Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan - 2004

15th Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba
Notes of a Participant - by Walter Lippmann

This is a journal of the Fifteenth Friendshipment Caravan organized by Pastors for Peace during June and July 2004. I'm very pleased to be able to share my knowledge with people we meet, to meet new people along our route, joining with others to help unify and strengthen the growing sentiment for an end to Washington's blockade against Cuba.

I'll be keeping this journal up during the Caravan and any participants or those we meet along the way are welcome to send comments, reports or words of encouragement in to: walterlx@earthlink.net which can be added here.

Walter Lippmann
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In June/July of 2004, the 15th Friendshipment Caravan will visit over 120 cities in the
US, challenging the US government to revoke the blockade and establish a foreign policy based on true democracy and respect. Two hundred people will travel to Cuba with computers, medicines, and school supplies collected from groups across the U.S., refusing US treasury department licenses, as a collective challenge to the Blockade and travel ban.
MORE DETAILS: http://www.ifconews.org/cu15car/welcome.html
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CONFESSION: After passing through Los Angeles, it became very
difficult in practice to keep up this journal. In time I hope to be able to
post some more notes on the rest of the trip. Apologies. (August 1, 2004)

From: Walter Lippmann [mailto:walterlx@earthlink.net]
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 4:12 AM
Subject: Notes of a Caravanista passing through Los Angeles

Last night we had a highly spirited meeting at the Black Women's Wellness headquarters here in my home town of Los Angeles, CA. About forty people came out to salute and encourage Caravanistas who were now joined by several additions to our group from this city. Jan Robinson-Flint of the Black Women for Wellness welcomed our group, as did Paula Solomon, Co-ordinator of the Los Angeles Coalition in Solidarity With Cuba.

Sally Marr and Peter Dudar, artists and film-makers extraordinaire presented their video of Los Colmenita, the Cuban children's performance troupe who visited the United States last year, and who've been among the bright spirits behind Arlington West, the symbolic graveyard for the over eight hundred US soldiers who've lost their lives in the US invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The previous evening we were greeted by an enthusiastic gathering at the First Unitarian Church of Santa Barbara, California. There we shared the platform with Luis Segui, a Cuban-American and strong supporter of Cuba, 83 years old. Latin American studies scholar Tim Harding and his wife Dorothy Fox also spoke as did many of the Caravanistas, in our first joint appearance as a Caravan with two separate buses filled with humanitarian aid and activists came together after having traveled down the West Coast of the United States along separate routes.

Today one group will proceed to San Diego, California while another will go to Tucson, Arizona on our way to join all the Caravans at McAllen, Texas for three days of education and training in non- violent civil disobedience techniques prior to our crossing of the United States-Mexico border on our way to Cuba.

Enthusiasm among the participants is high as we move ahead on this journey. I'm grateful as well for the chance to stop off at home and get a night's sleep in my own bed before our jouney continues.

I'll be offline until late this evening or perhaps tomorrow.
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http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127~2896~2238708,00.html

Arcata teens to defy Cuba travel ban
Andrew Bird

The Times-Standard
Arcata, California

ARCATA -- Terra and Ira Christian said they have heard many stories about the situation in Cuba, all of them different.

So they are going to find out what it is all about, up close and personal when they travel to Fidel Castro's island nation next month.

The siblings plan to fly to San Antonio on June 30, where they will meet up with a bus participating in a national Pastors for Peace humanitarian aid caravan to Cuba.

About 100 people from around the country are expected to make the journey, in defiance of the U.S. government's travel restrictions to Cuba.

Dubbed the "U.S./Cuba Friendship Caravan," the convoy includes 25 vehicles and more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid such as hospital equipment, medicine, computers and equipment to make bed mattresses. The trip happens just weeks after the Bush administration tightened restrictions on Cuba.

These new restrictions include "drastic limits on family reunions, remittances and accompanying baggage" in and to Cuba, said Becky Luening, chairwoman of the Humboldt Branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of Florida, has been an antagonist to the U.S. government since 1959 when a rebel army led by a young lawyer named Fidel Castro overthrew the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista, who had taken power after a coup in 1952.

For more than 40 years the U.S. government has imposed an economic blockade on Cuba, including severe restrictions against U.S. citizens traveling to and spending money in the island nation.

Terra, who just finished her first year of college, and Ira, who will be a high school senior next year, said this policy toward Cuba is unjust and outdated.

Cuba will never become a "viable part of the world economy if the embargo is not lifted," Ira said.

"Whenever I talk to people about Cuba, everyone has a different opinion," he said. "There's a view of Cuba that it's evil."

He said he wants to help change that perception.

Their passion for Cuba, Ira and Terra said, comes from their father, Andrew Christian, an Arcata real estate agent.

