Summer 2005 - 16th Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba

Press releases

PASTORS FOR PEACE CAMPAIGN ARRIVES IN WASHINGTON TO WIN RELEASE OF SEIZED COMPUTER AID FOR CUBA - PRAYER VIGILS AT THE COMMERCE DEPT, 14 ST NW, WED. 8/31, noon - 1:00pm and 5-6:00pm

Pastors for Peace has settled in to Washington, DC, to intensify their campaign to win the release of the donated computers and computer accessories that were seized from their humanitarian aid caravan in July by US Customs agents, acting on the orders of the US Commerce Department.

They have established an office in the United Methodist Building (100 Maryland Ave, NE), from which they will continue doing intensive outreach to members of Congress, to national and local religious and community organizations, and to the media.

They will also continue to hold weekly prayer vigils every Wednesday at noon and at 5:00pm, at the main entrance of the Commerce Department, on 14 Street NW, between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues. And they are planning other events and actions to be announced.

Fr. Luis Barrios, board member of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, said, The Bible teaches us to practice social holiness. Justice, in all its dimensions, is the biggest expression of this holiness. Our work in support of the Cuban people is our way of responding to God's command and of demonstrating the social and political dimensions of our spirituality.

In 1996, when computer equipment destined for Cuba was seized from the sixth Pastors for Peace caravan, members of the caravan came to the Methodist Building in Washington. Their 94-day fast was the centerpiece of an international campaign, which won the release of the computers and educated millions of people in the US about the immorality, illegality, pettiness and absurdity of the US blockade against Cuba.

Pastors for Peace is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), an ecumenical agency which has been working for racial, social, and economic justice since 1967

More information, including photos and audio clips, is available at www.pastorsforpeace.org

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PASTORS FOR PEACE ARRIVES IN DC TO APPEAL FOR RELEASE OF SEIZED CUBA AID: PRAYER VIGIL AT COMMERCE DEPARTMENT, WED 8/24, 4:00-6:00PM

Pastors for Peace arrives to Washington, today, Wednesday August 24, with one of its well-known painted yellow schoolbuses, to intensify its campaign to win the release of humanitarian aid that was seized last month from its caravan to Cuba. The group will hold a prayer vigil at the US Commerce Department (Constitution & 14 St, NW) today, Wednesday August 24, 4:00-6:00pm.

This vigil continues a series of prayer vigils that have been held each Wednesday since the aid was seized in Hidalgo, TX on July 21. Weekly vigils have been held on the International Bridge between Hidalgo and Reynosa, MX, as well as in more than 30 cities in the US, and in Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Spain, Puerto Rico, and other nations.

Background: 144 members of the sixteenth US/Cuba Friendshipment Caravan visited Cuba July 23-31, and most of the 140 tons of humanitarian aid they collected in their brightly painted schoolbuses and box trucks has been delivered to that island nation. But on July 21, 2005, 50 US Customs officers, acting on instructions from the US Commerce Department, detained the caravan at the border and confiscated 43 boxes of aid. The seized boxes contained 11 donated second-hand computers, several monitors and printers, and a variety of computer accessories such as toner and cables.

Rev. Lucius Walker, executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, said, Our caravans have delivered 2500 tons of aid to Cuba since 1992, all of it without asking permission of the US government. We do not accept a government license as a matter of deeply held moral principle. We are called to be good Samaritans, to offer a cup of cold water to our neighbors in need. We refuse to be complicit with the brutal economic blockade that seeks to starve our neighbors into submission, using food, medicine, and even educational supplies as weapons of war.

This year, government officials at the highest level gave orders to stop Pastors for Peace, said Rev. Walker. But 95% of our caravanistas and 98% of our aid have already gotten to Cuba. Now we are determined to get our computers to Cuba as well.

Commerce Department officials have indicated that the computer aid represented “dual use” technology, and that its seizure was consistent with US policy to “support a rapid, peaceful transition to a democratic, market oriented Cuba.”

Pastors for Peace has launched a national campaign to win the release of the seized aid. A small team of caravan members spent three weeks organizing at the Mexican border in Hidalgo, TX, and then headed toward Washington. While local supporters continue the Hidalgo, TX and Reynosa, Mexico vigils, the Pastors for Peace team has held prayer vigils in Dallas and Houston, and has visited Austin and Beaumont, TX, Jackson, MS, Birmingham, and Atlanta. They also spent two days in Crawford, TX supporting the ongoing vigil for an end to the Iraq war. Supporters of the campaign have been directing thousands of calls to key Commerce, Customs, and State Department officials, as well as to members of Congress, demanding release of the computers and an end to the US blockade of Cuba.

