Vol. 81/No. 33 September 11, 2017
October ‘Che’ Cuba brigade less than 4 weeks away!
“I believe the U.S. contingent will be the largest on the brigade and this is very exciting because the U.S. has had almost no one on previous ‘In the Footsteps of Che’ brigades,” Guild said. In the past Washington imposed restrictions making it difficult for U.S. residents to travel to Cuba to see the revolution firsthand. Some obstacles to travel have been loosened in the last couple of years.
The “In the Footsteps of Che” brigade will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Ernesto Che Guevara’s death in combat. Argentine-born Guevara, a central leader of the Cuban Revolution, had gone to Bolivia in 1966, where he led revolutionaries from Cuba, Bolivia and Peru who fought to overthrow the U.S.-backed military dictatorship there. He was killed in October 1967 by the CIA and officers of the Bolivian military regime.
“The crisis throughout our own country has tremendously increased the interest in socialism especially among younger people,” Guild said. Even though the space for U.S. participation is filled, “it is still possible to sign up and at least get on a waiting list!”
Members of the U.S. delegation will be coming from across the country, from New York to California. They will meet and discuss with workers, farmers and youth in Cuba as well as veteran revolutionaries who fought side by side with Che Guevara during the struggle in Cuba and on internationalist missions in Africa and Latin America.
“Last year I took a class on the Cuban Revolution and became a supporter of the revolution,” Ash Eberle, 20, a political science student at the University of Minnesota, told the Militant by phone Aug. 29. “I am going on the brigade to see for myself and to learn about Che’s legacy.
“There are four people going from Minneapolis and when we get back we’ll be explaining what we learned,” Eberle said. “One of my professors asked me to make a presentation about the brigade in his class on Latin America. Cuba shows a revolution is possible. It is a living example. They have a sharing ethic in their hurricane disaster relief, which is important with what is going on in Houston. Cuba evacuates everyone and Cubans open their homes to people. No one is left to fend for themselves and they organize a quick rebuilding process. New Orleans still hasn’t recovered.”
Fundraising is being organized in many cities to make it possible for brigadistas to go to Cuba in October. At their second fundraising event, the Chicago Cuba Coalition showed the documentary “Cuba, An African Odyssey.” The film describes internationalist missions in which hundreds of thousands of Cuban volunteers gave decisive aid to anti-colonial and anti-apartheid struggles in Africa.
The film also shows Che Guevara during a 1964-65 three-month tour of Africa. He met with anti-colonial fighters and laid the groundwork for Cuba’s internationalist missions in the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Guinea-Bissau, and Angola. Twenty-two people attended the film showing at the Workers Unite Union Hall, giving donations that pushed the travel fund over $1,500.
To get involved in building the brigade, contact the Chicago Cuba Coalition at (312) 952-2618 or ICanGoToCuba@gmail.com.
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