"I became interested in Cuba musically," Andrew Christian said.

An amateur musician who occasionally plays in rumba bands, Christian said he met many performers from Cuba over the years.

"I became aware that something just wasn't right," Christian said, referring to the government's Cuba policy.

"It's completely undemocratic and as a Christian I just can't support that," Christian said.

After Ira and Terra meet the bus in San Antonio, they will travel with it to McAllen, Texas, where it will meet up with the rest of the caravan.

The convoy will cross into Mexico from McAllen to Reynosa on July 7, then head to the east coast port city of Tampico.

The caravaners will fly from Tampico to Havana on July 9 and the vehicles and aid will be loaded on a cargo ship for transport across the Gulf of Mexico to Cuba's capital city.

After 10 days in Cuba, they will fly to Tampico and then home.

The teens said they don't know if they are putting themselves at risk of being prosecuted or fined for making the trip.

"There's no simple answer to that question," said John Waller, a Pastors for Peace representative from the organization's New York City headquarters.

Pastors for Peace, a nondenominational organization that got its start running aid caravans to war-ravaged Central America in the late '80s and early '90s, has sent 15 caravans and more than two dozen delegations to Cuba.

"We've never had anyone arrested or prosecuted," Waller said.

However, with the Bush administration's policies, "we know it's more likely than in recent caravans," Waller said.

But all caravaners are being encouraged to stay with the group as it attempts to re-enter the United States at McAllen because they are less likely to be singled out for punishment, Waller said.

That is also when the caravan will attempt to bring goods manufactured in Cuba -- "symbolic aid," such as Cuban honey and coffee -- into the United States.

Most likely these items will just be confiscated, as they have been in the past, Waller said.

If members of the caravan are detained, "we will go into overdrive" to generate international publicity, Waller said.

Waller said education is available to virtually every child, children feel safe in Cuba and the island has the lowest crime rate in the Western Hemisphere.

Andrew Christian said that is why he has no concern that his own teenage children will be in harm's way while in Cuba.

Mike Harvey, chairman of the Humboldt County Republican Party, said Friday he doesn't feel the Pastors for Peace caravan to Cuba is an event worthy of news coverage.

Those organizing and participating in the caravan will do "anything to make President Bush look bad," Harvey said.

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From: Walter Lippmann <walterlx@earthlink.net>
Date: Mon Jun 28, 2004 7:21 am
Caravanista notes from Santa Cruz, California

We arrived here in Santa Cruz yesterday early afternoon and soon had a warm welcome. The mayor of this lovely small college town on the California coast, Scott Kennedy, who himself has traveled dozens of times to Iraq to bring medical aid, greeted our caravan in a public square downtown. He read a proclamation of support for our work and local activists from the Santa Cruz Cuba Study Group turned over a check for over $1300.00 dollars to support the Caravan's work. Members of the caravan were introduced and made short remarks which were greeted warmly by those present, which included one television camera. I don't know if it was broadcast, but imagine that it was. It was great welcome in the city.

Later in the evening the Cuba Study Group, along with a local Spanish study group, welcomed us to a large pot-luck dinner at The Grange, the site where out aid packages will be loaded aboard our already nearly-full bus before we drive on to Santa Barbara.

Each of the Caravanistas were introduced and I made a somewhat longer presentation, which was well received. Latin music was provided by a local radio disc-jockey who also spoke out in strong support of the work of the caravan. A salsa dance class was also given which most people in the group joined in enthusiastically.

The music was extremely loud, very much reminiscent of the loudness of music in Cuba.

Here, as in most other cities where we stop, a small number of Cubans also come out to meet and great and encoure our work. It's a very heartening thing to meet and to get acquainted with these terrific people.
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LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY BENEFIT
for 2004 Caravan Sunday June 27th
Sonja deVries's documentary GAY CUBA, along with GREEN CUBA are being shown in Louisville, Kentucky as a benefit for this year's Friendshipment Caravan on Sunday, June 27th, 2004 . Read about the movie, a profile of Sonja deVries and her lovely smile:
http://www.louisvillescene.com/2004/06/22/movies_cuba.html

Read the plot summary of GAY CUBA at the Internet Movie Data Base,
the most comprehensive information movie resource on the internet here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113148/plotsummary

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(Quite remarkable editorial attacking Bush on Cuba from the persnickety "newspaper of record" pointing out to its readers the bitter irony that that the source of repression is Washington and not Havana. Quite a turnabout from this highly influential and viciously anti-Cuban Revolution publication. )
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THE NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL
June 27, 2004
Election-Year Cuba Policy

It is outrageous that the people of a communist nation have just been told they can see their relatives living outside the country only once every three years. Not only that, the types of items and amounts of money they can receive from overseas will also be curtailed, along with their exposure to visitors on cultural and academic exchanges.

