Letters
I am writing in response to the "Taking Note" column entitled "A Question of Solidarity" in the December issue of NACLA Report on the Americas [Vol. XXVI, No. 3]. You state the obvious...
...We found the Central America solidarity movement in the United States still large, dedicated, experienced and skilled, but with a number of problems which should be faced, particularly in organizing for the long haul...
...XXVI, No.4) erred on the year of President de la Madrid's inauguration in Mexico...
...working class...
...In addition, immigrants increasingly fill the the bottom tier of the U.S...
...But solidarity is different from charity...
...Americans...
...Many, perhaps most, of the people I met in the solidarity movement were involved in solidarity activism because it was a ready and handy way to educate North Americans about U.S...
...In particular, I think solidarity committees should pay more attention to Latin American immigrants in their own communities...
...I touched a nerve with others, who complained that my comments about Cuba were unhelpful...
...I agree with Sesshu Foster when she says that the Latin American solidarity movement must build links with working people in North America...
...Those same concerns led, via a grassroots effort, to the Central America Solidarity Roundtable...
...I am sure it would have been a lot easier to build the "perfect democracy" in Cuba had there not been over 30 years of an immoral embargo, assassination attempts, sabotage, the Bay of Pigs, Operation Mongoose, and the present I am sure it would have been a lot easier to build the "perfect democracy" in Cuba had there not been over 30 years of an immoral embargo, assassination attempts, sabotage...
...Both the solidarity movement and the Left in general must undertake a basic reappraisal of our current political situation as North Readers are invited to address letters to The Editors, NACLA Report on the Americas, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 454, New York, NY 70175...
...however, Cuba guarantees certain basic human rights (not mentioned in your editorial): the right to employment, the right to shelter, the right to education, and the right to health care...
...Yet even the New York Times concedes that Cuban socialism means Cubans suffer equally...
...No one has ever said that Cuba is a human-rights paradise...
...Having fled political turmoil or economic devastation, they are often our most concrete link to the struggles we are backing...
...You state the obvious when you say that "Latin America today is no less desperately in need of the support we can offer...
...NACLA Report on the Americas continues to serve this purpose by analyzing the hemispheric conditions to which the Left must respond...
...This includes the need to present a balanced view of Cuba with all its contradictions...
...and whether we need a strong, independent agenda...
...It needs to be defended by all those who believe in peace, justice and the right to self-determination...
...Letters may be edited for length and clarity...
...Sesshu Foster Los Angeles, CA Felt that the remarks you made about Cuba in "A Question of Solidarity" were arrogant and superficial...
...With respect to the Cuba rally you criticize, representatives from many liberation movements including the FMLN "intoned the revolution's many triumphs," and praised Cuba for its internationalist role...
...Cuba is not paradise, and is admittedly going through its most difficult time since the beginning of the Revolution...
...imperialism and other related issues...
...In some circles, you cannot criticize a leftist government without being a traitor to the cause...
...Frank Scoff Fort Lee, NJ "n "A Question of Solidarity," you express deep concern that solidarity work in the United States has contracted precipitously despite continuing needs...
...Our agenda as North Americans is by absolute necessity determined by the conditions of people here...
...However, with all its faults, the Cuban Revolution still represents a beacon of hope and source of inspiration for many in the Third World...
...whether material-aid efforts should have been better supplemented with support for social change here and in the region...
...Together with invited resource people, we reviewed the past, present and future of the movement, the region, and U.S...
...labor force, and so are an essential part of any conception of the U.S...
...If I didn't reiterate them in the column, it was because I assumed that my readers had a similar political orientation, and that in the pages of NACLA Report on the Americas we could freely discuss how we might best defend the Revolution...
...I remember the first time I visited the 26th of July camp for Salvadoran refugees in Havana and saw all those wounded young FMLN comContinued on page 45 ERRATUM The Introduction to "A Market Solution For the Americas...
...Crossroads and other magazines which focus on our situation as leftists and workers in the United States is a good place to look for that "independent agenda to propel us forward when outside provocation is lacking...
...Environmental collapse in the region is also a distinct possibility...
...solidarity organization was not interested in solidarity work based on North American conditions...
...Working people in the United States are exactly like the masses in Central America in the sense that they too have their own needs and their own historical situation...
...For the majority of the population of Latin America, these rights are violated daily...
...Even if these Latinos have different politics than we do, or no interest at all in political activism (often for very good reasons), it is incumbent upon us in the solidarity movement to support them...
...Last October, 30 leaders of national solidarity organizations met for three days of intensive sessions...
...The Roundtable's report is available from us at 57 South Main Street, Pittsford, NY, 14534...
...All of the conditions needed for recurrent violent struggles remain...
...One can voice concern over Cuba's treatment of dissidents like Elizardo Sanchez, but one must also point out Cuba's real human-rights achievements of which no other country in the region can boast...
...how we could have better educated the public...
...policy...
...Peter and Gail Mott for the Central America Solidarity Roundtable Pittsford, NY Deidre McFadyen responds: Iwas surprised at the volume of response to my Taking Note column...
...whether we should have devoted more attention to movement-building...
...The solidarity movement never grew deep enough roots...
...We also acknowledged that we should better coordinate the movement and educate ourselves in the economics of aid, trade and alternative models for sustainable development...
...government sends helicopter gunships to El Salvador to massacre people, a poor Third-World country like Cuba provides this type of aid...
...The U.S...
...Frank Scoff has misinterpreted my remarks about Cuba...
...I am convinced more than ever that the solidarity movement needs a forum where it is safe to discuss the nature of solidarity work and the things we find troubling about the movements or political struggles we support...
...While the U.S...
...He was elected and took office in 1982...
...Given this situation, we agreed that we should expand the movement by working with other progressive movements (such as labor, environment, women, peace, people of color, and the faith community) and with coalitions concerned with the problems of free trade, and economic and social justice in the United States...
...government continues to roll back Third-World efforts at independence and nationalism, imposes development with inequity and injustice, and threatens democracy itself...
...When the solidarity movement set itself up as a leftist version of Oxfam America, it strictly delimited its own long-term potential...
...You ask how we could have accomplished more...
...But the leadership of the solidarity movement did not take this into account, and thus could not respond, maneuver or change when political circumstances changed...
...batants who were being given free medical care and rehabilitation by Cuba...
...Torricelli Bill, which seeks to starve the Cuban government into submission...
...They were more interested in fund-raising drives and lobbying efforts in response to immediate Central American crises than in addressing long-term North American needs...
...But the leadership of the largest U.S...
...A number of people called or wrote to thank me for openly and honestly discussing the state of the solidarity movement...
...Peace processes can be expected to fail...
...We also engaged in a dialogue between North Americans and Central Americans, which helped us educate ourselves as well...
...I recognize the many achievements of the Cuban Revolution...
...Now, more than ever, is the time to offer solidarity to Cuba...
...In fact, his comments reflect the very problem I pointed out in my column...
...Indeed in this new era of global economic processes, we must be able to see the relationship between the struggle for social change in the North and the South...
Vol. 26 • May 1993 • No. 5
