NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/6065

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From: Frank Scofi <[e-mail]>
Subject: US - Cuba Friendshipment
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           PASTORS FOR PEACE  U.S. - CUBA FRIENDSHIPMENT

                      A PROJECT OF THE
        INTERRELIGIOUS FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

331 17th Ave., SE Minneapolis, MN 55414
Tel: [phone]     Fax: [phone]

               CHALLENGE EMBARGO THAT CAUSES SHORTAGES OF
                   FOOD AND MEDICINE FOR CUBAN  PEOPLE

     The U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment will challenge the moral and
legal basis of the U.S. trade embargo, which is causing widespread
shortages of food and medicine throughout Cuba. Up to 100 vehicles
and 200 drivers will deliver powdered milk, medicines, bicycles and
Bibles to Cuba in November.

     The Friendshipment is coordinated by Pastors for Peace in
conjunction with a national steering committee that includes two
dozen organizations and personalities. You can be a local
Friendshipment coordinator (more info at the end of this article).

     The Friendshipment represents an alternative to current Bush
Administration policies toward the island nation -- an example of
the "people's foreign policy." We encourage citizens from every
corner of the U.S. to join the caravan with pick-ups, vans, station
wagons or cars. (Vehicles will not be donated to Cuba.)

     Vehicles and drivers will depart from northern U.S. cities on
November 6 and travel along eight routes through the U.S., stopping
each day for educational presentations, press conferences and aid
collections. The routes will merge in southern Texas where drivers
will participate in two days of orientation. On November 20 the
caravan will cross the border into Mexico and load the aid onto a
freighter bound for Cuba.

     Drivers will fly to Cuba and spend seven days delivering aid
and touring the island. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center
and the integrated committee of Evangelical Churches and the Cuba
Institute for Friendship with the Peoples will receive the
Friendshipment.

     Drivers will return to Mexico on November 28 and drive back to
the U.S. carrying Cuban-made goods for donation/sale in the U.S.

     The U.S. government may consider the donation of humanitarian
aid to the people of Cuba a violation of their embargo and they may
decide to prosecute in court. People who are prosecuted and
convicted of a crime under the embargo statutes are liable for
fines of up to $250,000 and prison sentences of up to 10 years.

     However if the government decides to prosecute and the
participants of the Friendshipment are acquitted, this will
contribute significantly to a change in the prevailing law and U.S.
policy toward Cuba. In the 1960's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood
for voting rights for all citizens and was prosecuted by the
authorities. However, in the end Dr. King prevailed and the law in
the U.S. was changed. In 1988 the Veteran's Peace Convoy was
prevented from leaving the U.S. with a caravan of food, medicine,
and clothes for Nicaraguan children "because it violated the
embargo." Eventually the Convoy completed its mission and set an
important legal precedent.

     We believe that a law which results in shortages of food and
medicines for a civilian population is a wrong law, and wrong laws
need to be challenged. We are called by a higher morality to stand
for what is right, and respond to the needs of our Cuban brothers
and sisters.

     If the government decides not to prosecute, the Friendshipment
will set an important precedent. In either case, the project will
have a dramatic impact on U.S. polices toward Cuba.

    This is a grassroots initiative that depends on volunteers in
cities in every part of the U.S. You can be a local Friendshipment
coordinator. The fliers and information enclosed in this newsletter
will help you get started. We encourage local organizers to
concentrate on several aspects of this project:

     1. RECRUIT VEHICLES AND DRIVERS. At this time the most
important part of Friendshipment organizing is recruitment of
drivers and vehicles. Enclosed in this newsletter are copies of
driver and vehicle applications. Ultimately the Friendshipment will
have 100 vehicles and 200 drivers. Set a goal in your community of
one (or more) vehicles and two (or more) drivers. We are striving
for racial diversity and gender balance in the driver crew. If
driver or vehicle sponsors have any legal questions about their
participation, please have them call the Pastors for Peace office.

        Please do not start to collect material aid until vehicles
are lined up to carry the aid. Because of concerns about sabotage,
food and medicine will not be collected along the routes. Donations
can be gathered for their purchase from secure sources by the
Pastors for Peace Office. Donations can be made payable to Pastors
for Peace.