What's most outrageous, however, is that the government ordering this crackdown is the Bush administration, not the communist regime in Havana. America's policy, followed for decades, of trying to force change in Cuba by means of an economic embargo has been an abject failure, but the administration is about to embrace it with renewed gusto.

The notion that further isolating Cuba will weaken Fidel Castro's dictatorial grip is belied by both history and America's approach to other totalitarian societies. Washington has long operated on the view that the more we engage these countries and inundate them with American culture, the more irresistible they will find freedom. Even many Republicans now feel this is the approach to be taken with Havana, too, which is why Congress voted last year to lift the broader ban on all travel to Cuba. The Cuba item was dropped, at the White House's request, in a last-minute reconciliation of Senate and House versions of a larger bill.

Now the administration is pulling, once again, in the opposite direction, to tighten the embargo, perhaps more interested in solidifying the Republicans' Cuban-American base in Florida than in forcing real change in Cuba. In that sense, Cuba is simply a different kind of red state looming large in this year's presidential election.

The toughened policy, which cynically victimizes families, will backfire over time. Polls show that about half the Cuban-American community in Florida resents the intrusive new sanctions. But this split within the Cuban-American community has not yet registered at the polls, because those advocating a tougher embargo are older, from the waves of exiles who arrived in the United States in the
1960's and 1970's, and are far more likely to vote. They are offended that supposed political exiles feel free to go back and forth to their old country. In many cases, they can afford to feel that way because they are less likely to have close relatives still in Cuba. When the more recently arrived Cuban-Americans become a political force in Florida, the odds of a more effective American policy toward Havana will increase substantially.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Eureka Times-Standard
Cuba 'friendshipment' caravan stops in Arcata
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - Andrew Bird

The Times-Standard

ARCATA -- The caravanistas arrived Friday night.

A bus that is headed to Cuba stopped in Arcata to raise awareness for a nationwide Pastors for Peace caravan in defiance of the federal government's economic blockade of Fidel Castro's island nation.

A rally in Arcata Plaza and a discussion of the government's Cuba policy at the Redwood Peace and Justice Center followed.

"Their visit is timely, as new federal regulations and restrictions designed to increase economic pressure on Cuba are scheduled to take effect next week," said Becky Luening, chairwoman of the Humboldt Branch of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

Two Arcata youths, Terra and Ira Christian, are planning to join the caravan.

However, they won't be on the bus when it leaves Arcata today.

The siblings plan to fly to San Antonio next week to meet the bus.

The bus, part of the nationwide Pastors for Peace "U.S./Cuba Friendshipment Caravan," is one of several such buses making tour stops around the country this week and next.

Along the way buses will pick up members of the caravan, who will enter Cuba from Mexico.

More than 100 people nationwide are expected to make the journey all the way to Cuba.

Cuba Caravan to Arrive in Detroit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 26, 2004

CONTACT: Ignacio Meneses (313) 516-7898

IFCO/Pastors for Peace (212) 926-5757

DETROITER DEFIES PRES. BUSH BAN ON TRAVEL TO CUBA
JOINS MASSIVE CHALLENGE ORGANIZED BY PASTORS FOR PEACE

WHEN: SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 2004, 12:30 PM WHERE: CHRIST CHURCH 960 E. JEFFERSON

As the Bush administration ratchets up restrictions on travel and aid to Cuba, Michigan residents from Detroit and Ann Arbor joined the massive challenge organized by Pastors for Peace.

From Michigan, the group will caravan to McAllen, TX, cross into Mexico to arrive in Cuba on July 9th with more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid and incalculable good will. Undeterred by threats of fines and prosecution, the faith based group is determined to get their message across: Enough is enough with an outdated, punitive foreign policy towards Cuba.

The Pastors for Peace caravan is coordinating its return with other organizations which are also challenging the restrictions on travel to Cuba: the Venceremos Brigade, the African Awareness Association, and the Pastors for Peace Caravan will all be returning to the US on July 19. The civil disobedience is supported and endorsed by the National Network on Cuba.
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From: Walter Lippmann <walterlx@earthlink.net>
Date: Sat Jun 26, 2004 11:31 pm Subject:
Caravan notes from Berkeley, California

This evening we had a wonderfully spirited meeting of seventy people at the Unitarian Church in Berkeley, California. Live musical entertainment, a silent auction, tables from our Caravan and Free the Five, set the tone for a great meeting tonight.

I spoke about the Friendshipment Caravan and Pastors for Peace. We were also joined by Fr. Micheal Lapsley, the Anglican priest whose hands were blown off by a letterbomb sent to him by the apartheid regime in South Africa. Fr. Lapsley, who had just one day previously spent three hours in Lompoc, California visiting with Gerardo Hernandez. Hopefully he'll write up some of his impressions of Gerardo and the visit.