As the campaign arrived in Washington, IFCO associate director Ellen Bernstein said, As frustrated as we are about the seizure of the aid, we know that we have been given an important opportunity to educate the US people about the immorality, illegality, brutality, and pettiness of US policy toward Cuba.

Many of the members of the caravan who visited Cuba in July have recently received letters from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), requesting information about their trip and signaling OFAC’s intention to try to fine the caravanistas for traveling to Cuba without an OFAC license.

Photographs, audio clips, and additional information are available at www.pastorsforpeace.org

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August 10, 2005 - PASTORS FOR PEACE PRAYER VIGIL AT INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE - WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 6:00-8:00PM

Members of the 16th Pastors For Peace Caravan to Cuba will hold a prayer vigil on Wednesday, August 3, on the Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge, from 6:00pm until 8:00pm. The purpose of the vigil is to call for the release of the humanitarian aid seized from the caravan by US government agents nearly two weeks ago. Members of the caravan will participate along with supporters from both sides of the border, including Amigos de Cuba and The Center for Border Studies and Human Rights in Reynosa, local churches, solidarity groups, and individuals from McAllen, Reynosa, and surrounding communities.

At the vigil, Rev. Lucius Walker, executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, and Fr. Luis Barrios, IFCO/Pastors for Peace board member, will discuss the plan of Pastors for Peace to take its protest on the road: to travel to many cities around the US, including Crawford, TX, and Washington, DC, to raise awareness about their campaign and to establish prayer vigils across the country for the release of the seized computer equipment.

The prayer vigil will start on both sides of the bridge simultaneously at 6:00pm. Participants from the US side will cross the bridge into Reynosa. Then both groups will move across the bridge from Reynosa toward Hidalgo and continue the prayer vigil at the midpoint of the bridge.

Our strength comes from prayers, our prayers are connected to actions; and, similar to Jesus, our actions are expressed with radical solidarity. This is our gift to the Cuban people. We as the people of God recognize that the message is Si se puede. Since we believe that it is possible, no one and nothing is going to stop this struggle because we are building peace with justice, said Fr. Luis Barrios, board member of IFCO/Pastors for Peace and full time professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in New York City.

Background: The 16th US/Cuba Friendshipment caravan organized by IFCO/Pastors for Peace collected 140 tons of humanitarian aid for Cuba from 130 local communities in the US and Canada. Nearly all of the aid crossed the US border into Mexico just before daybreak on July 22, but US Customs agents, acting on the orders of the US Commerce Department, seized 43 boxes of aid, containing computer accessories such as toner, printers, modems, and cables, and a dozen second-hand computers. Another 75 boxes of computer-related aid that were not allowed to cross the border remain in Hidalgo. Seven members of the caravan have remained in Hidalgo continuing a national campaign to win release of the humanitarian aid seized by the US government more than two weeks ago. Vigils and rallies are being organized in cities around the US, and Congressional and grassroots support for the release of the computers continues to grow. The struggle is far from over.

Pastors for Peace is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), a national ecumenical agency based in Harlem, New York City, which was founded in 1967 to work for racial, social, and economic justice.

Photographs, audio clips, and additional information are available at www.pastorsforpeace.org.

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August 9, 2005 - PASTORS FOR PEACE TAKES ITS PROTEST ON THE ROAD - CAMPAIGN TO FREE SEIZED AID WILL STOP IN ALICE, SAN ANTONIO, AUSTIN, AND THEN CRAWFORD, TEXAS

CONTACT:Ellen Bernstein in Hidalgo, TX: 646-319-5902, Lucia Bruno in NY: 212-926-5757

A STATEMENT FROM IFCO/PASTORS FOR PEACE:

We are announcing a new phase in our strategy to win the release of the humanitarian aid that was seized from our sixteenth Pastors for Peace caravan to Cuba on July 21, 2005. After several weeks in Hidalgo, Texas, we are adding a new component, and will take our protest on the road, to visit a series of US cities and build additional support for this campaign.

In these past few weeks, we have established a strong presence in the McAllen/Hidalgo area. We have made many friends in area churches and community groups, and have been greatly nurtured by their support. We have received extensive local press coverage. Just about everyone here knows who we are and why we are in town. But it is very clear to us that the decision to free the computers and send them on to Cuba is not going to be made here in Hidalgo. We were told that the order to seize the computers was given from a very high level of government, as high as the White House. So one of our first stops, as we take our protest on the road, will be Mr. Bush's backyard.