     2. HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE. Education is a very important
aspect of the Friendshipment. We want to get the word out as widely
as possible about the reality in Cuba and the widespread opposition
to U.S. policies. We encourage you to hold a press conference to
announce your local involvement and to help in the recruitment of
drivers and vehicles.

     On July 8 two dozen press conferences were held around the
country. Almost all resulted in positive coverage (several sample
articles are enclosed). The media is definitely interested in this
project.

    August 12 is the next day scheduled for simultaneous press
conferences around the country. Use this date to announce your
local Friendshipment effort to the media. If August 12 doesn't work
for you, choose a more appropriate day. We expect about two dozen
press conferences to be held on the 12th. If a press conference
won't work for you, distribute press releases and set up individual
interviews with media outlets.

     3. PLAN A FUND RAISING EVENT. Besides raising funds for food,
medicine, drivers or vehicles, the event can be used to spread the
word about the Friendshipment. Many groups around the country are
planning fundraisers for the first two weeks in September. Funds
can be used to sponsor local vehicles and drivers, or sent to the
Pastors for Peace Office for the purchase of food and medicine.

     4. SIGN UP CO-SPONSORS AND ENDORSERS. Co-sponsors support the
over-all goals and activities of the friendshipment, as outlined in
this piece and others included in this newsletter. Endorsers
support the Friendshipment call for an end to the trade embargo and
normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba as well as the
educational work of the Friendshipment in the U.S.

     Along with co-sponsorship or endorsement, we are requesting a
donation of between $25 and $5,000, depending on resources. Use the
enclosed form to sign up co-sponsors and endorsers. The extent of
co-sponsors and endorsers will be critical if the U.S. government
confronts the project with legal challenges.

      5. CIRCULATE FRIENDSHIPMENT PETITIONS. A sample petition is
enclosed tin the newsletter. Circulate the petitions as a way to
interest people in the Friendshipment and to open avenues for
talking about Cuba. The petitions will be presented to appropriate
policy makers and elected officials in November.

     Please candid the Pastors for Peace Office   if you need more
materials to begin your organizing. This project will not be
successful without the active participation of concerned citizens
from every part of the U.S. We look forward to working with you on
the U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment.

WHY SHOULD I JOIN THE U.S.-CUBA FRIENDSHIPMENT

     The people of Cuba are suffering through the worst economic
crisis os the past three decades.  Shortages of food and medicine
are reported throughout the island.  How does our country respond?-
by tightening the already existing trade embargo, making it
effectively a blockade.  This is in direct  contradiction to
international law and  a gross violation of human rights.

     Since 1959, Cuba has defined economic, social and cultural
rights as the most important human rights.  This is consistent with
the needs and desires of people throughout Latin America where
food, shelter, medical care and education are the most fundamental
and significant rights.

     Heath care and education are universal and free.  As a result,
infant mortality is comparable to the most developed western
nations and the literacy rate is significantly higher than that of
the U.S.  Jobs are guaranteed, day care is universally available ,
there is a very little street crime and street drugs are unknown.

     Yet the Bush administration and U.S. administrations for three
decades have treated Cuba as a pariah state.  Numerous attempt have
been made to assassinate leader, poison drinking water and
intervene militarily with terrorist squads, to name but a few of
the well-known tactics of the CIA.

     Many people who have travelled to Cuba ask why this small
island nation of 10 million people is such a "threat." The truth is
that Cuba is not really a threat. U.S. policy is driven by two
special interest groups - a small number of U.S. corporations and
a small minority of the Cuban-American population.

     Before 1959, U.S. corporations and the U.S. based Mafia
controlled much of Cuba. Prostitution and gambling were major
sources of profit. Sugar cane farms were "owned" by U.S.
corporations and immense profits were repatriated directly to the
U.S., while farmworkers lived in dire poverty.

    The revolution changed things dramatically. Cubans took control
of the means of production, and many U.S. corporations lost "their"
lands. The Mafia was expelled from the country, and gambling and
prostitution were abolished. Wages and living conditions for
peasants and workers improved dramatically. Until the late 1980's,
the Cuban economy out-performed most of Latin America. However,
corporations that previously made huge profits were no longer
welcome on the same unequal terms. These corporations urged
draconian policies on successive U.S. administrations.

     An equally influential group is the Cuban American National
Foundation. Immediately after the insurrection in 1959, many
wealthy Cubans left their homeland for Miami. Over the years a
small group has dreamed of a Cuba they would rule. the Cuban
American National Foundation is the leader of this extreme right
wing movement. The Foundation is quite wealthy and has bought
influence in U.S. politics, particularly in the Republican Party.
George Bush's son Jeb, is active in South Florida politics and has
a close relationship with the Foundation.

     In poll after poll conducted in south Florida, it is clear
that the extreme right wing does not represent most Cuban
Americans. The Foundation openly calls for the overthrow of the
Cuban government, and strongly supports the embargo and terrorist
activities directed against the island. Polls show that most Cuban
Americans want an end to the embargo and normalization of relations
between Cuba and the U.S. Nevertheless, the powerful foundation has
been able to dominate the debate around U.S. policy toward Cuba, in
part through intimidation to discourage openly divergent views.

   Current policies toward Cuba do not represent the interests of
the vast majority of U.S. citizens. Many corporations, particularly
those that trade in grains or pharmacueticals would like to open
trade with Cuba. Companies based in Canada, Spain, Mexico, England,
and Italy are making decent profits on trade and investment in
Cuba, while U.S. companies are forced to stand on the sidelines.
Tourists from these and other countries enjoy beautiful Cuban
beaches, while U.S. citizens are banned from travel.

    The U.S. is the only country in the world that embargos Cuba.
Yet, because we are an economic power, the embargo has literally
become a blockade. The Bush administration  recently banned  ships
from U.S. harbors that carry Cuban goods destined for Cuba,
effectively violating the sovereignty not only of Cuba but of other
U.S. trading partners. This administration will continue to take
its marching orders from powerful special interest groups -- unless
the people of the U.S. take a stand.

      The important question now is -- how will we, as citizens of
this country, respond?  Our brothers and sisters are in need.  In
recent trips to Cuba, sponsored by Pastors for Peace, the churches
have asked for our help in responding to this crisis. It is time
for U.S. citizens to stand up and do what's right.  We can't allow
our government to scorn moral principles and disregard
international law.  We can't stand by and watch  our brothers and
sisters in Cuba suffer because of the actions of our government.

     In 1988, the Veterans Peace Convoy attempted to deliver food,
medicine and clothing to children in Nicaragua.  The U.S.
government called this humanitarian gesture a violation of the
embargo against Nicaragua and prevented the convoy from leaving the
country. Facing threats of 10 years in prison and $50,000  fines
the convoy completed its mission, and won a precedent-setting
lawsuit in federal district court.

     In the 1960's, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood up for voting
rights in the south.  The government prosecuted him in court for
his just and moral stand and he won.

     The dire situation of the Cuban people and immoral position of
our own government call us to action.  Join the Friendshipment
today.









          U.S. - CUBA FRIENDSHIPMENT RESPONSE FORM


NAME:______________________________________________________

ORGANIZATION:_____________________________________________

ADDRESS:___________________________________________________

CITY, STATE, ZIP:__________________________________________

PHONE:_______________________ FAX:_________________________


_____ YES! I will co-sponsor the U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment. I fully
support the goals of the Friendshipment in sending humanitarian
aid directly to the people of Cuba. Please list my name or
organization as follows:

_________________________________________________________________


Enclosed is my co-sponsorship contribution made payable to IFCO-
Pastors for Peace in the amount of $___________________.


______ YES! I will endorse the U.S. - Cuba Friendshipment. I
support the Friendshipment call for an end to the trade embargo and
normalization of relations between Cuba and the U.S. I also support
the educational work of the Friendshipment in the U.S. Please list
my name or organization as follows:

_________________________________________________________________


Enclosed is my endorsement contribution  to be used for educational
work in the U.S. made payable to IFCO-Pastors for Peace in the
amount of _______________.
















For Information on organizing efforts in New York contact:
IFCO
402 West 145 Street
New York, NY 10031
[phone]


In New Jersey contact:
U.S. Hands Off Cuba Committee - New Jersey
P.O. Box 792
New Brunswick, NJ 08903
[phone]
[phone]