Tomorrow we'll be loading up our Caravan bus in the morning and then driving on to Santa Cruz for our next meeting.

One exciting aspect of these meeting is that I'm meeting subscribers to the CubaNews list and signing up more along the way as well.

A couple of old friends of mine, Nat Weinstein and Rod Holt brought and sold copies of their magazine SOCIALIST VIEWPOINT which includes a full reprint of Celia Hart's essay "Socialism in One Country" and the Cuban Revolution. I'm very proud of the fact that the English translation of Celia Hart's article was first made available here at the CubaNews list.

If you haven't read it as yet, you can find it at my own website:
http://www.walterlippman.com
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From: Walter Lippmann <walterlx@earthlink.net>
Date: Fri Jun 25, 2004 10:40 pm
Caravanista greetings from Humboldt County

In Arcata, California, at the center of Humboldt County, the sixties never died. Our caravan arrived here this afternoon, nearly filled to overflowing with aid destined for Cuba. We unloaded quite a bit of our materials and put them on another bus which left later in the afternoon.

From there we went to the town square where we participated in a protest demonstration against the blockade. Actually, there were three separate demonstrations, one by Women in Black, another by Veterans for Peace, and he third one by the Redwood Peace and Justice Center. After an hour, all three demonstrations joined hands, literally, in a single circle, stood tall in formation for a few moments, and then went our way.

We Caravanistas proceeded back to Peace and Justice Center for a potluck dinner. I spoke and we took questions and answers, as well as making a small collection to support the Caravan's work.

The group will be, and already is, spending the night at the home of Brian Willson and Becky Leuning. Brian, readers will remember, is the articulate and militant Vietnam veteran who lost both of his legs in and anti-war protest when he sat in on a military railroad track in an attempt to stop a train with military supplies. The train didn't stop and Willson lost both of his legs. He was and remained a staunch activist ever since that time.

Tomorrow we're off to Berkeley, California where we will be sharing the platform with Fr. Micheal Lapsley from South Africa at the Unitarian Church in Berkeley at 6 PM. You're all cordially invited.

There were four showings of FAHRENHEIT 9/11 today here in Arcata and all four showings were sold out, according to the folks at the box office. We'd hoped to get tickets, but none were available. Newspapers today had large, and largely favorable articles about Micheal Moore and the movie. It received many millions of dollars of free publicity today. We hope to see the movie sometime soon.

It's late. I'm tired. And I'm glad you're continuing to follow these reports.
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From: Walter Lippmann <walterlx@earthlink.net>
Date: Fri Jun 25, 2004 7:38 am
Caravan Notes from Eugene, Oregon

Yesterday we drove from Olympia, Washington, home of Evergreen State University on to Eugene, Oregon, where we had a wonderful meeting and spent the night. Along the way we stopped off at two places to pick up more aid to take to Cuba and had a lovely lunch with Elizabeth Atley, who had helped publicize this year's Caravan through an article in her local newspape.

The meeting for our Caravan, which was held in the local Peace and Justice Center, was numerically smaller than others, with fifteen people in attendance, but had a wonderful sense of warmth and enthusiasm from those who came out. They also bought more and contributed more to our work, per capita, than in any of our stops preceding this one. We also enjoyed the home-made hospitality of those who brought their own foods to share with the Caravanistas.

It's odd that it seems to be summer according to the calendar, but it's been cold and gray pretty much along the way. Oh, well, I'm not used to the weather here in the great North West of the United States. We're all having a good time and we are getting the message out effectively.

We are off this morning to Arcata, California for our next meeting. Saturday evening we'll have an event at the Unitarian Church in Berkeley at 6 PM. From there we're on to Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and then Los Angeles. I look forward to taking a look in on my own house there in Los Angeles, before we're off on the road to Texas and Cuba.

Cuidate,
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From: Lesley McQuarrie <esheymc@hotmail.com>
Sent: Jun 22, 2004 2:47 PM
To: walterlx@earthlink.net
Subject: Caravaners

Well I just wanted to wish y'all a safe and well and healthy and easy journey.And also let you know that I truly appreciate your humanity and diligence to this cause. I personally, am only recently discovering how wonderful and humane Cuba is; And how incredibly ridiculous the policies are regarding Cuba, so I really appreciate your years of hard work compiling the information on your web site. It is really thorough and it has never popped-up in any of my internet searches, I am sure it is a conspiracy.

