LIMONAR, Cuba - "I heard about the Québec-Cuba Brigade in a class at school. I thought that going to help the Cubans was a noble cause; the Cubans were really in misery. What struck me the most was the unity of people in the countryside, because it was different in the city. They are an intelligent people, enthusiastic and they have the will to improve their situation. I saw an example of real communism."

That's how Hirondelle Melancon Gignac, a 22-year-old university student, described her decision to join a work brigade to this Caribbean island. She and 20 other youth from Montreal, Trois-Rivieres, and Shawinigan participated in the three-week trip from July 28 to August 18.

The international volunteers worked on the Horacio Rodriguez cooperative in Limonar, Matanzas province, planting sugar cane for the next harvest. We were hosted by the Union of Young Communists (UJC) and housed at the cooperative's camp along with workers mobilized by the Central Organization of Cuban Workers (CTC).

We participated in numerous meetings with leaders of the CTC in the province of Matanzas. Reynaldo Valdés Grillo, first secretary of the union federation in the province, described how workers have confronted the "special period" in Cuba. This economic crisis was provoked by the collapse of aid and trade at preferential prices with the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries in 1989.

Grillo described the shortages of food, medication, and financial credit that resulted. "Everything we have here is not perfect," he said, "but the majority of Cuban workers are convinced that socialism is the model that suits them best."

One brigade member asked how workers are mobilized to work in agriculture. "The labor movement, in response to the labor shortage in agriculture, developed a process of discussion with union members," Grillo said. "The workers are conscious volunteers who decided to leave their regular jobs for a while and are incorporated for a set period of time in a variety of tasks in the fields. There are also material and moral incentives to encourage them."

One of these workers was Miguel Perez Alfonso, a mechanic in Matanzas before the special period, who volunteered to work in sugar cane full time when the crisis hit. He is still doing so six years later and has been recognized three years in a row as the best cane-cutter in the province.

Another brigade member asked Grillo about the benefits of being unionized. "In a socialist society, the unions have a lot of power," the CTC leader said. "In Cuba, 96 percent of workers are unionized voluntarily.... The companies must place their goods to the service of society, and the union ensures that this takes place. We participate in the main decisions of the country. We undertook a process of discussion at the grassroots level and workers debated measures to deal with the economic crisis, such as the expansion of tourism and the legalization of the U.S. dollar." Their opinions weighed heavily on decisions made by the government.

Volunteers were able to learn about Cuba's health care system through visiting a polyclinic in Limonar and other medical facilities. Several brigade members were impressed by the fact that, despite the economic difficulties, Cuba has maintained accessible health care and education for all - unlike Canada where the government is cutting down the limited social services that exist. The head doctor at Limonar said that there is one doctor for every 120 families throughout the island.

A lively discussion broke out when Marco, from Switzerland, asked, "Is it true that people with AIDS in Cuba are confined to sanitariums?" The doctor explained that in the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, there were clinics established for infected people, where they lived and received medical care. He described how the system changed. Now people with AIDS can live at home and continue to receive treatment, including counseling on safe sexual practices. There have been some 1,750 known AIDS cases in all of Cuba to date.

A visit to a genetic dairy complex provided further evidence of how the Cuban people have organized themselves to reverse the drop in industrial and agricultural production during the first years of the special period. The complex was created in 1959 when peasants pooled their lands together, and in return, received electricity, running water, and schools. In 1987, the complex produced 27 million liters of milk, dropping to 8 million liters in the last few years.

Workers at the complex described how production has increased in the last three years. One center, which was established in 1988, genetically alters insects that damage crops and then releases them into nature to eliminate the pests. The head scientist explained that there are now some 200 such centres in Cuba that are finding long-term solutions to the lack of pesticides.

This resourcefulness impressed Veronique Aubé, an 18-year old science student from Shawinigan. "What we hear in the news about Cuba isn't the same as what we saw," she said. "I found that Cuba is coping pretty well in sciences and research with few resources and materials, and that if they had those resources, they would be very advanced."

Another highlight of our stay was a visit to Playa Girón (Bay of Pigs), where a 1961 invasion by U.S.-organized Cuban mercenaries was crushed within 72 hours by the Cuban militia and revolutionary armed forces. Joss Agustín Portillo, a 58-year- old worker at a fertilizer factory in Matanzas, accompanied us. He was 14 when he joined the July 26 Movement and was a student in a military school in Matanzas at the moment of the Bay of Pigs invasion. He gave a detailed description of how the Cuban people crushed the counterrevolutionaries.

This visit had a big impact on many brigade members. "Now I understand more why the U.S. government is so determined to crush Cuba," said Marie Claude Vanier, a student at Cap de la Madelaine. "History classes in school don't teach us anything!"

Brigade participants vowed to get involved in other projects to build solidarity with Cuba upon their return - such as the next Québec-Cuba Brigade, and the World Festival of Youth and Students that will take place here in the summer of 1997. "I was lucky to have had the opportunity to open my eyes to the truth about Cuba on this trip," said Véronique Deshaies, a 19-year- old student at Ste-Angéle-de-Laval. "I want other people to have the same chance."

Sébastien Desautels is a member of the Young Socialists(YS) in Montreal. Patricia O'Beirne is a member of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union Local 205 and the YS in Montreal.  
 
 
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