On Wednesday 8 May 2024 Rock Around the Blockade hosted an international online meeting, drawing out the connections between the struggles for self-determination against imperialism in Palestine, Cuba and Venezuela.
The meeting was attended by over 100 people connecting from across the globe, including student activists from the Palestine Solidarity encampment in Manchester, who made a contribution to the meeting:

Online Public Meeting

Palestine, Cuba, Venezuela: On the Frontline of the Anti-Imperialist Struggle

As imperialist countries back the genocidal assault on Gaza, solidarity with peoples on the frontline of the anti-imperialist struggle is more important than ever. Cuba has engaged in a daily battle against US economic warfare for over 60 years, whilst Venezuela faces similar challenges for daring to defy US domination.

• Khaled Barakat - Masar Badil, Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement
• Ivan Ernesto - Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples and Union of Young Communists
• Jorge Vilalta - Movimiento Otro Beta and Alba Movimientos (Venezuela)
• Plus a speaker from the Revolutionary Communist Group (Britain)
  

Join us for an international webinar featuring stories from anti-imperialist struggles across the globe!

Spread the word and invite your friends! Click here to see the event on Facebook

Reposted from 1c4cuba.eu:

On 15 March 2024, supporters of RATB protested outside the offices of London resident and DCD Rights’ Head of IT Mickael Behn against his $440m lawsuit targeting cruise ship companies previously involved in tourism to Cuba. After lobbying US politicians, both Democrat and Republican, Behn convinced a US district court judge in Miami to recognise his claim to his grandfather’s shares in the so-called Havana Docks Company.

This Delaware based company held a lease to operate three docks in Havana before the Cuban Revolution; this lease expired in 2004. RATB calls on Mickael Behn to drop the claim; we say no economic war on Cuba!

Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, first secretary of the PCC committee in Santiago de Cuba, meets with the protesters: "We attended a group of people around the Antonio Maceo District of #SantiagoDeCuba, dissatisfied with the electricity supply and food distribution, we are part of the people, integrated and facing the genocidal blockade" -  via Twitter

Below we republish a statement on the recent protests in Santiago de Cuba from the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP):

The RATB brigade embarked on a visit to the agroecological community project known as ‘Granjita Feliz’ (‘Happy little farm’) in Guanabacoa, Cuba. During this enlightening experience, the brigade had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the environment ministry, who shed light on Tarea Vida (‘Life Task’), the Cuban government’s ambitious 100-year plan to combat the adverse effects of climate change. The brigade also had the privilege of viewing an art exhibition and talent show prepared by local residents and students with special educational needs who participate in the Granjita Feliz project.

Socialist Cuba’s long-standing principles of free universal healthcare – enshrined in its Constitution – take expression in its emphasis on primary care. The pinnacle of this approach is Cuba’s Family Doctor and Nurse programme. Teams of doctors and nurses are based in every community. Families receive visits at least yearly, or every three months for those with chronic illnesses. This allows the socialist state to assess the health of the entire population, not just the sick.

Climate change is already profoundly affecting Cuban society, as it is elsewhere in the underdeveloped nations. Cuba has already begun to experience rising sea levels and one million Cuban people live on or near the coast. Our brigade met with representatives from the Environment Agency at an agroecological community project known as ‘Granjita Feliz’ (‘Happy little farm’), in Guanabacoa, Havana, to learn more about the government’s ambitious 100-year plan to combat the adverse effects of climate change: Tarea Vida (‘Life Task’).
Despite being situated away from the coastal areas, Guanabacoa was chosen by the Cuban state as the sole recipient of EU funding and technical training related to climate change. This decision was instrumental in dispelling the misconception that climate change only affects coastal regions.

The triumph of the Revolution instigated thousands of transformations in social, political, and economic life in Cuba, made by and for Cuban women. Vilma Espin, leader in Cuba’s revolutionary struggle, founded and was President of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) in 1960. Today 4.2 million women and girls over 14 years old (92% of the female population) are members of the FMC. They join voluntarily to carry out community and municipality-based work.

Cuba has developed groundbreaking biological technology which has prevented over 20,000 diabetic-related amputations and treated over 120,000 Cubans. Herberprot-P is a genetically engineered epidermal growth factor, a molecule that encourages cell growth and multiplication so when it is injected in a wound, or ulcer, it promotes wound healing.