I will be a regular visitor to your site. It was nice meeting you yesterday at the Seattle send-off party. I will be following your journey closely. I am sure that I will be traveling back to Cuba soon enough. After all, my fianc�e is currently there and will be here in a couple of months. We will have to honeymoon in Cuba and I am sorry, but the new and stupid and arbitrary travel restrictions would prevent it, therefore I will not even attempt to play by the silly rules. So thank you thank you to you all for your hard work and for fighting for humanity. Cuba is so righteous! And not becasue I am bias being that the man I love is Cuban; but because the people there are nice and their government's policies have ryme and reason. It really makes a lot of sense there, perhaps that is socialism, I am not sure exactly. All I know is based on what I saw, the people really helped each other, everyday and in every way. If someone fell down on the street, several people were there to help them up, if not catch them as they fell.

And from what I have seen in this country is not only will someone not help you up, most likely, you will get laughed while you are falling. So, I don't really know exactly my point except for that I really love Cuba and that they deserve to have stuff and the fact is that they don't have stuff. And we have more stuff than we know what to do with here. Also, while in Cuba, studying Spanish, it occured to me that there isn't a word for garbage in spanish.

There is a word for waste and I believe a word was created to translate for the American word garbage but they call it waste, because, hello, that is what it is. But Americans don't want to call it that because we actually have a concept of making something solely to throw it away. I thought about all of the packaging we use for things and I was thinking how much fun a Cuban kid would have with a Tic-Tac container, you know garbage.

Okay, I won't rant a rave too much more here but it was nice having a place to get things off my chest. And I hope it is encouraging to you all to know that the movement is growing and that at least through my eyes, you are angels!

Thank you all again.
Your friend in solidarity,
Lesley McQuarrie
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From: Walter Lippmann <walterlx@earthlink.net>
Date: Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:12 am
Caravan notes from Olympia, Washington

Tonight's meeting for the Friendshipment Caravan was held at the Unitarian Church here in Olympia, Washington, from which this rather abbreviated report is being writen.

Twenty people came out for this event, which was enlivened by the presence of a number of students from Peter Bohmer's class at Evergreen State Univ- ersity, who had just returned from a SIX WEEK STAY IN CUBA. Peter Bohmer himself, having had another meeting elsewhere in town, came late for this meeting. All of the four members of the Caravan particpated in our discussion with students from the University. The students were very excited by their stay in Cuba, and have begun to write up their impressions.

Tomorrow we're on to Portland, Oregon where we will be picking up more medical and humanitarian supplies for Cuba.

Sorry, but I am wiped out now. I spent several hours talking with Peter Bohmer after the Caravan meeting. We've known each other for decades, but only just met tonight for the first time in person. I'm staying at his house, but we are on our way to the next city at 8 AM, so this will be the end of this report.

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From: Walter Lippmann <walterlx@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed Jun 23, 2004 7:16 am
Notes from the Caravan, Bremerton, Washington
Yesterday we drove from Seattle to Bremerton, Washington for an evening meeting at the First United Methodist Church. The meeting was very successful with a group of about fifty people in attendance and over $180.00 collected in support of Caravan activities. A potluck dinner was supplemented by delicious pizza from Tony's Italian Restaurant and chocolates from a Iris's restaurant, a local independent whose owner came herself and brought the goodies which we shared.

Pastor Earl H. Rice opened the evening meeting with a short prayer and we then had the great pleasure of listening to a commentary by Lois Koehler, a Presbyterian missionary who has lived in and out of Cuba since 1949. She has lived through the first coup by Fulgencio Batista in 1952, through the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, and on through the present where she visits the island frequently and is an enthusiastic partisan of the many positive changes which have occurred there.

I followed Lois Koehler's presentation and questions were taken by members of our caravan from the audience. Her remarks reminded me very much of those terrific reports on Cuba made in the early 1960s by Dorothy Day of the Catholic Worker movement. Those who aren't familiar with them should take the opportunity to do so:

DOROTHY DAY: ABOUT CUBA
http://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/reprint.cfm?TextID=246
DOROTHY DAY: MORE ABOUT CUBA http://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/daytext.cfm?TextID=800&SearchTerm=castro

Jim Page, a Seattle-based folk singer concluded the program with a half dozen of his own original compositions, both topical and thoughtful.

One additional point I've not mentioned previously: At each of our stops on the trip so far, our Caravan has received the enthusiastic support of a few Cuban-Americans. This has been particularly heartening to us. We know and speak about the negative roled played by the tiny handful of wealthy Cuban exile militants in Miami, but it really IS clear to me that for Cubans in the United States to come out and support an effort such as the Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan reflects an unheralded change which is obviously occurring among Cubans in the United States. Some of these folks support the Revolution in particular, other simply reject the current US blockade from various points of view. Their presence is, as I said, most encouraging.