We will be using the next weeks to do intensive work to deepen and broaden our national base of support, to visit many of the cities which hosted the caravan on its way to Cuba, to do more media outreach, and to develop new educational materials about the mean-spirited nature of US/Cuba policy. As frustrated as we are about the seizure of the aid, we know that we have been given an important opportunity to further educate the US people about the immorality, illegality and brutality of US policy toward Cuba.

Our first steps will be to travel north from Hidalgo and visit a number of cities in Texas where the Pastors for Peace caravan made stops on its way down to Cuba. We plan to visit San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Alice, and other cities. And we are especially looking forward to visiting the "summer White House" at Crawford, Texas. And then our journey will continue, with stops in many cities around the US, until we reach Washington, DC. We will stay in this campaign as long as necessary to win the right to send this aid to Cuba.

The US government is biding its time on this issue. They want to stall because they think that the US people will forget or lose interest. We intend to keep this issue very much alive. We know that power never concedes without a struggle. We intend to keep the pressure on until the aid for Cuba is released.

In 1996, when 400 used computers were seized from the sixth Pastors for Peace caravan to Cuba, participants started a "Fast for Life" and an international organizing campaign. The fast began in San Ysidro, CA, where the aid had been seized, and later moved to Washington, DC, because the fasters wanted to be right in the faces of the people who had the power to make decisions. The fast lasted for 94 days, during which time 70 members of Congress, dozens of religious denominations and organizations, and thousands of individuals advocated for the right of Pastors for Peace to take aid to our brothers and sisters in Cuba. As a result of that arduous campaign, the computers were released and delivered to Cuba.

A continuing presence will be maintained in Hidalgo while the caravan is on the road. Local supporters from the US and Mexico will maintain the weekly vigils on the Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge, every Wednesday, 6:00-8:00pm.

Pastors for Peace is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), an ecumenical agency founded in 1967 to work for racial, social, and economic justice.

More information, including photos and audio clips, is available at www.pastorsforpeace.org

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August 4, 2005 - SPIRITS HIGH AT THE BORDER: Pastors for Peace steps up campaign for release of computer aid with vigils and outreach

CONTACT:Ellen Bernstein in Hidalgo, TX: 646-319-5902, Lucia Bruno in NY: 212-926-5757

The Pastors for Peace team at the Hidalgo, TX/Reynosa, MX border were in high spirits today as they continued expanding their campaign to win release of the humanitarian aid seized from their caravan by US government agents two weeks ago.

On Wednesday August 3, the group held their second weekly vigil on the Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge, site of the seizure of the aid two weeks ago. Caravanistas joined in spirited chanting and prayer with a number of members of the community from both sides of the border, including students from the University of Texas/Pan American, members of the McAllen-area organization People for Peace and Justice, members of St. John the Baptist RC Church in San Juan, and Amigos de Cuba from Reynosa, MX. Passing drivers consistently gave thumbs-up signs to the demonstrators. The vigil commemorated the 17th anniversary of Pastors for Peace and the 75th birthday of its founder, Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr.

Today the Hidalgo team spent the whole day on outreach. They made telephone calls to every one of the 130 local committees that hosted the 16th Pastors for Peace Cuba caravan. They called 30 Congressional offices, and sent out countless emails to supporters and new contacts. They continued outreach to local churches, and gathered new support from the national religious community, in the form of signatures for a pastoral letter appealing for the computer aid to be freed to go to Cuba. They gathered support from Cuban-Americans, who are signing on to a letter appealing for release of the aid. In New York City, supporters set up a phone-bank to make calls to all of the people who attended Pastors for Peace events as the caravan crossed the US. And all of the returning caravanistas who came home from Cuba this week are joining the campaign to free the computer aid and send it on to Cuba.

Rev. Lucius Walker, executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, said, We know that a struggle like this must be a protracted struggle. But we have waged campaigns like this before and we have won; and we know we can win again. The energy and support of our network is inspiring; the vigils and demonstrations being organized here and in communities around the US and in other nations are extremely important.

Background: On Thursday July 21, 45 US Customs officers, acting on instructions from the US Department of Commerce, seized 43 boxes of simple computer equipment from the 16th US/Cuba Friendshipment Caravan organized by Pastors for Peace: toner, cables, calculators, modems, keyboards, two printers, and a dozen computers. This equipment was donated by communities and congregations across the US, and is intended for use by Cuban children with special needs (visual impairments, learning disabilities, etc.). While most of the 150-member caravan was eventually able to cross the border at daybreak on July 22 along with most of the 140 tons of humanitarian aid, the struggle to free the detained computer parts and send all the remaining aid to Cuba is far from over. A group of seven caravanistas has remained on the U.S./Mexico border, along with the one bus that contains another 100+ boxes of computer equipment, to organize the national campaign to free the computer equipment for delivery to Cuba.

