Pastors for Peace returns from Cuba today

[roody]

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MEDIA ADVISORY
July 13, 2008 -- for immediate release-- please forward
CONTACT: In Texas: Ellen Bernstein 646/319-5902, 646/319-5904
In New York: Lucia Bruno 212/926-5757, 347/423-4330

PASTORS FOR PEACE CARAVAN RETURNING FROM CUBA MONDAY JUNE 14
TO REQUEST RELEASE OF SEIZED COMPUTERS DESTINED FOR CUBA

The Pastors for Peace US/Cuba Friendshipment Caravan will return to the US on Monday June 14 after delivering nearly 100 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba, and will request the return of the 32 donated computers for Cuba that were seized from their caravan by US officials on July 3.
The members of the caravan had an eight-day educational program in Cuba that included visits to different provinces, to homes for the elderly, and health care facilities. They also visited the Latin American School of Medicine, where students from 30 nations are studying free of charge to be doctors, in order to serve their communities in their home countries. More than 100 of those students are from the US.
The caravan is returning to the US on the same day as the Venceremos Brigade and several other organizations engaging in challenging US restrictions on travel to Cuba.
"We will continue to challenge this dumb, foolish, petty, counterproductive, mean-spirited, and immoral blockade until it is ended," said Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace.
Pastors for Peace is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), which has a 40-year history of work in favor of social justice. More information about the caravan and photos can be found at www.pastorsforpeace.org <http://www.pastorsforpeace.org > .
IFCO/PASTORS FOR PEACE
418 W 145th Street, New York, NY 10031
tel: [phone] - fax: [phone] - email: [e-mail],
www.ifconews.org <http://www.ifconews.org/ >

[Vogon_Glory]

1. Worth Supporting

Although I'm not one of those DU'ers who goes into giddy paroxysms of ecstasy whenever I think about the political and economic status quo in today's Cuba, I believe that the Pastors for Peace convoys are worth supporting. Despite the chest-thumping, bellowing, and anti-Communist posturing by right-wing Cuban exile hard-liners,the big-whigs on the island and those who either have money or who know how to finagle the system are NOT the ones who are suffering from the US economic sanctions. It's the less-advantage and less-connected in Cuba who suffer. I think of those people when I make my donations to IFCO, not the embittered self-appointed Cosmic Commie Killers back on the US mainland.


:dem:

:patriot:

[roody]

2. Homeland Security confiscated 32 computers

a week ago on the caravan's way to Mexico and Cuba. This happened 3 years ago, P4P sued them for the computers and finally got them back. Here we go again.