SUPPORT OUR MOVEMENT
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Dear supporters of the Los Angeles U.S. Hands Off Committee to End the US Blockade,
Although our committee is less than a year old, we have carried out a substantial number of educational activities. The most recent being an extremely successful car caravan, on December 27, that was reported on Telemundo, reaching over 1 million viewers in Los Angeles and their affiliated stations, and coverage on NBC news. "Instan al gobierno que acepte ayuda de enfermeras y médicos cubanos" - Telemundo Car Caravan Calls to Allow Medical Help From Cuba – NBC The caravan, the largest public protest action in LA to defend Cuba’s sovereignty in more than a dozen years, urged Mayor Garcetti and Gov. Newsom to invite Cuban medical personnel here to assist in the medical crises: the lack of and exhaustion of nurses, zero ICU units, inadequate PPE, etc. We don’t have to tell you that the infection rates and deaths are increasing and especially hard-hit is the working class Latinx and Black population. There is an historic precedent to Cuban doctors assisting in Chicago on the issue of infant mortality, as well as the Cuban offer of their hospital ship after Hurricane Katrina. Our committee members have been very active participants in the national webinars, local media coverage thru multiple radio, newspaper and TV stations, a monthly book club studying speeches by Cuban revolution leaders, and outdoor Cuban film showings. We held a successful in-person/ on-line July 26 event with Pastors for Peace, Cuban ELAM graduates and others at the International Association of Machinists Union Hall. We got a resolution by the Lennox School Board for US-Cuba normalization and an end to the travel ban and blockade. Committee activists tend to be young, Black and Latinx, new to the Cuba solidarity movement, some of whom travelled to Cuba to present at Cubambiente (International Environmental conference) and others who come out of the protests around Black Lives Matter, nurses protests for PPE, Amazon workers organizing efforts, environmental activists, etc. We are appealing for your participation in on-going activities and financial assistance to continue our important work. The committee has incurred several hundred dollars expenses in financing our website, banners for protests and organizing meetings. But more importantly, we need to begin now to raise funds to send youth to Cuba as soon as possible, for the May Day brigade and science conferences, so they can gain further experience and knowledge of the society the Cuban people are building. We are proud to be an organization that helps a wide range of Americans better understand Cuba and the relationship between both countries. Your donation will help in aiding members with financial needs, principally other people of color, get to Cuba and experience the island for their own. We urge you to give generously. Dr. Abraham Vela, ELAM Graduate, LA physician Ruben Tapia, Producer, Enfoque Latino Show, KPFK James Lafferty, National Lawyers Guild-LA, Executive Director Emeritus* Reed Lindsay, Belly of the Beast Producer Marisol Cruz, Health Care Worker, Former Lennox School Board Member Alicia Rivera, Organizer, Communities for a Better Environment, Wilmington Gabriela Hackett, Anti-police Brutality, Workers’ Rights and Black Liberation Activist Rachel Sene, Veteran Cuba Solidarity Activist, Cuban 5 Defense Brenda López, Co-Coordinator, LA US Hands Off Cuba Committee *Organization listed for identification only |
