Friendship caravan comes to Dallas

Here's a bit of trivia we learned on our travels--there's a four-letter word that starts with "C." If you write this word in the memo line on a check, you and the recipient will get into huge trouble with the U.S. government.

Guess what the word is?

It's Cuba. Write that word on a check and you'll get into much more trouble than you will if you write...you know, that other word you were probably thinking of when you read "a four-letter word that starts with C."

So if, after reading this blog post, you're moved to give to the Friendship Caravan, put Pastors for Peace into the memo line, or IFCO (for the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization), because if you put that other word, your check will be "flagged" by your bank, and who knows what kind of trouble you'll get into with the IRS, the Secret Service, the FBI--just one of the many consequences of our country's bizarre relationship with our nearest island nation neighbor.

Last night, we went to a pot luck dinner and celebration of Pastors for Peace's 20th anniversary Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba. Every year, volunteer "caravanistas" travel from 130 U.S. and Canadian cities to Mexico, via 15 different routes, one of which comes through Dallas every year. From Mexico, they take medical, educational and cultural supplies to Cuba, where they stay for 9 days, visting organic farms, attending cultural events, and, basically, establishing person-to-person friendship with the people of Cuba.

Last night's event featured spoken word by Mike Guinn and the talented poetry slammers of South Dallas Cultural Center, as well as progress reports on the IFCO project. Reverend Tom Smith, of Pastors for Peace, gave an overview of the friendshipment program, and Ellen Bernstein
reported on the Latin American School of Medicine, which offers 500 full medical school scholarships every year to students willing to serve in impoverished areas of the world, including the United States. While our government will not allow humanitarian aide from Cuba (we ignored the offer of aide to areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, even though Cuban relief workers were mobilized and ready to go), our students can accept scholarships to the medical school if they agree to practice in underserved areas.

We also received information on several bills in Congress to end our blockade against Cuba.

H.R. 2272 and H.R. 1530 are bills to end the embargo and lift all restrictions to trade with Cuba.

H.R. 1531, H.R. 1737 and S1089 are bills to ease restrictions on sales of food and medicine to Cuba.

If you want to help out, ask our Senators and your member of Congress to sign on as co-sponsors of these bills. After all, it's the people who are being hurt--why should people suffer just because our government is mad that Castro is still in power?

And, of course, you can always help out by donating money to Pastors for Peace. You can donate online with a credit card or you can send a check--just don't write the C-word in the memo line and you'll be okay.