Co-sponsored by the Miami Coalition to End the U.S. Embargo of Cuba and by the Haitian rights organization Veye Yo, the meeting was called to demand, “Washington: Hands off Cuba!” and “Kite Kiba viv!”—“Let Cuba live” in Creole.

Organizers of the event distributed hundreds of fliers, with versions in English, Spanish, and Creole, in the week before the meeting. Prompted by the stepped-up U.S. threats and provocations against Cuba, including the expulsion of Cuban diplomats in Washington and New York, the publicity explained that “Now is the time to stand in solidarity with Cuba! Now is the time to demand equal treatment for Haitians!”

The meeting reflected the respect the Cuban Revolution enjoys among many workers who are Haitian, as well as the outrage against the discrimination experienced by Haitian immigrants, particularly at the hands of the U.S. government.

The meeting was organized to answer the recent propaganda campaign against Cuba promoted by Washington and the big-business media. That campaign has centered on the arrests of 75 opponents of the revolution who were convicted in April on charges of collaborating with Washington in its longstanding efforts to overthrow the Cuban Revolution. The propaganda has also focused on measures taken by Havana to end a spate of violent hijackings of planes and vessels between August 2002 and April of this year—particularly the trials and summary executions of three hijackers who had seized a ferry and threatened to kill its passengers in their effort to commandeer the boat to Florida.

Those attending the event included members of Veye Yo, residents of the neighborhood, and individuals who are active in groups opposed to U.S. policy towards Cuba. The meeting was conducted in Creole and English with translation to Spanish.  
 
Biased immigration policy
“Cuban immigrants coming illegally by sea are immediately granted the papers necessary to become legal immigrants in the U.S.,” said Andrés Gómez, one of the speakers. Gómez is a leader of the Antonio Maceo Brigade, an organization of Cuban-Americans who support the Cuban Revolution.

U.S. officials carry out this policy “not because they love those Cubans but because they hate the Cuban Revolution,” said Gómez. “Since the revolution started in 1959, the U.S. has maintained a discriminatory immigration policy. If those same Cubans that come by boat would go to the U.S. embassy and ask for a visa, they would be disqualified. They make them come by sea to show to the rest of the world that people are willing to die to leave Cuba—‘the communist hell.’”

Gómez was referring to the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, through which Cubans landing on U.S. shores are eligible to become permanent U.S. residents within one year, unlike all other immigrants.

Washington has also limited visas to Cubans seeking to immigrate, in violation of 1994 and 1995 U.S.-Cuban accords, which stipulated that the U.S. government would grant 20,000 visas a year to Cuban applicants. As a result, thousands of Cubans—often lured by smugglers—have tried to reach the United States on flimsy rafts and boats. Many have drowned in the process, joining countless Haitians, Dominicans, Mexicans, and others who have died trying to reach the United States.

These immigration policies, together with the refusal by U.S. authorities to prosecute hijackers from Cuba, have given a green light to individuals to commandeer planes and boats in Cuba and force them to chart a course to the United States.

“If the U.S. government says it is fighting against terrorism, why does it welcome terrorists who hijack an airplane to come to the U.S.?” Veye Yo leader Lavarice Gaudin asked the audience, referring to one of the recent hijackings from Cuba. “Not only did they kidnap the airplane, but when the airplane got here, the U.S. government sold the airplane. If [Cuban] President Fidel Castro did not do what he did to those terrorists, then you would see more planes leave Cuba and more boats come here,” he said, referring to the execution of three hijackers of the passenger ferry.

Max Lesnick of Alianza Martiana, which opposes U.S. policy toward Cuba, said, “When Haitians come to this country, they are rejected—for being poor, for being Black, and for not accepting the dictates of the ruling racist minority. But when Cubans come like Haitians, by sea, the benefits flow because they are enemies of Cuba. They are admitted without discrimination.”

Haitian rights defender Marleine Bastien explained, “Now the government is saying that these Haitians are a threat to national security and that terrorists from Afghanistan and other countries would use Haiti to get into the U.S. If it wasn’t so sad it would be almost laughable.”

Bastien, who heads the social service organization Haitian Women of Miami, added, “219 Haitians came on October 29,” referring to a boatload of refugees that reached the beaches of Miami last year. Of these, “52 were allowed to qualify as refugees. The sick were released, but there are 50 still detained,” including women and small children.

A demonstration was held May 30 in front of the immigration police building here to demand the Haitians’ release.  
 
‘Cubans willing to defend revolution’
“As a Haitian, I am interested in the Cuban Revolution. A year ago I went to Cuba. I found there are over 1,500 Haitians who are studying in Cuba,” Gaudin said. “When I talked to young Cubans, they told me they were willing to die to defend the revolution. This especially impressed me as a Black person.

“Under Batista, before the revolution, the Black man was the slave of the white man. But now you find Blacks throughout high government positions,” he said, referring to the revolutionary struggle that overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959.

“Cuba is not what we see on television and read in the papers here. You have to go there yourself to see what is happening.”

Nicole Sarmiento, a student at the University of Miami, spoke for a group of young people in the Miami area who, along with dozens of others around the country, will travel to Cuba on July 24-31 on the Cuba-U.S. Youth Exchange.

The purpose of this one-week trip to Cuba, Sarmiento said, is “to see the living example of a people who have made a revolution.” At her prompting, 10 people who are part of the Youth Exchange walked up to the front of the room, receiving a warm welcome from the audience. Among the 10 was a group that had driven five hours from Tampa to participate in the meeting. She urged other youth in the audience to get involved and be part of the trip.

“We all know Cuba is under attack now. To attack any country, the U.S. just creates a pretext: either you’re a terrorist or a communist,” Gaudin said. “We, who are living in the United States, must demonstrate against the attack on Cuba. Just like Bush went to [war against] Iraq, you never know when he will be willing to go to Cuba without justification. It is up to you to assume your responsibility, to denounce the kinds of aggression the U.S. is carrying out against Cuba.”

“Today the Cubans face more aggression against their island,” Andrés Gómez said. “This is nothing new. You remember well that in April 1961 the U.S. sent 2,000 [exiled] Cubans to invade Cuba. They were defeated in 72 hours,” he said to applause from the audience, referring to the Cuban victory against the Bay of Pigs invasion. “The only reason those acts of aggression over the years have been defeated is that the Cuban people have resisted united. There is a determination by the vast majority of the Cuban people never to again lose their independence, their freedom, gained in the last 44 years of revolution.”

Other speakers at the event included Mel Reeves and Chris Hoeppner from the Miami Coalition Against the Embargo, as well as Tony Jeanthenor of Veye Yo.  
 
 
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