Upon receiving the “65th Anniversary of ICAP” seal from IFCO-Pastors for Peace, Claudia de la Cruz, executive director of the U.S. interfaith foundation, stated: “Our relationship is more than friendship; it is brotherhood, internationalism, and solidarity. This is what Lucius and Fidel taught us.”
Fernando González Llort, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), presented the award during a cordial meeting in which Claudia expressed her gratitude, affirming that in this world in crisis, “solidarity is the antidote to imperialism.”
Fernando González Llort, president of ICAP, presented the commemorative seal for the Institute’s 65th anniversary.
The fraternal ceremony evoked the continuity and enduring legacy of Reverend Lucius Walker and the Commander-in-Chief, who shared a deep friendship and cultivated strong ties between Pastors for Peace and the Cuban people.
Fernando highlighted the ongoing efforts to strengthen this collaborative work, enthusiastically announcing that IFCO will participate in Cuba this year in the centennial commemoration of Fidel Castro, who described the Pastors for Peace project as “a bridge of love and hope that not even the most ironclad blockade could destroy.”
Caridad Diego Bello, head of the Office of Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the PCC, was present, along with Noemí Rabaza Fernández, First Vice President of ICAP.
Leima Martínez Freire, ICAP Director for North America.
Noemí Rabaza, First Vice President of ICAP, congratulated Claudia de la Cruz, Executive Director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace.
Leima presented the rationale for this commemorative stamp and highlighted the greatness of Lucius Walker, founder of the Caravans of Friendship, whose history began more than 30 years ago, “standing as compelling proof of the friendship between the people of the United States and Cuba.”
She recalled the commitment of the hundreds of caravan members to denounce the injustice of the blockade by traveling throughout the United States collecting aid for Cuba and confronting the authorities, and asserted that “the courage of those actions, such as the hunger strike, and the school buses transformed into symbols of love, remain in the Cuban consciousness.”
She affirmed that today, as Cuba faces a complex situation of maximum economic pressure and threats, the principles of brotherhood that guided Lucius and Fidel are more indispensable than ever, asserting that “no imperial intimidation can destroy the values that IFCO defends in solidarity with Cuba and the just causes of the world.”
IMAGE CREDIT: (Iliana García Giraldino / Photos: Orlando Perera/Siempre con Cuba)
[ SOURCE: SIEMPRE CON CUBA ]
