The Cuba Caravan turns 21, and faces resistance at the border.

Today the U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan will attempt to break the illegal and unethical blockade of Cuba by crossing into Mexico with 100 tons of humanitarian aid for the people of Cuba. As of June 20th, Mexican authorities informed them that there would be a full stop of aid into Mexico en route to Cuba. Per this year's theme of supporting the Children of Cuba, with the 100 tons of aid the caravan is sending, this includes educational materials and medical aid for children in Cuba.

The Friendshipment Caravans and Pastors for Peace began in 1992, the Cuban caravan began in 1992; a Caravan to Chiapas M,exico succeeded the Zapatista uprising in 1995; and before that activists with IFCO (Inter-religious Foundation for Community Organization) went to Central America (Nicaragua and Honduras) to support popular resistance to U.S. policies in the region which included repression, state terrorism, and multinational corporate expansion. All of the aforementioned solidarity relationships continue to this day. The founder of Pastors for Peace and the main organizer of the Caravan, Reverend Lucius Walker, says that his reaction was to "create an alternative to U.S. policy in the region" when on an aid mission to Nicaragua he was wounded by a Nicaraguan Contra which wounded him, "with a bullet that was paid for with my own taxes".

The U.S. policy in Latin America and the Caribbean since our independence in 1776 and establishment in 1783 has been abusive, to say the least. Latin America has been considered the United States' backyard officially (in policy) since the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, since then United States has imposed its economic and political will in Latin America: economically, politically and militarily.

The U.S.- Cuba Friendshipment Caravan this year is specifically focusing on the Children of Cuba, who suffer greatly under the economic blockade that is the U.S. trade embargo. For the first time in 20 years of the Caravan, the group was faced with a serious threat to the completion of its mission. On the 19th of July, it was confronted by the Mexican Customs with the message that the aid will not pass into Mexico en route to Cuba. However, on the night of July 20th it was relayed to the Pharr border crossing that the Mexican authorities would accept the aid as they have for the last twenty years. At the moment, as they crossed today (July 21st) U.S. border police seized four pentium computers donated from Canadians in Vancouver, BC.

The importance of the Caravan is self-evident; the U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan is solid economic support for the people of Cuba that suffer under an unjust economic blockade. For activists and people like myself, it opens up our perspectives and our politics for further examination. Politically and socially, in a larger context it represents an alternative to U.S. policy, one that is predicated on dialogue. During a hip-hop party in Havana, while I was on the 19th Caravan, an Afro-Cubano shook my hand and said, "thank you brother, for what you've done for me and my country"; suffice to say that it was a huge personal compliment, but this was an expression of the significance of person-to-person diplomacy. Regardless of the governments of the world, the old Marxist idea that workers have nothing in common with their employers, also extends to their governments.

The stereotype of the fat ignorant American, is reinforced by the embargo and a commercialized culture of travel (i.e. experience a country in a day). The embargo is a direct hindrance to people-to-people diplomacy, thus the majority of the U.S. population only hears of the tragedies of embargo-inspired poverty and we never see the ingenuity of an island economically under assault. We have to show broad support for the U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan and solidarity for the self-determination of the Cuban people- whatever that may be. For more information on the Caravan and updates please visit: www.ifconews.org.

As we said on the 18th and 19th Friendshipment Caravan's: "Cuba Si, Bloqueo No!"