BY LAURA GARZA
While young people from around the world are making plans to head to the Cuba Lives International Youth Festival August 1-7, the U.S. Treasury Department is threatening fines and jail terms for a group of 35 youth going to Cuba in June. They planned to go ahead anyway with the June 23-30 trip, which is being organized by the Freedom to Travel Campaign, and are encouraging protests of the U.S. policy prohibiting travel to Cuba.
"We don't want to go to jail or be fined, but we have to stand up for our principles, just like people stood up against Jim Crow laws in the South," read a June 18 letter to President Bill Clinton signed by the youth. At a packed press conference in Washington, D.C., June 21, Jody Avirgan, 14, and Sarah Park, 16, both students at the Sidwell Friends School who planned to participate in the trip, explained that they wanted to see Cuba for themselves.
The trip was the subject of an article in the June 3 Washington Post, and a June 7 opinion column in the same paper supporting the efforts of the youth to challenge U.S. government policy toward Cuba. The Treasury Department letter was sent to the Freedom to Travel Campaign June 16 and it states, "It has recently been reported in the media that The Freedom to Travel Campaign is organizing a trip to Cuba later this month for a group of high school age students from various locales in the United States.-OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control] has not authorized the Campaign to provide travel related services to Cuba, nor have we issued any specific licenses-" It further states, "Criminal penalties for violation of the Regulations range up to 10 years in prison, and $1 million in corporate and $250,000 in individual fines. OFAC may impose civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation."
Teresa Walsh, a spokesperson for the Freedom to Travel Campaign in San Francisco, is encouraging protests to the U.S. Treasury Department and urging those in the Houston area to meet the youth when they return through there on June 30. While the government has confiscated the passports of some Freedom To Travel participants in the past, Washington has so far chosen not to prosecute any of the individuals. For more information call Freedom to Travel Campaign at (415)-255-7296.
The latest threats by the U. S. government provides an opportunity to get out the facts about Washington's policy against the Cuban people. The Cuba Lives festival in August will draw together those around the world who want to take a stand against the U.S. government's embargo. A sizable delegation from the United States will be an important aid in the campaign to defend Cuba.
In Paris, a group of about a dozen youth are meeting weekly to coordinate their plans to attend the Cuba Lives festival, raise funds, and reach out to other groups and build their delegation. The Iceland-Cuba Friendship Society is also organizing participation in the event.
Among those planning to go from the United States, is Gregory Bautista, a 21-year-old college student from the University of the South in Tennessee. Home for a visit in Gainesville, Georgia, recently he witnessed first hand the harassment of undocumented workers by the Immigration and Naturalization Service during a campaign called Operation South PAW (Protect America's Workers). "I plan to go to Cuba reporting for a few local newspapers, as well as informing those coming to the festival about the attacks we are facing here," he said.
At a meeting in New York June 20 about half a dozen people filled out applications to go to the festival, and planned a fund-raising party. They also discussed working to obtain editorial assignments from local newspapers or other media to travel as journalists.
Many of the groups helping to publicize the festival are also beginning to build four regional demonstrations planned for October 14 to protest the U.S. government's hostile policies against Cuba. Rallies are planned in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. The National Network on Cuba, which groups more than 70 organizations, has produced flyers, T-shirts, and buttons to publicize these events. For more information on the October 14 demonstrations call the National Network on Cuba in your region: East (212) 227-3422, South (305) 757-3113, Midwest (312) 663-0527, and West (415) 267-0606.
Contributing to this article were Chester Wilson in Washington, D.C.; Joe Swanson in San Francisco; and Arlene Rubenstein and Miguel Zárate in Atlanta.