Photographs, audio clips, and additional information are available at www.pastorsforpeace.org

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August 2 2005 - PASTORS FOR PEACE, WORKING AND PRAYING FOR RELEASE OF SEIZED AID, COMMEMORATES 17TH ANNIVERSARY - We are here for the long haul, says founder Rev. Lucius Walker, who turns 75 today

PRAYER VIGIL AT THE HIDALGO/REYNOSA INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE Wednesday 8/3, 4:30-6:30pm

CONTACT:Ellen Bernstein in Hidalgo, TX: 646-319-5902, Lucia Bruno in NY: 212-926-5757

August 2 marks the anniversary of a brutal attack by contras on the passenger ferryboat Mission of Peace in Nicaragua in 1988. Two people were killed in that attack, and Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr. was one of 29 who were wounded. On the next day, August 3, 1988, Rev. Walker announced the formation of a new project called Pastors for Peace. The project was conceived as a response to that brutal attack, as a special ministry to the victims of US foreign policy, according to Rev. Walker. Since its founding 17 years ago, Pastors for Peace has organized more than 50 humanitarian aid caravans, to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Chiapas, and Cuba.

Members of the 16th Pastors For Peace Caravan to Cuba will hold a prayer vigil on Wednesday, August 3, on the Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge, from 4:30pm until 6:30pm. The purpose of the vigil is to call for the release of the humanitarian aid seized from the caravan by US government agents nearly two weeks ago. The vigil will also commemorate the anniversary of Pastors for Peace. Members of the caravan will participate along with supporters from both sides of the border, including Amigos de Cuba and The Center for Border Studies and Human Rights in Reynosa, local churches, solidarity groups, and individuals from McAllen, Reynosa, and surrounding communities.

The prayer vigil will start on both sides of the bridge simultaneously at 4:30pm. Participants from the US side will cross the bridge into Reynosa. Then both groups will move across the bridge from Reynosa toward Hidalgo and continue the prayer vigil at the midpoint of the bridge.

The US Commerce Department has the power to correct the mistake that was made when the humanitarian aid for Cuban children was seized, said Rev. Walker, who also turns 75 on August 3. We continue to pray for the release of the computers as we await the decision of the Commerce Department.

Background: The 16th US/Cuba Friendshipment caravan organized by IFCO/Pastors for Peace collected 140 tons of humanitarian aid for Cuba from 130 local communities in the US and Canada. Nearly all of the aid crossed the US border into Mexico just before daybreak on July 22, but US Customs agents, acting on the orders of the US Commerce Department, seized 43 boxes of aid, containing computer accessories such as toner, printers, modems, and cables, and a dozen second-hand computers. Another 75 boxes of computer-related aid that were not allowed to cross the border remain in Hidalgo. Seven members of the caravan have remained in Hidalgo continuing a national campaign to win release of the humanitarian aid seized by the US government more than two weeks ago. Vigils and rallies are being organized in cities around the US, and Congressional and grassroots support for the release of the computers continues to grow. The struggle is far from over.

Pastors for Peace is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), a national ecumenical agency based in Harlem, New York City, which was founded in 1967 to work for racial, social, and economic justice.

Photographs, audio clips, and additional information are available at www.pastorsforpeace.org

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August 1st, 2005 - PASTORS FOR PEACE CARAVAN CELEBRATES SUCCESSFUL RETURN; CAMPAIGN TO SEND SEIZED COMPUTERS TO CUBA CONTINUES

CONTACT:Ellen Bernstein in Hidalgo, TX: 646-319-5902, Lucia Bruno in NY: 212-926-5757

Pastors for Peace announced a victory today when its16th caravan crossed the International Bridge from Reynosa, MX into Hidalgo, TX after returning from Cuba. But there is still no word about release of the computers seized from the caravan's cargo last week.

The caravanistas'energy and motivation were very high last night when they returned from Cuba to Reynosa, MX, and then assembled this morning for their 'reverse challenge' to the US blockade against Cuba.

As the caravanistas crossed the International Bridge in two school buses, supporters of the caravan in Reynosa accompanied them across the bridge, chanting "Cuba si, bloqueo no!"

Homeland Security officers spent nearly three hours interrogating caravan participants about the details of their trip, and two more hours searching every item of their personal luggage. But in the end, nothing was seized from the caravanistas, and all of them are back home in the US.

