RMT Young Members Visit Cuba

Emma Baldwin (Watford Branch) Reports.....

When I first joined RMT I was told about a trip to Cuba that they do and how I should definitely get myself on to that trip, so when the chance came for me to go I jumped at it feet first!

There is a bit of a warning attached to this you have to remember that Cuba has a trade embargo with the USA, for many decades and because of this some things are very basic, when the information you receive says “basic but adequate” it may not be what you imagine it to be.

This trip was unlike anything that I had imagined that it would be, there were around 50 delegates from various trade unions from over the country including Unite, Unison and GMB but also there were people from all over the world. We arrived and were met by our guide/ translator Roberto, we then waited for our bus to turn up, but forget about the nice air conditioned ones that you get in England you have to remember that in Cuba things are very basic and if something is broken it is very hard to get the replacement parts. We drove for about an hour and we arrived at International Camp Julio Antonio Mella where eight people to a room slept on bunk beds and a fan to try and keep us cool.

After only having a few hours of time to unpack and get a shower we were out again to the House of Friendship, this is a meeting place for trade unionist’s we had dinner and a wonderful show put on for us and after all that we were provided with a bottle of Cuban rum and a bottle of cola but I have to say that a lot of us were to tired to drink.

The next day we took a visit via a coach to Cienfuegos but this time we did have the air conditioned coach and we stayed in a hotel that was built for tourism and here was a pool, TVs, fridges and air conditioning in the room. Whilst in Cienfuegos over the next couple of days we had various visits to hospitals. Some schools are specific to dance, music and art. Although the children have to attend another school where they learn the basic subjects you ask anyone of them and they all say in unison that they prefer the music and dance school. We also had an optional visit to Santa Clara, where there is a memorial to Che Guevara he was the revolutionist who invaded Cuba under Castro’s leadership.

We also had a visit to the Armoured Train, this train was derailed as it was carrying reinforcements to soldiers fighting against the Rebel Army.

After staying a few days in Cienfuegos, it was time to head back to Camp. Upon returning it was a bit of a shock to the system after being treated so well at the hotel but we were there to learn about Cuba,. Over the next couple of days we were split in to groups to do some more agricultural work, it ranged from weeding fields, painting schools and stone picking.

Whilst at the camp we had a lot of speakers come and talk to us about various parts of Cuba and the countries plans for development from growing food to transport.

There are a couple of things that stay in my mind forever regarding Cuba. Firstly is the main reason this trip takes place is, on Mayday every year the centre of Havana becomes a mass of people taking part in a massive parade, shops close and for about two/three hours it is just a constant stream of people dressed in bright colours, wacky costumes, hats and every person wants to be there regardless if they are 3, 30 or 93 also the President of Cuba Raul Castro is there and you just hear constant chants of “Viva, Fidel, Viva Raul, Viva Cuba.” words cannot describe this day and it something that I will never forget.

The second is the evening that we went to the CDR which stands for Committees for the Defence of the Revolution these are basically block of flats set up by the government to bring communities together. We turned up and people has put out food on tables for us, the children had baked a loaf of bread for us in the shape of a dinosaur, there was also mangos, cake and coconuts all for us and there was a gentleman going round putting mangos in our bags. Children were dancing in the street, putting on shows for us, and although there was a language barrier it didn’t matter we all felt welcome.

We then went in to house and he offered us some home made wine that he had made, and also he was telling us about his son who was training to be a doctor and how proud he was. It was amazing to be in that atmosphere and when a glass got knocked off the table and broke he refused for us to touch it incase we hurt ourselves.

Something that definitely needs to be mentioned is the Miami Five, you may have heard about them, you may not. They are five Cubans who were sent to the USA to try to gather information about groups that Cuba regarded as terrorists, they did this successfully and when the Cuban government passed the information gathered by the five to the FBI they were arrested, unlawfully tried and convicted of charges from, espionage, conspiracy to commit murder and other illegal activities. They have each been held in separate prisons, their families have on many occasions been denied visits from their families in Cuba, and many occasions been held in solitary confinement.

This was a trip of a lifetime, and it opened my eyes up to the fact that there is more to Cuba then cigars and rum. I highly recommend that you go to your branch meeting and try and get yourself on the trip you will love every minute of it.