Valera, the past president of the Black Organization of Students (BOS) at the Rutgers campus here, is one of a dozen students and other youth from northern New Jersey who are going to Cuba to participate in the Cuba-U.S. Youth Exchange, scheduled for July 24-31. BOS is sponsoring the New Jersey delegation, together with the New Jersey Network on Cuba.

The visit is hosted by Cuba’s Federation of University Students, Union of Young Communists, Federation of High School Students, and the Saíz Brothers Cultural Association.

Groups of young people in cities around the United States are preparing to travel to that Caribbean nation to participate in the Youth Exchange. On the trip they will meet and exchange ideas with Cubans—of their generation and others—and see Cuba firsthand. On their return, they will be better able to answer the lies peddled by the U.S. government about Cuba’s socialist revolution.

Organizing meetings have been held twice a week to plan an array of outreach and fund-raising activities, as well as begin educational work to prepare for the trip.

Fund-raising is particularly important since many of those seeking to go to Cuba do not have all the funds needed to cover the costs of the trip. The total cost is expected to add up to about $1,100, including airfare, housing, and food. The fund-raising activities complement the efforts each individual is making to save up money for the trip.

A fund-raising letter has been sent out to a number of organizations and individuals seeking their assistance to enable the largest delegation possible to visit Cuba.

On May 28, the second day of summer session at Rutgers-Newark, students set up an information table and a bake sale to publicize the trip and raise money. In a few hours $80 was collected. The event is planned on a weekly basis through the month of June.

Additional funds are being collected through the sale of raffle tickets, a poetry slam, and a party. A three-week Cuban film series beginning June 4 at the Rutgers library is featuring Buena Vista Social Club, Death of a Bureaucrat, and Strawberries and Chocolate. A send-off rally and banquet will take place July 19.

Ryan-Katherine Sisco, 22, a graduate student at Rutgers who went to Cuba last year for a month of study at the University of Havana, learned about the Youth Exchange from seeing a flyer posted on campus. Sisco is excited about the Youth Exchange because it is organized to learn more about the Cuban Revolution.

“Cuba is a fascinating place because the people constantly want to engage in dialogue on politics,” she said.

Others going on the trip have just begun to learn about Cuba and want to find out the truth about that country. Regina Fitch, 21, heard about the Exchange from a member of BOS and saw it as an opportunity to see Cuba for herself. She became involved in political activity in February, protesting the U.S.-led war against Iraq. Fitch said that, while she doesn’t have much information about Cuba, she is “going with an open mind to learn as much as I can.”

For more information on the Third Cuba-U.S. Youth Exchange, contact the Los Angeles Youth Exchange, which is serving as a national clearinghouse for information on the trip, at cubasovereigntyx@aol.com, 1498 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026.  
 
 
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