"Given that the US government was committed to completely stopping us this year, today really was a total victory for us," said Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace. "It is clear that public outrage over the seizure of the computers last week, as well as the outrage over the items that were seized from us last year, forced the US government to back down when we met them at the border today."

Nearly 140 tons of aid for Cuba crossed the border when the caravan left the US last week. But US Customs agents, acting on orders of the US Commerce Department, seized 43 boxes of aid containing toner cartridges, cables, keyboards, modems, and about a dozen second-hand computers. Another 75 boxes of computer-related aid remain in Hidalgo, TX, along with a small team of caravanistas organizing a growing national campaign to win the release of the seized aid for delivery to Cuba. The campaign to free the computers continues this week, with the added energy of all the caravanistas who have just come home from Cuba.

As a part of its 'reverse challenge' of US sanctions against Cuba, the caravan brought back these Cuban items:

• Bibles, given as a gift from the Cuban Council of Churches;
• copies of the Cuban constitution;
• copies of a book entitled And You Will Be My Witnesses... about evangelization and mission in the Cuban churches; and
• copies of a book about Operation Miracle: a project of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health through which Cuban doctors, working free of charge, have restored the sight of thousands of Venezuelans who had gone blind because of cataracts.

"This trip to Cuba had tremendous significance," said Rev. Thomas Smith, president of the board of directors of IFCO/Pastors for Peace and pastor of the Monumental Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, PA. "Every time we visit Cuba we're breaking the information blockade."

As a matter of moral principle, Pastors for Peace refuses to request or accept a license from the US government to travel to Cuba or to deliver humanitarian aid to that island nation. "Cuba is not our enemy, and Cuba is not a threat. We refuse to be complicit with the aim of the Bush administration to force Cuba into adopting a so-called 'free-market' economy that would be dominated by US interests," said Rev. Walker.

Pastors for Peace is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), an ecumenical agency based in Harlem, NYC, which has been working for social and economic justice since 1967.

More information, including photos and audio clips, is available at www.pastorsforpeace.org

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July 31, 2005 - MAJOR BATTLE FACES PASTORS FOR PEACE CARAVAN ON RETURN FROM CUBA Participants to face US reprisals -- and possible arrests -- for challenging ban on travel to Cuba

WHERE: HIDALGO/REYNOSA INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE, AT THE TX/MX BORDER

WHEN: MONDAY AUGUST 1, STARTING AT 9:30am

CONTACT:Ellen Bernstein in Hidalgo, TX: 646-319-5902, Lucia Bruno in NY: 212-926-5757

130 US residents are bracing themselves to face US enforcement agents -- even the possibility of arrests -- when they return from Cuba and re-enter the US with the 16th Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan. They will be crossing the International Bridge from Reynosa, Mexico into Hidalgo, Texas and will re-enter the US at about 9:30am on August 1.

"We have heard that an order was given from a very high level of the Bush administration to stop Pastors for Peace this year," said Rev. Lucius Walker, executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, from Hidalgo. "Given the pathological obsession of the Bush administration with anything that has to do with Cuba, and given their over-reaction to our caravan on its way to Cuba, we must expect an even greater challenge from them on the way back."

When last year's caravan came home, there were more federal agents on hand to meet them at the Hidalgo border than there were caravanistas. The enforcement agents were from Immigration, Customs, OFAC [the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury Department], Border Patrol, and Treasury. They interrogated every caravan participant, searched every single piece of personal luggage, and confiscated such controversial items as a paper flag on a stick, a book of poetry, and a pair of maracas. This year the federal authorities are acting under new orders, so the caravan has to be prepared for an even harder confrontation.

As a matter of moral principle, Pastors for Peace refuses to request or accept a license from the US government to travel to Cuba or to deliver humanitarian aid to that island nation. "Cuba is not our enemy, and Cuba is not a threat. We refuse to be complicit with the aim of the Bush administration to force Cuba into adopting a so-called 'free-market' economy that would be dominated by US interests," said Rev. Walker.

"All of the members of the caravan are committed to challenging the blockade against Cuba, as an act of 'civil obedience,'" said IFCO/Pastors for Peace board member Rev. Luis Barrios. "We are obeying the law that says 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' We are prepared to face reprisals as we stand up for our moral convictions."

The Pastors for Peace caravan is challenging the ban on travel to Cuba in coordination with several other US organizations, including 60 members of the Venceremos Brigade, which are also currently in Cuba and will also be returning to the US (from Canada into Buffalo, NY) on Monday August 1.

The 16th US/Cuba Friendshipment caravan organized by IFCO/Pastors for Peace collected 140 tons of humanitarian aid for Cuba from 130 local communities in the US and Canada. Nearly all of the aid crossed the US border into Mexico just before daybreak on July 22, but US Customs agents, acting on the orders of the US Commerce Department, seized 43 boxes of aid, containing computer accessories such as toner, printers, modems, and cables, and a dozen second-hand computers. Another 75 boxes of computer-related aid that were not allowed to cross the border remain in Hidalgo. Seven members of the caravan have remained in Hidalgo continuing a national campaign to win release of the humanitarian aid seized by the US government more than a week ago.

The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) is a national ecumenical agency based in Harlem, New York City, which was founded in 1967 to work for racial, social, and economic justice. Pastors for Peace is a project of IFCO that was founded in 1988 after IFCO's executive director was wounded in a contra attack in Nicaragua.

More information, including photos and audio clips, is available at www.pastorsforpeace.org.

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July 25, 2005 - CAMPAIGN TO FREE COMPUTERS FOR CUBA GAINS MOMENTUM

CONTACT:Ellen Bernstein in Hidalgo, TX: 646-319-5902, Lucia Bruno in NY: 212-926-5757

The campaign to send to Cuba a number of donated computers that were seized by the US government on Thursday July 21 continues to gain momentum.

On Monday July 25, the Pastors for Peace caravanistas in Hidalgo, TX plan to visit the office of US Congressman Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), who represents McAllen and Hidalgo, to appeal for his support. They also plan to return to the border to ask for the release of the computers and computer equipment that were seized from their caravan on Friday.

The 16th US/Cuba Friendshipment caravan organized by IFCO/Pastors for Peace collected 140 tons of humanitarian aid for Cuba from 130 local communities in the US and Canada. Nearly all of that aid crossed the US border into Mexico just before daybreak on July 22. But US Customs officers, acting on the orders of the US Commerce Department, seized a dozen computers and a number of boxes of computer accessories such as printers, modems, and cables. 143 members of the Pastors for Peace caravan are currently in Cuba; seven members have stayed behind in Hidalgo, TX to win the release of the seized computers.

The theme of the 16th Friendshipment caravan is “special needs.” The computers are intended for use in classrooms for Cuban children with special needs such as visual impairments or learning disabilities.

Since 1992, IFCO/Pastors for Peace has organized 16 caravans to Cuba, which have delivered more than 2500 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba. As a matter of principle, Pastors for Peace refuses to request or accept a license for these aid shipments from the US Treasury Department, because they do not want to be complicit with the immoral US economic blockade of Cuba. In 1996, the US government seized 400 computers which the 6th Pastors for Peace caravan was attempting to deliver to Cuba, to form the basis for a system to share medical information and inventory medicines in Cuban hospitals. Five members of the caravan engaged in a 93-day fast, and after an enormous international campaign, the computers were eventually released to go to Cuba.

“Since 1996, we have been able to take computers to Cuba every year as a part of our caravans,” said Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace. “OFAC [the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department, which has had primary responsibility for enforcement of US sanctions against Cuba] understood that we were acting on the basis of sound moral principles. Now the White House has shifted enforcement responsibilities to the Commerce Department, with instructions to stop Pastors for Peace from crossing the border this year. In light of this, our resolve must be deeper and stronger than ever. We are going to have to fight to get these computers across the border and on to Cuba, and we will have to be prepared for even more confrontation when the rest of our caravan returns from Cuba.”

On Sunday, the caravanistas in Hidalgo participated in worship services in four area churches, and worked on local and national outreach. Grassroots and Congressional support for their campaign continues to grow.

The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) is a national ecumenical agency based in Harlem which was founded in 1967 to work for racial, social, and economic justice. Pastors for Peace is a project of IFCO that was founded in 1988 after IFCO’s executive director was wounded in a contra attack in Nicaragua.

Photos and audio of the caravan are available for download at www.pastorsforpeace.org

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July 22, 2005 - Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba Crosses the Border: "A Near-Total Victory" - The fight for computers for Cuban children continues at the Hidalgo/Reynosa border.

CONTACT:Ellen Bernstein in Hidalgo, TX: 646-319-5902, Lucia Bruno in NY: 212-926-5757

Pastors for Peace claimed a huge victory today as a tired but excited group of 130 US citizens crossed the US/Mexico border just before daybreak with almost all of the 140 tons of humanitarian aid en route to Cuba and collected by the Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Cuba Caravan. Their struggle to send on the remaining computers, which have been either confiscated or restricted by US authorities, to Cuban children with special needs is building momentum.