Today it's on to Olympia, Washington.
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Monday June 21, 2004
From: Walter Lippmann <walterlx@earthlink.net>
Date: Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:11 pm
Subject: Notes from the Caravan in Seattle, Washington

The Caravan which began in Vancouver, British Colombia and which succeeded in crossing the US border without any difficulty, proceeded today from Bellingham, Washington to Seattle for the second stop on our journey.

Seattle hosted a very lively and spirited send-off celebration for the Caravan which was held at El Centro de la Raza, which was a public school in the sixties which had been closed by the school district. Latino activists took it over and turned it into a community center independent of the school board and friendly to such activities as our Caravan event.

Over fifty people attended this event, at which a range of different cuisines were presented and no admission was charged. Musical entertainment was provied by both the Seattle Peace Chorus, a group which has travelled to and performed in Cuba on a number of occasions. Sin Fronteras a Latino community group sang for the group as well.

Reprensentatives of the community groups, myself representing Pastors for Peace, Tom Warner of the Seattle/Cuba Friendship Committee and Taleigh Smith from the IFCO-Pastors for Peace Staff also spoke. Funds were collected and material aid was wrapped up, labeled and packed on the big yellow school bus which will leave in the morning to Bremerton for our next event.

Sunday June 20, 2004
Our Caravan began this morning in Victoria, British Colombia where Randy Caravaggio, Judy Elam and I drove in their car and their truck down to the ferry after picking up other participants in today's journey. Six of us took the ferry over to Vancouver, and from there went over to the famous Peace Arch park where we met up with local supporters from Vancouver, including Marcel Hatch and Leonardo Hechavarria, Nino Pagliachi and others from the Canadian Cuba solidarity world.

We were serenaded by two different contingents of the Raging Grannies, local activist groups from Bellingham, Washington and Vancouver, BC. They sang songs of solidarity with Cuba and opposition to Washington's blockade of the island. After that we shared food and some remarks by several of the participants, including myself, Leonardo (he's a Cuban- Canadian), Rick the mechanic (I don't now recall his name) who sees to it that the big yellow school bus we are travelling on, and any other of our vehicles are in serviceable condition. Ours is.

After lunch our segment of the caravan, four vehicle strong, got on line to cross over into the United States. Many of those who had come up to join us from the solidarity groups and the Raging Grannies walked over to the border, and across it, to witness what might happen when we did cross over. They had no difficulties.

It was clear that officers from the US Customs and Border Patrol were waiting for us, but as we soon saw, they did little more than make sure we were clear that they had the authority to check the contents of our vehicles before letting us through. They permitted a couple of dozen of our supporters to walk over from the Canadian side, some carrying picket signs against the blockade and the embargo (both) to observe the inspection.

After our four vehicles were inspected, and no objection was made to our passage, we all went forward to the other side where we unloaded our materials and put them on the large yellow school bus which was waiting for us from Pastors for Peace. Three of us got on the bus, Al Dale, a 78 year old retired social worker, on his second Caravan with Pastors, and our driver, Bill Hill, whose name in my present exhausted state I just cannot remember. We drove to Al's house where we will spend the night. There are no planned Caravan activities for today.

Our accomplishment for today constituted another brick removed from the wall of Washington's blockade of Cuba. Material and moral support to Cuba was garnered, and our caravan took its first steps into the US on our way south through California, and from there east to Texas where we will prepare to cross into Mexico and from there on to Cuba.

I'm completely exhausted now and glad to be able to relax tonight.

From: Marcel Hatch <marcel@cubafriends.ca>
Date: Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:34 pm
Bush's Cuba Blockade Breached at Blaine Border Crossing

Reporting by Marcel Hatch, Cuba Education Collective, Vancouver, BC

20 June 2004

BLAINE, WA -- Victoria Goods for Cuba contingent of the 15th Pastors for Peace Caravan successfully breached the blockade and crossed into Washington State with "illegal" computers, school supplies and bicycles destined for island schools. This was the second time in so many days the blockade was busted. Yesterday, Canadians and Americans crossed into the U.S. from eastern Canada with donations for Cuba without incident.

Sixty-five friends of Cuba from Olympia, Seattle and Bellingham, WA, along with supporters from Vancouver and Victoria, BC, stood fast with two pickups and a car filled with humanitarian aide for the embargoed Caribbean nation. U.S. border police and customs agents granted unusually smooth passage for the vehicles, drivers and donations after a cursory review of the contents of a half-dozen boxes.

Customs agents spent more time trying to decided if oranges from California in possession of a Canadian could reenter the States, leading to brief chants of "repatriate the oranges!" An agricultural inspection officer denied entry of the oranges, but let a Canadian returning north keep them. An unusual decision, considering most plant items are confiscated and destroyed.

The border known as Peace Arch is among the most heavily crossed in the world. During the long hot wait to enter the U.S., vehicles loaded with Cuba supplies received honks and raised fists of support from impatient drivers entering the U.S. and Canada. They were responding to banners and placards on aide vehicles reading "Goods for Cuba," "U.S. Hands Off Cuba," "Free the 5 Cuban Heroes in U.S. Jails," and "Impeach the War Criminals in Washington."

Among the 65 blockade busters were Cubans from Canada and the U.S., Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Chileans, students, many elders, feminists and activists from a broad spectrum of social justice and anti-war movements.

Bellingham friends of Cuba hosted a welcoming picnic prior to the crossing. Members of Raging Grannies from Seattle, Vancouver and Bellingham performed rousing original protest songs to which all chimed in.

Internet journalist and moderator of "CubaNews" list Walter Lippmann, a Caravanista from Los Angeles, detailed the new extreme measures implemented on June 16 by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). He explained how the new OFAC clamp down was hatched by a secretive group known as the "Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba" comprised of anti-Cuba Cuban Americans and other rightwing elements from the Bush administration. Their plan is to affect a "regime change" on the island -- the same language Bush use to justify his war against the Iraqi people. Their method: limit family visits by Cuban Americans to the island to once every three years and channel tens-of-millions of dollars into Miami-based terrorist groups -- the latter, the same dinky club responsible for Bush's dubious election "win" in the year 2000.

Other speakers included Rick Fellows of Olympia representing Pastors for Peace, Alfred Dale, a Caravanista from Washington State, Randy Caravaggio of Victoria Goods for Cuba, Nino Pagliccia of the Canadian Network on Cuba, and Leonardo Hechavarria representing the Havana-based Cuban Movement for Peace and People's Sovereignty.

This small but vital victory achieved today by a brave and defiant group of internationalists was eluded to just before the crossing by Hechavarria of the Cuban Movement for Peace: "Defending my country, as you do today and in the coming period, emboldens others to follow your example of coordinated resistance. This is the only way that real change has ever happened."

Hechavarria punctuated his remarks with "All power to the Caravanistas," a necessary condition as these bold North American blockade resistors traverse the United States collecting more members and donations and attempt to exit it with their aide into Mexico to Cuba in July.

Marcel Hatch can be contacted at <marcel@cubafriends.ca>

-- 30 --
From: Marcel Hatch <marcel@cubafriends.ca>

Date: Sun Jun 20, 2004 8:53 pm

Subject: Cuban Movement for Peace on P4P victory Canada (June 20)

* Victories fought and won deserve wide distribution. Please share with your friends and press contacts *

Preface: Leonardo Hechavarria and his colleague Marcel Hatch, both organizers for the Vancouver-based Cuba Education Collective are part of Havana's Cuban Movement for Peace and People's Sovereignty
(MOVPAZ). This Cuban NGO works for peace, disarmament and green development with dignity. Together these Cubans and Canadians advance, advocate and fight for peace along the lines of a new better and fulfilled world the Cuban people demonstrate.
_____________

Speaking notes for Leonardo Hechavarria
at the successful 15th Pastors for Peace Caravan
crossing at Blaine Washington's Peace Arch Crossing.

June 20, 2004

Friends, Sisters and Brothers,

My name is Leonardo Hechavarria and I am Cuban. I live and work in Vancouver for Cuba Education Collective. We are part of the Cuban Movement for Peace and People's Sovereignty (MOVPAZ) based in Havana.

I extend to you warm regards and commendations from the Cuban Movement for Peace for your act of bravery and defiance today in support of the Cuban people and against the U.S. Blockade of my country.

As you know in recent weeks the war criminal, mass torturer and murderer in the White House has significantly increased measures against my country.

G.W. Bush is instructing banks around the world not to accept U.S. dollar deposits from the island. He does this so it will not be able to purchase food and medicine for its people from abroad.

The Bush administration is threatening foreign companies who do business with Cuba from doing business with the U.S. -- effectively making them choose between survival and ruin -- thus further isolating my people.

Bush is spending $18 million dollars preparing military aircraft to fly around my island and broadcast television and radio messages denouncing our democratically elected government. This is an international criminal offense. But Bush considers himself above all of this as we know.

Bush is funneling some $40 million dollars into ultra-right Cuban American terrorist organizations based in Miami to conduct their dirty and deadly work against Cuba.

It must be noted that John Kerry -- the guy who wants Bush's job -- does not condemn these acts of war. He too hates the system and the government the Cuban people have chosen.

As you all know, Bush has made it virtually impossible for U.S. residents to visit the island. On this single issue John Kerry says he'd ease up. But this hardly a reason to support a person whose gunning for Cuba. Kerry is FOR the Blockade! Just as he is for increasing U.S. troop involvement to further slaughter the Iraqi resistance -- which means killing the millions in that country who want the U.S. and U.N. "OUT NOW!"

