Over 100,000 of the Cuban people, including Fidel, have donated blood for their Peruvian sisters and brothers who just suffered a huge earthquake. When the call for blood donors went out, 10,000 pints a day were given. The people responded in even greater numbers, forming long lines outside each of Cuba’s blood banks, supplying many more volunteers than the facilities’ limit of capacity.
The people were able to make this unprecedented gesture of solidarity because the Revolution has increased the number of reception centers from one to seventeen.
Five Cuban medical brigades are also operating in the mountains and countryside of Peru. Planeloads of aid supplies are constantly being airlifted between Havana and Lima, the capital of Peru. They will continue to be sent until the stress in their sister country has been relieved.
Sidebar: Speakers on Cuba
Detroiters who have been to Cuba with the Venceremos Brigade, cutting cane, will speak about their experiences and what they saw. Slides are available for showings. Prefer small groups and living-room type gatherings. Write: DG, Box 08051, Detroit, Michigan, 48208.
Sidebar: Read About Cuba
There are lots of things available to read about Cuba, some good and some pretty bad. After visiting Cuba, we believe the best things to start with are the four following books:
M-26: Biography of a Revolution by Robert Taber. (Lyle Stuart pub.)
The Economic Transformation of Cuba by Edward Boorstein. (Monthly Review Press)
The Youngest Revolution by Elizabeth Sutherland. (Dial Press)
Revolution Cuban Style by Gil Green (International Publishers)
Related
See “Cuba,” FE #110, July 23-August 5, 1970.