Experience Cuba As a Volunteer Side-by-Side With Cubans on the Che Brigade (People's Voice)

Experience Cuba As a Volunteer Side-by-Side With Cubans on the Che Brigade

by Saleh Waziruddin

What better way to learn about Cuba and how its social system works than by volunteering side-by-side with Cubans from different organizations, or meeting with them face to face where you can have all your questions answered? You can do all this by joining the 27^th Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade, where volunteers from across Canada will be in Cuba May 23 to June 6 traveling through Havana, Pinar del Rio, and Matanzas provinces.

The volunteer work is on farms and alongside members of Cuban women's and youth/student organizations, as well as veterans of the Cuban revolution. The volunteer work is customized for all abilities, there is something for everyone.

The Brigade will also visit medical technology centres and clinics to see how Cuba is surviving the US blockade. There will also be meetings with a broad cross-section of Cuban organizations, including a visit to the parliament with information on Cuba's new constitution and the drafting process. There will also be a concert, dance lessons, free time, and of course a visit to the beach!

The Brigade will be staying at an international solidarity camp outside Havana but will be in Matanzas for four days at a hotel. Havana is celebrating its 500^th Anniversary. Matanzas is a centre of Afro-Cuban culture and had a key role in the Cuban independence movement. This part of the trip includes a trip to the Bay of Pigs. The Brigade will also visit the Vinales Valley in Pinar del Rio, a UN World Heritage Site of natural beauty.

The Brigade price is $1,100 including a $100 registration fee. The price includes all local travel, accommodation, meals, and tips for the Cuban staff. It does not include the flight to and from Cuba or extra/optional side-trips, snacks, or drinks. Even if you are not ready to pay for the Brigade yet it is best to book your flight now while seats are available and cheaper.

You can register online at https://goo.gl/MuYQtJ and more information is available at the Brigade's web page www.canadiannetworkoncuba.ca/brigade. The Brigade is also on Facebook.com/chevolbrigade or twitter @chevolbrigade. You can contact the coordinator, Saleh Waziruddin with any questions at chevolbrigade@gmail.com or 289 990 7683.

The Che Brigade is a non-profit project of the Canadian Network on Cuba, which represents 20 organizations across Canada involved in Cuba solidarity. The Brigade is in partnership with ICAP (Cuban Institute for Friendship of the Peoples), whose camp we will be staying at for most of the Brigade.

Groups advocate for anti-racism, LGBTQ committees (St. Catharines Standard)

(https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2019/02/14/groups-advocate-for-anti-racism-lgbtq-committees.html)

Groups advocate for anti-racism, LGBTQ committees

St. Catharines will explore whether more committees are needed

By Karena WalterStandard Reporter
The St. Catharines Standard

Thu., Feb. 14, 2019timer3 min. read

updateArticle was updated Jun. 02, 2020

A St. Catharines working group will consider the creation of anti-racism and LGBTQ advisory committees after citizens told councillors Monday they are desperately needed.

The issue came up because council is in the midst of creating an advisory committee on diversity and inclusion – something the five separate delegates said doesn't go far enough.

"One committee dealing with all of these issues, even through sub-committees, cannot do the work the city needs to do on these two issues," said Saleh Waziruddin, a member of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association.

Waziruddin, whose parents immigrated from India and Pakistan, said he has experienced racism in the city and even had to quit a job as a taxi driver after only a few days because of racist harassment by customers.

"The city can't solve every problem, but the city should have some role to play in making it possible for people like me to try and make a living without harassment," he told council. "The city can't just sit by on the sidelines."

Waziruddin recalled St. Catharines used to have an anti-racism committee which did educational work and responded to racist incidents. The city is now behind, he said, not just compared to other cities but compared to where it was before.

"As citizens we are continually told how far St. Catharines has come, but no one ever asks for who," said Renee Martin, co-founder of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association. "Advancement for some does not translate into advancement for all."

Martin said Hamilton built the first anti-racism centre in Canada, Brampton raised the Pan-African flag for black history month and Toronto has multiple groups working on anti-racism.

If St. Catharines wishes to bridge the gap on the racial divide, Martin said it is imperative that racialized people in the city get their own anti-racism committee.

Vicki-Lynn Smith, who recently ran for city council in George's ward, told council her grandmother fought for black rights in St. Catharines and she's had to fight for rights all over again for her daughter and the people coming behind her.

She said dedicated anti-racism and LGBTQ advisory committees would show the city's commitment to challenging the systemic problems with rights in the city.

"Some of us here today want to be involved with our city," Smith said. "We have been called complainers, but here we are in front of you showing you we're not just complainers, we're here to put in the work and do the actions that need to be done."

Council appointed Couns. Greg Miller, Karrie Porter and Kevin Townsend Monday to a working group with Mayor Walter Sendzik and staff to develop the terms of reference for the diversity and inclusion advisory committee.

But in response to the presentations, it also directed the working group to consider the creation of separate anti-racism and LGBTQ advisory committees, as well as any other advisory committees related to diversity and inclusion that it deems appropriate.

The working group is tasked with reaching out to interested community organizations for their assistance.

Sendzik told the presenters that council doesn't take their remarks lightly.

"We understand the seriousness of the issues that you've all brought forward from your respective communities," he said.

"I think what you'll see from council is every effort will be made to continue to, not just try and play catch up as you've pointed out, but also try and get ahead of a lot of the issues that we're seeing arise in our community and that have been there for a long time."

Karena.Walter@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1628 | @karena_standard

 Speech to St. Catharines City Council on the Need for a Separate Anti-Racism Advisory Committee

February 11, 2019

Good evening, my name is Saleh Waziruddin. I live in St Catharines and am a member of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association.

I want to speak about the working group and proposed committee on equity and diversity, which is not the same as anti-racism or LGBTQ issues. One committee dealing with all these issues, even through sub-committees, cannot do the work the city needs to do on those two issues.

I worked at a call centre here for many years but to make ends meet I worked a second job as a taxi driver. I had so much racist harassment that I had to quit after only a few days. On my first night a customer refused to pay saying I should “go back to Afghanistan”. I was born here and my parents immigrated from India and Pakistan, but that is not the point.

The City can’t solve every problem but the city should have some role to play in making it possible for people like me to try to make a living without harassment. The City can’t just sit by on the sidelines.

The City used to have an anti-Racism committee which did education and responded to racist incidents. And other cities in Ontario have anti-racism committees such as Hamilton just up the highway, so why can’t we have this too? We need to catch up, we are behind not just compared to other cities but even compared to where we were.

A few months ago his worship the mayor very correctly pointed out at an event at the Folk Arts Multicultural Centre that he is the first Polish-Canadian mayor of St. Catharines. Being the first Polish-Canadian mayor might be diversity, but it is definitely not anti-racism. A committee looking at the broader issues cannot do the work needed specifically on anti-Racism and for LGBTQ issues.

We need a separate committee for each. Please amend the the Clerk’s report to give us these two committees, it’s not that much to ask for yet we need it very much.

Thank you. 

Volunteer Side-by-Side with Cubans on the Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade!

(from Jan/Feb issue of Amistad, Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association Toronto, Vol.40.1)

Volunteer Side-by-Side with Cubans

on the

Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade!

The annual Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade of Canadians from across the country will be going to Cuba in the last week of May and first week of June for 2019. This is a unique way for all ages to learn about Cuba through volunteering side-by-side with Cubans in their everyday environment

The Brigade will be going to Matanzas, a centre of Afro- Cuban culture which had a key role in Cuba's independence movement, and this includes a day trip to the Bay of Pigs. The volunteers will also be spending time in Havana which is celebrating its 500th anniversary this year, a rare opportunity. The Brigade has for many years been a special way for Canadians to learn about Cuba not just because of the volunteer work (suited to fit all abilities and ages) where you can interact with Cubans, but also because of the special face to face meetings with Cubans from all kinds of organizations such as the Women's federation, unions, veterans of the revolution, youth and student organizations. You'll have time to ask them all the burning questions you've been wondering about, to the very Cubans who have the direct experience with those issues.

We are still waiting for the cost of the brigade and final dates are subject to flights. However, we are hoping to keep the land portion at $1,000 Canadian. (The air flight from Canada is separate.)

Those who need help fundraising to go should have no fear as we've seen in previous years people have been able to raise more than they need in just weeks through online and other sources. The Brigade coordinator can help walk you through the steps and we have tips proven to work in the past.

If you have any questions, please contact the Brigade

Coordinator: Saleh Waziruddin at

chevolbrigade@gmail.com or 289 990 7683.

The Brigade is on twitter @chevolbrigade

or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CheVolBrigade/http://can

Letter to St Catharines Standard About Short Hills Hunt

Re: Niagara letters to the editor, Dec. 3

I’m responding to the letter against the annual Short Hills hunt.

Any request to end the hunt at Short Hills must be directed to the Haudenosaunee, the only ones who have the sovereign right to make this decision under nation-to-nation treaties recognized by the governments of Canada, Ontario, the United Nations and international law. To ask the Ontario government to stop the hunt is to demand the violation of Indigenous rights that exist regardless of who is doing the asking, even if they are Indigenous.

Perversely much of the expense to taxpayers is not from “assistance” to the hunt but for policing the illegal protests which are oblivious to the decision-making roles and rights of the Haudenosaunee.

It is narrow-minded to see the hunt as only about survival, as if it is an out-dated tradition.

