by Merriam Ansara
“I have lived in the belly of the beast and I know its entrails; mine is the sling of David…[my duty is] of preventing the United States from spreading through the Antilles as Cuba gains its independence, and from overpowering with that additional strength our lands of America.” José Martí, Cuban writer, philosopher and considered the inspiration for the Cuban Revolution, killed in the Cuban war of independence, 1895
From January 28 to 31st, I attended the Sixth Conference for World Balance in Havana, Cuba organized by the World Council of the José Martí Project with sponsorship from more than 35 international and Cuban organizations including World Beyond War, UNESCO, Progressive International, Ecocivilisation, The International Coalition for Humanity and others less well known to us. There were some 1000 attendees, from 90 plus countries, including some 70 from the United States including several of us from Massachusetts or otherwise involved with MAPA. I attended as the representative of Massachusetts Peace Action and as such was asked to speak at the panel on International Solidarity with Cuba.
The attendees were a wide range, from prominent ministers and former ministers of government, political leaders from countries covering the globe, and grassroots activists of all ages and all backgrounds. The President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, presided over the opening and closing sessions and participated in a number of panels, wearing a Kifeyeh neck sash adorned with Palestine flags. Leaders from around the world joined him in denouncing US imperialism and the resurgence of fascism, calling for a new multipolar world, and for a shared vision of a new balance between the ecosystem and human needs.
Over the 4 days of the conference there were 12 panels each morning and each afternoon, with an incredible range of topics, on peace, the environment, the international situation, feminism, race, gender, the arts, science, the environment, social media, AI, the New Economic Order, the threat of fascism in the contemporary world, science and social justice. There was a special forum within the conference on Eco Socialism, and a Youth Forum.
There were a number of well known speakers such as Frei Betto, the Brazilian writer and liberation theologian, and Attilio Boron, the Argentine sociologist, both of whom drew large crowds. There also was a whole session on Constructing a World Beyond War, featuring World Beyond War US’ David Swanson, Medea Benjamin, Ajamu Baraka, and World Beyond War counterparts from Venezuela, Italy, Mexido, Colombia and Argentina.
There was the extraordinary Youth Forum featuring young people from at least 20 different countries, including the US, and a live video of a Puerto Rican activist in Palestine talking from in front of a tent in Gaza. The young people said: “We want to live in a world that we will build. Capitalism, Gringoism, Zionism – we must build something different. Our elders have taught us what they know and now it is our turn. Together in solidarity, united, it’s up to us the young people to build the world we want.”
To be able to report to MAPA, I tried to interview a range of participants. I caught up with as wide a variety of people as I could, focusing on those who speak English. I appreciate the help of Ignacio Estopiñan Díaz of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and MAPA’s own Randy Wurster, who turned it into a video that hopefully captures some of the excitement and grounding and optimism for the possible that the Conference was about. It cannot possibly convey the range of people, breadth of the discussions, the array of topics, the depth of debate, and the sheer and overwhelming ideas, meet ups, expressions of solidarity, commitment to peace and to internationalism, but perhaps our video conveys a taste of what it was like.
Please watch the video we made of interviews with Conference participants: https://youtu.be/w5XhGoE63AA