The caravan is composed of seven brightly painted yellow schoolbuses, two box trucks, and several smaller vehicles, all of them loaded with humanitarian aid for Cuba. Yesterday, more than 40 US Customs officers, acting on the instructions of Commerce Department officials, detained the Caravan at the border and began to search their vehicle one item at a time. In an exhaustive 6-hour search of the first two yellow schoolbuses, officials confiscated all of the computers and computer equipment available– 11 computers, three monitors, two printers, two scanners, and a variety of computer parts and accessories. Officials then threatened to tow the remaining vehicles carrying the rest of the aid. Meanwhile, members of the Caravan walked aid across the border and demonstrated beside the marooned buses.

“Our caravans have delivered nearly 2500 tons of aid to Cuba since 1992, all of it without asking permission of the US government. But this year something changed: We have heard that government officials ‘at the highest level’ made a special determination that this year our Pastors for Peace caravan would not pass,” said Rev. Walker. “We’ve already proved them wrong: 95% of our caravan has already crossed into Mexico and is headed toward Cuba. Now we’re determined to get our computers to Cuba as well.”

“When those first computers were seized, we decided not to give up any more of our precious cargo. We regrouped at a location two blocks away from the border crossing,” said Rev. Walker. “There we decided that the best strategy was to send most of the caravan ahead with all the non-contested aid. So we unloaded and reloaded our vehicles and everything but the computers passed through the Customs checkpoint between 3:00 and 6:00am. Just one bus stayed behind, with all our computers on board; and a few of us remain here in Texas to continue the fight for the computers.”

“Our extraordinary group of committed and hard-working volunteers worked through the night to make sure that our caravan of urgently needed medical supplies and hurricane relief makes it to Cuba on time,” said Rev. Lucius Walker, executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace. “More than ever we are committed to making sure that all the supplies donated by generous US citizens will get to the Cuban people.

The campaign to free the computers has received tremendous support from Capitol Hill and from members of the Pastors for Peace grassroots network nationwide, who are calling on the Commerce Department to demand the release of the Pastors for Peace computers for Cuba and an end to the inhumane blockade.

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July 21, 2005 - Homeland Security and Commerce Department Harass U.S.-Cuba Friendship Caravan at the U.S.-Mexico Border - Volunteers attempting to deliver tons of humanitarian and hurricane relief to Cuba could be held for days at the border in McAllen, Texas

CONTACT:Ellen Bernstein in McAllen, TX: 646-319-5902, Lucia Bruno in NY: 212-926-5757

McAllen, TX - Hundreds of Pastors for Peace volunteers preparing to deliver a massive shipment of humanitarian aid to Cuba have been barred at the U.S.-Mexico border and could be held there for days. Commerce Department officials are saying they will search every vehicle in the caravan and every item of humanitarian aid, which hasn’t been done for years, and they will only allow "licensable" goods to be allowed to cross into Mexico. Border agents are threatening to tow the caravan’s vehicles and have already seized some aid donations, including computers. Some volunteers are walking across the U.S.-Mexico border carrying wheelchairs, crutches and other medical supplies. Others are holding a protest at the border. There are 130 U.S. Citizens traveling with the delegation, as well as a truck and 2 small cars. They are attempting to deliver 140 tons of aid.

Pastors for Peace is asking its supporters to call the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and their Members of Congress to urge homeland security and the Commerce department to let the caravan and its humanitarian and hurricane aid cross the U.S.-Mexico border immediately. Pastors for Peace does not accept or apply for a license to deliver humanitarian aid to Cuba.

"As people of faith and conscience, it is our duty to resist and condemn this cruel U.S. policy," declared Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director and founder of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), a 38-year-old ecumenical agency which is the parent organization of Pastors for Peace. "IFCO/Pastors for Peace rejects this licensing system as both immoral and illegal. It is immoral because it endangers the lives of millions of Cubans and inflicts suffering on innocent children, as well as adults. It is illegal under international law because it uses medicine and food as weapons of war to force another nation to change its government. Licensing is also unconstitutional because it requires people of faith to submit their acts of conscience and friendship to government licensing, in violation of our right to freedom of religious expression, political thought, association and travel."

Despite calls for an end to the blockade and travel ban from the UN and the majority of nations around the world, the Bush Administration tightened restrictions against Cuba in 2004, and is using "homeland security" funds to investigate those suspected of travel to the island.

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July 20, 2005 - U.S. FAMILY PUTS BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO SHAME: Retired Sacramento Social Worker, Outraged at Bush Policies, Pledges $50,000 to Pastors for Peace for Humanitarian Aid for Cuba

CONTACT:Ellen Bernstein in McAllen, TX: 646-319-5902, Lucia Bruno in NY: 212-926-5757

Hundreds of Pastors for Peace volunteers preparing to deliver a massive shipment of humanitarian aid to Cuba were heartened by the news that Ruth Foote, a retired social worker, and her husband Fred Foote, from Sacramento, California, were so outraged by the US government's offer of $50,000 to Cuba for hurricane relief that they intend to personally contribute $50,000 to IFCO/Pastors for Peace.