The only way the U.S. Blockade of Cuba will end is when the people of the Americas in great numbers follow the example you set today! When they begin to perform in mass acts of defiance, resistance and solidarity like Pastors for Peace does all will change. Only then will the Bushes and Kerry's who represent the U.S. imperial and corporate interests rethink things. We have to make it impossible for these crooks to conduct their wars against Cuba, other nations and working, and poor people in the U.S. itself.

Then the stage will be set for the people of North America to put in place most of the same aspirations they share with the Cuban people:

* An end to wars of aggression.

* An end to occupations and annexations.

* An end to poverty and hunger.

* And, FOR free health care, education and housing and jobs for all, AND lasting peace!

Defending Cuba means defending the hopes and dreams of all the peoples of the Americas for a better world.

Defending my country, as you do today and in the coming period, emboldens others to follow your example of coordinated resistance. This is the only way that real change has and will ever happen.

All power to the Pastors for Peace Caravanistas!

---

Mr Leonardo Hechavarria can be reached at <leonardo@cubafriends.ca>

Saturday, June 19, 2004
Shawnigan Lake, British Colombia
This afternoon I'm working from the dining room table of the home of Randy Caravaggio and Judy Ilan, two of the leading lights of the local Cuba solidarity organization, GOODS FOR CUBA. They have welcomed me to stay with them during this initial leg of the caravan. Their home is located about thirty miles outside Victoria, up on a mountain top with an incredible vista of snow-capped mountains, the Pacific Ocean and and endless see of pinetrees. My hosts, who went on the Caravan in 1998,.assure me that this is is a pretty easy part of the trip and not to get used to it. I'm trying to follow their advice...

This morning the local non-commercial alternative radio station, Cooperative Radio interviewed me for about twenty minutes during which I explained the goals of the caravan and some of its past experiences. Tomorrow we will be up and out quite early to prepare for the border crossing at the famous Peace Arch between Canada and the United States. In 1952, after Paul Robeson's passport was taken away from him, and he was invited to sing for a Canadian trade union convention, he traveled to the Peace Arch for a famous concert. You can still purchase copies of the concert which remain available on CD.

Friday June 18, 2004
Oakland, Seattle, Victoria
This morning I awoke at about 4:00 AM and send out the last few news items. The most important of these was the story in FINANCIAL TIMES today about Cuba's search for oil and the possible consequences of a successful strike for oil. It's not widely known, of course, but Cuba is already producing about a third of its own domestic oil needs. Read the FT article here:
Hopes of Big Oil Find Off Cuba Raise Questions on US Embargo

The flight from Oakland to Seattle, and from Seattle on to Vancouver was uneventful. All three of the airports were beautiful and modern. The security checks really didn't take too long. One gets used to these things, even having to take your shoes off before going though the metal detectors. Among the newsstands in Seattle and Oakland were the current issues of Time, Newsweek and US News and World Report, all of which featured cover stories about Ronald Reagan. Two of them seemed to be from the same photo, but all three reminded me of just how reptilian Reagan really looked. The dominant media are doing its best to pretty the image of this thorougly repulsive public figure. In time, the truth will get out. But until then: Remember Reagan

Friends from Victoria, BC picked me up at the airport and drove me straight to the offices of the BCGEU, the British Colombia Government Employees Union, which is used by the local solidarity group for its activities. A pot-luck dinner prepared by activists was served and I was able to meet and get acquainted with some of them. About thirty-five people came to the meeting which went quite well, in their opinions. It was a nice way to open up my part of the Caravan.

Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Los Angeles - Oakland
My friend Bea DeRusha drove me to the airport, I flew to Oakland and settled in for a couple of days. I visited with several friends, all supporters of Cuba and the Caravan. I learned that Celia Hart's article essay "Socialism in One Country" and the Cuban Revolution will be published in two different San Francisco-based publications in their July issue. If you haven't read that yet, click here: Here

It's obvious that I'm not going to be able to do anywhere near the amount of searching and posting of news materials from, on, or related to Cuba on this trip. It won't always be always possible to either use my own computer or access the internet in the usual ways, but I'll do my best to keep up. Things

Thursday June 10, 2004
Los Angeles
Tonight many of the organizers and speakers of the Caravan met in a transnational telephone conference call to review upcoming plans and late-breaking news. Rev. Lucius Walker made a detailed presentation on the overall goals of the project. Ellen Bernstein of the P4P staff gave a legislative update. Gloria LaRiva presented an update on the case of the Cuban Give. Those of us who'll be speaking on the trip plan to raise the issue of the Cuban Five at every chance we get.