September 2004

CHE BRIGADE HELPS CLEAN UP HURRICANE CHARLIE

ON AUGUST 22, the twelfth contingent of the Canada-Cuba Ernesto Ché Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade returned home to Canada after three weeks of volunteer work, learning, adventure and solidarity in socialist Cuba. This contingent represented the continuation of a program that has existed since 1993 with the aim of building and strengthening Canada-Cuba solidarity and friendship.

Coming from many age groups and ethnic, cultural and national backgrounds, the brigadistas were united by their solidarity with the Cuban people and the Cuban revolution, as well as by the desire to expand our knowledge and understanding of the country, its socialist system and its history of resistance to imperialism.

We arrived in Havana on August 1, along with suitcases and boxes full of donations to be distributed to places where they could be best used throughout the country. The donations consisted mainly of medical supplies, school supplies and some other items which are difficult and expensive for Cuba to attain due to the cruel blockade imposed by the US. After a brief rest, our group departed for Cienfuegos Province, where the first part of the brigade would be spent.

In Cienfuegos, the brigade was accommodated at the Raul Dorticos Torrado Medical Sciences School. It was here that we engaged in our volunteer work, painting the interior of the medical school alongside Cuban painters.

When not hard at work, brigadistas could be found participating in other learning experiences. One such form of learning was lectures on such topics as the Cuban Economy, Democracy and Human Rights, Co-operative Farming or the Cuban Healthcare System.

The group also met with several of the organizations which make up Cuban society: the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), the Union of Young Communists (UJC), the Confederation of Trade Unions (CTC) and a Committee for Defense of the Revolution (CDR). Brigadistas took part in all sorts of cultural activities from dance lessons to musical performances.

A day trip to Santa Clara provided us with an exciting and emotional visit to the Ernesto Ché Guevara Memorial. This is the final resting place of the revolutionary hero who is the namesake of the Brigade, who once said himself that volunteer work is the builder of revolutionary consciousness. The memorial is also the final resting place of several other heroes of the Cuban revolution.

A few days later, we departed for Matanzas province where we visited many interested ecological sites and museums, such as the Bellmar Caves, the Museum of the Battle of Ideas and the Museum of the Bay of Pigs invasion. On August 13 (President Fidel Castro's birthday) the brigadistas attended a celebration in a Cuban community which featured speeches, music and massive cakes.

However, while in Matanzas, the unexpected occurred. Hurricane Charlie hit Cuba. When the brigade rolled into Havana a couple of days later, we witnessed Charlie's destructive effects. It was decided that the brigade would offer its services to helping clean up the damage. We worked in a neighbourhood along with the locals to clean up debris from the hurricane, and also helped alongside a Cuban brigade at the Julio Antonio Mella International Camp (CIJAM), where we stayed for the remainder of the trip. These displays of solidarity and friendship are the reason that the brigade remains one of the most inspiring gestures of international solidarity.

Other exciting events in Havana included a meeting with family members of the Cuban Five, a lecture on Cuba-U.S. relations and a meeting with the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP). Throughout the busy three week schedule there was also plenty of time for exploring, free time in the cities, beach time and rest and relaxation, and of course parties, all without a moment of boredom.

Another contingent is being planned for next year, possibly in May or June. Co-ordinators of the brigade hope to organize a group even larger than in previous years to carry on the brigade's historic duty. At this time in history, it is ever more important to continue and to expand our solidarity work with socialist Cuba, which is continuously under threat and attack by U.S. imperialism.

The brigade provides the best opportunity to show that solidarity, to experience Cuban life, work and leisure from all angles. It gives participants a chance to see the amazing advances made by the Cuban Revolution, as well as the effects of the illegal and inhumane blockade. If you want to see Cuba, this is the trip for you!

If you are interested in the brigade, and would like to find out more, please visit the Canada-Cuba Ernesto Ché Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade's official web site at www.canadiannetworkoncuba.ca/brigade, or contact Brigade Co-Ordinator Nino Pagliccia at 604-831-9821.

© 2004 Communist Party of Canada