(Prensa Latina) The U.S. blockade against Cuba continues to be a cruel, unjust, immoral and anachronistic reality that tries to bend the will of a people that has chosen to be free, said Noemi Rabaza, first Vice President of ICAP.
Rabaza, who is attending the International Conference for the Normalization of Relations between the United States and Cuba on behalf of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with Peoples (ICAP), expressed gratitude for the energy and drive of the movement in support of the island, especially in this country.
"You have been a beacon of light in the darkest moments, voices raised against injustice and arms outstretched to build bridges of friendship," the official said at the face-to-face and virtual meeting held at the iconic Malcolm X Center in New York.
Rabaza said that ICAP will be 65 years old in 2025, and that the institution's history is "intertwined with the solidarity activism of movements like the one you represent," and that more than six decades later, it remains "a bridge between Cuba and the world."
In remembering the time that has passed, "we cannot fail to recall the figures of two giants whose struggles and legacies inspire us: Fidel Castro and Malcolm X. Both, from different trenches but with the same purpose, dedicated their lives to the fight for social justice, equality and human dignity," she stressed.
In his profile on the social network X, Cuba's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Yuri Gala, described the experience as "an important event organized by groups in solidarity with the Cuban nation. #CubaNoEstáSola."
The forum, which ends tomorrow and whose first edition was held in 2017, counts this time with a diverse participation and collaboration of solidarity networks in the United States, Canada (Quebec) and the Continental Latin American and Caribbean Network of Solidarity with Cuba and Just Causes.
The final declaration is expected to include the objectives of the work of the solidarity movement in the immediate future, taking into account - as a brochure of the National Network on Cuba reminds us - that there is a two-way blockade imposed by the United States that dramatically affects the lives of tens of millions of Cuban and U.S. residents.
Many point out that if the unilateral siege, which has survived 12 administrations in the Executive Mansion, did not exist, cooperation could be achieved in areas such as medical advances.
Solidarity figures show that the blockade prevents, for example, some 80,000 US diabetics who suffer amputations every year and 550,000 lung cancer patients from having access to unique Cuban treatments for their disease.
They also point out that nearly 50 million adults in this country are illiterate and cannot benefit from Cuba's global literacy campaign, "Yo Sí Puedo" (Yes, I Can) which has helped 11 million people in 30 countries around the world learn to read and write.
They also state that, because of the blockade, U.S. citizens have fewer opportunities to visit a beautiful Caribbean island and share experiences with its wonderful people.