Walter Turner at the 2012 Global Exchange Open House

The following is a guest post by Walter Turner, President of the Global Exchange Board of Directors and appears in our Winter/Spring 2012/13 print newsletter. Become a member of Global Exchange and have articles like these delivered to your mailbox!
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New U.S. Regulations Slow Travel to Cuba

In 1989 Global Exchange took its first delegation of American citizens to Cuba. I remember being on that delegation and sitting on the top floor of the Hotel Presidente discussing how to begin the process of ending the decades old U.S. blockade against Cuba.

Enacted in 1962 during the Kennedy administration the economic, social, and political blockade (El Bloqueo) has long outlived its supposed usefulness.

Year after year U.S. government officials have developed new formats for strengthening the blockade and preventing two countries that have a shared history – and are only geographically 90 miles apart – from having normal political and economic relations.

Over the last 20 years Global Exchange has facilitated travel to Cuba for tens of thousands of U.S. citizens. Educational delegations have provided a big window for Americans to see and learn about Cuba which highlight the world recognized environmental, ecological, medical, and social accomplishments in this developing country of 12 million people. Many of these people traveled to Cuba under the Office of Foreign Assets and Control (OFAC) imposed General License.

In May 2012 the efforts of millions of Americans to normalize relations with Cuba took a step backward and to the side. In early 2011, when President Obama took office, People-to-People licenses (more liberal than the General License) were granted to over 100 organizations as part of a new “dialogue” with Cuba. However, this spring the U.S. State Department and OFAC began a “slow down“ policy on granting and renewing the People-to-People licenses.

In addition to affecting People-to-People licenses in May, and again in July, the administration has backslid on pronouncements that the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility would be closed. On the other hand, the U.S. government has implemented changes in travel guidelines for Cuban Americans and loosened constraints on the transfers of remittances.

The new regulations are confusing, complicated, and laden with bureaucracy. Applications for the renewal of People-to-People licenses have been backlogged with OFAC. New guidelines for People-to-People license holders, Travel Service Providers (TSPs) like Global Exchange and charter flight companies are now encumbered with more paperwork and process.

Many of the organizations that were given one-year People-to-People licenses have had to cancel dozens of educational travel delegations while waiting to hear whether or not their licenses will be renewed. These renewal applications are often cumbersome and convoluted, sometimes reaching 400 pages in length. Essentially, travel to Cuba by American citizens has been slowed for the next several months.  It’s clear that these are political decisions.

During the 1990s Global Exchange was among the leaders of the national Freedom to Travel Campaign. Several delegations of American citizens traveled to Cuba and risked arrest and heavy fines to fight the U.S. administration’s travel restrictions and stand up for the right to travel anywhere in the world without restrictions. Global Exchange along with other organizations and individuals are once again speaking out on the new more cumbersome regulations and urging citizen action.

The Cold War ended years ago. Its time for American policy to reflect the rights of its citizens to be able to travel to Cuba and engage – unrestricted – with the people of Cuba. Its time to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba, end the 50 years blockade against Cuba, remove Cuba from the list of countries supporting terrorism, and free the Cuban 5.

As a Travel Service Provider (TSP) Global Exchange is authorized to take U.S. citizens to Cuba who qualify under the General License. We have also worked with hundreds of Americans who organized customized delegations with us, and were able to travel to Cuba during the last year under the People-to-People licenses.

TAKE ACTION!

For more information on the work of Global Exchange in Cuba and to learn how you may qualify to travel to Cuba please give us a call (415-255-7296 ext. 211) or email drea@globalexchange.org.

Photo Credit Global Exchange

New regulations by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regarding legal travel to Cuba were released in July that contain a number of new guidelines and directives for organizations that are licensed to provide travel to Cuba, including Global Exchange.

While these new regulations are leaving people confused and unclear about what this means for future educational travel to Cuba, Global Exchange along with many other organizations are thoroughly reviewing the regulations so as to be in compliance.

