On the Border with the Cuba Caravanistas

by Janine Bandcroft 

hi all; i'm in mcallen texas, preparing (along with approximately 125 others), to cross the border into mexico with about 100 tons of aid destined for cuba.

our intention is to leave around 6 am, and spend however long at the border, then drive through mexico to tampico and put the stuff on a barge and then all the caravanistas will fly to havana for a week.

i'll be returning across the mexican border into texas on july 14th and i've heard that sometimes the american authorities 'grill' the international visitors.  we've been instructed to say "on advice of
my attorney i refuse to answer that question."  a couple of years ago they held the canadians for several hours, attempting to get information out of them about cuba - where they were, who they travelled with, etc - for the purposes of discrediting pastors for peace - the organization that has led this work over these past 19 years.  eventually they were released.  the pastors for peace will
not abandon anyone at the border, in either direction.

i'm writing to alert you to the fact that these border crossings, depending on the mood of the authorities and the instructions they receive from washington, might be challenging.  if anything should happen, i'll be sure to let you know as soon as possible so that you can put the word out.  media attention is the last thing the authorities want.  

my first phone call will be to randy and judy, the organizers of the goods for cuba caravan from Victoria, and i've included your email addresses so they can let you know (as soon as they hear from me) how the border crossing went.


namaste,
janine

 

 

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