.
As part of the first phase, LAHOC has organized meetings with people who have traveled to the island and have made public the reality they have seen there. One of them was Mike Vera, who upon his return, on behalf of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU) and the Inland Boatmen’s Union (IBU, the maritime division of the ILWU), pushed for the adoption of resolutions calling on his country’s government to remove Cuba from the SSOT list.
«I took the opportunity to travel to Cuba with LAHOC in 2023 and spent a few weeks there before May Day,» Vera said at the meeting, which was held via the Zoom app and included activists from several U.S. cities.
«The visit changed me and my views. I met a beautiful and loving culture of kind and resilient people. People whose only crime is to live in a country that for more than 60 years has suffered an economic war imposed by a foreign government. The unjust and genocidal U.S. policy toward Cuba has decimated every aspect of its economy and its ability to live a normal life. The blockade and designation as a state sponsor of terrorism are simply political warfare.
«While in Cuba, I was able to meet trade unionists from all over South and Latin America who share this vision and are committed to our solidarity with the Cuban people. Upon my return, a large part of my goal was to educate those around me and bring to light that the struggles imposed on the Cuban people cannot be rectified unless we, the people of the U.S., change the political will of those who create and perpetuate this injustice.
«Resolutions in and of themselves have little value, but when we make them together with other unions and solidarity groups, both nationally and internationally, we have strength. «We are about to enter an even more difficult and dark period for the Cuban people, with the policies of [Marco] Rubio and [Donald] Trump almost certain to lead to a redoubled attack. The ability to organize and send humanitarian aid and financial support to Cuba by any means necessary will be more important than ever.
«As we fight for better working conditions in our bargaining units, we should also fight for workers around the world who are marginalized and oppressed. Fighting for workers and the human condition around the world is the business of unions. Peace and prosperity for workers around the world is the business of trade unions. The right of peoples to self-determination is the business of trade unions,» Vera concluded.
Another speaker at the meeting was Cal Saunders of the Democratic Socialists of America, Orange County, who called on people to «put aside the Western narratives we grew up with (…) The best education you can get is to go to Cuba and see for yourself. Let’s educate, organize and agitate for an end to the blockade so that this country can shake off the chains of Western imperialism and show the world that a better vision for the future is possible.