So why are OFAC’s new guidelines problematic?  As Anya Landau French, Director of the New America Foundation’s U.S. – Cuba Policy Initiative and the editor of The Havana Note explains:

Restricting contacts in the first place is a bad idea, but this sort of ‘Big Brother is watching’ approach to people to people engagement is counterproductive (and more than a little ironic). Providing a full itinerary, explaining how contacts with the government helps to make people more independent of the government, and so on, is an odd way to try to open up what many consider a closed society. And therein lies the problem: the objective of such travel is to open up Cuba, instead of to foster mutual understanding, a principle that should stand on its own. In this way, the Obama administration has backed itself into a policy corner.

Ellen Creager of the Detroit Free Press also offers us a critical look at the challenges that may lie ahead despite the few positive changes that have come in the last year.

While here at Global Exchange we continue to review these new regulations, the Cuba section of our Reality Tours website will be “under construction.” Please feel welcome to contact us should you have questions, since we do retain our license as an authorized Travel Service Provider to Cuba.

TAKE ACTION!

1. Direct OFAC and the State Department to carry out President Obama’s Cuba policy - Sign this petition!
2. Keep updated about Cuba travel regulations, subscribe to our Reality Tours blog and sign up for the Reality Tours email list to receive regular updates.

Our External Relations Director Malia Everette was recently interviewed by the Associated Press about the increasing demand for “People to People” Cuba tours that Global Exchange is experiencing for the article US issuing licenses for increased Cuba travel.

A recent New York Times article described one Global Exchange Reality Tour to Cuba:

A hot June sun glared over the Arroyo Arenas organic vegetable garden at the edge of Havana where Ms. Slezak, a 68-year-old retired social worker from Long Island, and 16 other Americans were visiting as part of a “food sovereignty” program organized by Global Exchange, a human rights organization, and Food First, a policy institute.

She and the beans were partly shaded by netting slung over the long trough-shaped beds, but it was hot, damp and sticky. She paused now and then to wipe her forehead.

Sweating in a Cuban field is not everyone’s idea of relaxation, and it is a far cry from the decadent gaiety that drew Americans to Havana before Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. But trips like this are one way of getting to see Cuba, and have just become accessible to most Americans.

Yet another New York Times article described the travel policy changes taking place:

Thanks to policy changes by President Obama earlier this year designed to encourage more contact between Americans and citizens of the Communist-ruled island, the Treasury Department is once again granting so-called “people-to-people” licenses, which greatly expand travel opportunities for Cuba-bound visitors. The new people-to-people measures make it easier for United States citizens who do not have special status as working journalists or scholars to visit Cuba legally, so long as they go with a licensed operator.

What continues to motivate Global Exchange Reality Tour trips to Cuba is how our participants return inspired by their Cuban counterparts and educated first-hand about the tenacity, ingenuity and integrity of the Cuban people. Yes, Global Exchange is also committed to challenging our government to normalize relations with Cuba, but also to build long term relationships between US and Cuban citizens based on respect and real engagement.

In fact this year, Global Exchange is organizing over 20 delegations and have customized another 30 trips to Cuba thus far!

If you’d like to read some insights shared by a recent Cuba Reality Tour participant check out this article written by Linda Slezak which originally appeared in the Slow Food East End newsletter.

Tonight on the Travel Channel: Anthony Bourdain in Cuba!

The premiere episode of the latest season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations finds the show in Cuba. Here’s a sneak peek at tonight’s show, this part all about baseball:

Organizations & Institutions: Consider Partnering with Global Exchange
Perhaps you may get inspired tonight after watching the travel channel. As a licensed travel service provider, Global Exchange welcomes working with other organizations and institutions that have their own licenses and would love to develop new partnerships to customize journeys. Email malia@globalexchange.org to get started.

Now is THE time to Travel to Cuba!
With new flights recently cleared for lift off, now is the perfect time to plan your trip. We’d love for you to join us on one of our Reality Tours to Cuba.

The best time to go to Cuba? People who have gone on a Global Exchange New Years trip to Cuba come back…different. In a good way. Like they just went on a trip of a lifetime. To learn more about our New Years trips to Cuba this year, go here.

Save $150 on Cuba Trip: Global Exchange Reality Tours is offering a $150 DISCOUNT when you register for one of our Cuba trips by August 15th, 2011. Simply mention this blog post to receive your discount.

So what are you waiting for? Cuba awaits you.

Go to the bottom of this post for an update  about flight information added on 6/21.

SF Gate, home of the San Francisco Chronicle, recently reported this exciting news about traveling to Cuba:

San Francisco Bay Area organizations offering education-based trips to Cuba will now be able to fly out of Oakland International Airport, which has been approved as one of only 4 charter flight gateways to the Caribbean island.

Airport officials announced today that Oakland received authorization by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to offer nonstop charter passenger service to Cuba. Before this, the only other airport with the authorization to do that were Miami, Los Angeles and New York’s John F. Kennedy.

Before you get too excited, however, it doesn’t change the rules about who can travel legally to Havana and under what circumstances. You still have to go through an authorized education-travel operator, or person-to-person programs, such as Global Exchange or the Los Angeles-based Cuba Travel Services. This approval only makes it easier for those organizations to offer direct flights.

Read the complete article here.

Another news article, this one from Contra Costa Times, issued this warning about the news:

Travel restrictions requiring that the trip be for academic, religious, humanitarian or newsgathering purposes will still apply. However, these restrictions were loosened earlier this year by the Obama administration as part of an ongoing effort to make Cuba travel easier.

Read the complete Contra Costa Times article here, and this blog post Change in U.S. Cuba Travel Policy: What Does this Mean for You?

Traveling to Cuba may not be as simple as say, hopping a flight to Disneyworld, but this new development will make it easier for us here at Global Exchange to bring many folks to Cuba. Visit our website to learn more about traveling to Cuba.

Flights from Oakland to Cuba are tentatively set to start in December 2011, but possibly sooner. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Travel to Cuba with Global Exchange: Now is the perfect time to plan your trip to Cuba, since it’s getting easier for us to organize trips.  We’d love for you to join us on one of our Reality Tours to Cuba.

The best time to go to Cuba? New Years! Hopefully Oakland flights will be up and running by then. Everyone I have ever known that has gone on a Global Exchange New Years trip to Cuba has come back…different. In a good way. Like they just went on a trip of a lifetime. To learn more about our New Years trips to Cuba this year, go here.

Save $150 on Cuba Trip: In honor of this recent exciting new travel development, Global Exchange Reality Tours is offering a $150 DISCOUNT when you register for one of our Cuba trips by August 15th, 2011. Simply mention this blog post to receive your discount.

So what are you waiting for? Cuba awaits you.

Update Added on 6/21/2011: Since this blog post was published, there has been an update about flights to Cuba….Just announced: flights to Cuba from Los Angeles will begin in mid July. Know what that means? Our plans for Reality Tours New Years trips to Cuba are moving forward as planned. Yippee!

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So can I travel to Cuba or not? That’s what many Americans are wondering since the Obama administration’s January 14th announcement that it is lifting some government-imposed restrictions on travel to Cuba for several categories of U.S. citizens. Once the regulations are public and finalized, certain types of travelers, with proper licenses,  in these categories will potentially be able to visit the country:

• College students
• People engaged in journalism
• Those sponsored by religious organizations

So if you fall into one of these categories, your chances of traveling to Cuba just improved!

Under the new policy, which is still being finalized, students from accredited colleges and universities may now travel to Cuba on what is known as a “general” license, meaning they don’t have to seek individual permission from the government as long as they meet certain criteria. This also applies to Americans traveling there for “journalistic activities” or under the auspices of religious groups.

In addition, non-profit organizations (including Global Exchange) will once again be able to apply to the Treasury Department for a license to arrange “people to people” travel to Cuba, which we did through our Reality Tours program from 2000 to 2004.

Beginning in 2004, however, the Bush administration restricted the number of Americans allowed to travel to Cuba to a handful of specific professions, such as full-time journalists and academics. Despite various government restrictions, more than 15,000 people have traveled to Cuba as part of a Reality Tour in the past 22 years.

Global Exchange Director of Reality Tours Malia Everette explains:

About half of the roughly 90 trips we arrange each year are to Cuba, including our most popular series called ‘Cuba at the Crossroads’, which allowed Americans who wouldn’t have qualified to travel there under a ‘professional’ license to see the country for themselves. Those trips enabled them to experience everyday life in Cuba under the effects of the U.S. embargo, and see how it is transitioning into a more dynamic and sustainable society.

Guess how many nations in the world deny its citizens the right to travel freely to Cuba? One. In fact, the U.S. remains the only nation in the world that denies its citizens the right to travel freely to Cuba. It has no similar restrictions on travel to any other countries — including Iran and North Korea, members of President Bush’s so-called “axis of evil” to which Reality Tours also organizes delegations.

Walter Turner, president of Global Exchange’s board of directors and host of the popular Pacifica Radio program “Africa Today “ warns that these recent changes in Cuba travel policy should not stop here:

The new regulations give our Reality Tours participants new options for much-needed exchange between the people of the U.S. and Cuba, but while we appreciate this opening, it still doesn’t fully recognize the right of ordinary U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba freely, as they can do to any other nation, to learn about the world. If we’re going to promote human rights abroad, we need to respect the rights of our own citizens here at home.”

For more information about traveling to Cuba, updates on the forthcoming regulations, including the resumption of the popular “Cuba at the Crossroads” series, or trips to more than 30 other countries around the world, visit www.realitytours.org.

Take Action!
And now, a few words from our friends The LAWG (Latin America Working Group) Cuba Team:

Clearly there  is more work to be done to change U.S. policy toward Cuba, but we think a “thank you” to the President and encouragement to do more is appropriate. By clicking here, you can send an email to the White House with a message of thanks and a request for more. You will be able to edit the letter to the President to add your own comments (it is best to be brief).

It’s not every day that we get to write you about a historic legislative victory for a more humane, sensible, and just U.S. policy towards Cuba; but today isn’t just any old day. In a thrilling “mark-up” session Wednesday in the House Committee on Agriculture, H.R. 4645, the “Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act” was passed by 25 votes to 20, putting us one step closer to ending the travel ban this year, in this Congress.

Wednesday’s mark-up session was quite the roller-coaster ride. It lasted three gut-wrenching hours and it seemed like everything, including the kitchen sink, was thrown at this bill by freedom to travel’s opponents. Visit our blog to see a play-by-play of the action in the committee.

This news is cause to celebrate (the long weekend ahead is the perfect time, no?), but the celebration can’t last long. Wednesday’s victory demonstrates that our collective efforts are making an impact. The members of the Agriculture Committee were bombarded with messages encouraging them to show up to this mark-up and to support the Chairman in his effort to do away with an anachronistic and isolationist policy. Agriculture Committee Chairman Peterson should be applauded for moving this bill forward in the House, but doing so didn’t come without a cost. Since we can’t count on the members who voted to report the bill out of committee to vote with us on the House floor, we need to thank them for their support now (you can bet the opposition is contacting these members, too, but the message isn’t as friendly). In Washington, it often takes courage to do what is right and we should acknowledge it when it happens.

Agriculture Committee members who voted in favor of H.R. 4645 and U.S. citizens’ right to travel to Cuba:
(If your member is on this list, please call the office and thank her/him heartily. Capitol Switchboard – 202.224.3121):

Boccieri (D, OH-16) Kagen (D, WI-8) Boswell (D, IA-3) Kratovil (D, MD-1) Bright (D, AL-2) Lummis (R, WY-At large) Cardoza (D, CA-18) Markey (D, CO-4) Cassidy (R, LA-6) Minnick (D, ID-1) Childers (D, MS-1) Moran, Jerry (R, KS-1) Costa (D, CA-20) Murphy, Scott (D, NY-20) Cuellar (D, TX-28) Owens (D, NY-23) