ARTEMISA, Cuba.-Defying the policy imposed by the United States, the blockade and the restrictions of travel, 17 members of the Venceremos Brigade were received this Sunday in Julio Antonio Mella International Camp, in the town of Caimito, in Artemisa province.
Sandra Ramirez, officer of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples (ICAP), said this is the brigade number 48 since its founding and during all these years, it has faced the White House´s hostility to support the ideals of justice of Cubans, with which they acquire double value for the people of the island.
Ramirez emphasized that the main challenge remains to reverse the media campaign against the revolution that tries to discredit Cuba’s achievements and struggles, to understand why the blockade is maintained and its main cause, and to bring together both peoples more and more, using solidarity as a main link.
The superiority of social justice in the Cuban socialist system compared to the American one was demonstrated through multiple examples, many of them illustrated with moving words revealing the inequality that affects sensitive sectors of the population, including children, the elderly, emigrants and African-Americans.
To this last group belongs the heartbreaking statement of Frangy Pozo, a native of New Jersey, a territory with marked social differences where black people die every day because of discrimination.
An old woman shot at her home by police forces, a father killed in front of his daughter while driving his car, a boy who cannot study because his family’s money is insufficient to guarantee the basic services, were some stories told by Frangy, while tears ran down her cheeks.
Other statements showed that the United States is far from being that “great paradise” many believe.
Nadir Ruben Romo, LaToya Strang and Megan Hays, are three young of different races but with identical social problems. They traveled to Cuba, according to their words, looking for alternatives that help to find equity in their country.
During the reception, the brigaders paid tribute to Julio Antonio Mella, and in the Marti Forest of the international camp, they sowed a mango tree that increases the fruit trees mentioned by Jose Marti in his diary from Cabo Haitiano to Dos Rios.
The Venceremos Brigade will remain in Cuba until August 4 and will attend the celebrations on July 26, Day of the National Rebellion. They will also visit the monument to Heroic Guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara in the city of Santa Clara, in the central region of the country.