"It's just outrageous that our government would insult the Cuban and American people in this way," said Ruth Foote. "I couldn't believe my ears when I heard it on the news."

Ruth Foote says she called Pastors for Peace because she knew of their work challenging the current US policy toward Cuba. "This blockade just doesn't make any sense," she said.

"We welcome this news from the Foote family," said Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director and founder of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), a 38-year-old ecumenical agency which is the parent organization of Pastors for Peace. "As people of faith and conscience, it is our duty to resist and condemn this cruel, immoral, and illegal US policy. The blockade endangers the lives of millions of Cubans and inflicts suffering on innocent children as well as adults. Ruth Foote is publicly declaring what the majority of people in the US believe -- that this brutal economic blockade of Cuba needs to end."

"The US is spending more than $50,000 every day on its efforts to destroy the nation of Cuba," said Rev. Walker. "In light of this, the US's paltry offer of $50,000 in aid after Hurricane Dennis is hypocritical on the part of the US administration; it is insulting to the Cubans, and it is embarrassing to the people of the US. If the Bush administration really wanted to assist the Cuban people, they would end the blockade; and that's exactly what we're calling on them to do."

The Cuban government refused the US government's token offer of aid, saying that it would only accept aid from friends which was offered unconditionally.

The 16th Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan will deliver a massive shipment of humanitarian aid to Cuba without asking for permission or license from the US government. 150 participants -- from the US, Mexico, Canada, Uganda, nine European countries, and the Caribbean -- will cross the border from McAllen, Texas into Mexico on Thursday morning July 21 at 11:00am, following the 9:30am press conference at the Basilica of San Juan del Valle. There will be an additional media opportunity just north of the International Bridge in Hidalgo just before the crossing at 11:00am.

Seven large yellow buses, one small bus, and two box trucks, all of them brightly painted and filled with valuable humanitarian aid, make up the caravan.

 

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July 1, 2005 - Pastors for Peace to Launch 16th Non-Violent Challenge to Immoral US Blockade of Cuba

CONTACT: Lucia Bruno 212-926-5757 or 347-423-4330

Hundreds of Pastors for Peace volunteers from the US and seven foreign countries will challenge the immoral and illegal US blockade and travel restrictions against Cuba at the US - Mexico border on July 21st. They expect to collect 200 tons of humanitarian aid during a two week caravan which will converge in McAllen, Texas before traveling on to Cuba without US treasury department licenses. They intend to deliver the school buses, computers, medicines, and medical supplies gathered in communities throughout the US with them.

The 16th Friendshipment Caravan will traverse fourteen separate routes across the country stopping in all 48 mainland states. Along the way the caravan will be hosted in 130 communities who support a new US Cuba policy based on respect and non-aggression. This year, communities have collected aid for Cubans with special needs.

"As people of faith and conscience, it is our duty to resist and condemn this cruel US policy," declared Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., Executive Director and founder of IFCO, a 36-year old ecumenical agency. "IFCO/Pastors for Peace rejects this licensing system as both immoral and illegal. It is immoral because it endangers the lives of millions of Cubans and inflicts suffering on innocent children, as well as adults. It is illegal under international law because it uses medicine and food as weapons of war to force another nation to change its government. Licensing is also unconstitutional because it requires people of faith to submit their acts of conscience and friendship to government licensing, in violation of our right to freedom of religious expression, political thought, association and travel," continued Walker.

Despite calls for an end to the blockade and travel ban from the UN and the majority of nations around the world, the Bush Administration tightened restrictions against Cuba in 2004, and is using "homeland security" funds to investigate those suspected of travel to the island.

"Our non-violent caravan of peace-loving individuals is a challenge to this violation of our rights to express our faith and to travel to Cuba." said Rev.Thomas Smith, President of the Board of Directors of IFCO/Pastors for Peace.

Since 1992 Pastors for Peace has used hunger strikes and mass mobilizations to successfully challenge US government attempts to confiscate vehicles and humanitarian aid bound for Cuba. The ecumenical initiative is a project of IFCO, the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, and has delivered more than 2,350 tons of urgently needed assistance to the Cuban people without seeking a US Treasury license.

Members of the press are invited to accompany the sixteenth IFCO/Pastors for Peace US-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan on either all or part of the caravan.

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