The hunt is necessary for Haudenosaunee ceremonies and food independence. Protests targeting Kosher or Halal slaughter would be rightfully suspected of prejudice and exclusion of minority communities, why doesn’t the same apply to protests targeting Indigenous hunting?

Any effort to stop the hunt must first comprehensively respect the rights and very existence of the Haudenosaunee, not try to erase them from our thinking let alone their own lands.

Saleh Waziruddin
St. Catharines

Letter to Voice of Pelham About Short Hills Hunt

The Province Has No Authority

Dear Editor,

Several letters (November 28, 2018) wrongly ask the Ontario government to end the hunt at Short Hills when they should be asking the only ones who have the legal and moral right to stop it, the Haudenosaunee. The hunt is under nation-to-nation treaties between the Crown and the Haudenosaunee which date back to long before 2013, recognized by not just the Canadian and Ontario governments but also the United Nations and international law.  Whether people accept it or not the Haudenosaunee’s rights are that of a sovereign nation.

Saying you understand “repression and hardships” the Indigenous have gone through is only lip-service if at the same time you call for more repression and hardships by violating their rights. This is disingenuous and misleading.

A comprehensive respect for the Haudenosaunee means not only recognizing only they have the right to stop the hunt, but also respecting the role of the hunt in their ceremonies and food independence. Protests targeting Kosher or Halal slaughter would be rightfully suspected of prejudice and the exclusion of minority communities, why doesn’t the same apply to protests targeting Indigenous hunting?

To say modern archery and trucks make the hunt non-traditional is as absurd as saying attending a traditional Christmas dinner requires dressing up as people in Palestine did 2,000 years ago and traveling only on camels and donkeys.

The way forward is to have a comprehensive respect for the inherent and treaty rights of the Haudenosaunee. To address them as equals, not to continue erasing them from their own lands.

Saleh Waziruddin,
St. Catharines

 

Fight for $15 wage resumes

Workers Activist Group protests Doug Ford’s threat of Bill 148 repeal

• The Niagara Falls Review
• 16 Oct 2018
• ALLAN BENNER Allan.Benner@niagaradailies.com 905-225-1629 | @abenner1

JULIE JOCSAK THE ST. CATHARINES STANDARD

A woman protests the Ford government’s rollback of a $15 minimum wage promised by the former Liberal government.

After years of fighting for a $15 minimum wage, members of Niagara Workers Activist Group are now fighting to keep the promised wage hike.

Nearly two years after Ontario’s former Liberal government approved Bill 148 increasing the minimum wage to $15 on Jan. 1, 2019, members of the grassroots organization formed that was in 2015 to lobby for a fair wage for workers are resuming their “moral battle.”

About two dozen Niagara Workers Activist Group members and labour organization representatives gathered in front of the Ministry of Transportation building on St. Paul Street Monday in one of more than 40 protests that took place across Ontario responding to plans announced earlier this month by Premier Doug Ford to repeal the $15 minimum wage, as well as other benefits such as 10 days of emergency leave, equal pay for part time and contract workers, and leaves of absence for victims of domestic violence.

NWAG co-chair Lisa Britton, who organized the local protest, said numerous people working in Niagara’s low-paying service industry jobs will be hard hit if the province follows through with its plans.

She said the PC government “needs to understand that we need the $15 minimum wage — we need Bill 148.”

Although cool, rainy weather and “short notice” about the protest was blamed for modest participation, NWAG member Salaeh Waziruddin said there is substantial support for the minimum wage increase.

“Everybody knows somebody who is trying to make it work, trying to make ends meet with minimum wage and it’s not working,” he said. “When we canvass, we are seeing a lot of support.”

Waziruddin said rolling back Bill 148 will be terrible for workers.

“We can’t let them do that. We have to organize,” he told protesters. “We need to show them that if they take away our minimum wage, we’re going to show our maximum rage.”

NWAG member Julia Lucas said the provincial government is “threatening to do everything they can to make life harder for the working people.”

“A third of the workers in this province are earning minimum wage, so there’s a lot at stake. It’s important for all of them to be able to pay for all the things that we take for granted,” Lucas said. “This is a moral battle.”

Kyle Hoskin from Candaian Union of Public Employees Local 1287, representing workers at Emterra Environmental, said there’s more at stake than just the $15 minimum wage.

“This is going to impact every single person in this province,” he said. “I think it’s important that we protect this bill in its entirety with all of its provisions.”

Although public-sector union representatives participated in the protest, Bruce Allen from Unifor Local 199 pointed out that most minimum wage earners work in the private sector.

“Right now I’m going to call on the private sector unions who aren’t here — with the exception of me — and say, ‘You guys have to step up,’” he said. “The private sector workforce has got to get behind this struggle.”

Britton said the group has plans for additional protests, if needed.

She also invited people to get involved by emailing her at ljbritton@gmail.com.