The Pastors for Peace Caravan Arrives in Cuba

The 22nd Pastors for Peace Caravan arrived in Cuba on Friday after touring almost 130 cities and collecting over 100 tons of humanitarian aid for the Caribbean island.

The 107 brigadistas were welcomed at Havana’s Jose Marti Airport by Kenia Serrano, president of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP); Reverend Raul Suarez, director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center; and representatives of several political and mass organizations.

Leira Sanchez, head of International Relations of the Young Communists League, told the members of the contingent that the Cuban people and particularly the new generations of Cubans thank them for their effort of not letting the ideas of Reverend Lucius Walker die and for the fact that this convoy of solidarity is dedicated to youngsters.

Likewise, she praised the decision of the visiting friends of continuing with their effort of breaking the blockade imposed by the US on the island for over 50 years now, a task to which the founder of the initiative, Lucius, who died in September, 2010, devoted himself with conviction.

In a press conference, Tom Smith, president of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), expressed his satisfaction for being in Cuba once again, in a trip he had no doubt would be carried out successfully.

Bill Sales, who travels with his wife, thanked Commander in Chief Fidel Castro for giving their daughter the opportunity to study Medicine in Cuba, and said that both of them are happy for being able to attend her graduation ceremony on Saturday.

The visitors’ program, which will end on July 30, includes exchanges with students, artists, scientists and farmers, and their participation in the graduation ceremony of 20 US youngsters who studied at Havana’s Latin American Medical School.

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Pastors for Peace pass through Mexico 

Also See
> Commitment with Cuba Grows, Say Pastors for Peace
> Pastors for Peace Caravanistas Tour Cuba
> Mores images from PhotosPL

Pastors for Peace’s Friendshipment Caravan Crosses U.S.-Canada Border

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The U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan, organized by the Pastors for Peace religious group, managed to cross the U.S.-Canada border carrying humanitarian aid destined to Cuba in spite of the intimidation of the American authorities there.

 “The crossing was a success,” announced in a communiqué the organization Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC), according to Prensa Latina news agency.

Last Sunday, the United States refused to allow a pickup truck carrying humanitarian assistance to Cuba to enter Canadian territory alleging that it was a commercial load that should comply with certain requirements.

The VCSC communiqué adds that the border guards threatened to fine the activists for the alleged violation but, shortly afterwards, thanks to the efforts of a lawyer of Pastors for Peace, they reversed their decision.

During the crossing, the activists carried banners and Cuban flags, and demanded the elimination of the almost 50-year-old U.S. economic blockade against the Caribbean nation.

Organized by the U.S. religious group Pastors for Peace, the Friendshipment Caravan tours several U.S. and Canadian cities collecting humanitarian aid. This year, they began on July 2 and will finish on July 21 with the crossing of the U.S.-Mexico border.

This caravan was founded in 1992 by Rev. Lucius Walker, a friend of Cuba who passed away in September 2010.
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