Manchester Area Branch
NEWSLETTER Spring 2001
tel.: 0161 881 6887
Manchester Launches
Direct Links Project
On Saturday 3rd February The Manchester CSC
Group formally launched its direct links project with workers at an oil
refinery near Cárdenas - in Matanzas province. 25 people gathered
to hear Geoff Bottoms talk eloquently and movingly about the progress people
in Cuba had made despite the USA blockade, and about the making of the
film ‘Taxi to Cuba’, in which he featured. This film, originally shown
on BBC2, by following a cavalcade of blockade-busters (including London
cabbie Tony Cacavonne and cab bedecked in the Cuban flag) journey from
the USA to Havana, gave at times a humorous and at times poignant insight
into the indomitability of the human spirit and the importance of international
solidarity for people in Cuba.
The link with Matanzas was originally established by Stan Dalby of the Bury Cuba Relief Group with help from the National Union of Miners. The meeting applauded Stan for his commitment in keeping the link going.
Our link is through the Sindicato Provincial Químico - Minero Energético the Chemical, Mining, and Energy Union for Matanzas Province. Three of us have now visited to begin to build up a picture of the most pressing needs of the community. It is likely that our aid will focus on medical and educational supplies, which are particularly restricted as a result of the blockade. In the short term we have set up a financial framework for group members to contribute a regular amount (se below) and have begun to draw up an action plan for the collection of material aid. We hope to have regular visits to and from Cuba. You can also follow the progress of the link on our web-site through this link.
Messages
from Cuba
We are in regular email communication with Felipe Hector
Vega, the Matanzas General Secretary of the Chemical, Mining, and Energy
Union.
We had previously left a pack of information about the CSC in Manchester, some information about some of the active members, and also information about Manchester. Felipe is an industrial engineer, with a daughter of 18, and a 12 year old son. Felipe missed us and the NUM delegation in November, but was delighted to hear that there is a group in Manchester committed to supporting the Cuban people in the difficult struggle against the US blockade.
He tells us that with the help from the Bury group up to now, they have been working on the restoration of a community centre, and a small clinic for the local community. They are looking for a computer for the union office, and car tyres for the two vehicles used by the union branch – size: 14 x 175 x 60 R or 14x 165 x 60R. – can anyone help?
A later email gives us more information about their priorities for aid: with the improvement in the Cuban economy, the need is now less for material goods, (other than specific items) and more for financial assistance. There are many goods available in Cuba now, but the union and its members do not have access to sufficient hard currency to buy them. To illustrate, he requested that two members who visited recently took some mortise locks for the doors of the buildings they are responsible for.
He makes the point that the most important kind of aid is moral support for the Cuban people in their struggle against the blockade.
He sends us all his best wishes and his hope that a great friendship will begin between our peoples at this start of the new century.
Felipe will be in Belgium at the end of May, as the guest of one of the Belgian unions, and we have invited him over here as an extension to his visit.
We have devised a questionnaire and standing order form. We’d very much appreciate it if you’d consider returning both!
The standing order form is to enable us to ensure a steady funding stream for material aid for Matanzas, and is an opportunity for those of you with other time commitments to make a real contribution to breaking the blockade, and hence to reducing the isolation of ordinary Cuban people.
Join
the National Campaign
If you have not done so already, we urge you to join
the national Cuba Solidarity Campaign. We can send you a form which should
be sent back to the Manchester Group (this is because we can now claim
a share of the subs. of new members we recruit). Joining the campaign helps
support the very effective work of the national campaign. You’ll also get
the excellent quarterly Cuba Si magazine, and a free Cuban music CD on
joining. Request
membership form
A good year
We have been looking back on the last year and were amazed to be able to list all the following activities:-
Hard
Times Ahead
With the dubious election of the Bush regime in the United
States, Cuba can expect an intensification of the blockade, and of other
attempts to isolate and destabilise the country. The US secretary responsible
for Latin America is a veteran of the Oliver North contragate affair –
a Cuban émigré who is closely associated with the Miami mafia-CANF
nexus. The Czech republic (where the police collude with fascist groups
in attacks on Roma and other minorities) moved a US drafted motion against
Cuba at the UN Human Rights Convention in Geneva. Despite Amnesty International
criticising other latin american countries more severely than Cuba (indeed
their reports on the US make interesting reading), no other country is
singled out in this way. The British government to their shame co-sponsored
the motion which was carried by a slim majority (the votes against and
the abstentions were greater than those voting for it). You
can see the CSC response on the website.
1. Benefit concert for Matanzas, with Mezcla, and Cuban speaker 8pm Thursday 7 June. Life Café, 23 Peter Street, Manchester Tel: 0161-833-3000.
2. Meeting with Vilda Figueroa
- Community Food Conservation Project, Havana - Thursday 14 June. Friends
Meeting House 7.30
more information
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