Washington, Jul 14 (Prensa Latina) In a new challenge to the US blockade against Cuba, the members of the XXXII Friendship Caravan of Pastors for Peace will arrive in Havana next Monday.
More than 20 cities traveled the «caravanistas» on three routes that merged last Monday in Jacksonville, Florida, and then headed to the last stop, St. Petersburg, before congregating in Miami, the departure point for Havana.
As confirmed to Prensa Latina by Dr. Samira Addrey, most of the 91 «caravanists» are young people between 18-30 years old who have never been to the Caribbean nation before.
It is our goal to reach «new generations of friends of Cuba,» said Addrey, program coordinator of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) / Pastors for Peace.
She commented that this year’s celebration is the thirtieth anniversary of the caravans, whose first edition in 1992 brought 15 tons of items such as powdered milk, medicines, bibles, bicycles and school supplies to the island.
Now the emphasis of the cargo is medical aid, stressed Addrey, a graduate of the Latin American School of Medical Sciences in Havana.
She explained that in the solidarity meetings held in each of the cities on the routes (mid-west, northeast, and south) they collected donations and also funds for the purchase of essential medicines that will be delivered to the Cuban people.
The members of the new caravan will remain in Cuba until July 30 and during that time they will carry out an extensive program of activities.
In an interview granted to Prensa Latina last year, Gail Walker, executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, stated that countless people in the United States oppose the blockade against Cuba and that many are disappointed with the policy of the Joe Biden to the island.
Daughter of the founder of the caravans, the late Reverend Lucius Walker, Gail then reiterated her respect for the example that the Caribbean country offers to the world.
The Caravan of Pastors for Peace is an illustration of the true people-to-people policy, Walker pointed out, giving thanks to Cuba and ratifying her love in this endeavor.
Pastors for Peace was born in 1988 as an IFCO project in response to the aggressiveness in Latin America of the administration of then President Ronald Reagan.
On November 15, the XXXI Caravan arrived after a two-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Pastors for Peace, never before has the US government witnessed such a challenge to its anti-Cuban hostility.
"An Island on a Continent" 