Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Support the Cuban People. Help Send Them a Bookmobile! and Books!

Debb | 21.06.2007 11:27 | Education | Other Press | Social Struggles | World

The US embargo on trade with Cuba continues. This summer Pastors for Peace will again challenge the blockade with a friendship caravan. A fully stocked bookmobile will accompany it. Before the revolution there were only 32 libraries in Cuba. In 2002 there were 400 public libraries and 6000 school libraries. Cubans are avid readers and life long learners but Cuban librarians struggle to meet their needs under the blockade. We urge you join us in sending books to Cuba!

The US embargo on trade with Cuba and ban on American travel to the island except under license continues. This summer Pastors for Peace will again challenge the blockade and travel ban with a friendshipment caravan to Cuba. Books for Cuba equals Libros para Cuba is a California-based group of librarians organised to support Cuban public libraries by donating materials. They will take a fully stocked bookmobile on this year’s caravan.

The bookmobile will go into service in the rural Granma Province. Cuban librarians chose the location and worked with Dana Lubow and Rhonda Neugebauer to develop the collection criteria used to stock the bookmobile. Dana and Rhonda, the American librarians behind the project, have met with librarians in Cuba on several occasions. In January 2007 Dana visited libraries in Granma Province. Despite great progress to date, they need our help.

Cuba’s literacy rate is more than 97%, the highest in Latin America. Cubans are avid readers and life-long learners who rely on their libraries. Before the revolution there were only 32 libraries in Cuba. In 2002 there were 400 public libraries and 6000 school libraries. The libraries struggle to obtain the materials they need. Cuba is a still-developing country long handicapped by an illegal and immoral US-imposed economic blockade. As a result, it has little money to support its highly valued libraries. It is possible to work around the blockade but the costs of doing so are prohibitive. Moreover, a paper shortage in the 1990s paralyzed the Cuban publishing industry, which is only now recovering.

Many people outside Cuba do not realize that, while Cuban librarians must use the most creative means to even marginally meet the needs of their users, US government operatives generously support a network of so-called Independent Libraries and pay their dissident "librarians" for "services rendered." The Independent Libraries Project is just one of many tactics used by the US State Department in its effort to destabilize the revolution and otherwise interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign Cuba.

For more information about Cuba's public libraries and the Independent Libraries see "'Payment for Services Rendered': US-funded Dissent and the 'Independent Libraries Project' in Cuba" by Rhonda Neugebauer. You can read it on-line at  http://www.pit.edu/~ttwiss/irtf/cuba.payment.html.


WHAT YOU CAN DO

Donate Money

Money is badly needed for the bookmobile and its maintenance and repairs. To ensure the lowest transfer fees and best possible exchange rate, we will pool donations for transfer to the US. If you want to contribute to the fund, please make your cheque payable to Cuba Solidarity Oxford care of Carol Stavris, 120 Loyd Road, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 8JR.

Donate Books

Many Spanish language books are needed to fill the bookmobile. You can purchase new and used books at  http://www.alibris.com by clicking on "Donate a Book" at the top. Then search for the bookmobile Wishlist by entering  danalubow@hotmail.com. This is a simple and efficient way to donate books since they will be delivered directly to Dana and the bookmobile. The list of books is long and impressive. It includes titles for all ages, and covers all topics and price ranges.

Let us know if you have books of your own in good condition in Spanish that you want to donate. Two Oxford CSC members may be travelling to Los Angeles in June. If so, they will hand deliver a limited number of books that meet the collection criteria. The bookmobile also needs a few books in English for language learners. If you think you may have suitable items, please contact the Oxford Cuba Solidarity Campaign at the email address below.
Spread the Word
This is an important undertaking in its own right. But it also clearly illustrates the means used by the US State Department to destabilize the Cuban government as well as how the blockade impacts ordinary Cubans. We can use this opportunity to build wider support for Cuba and to foster critical discussion of American foreign policy.
The exterior of the bookmobile will feature design elements contributed by Gerardo Hernández, one of the Miami Five. Gerardo now awaits justice in a southern California prison. His artwork should provide an opening to expand public awareness of the Miami Five’s compelling story.

Email  cubasolidarityoxford@yahoo.co.uk to learn more about how you can help send books and a bookmobile to Cuba!

Debb
- e-mail: cubasolidarityoxford@yahoo.co.uk

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech