We are proud to show our solidarity with Cuba, said Mariela Kohon, director of international relations for the organization that brings together 48 unions and a total of 5.5 million workers in the United Kingdom.

The trade unionist spoke at a collateral event of the annual conference of the workers’ union that takes place in Brighton, southern England, and was organized by the Campaign for Solidarity with Cuba (CSC) as part of the ‘Viva la Educación’ initiative, that seeks to send educational material to the Caribbean island and help circumvent US trade and financial sanctions.

At the beginning of the event, the director of the CSC, Rob Miller, read a letter sent by the general secretary of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, in which the Cuban union leader thanked the support of the TUC to Cuba, and his condemnation of Washington’s hostile policy against Havana.

For the CTC, the TUC is one of the most active and combative organizations of the trade union movement in the United Kingdom, based on the principles of proletarian internationalism and international solidarity, the letter states.

The Cuban ambassador to the United Kingdom, Bárbara Montalvo, highlighted, for her part, that this international support is essential to counteract the shortcomings caused by the US blockade.

In this regard, she recalled the shipment to the island of more than four thousand musical instruments and 45 Braille machines for blind and visually impaired children, as part of campaigns organized by the CSC and British unions in 2019.

The diplomat stressed that, despite the difficulties arising from US sanctions, Cuba has not closed schools or privatized the educational system, nor has it given up helping and sharing its achievements with those who need it most.

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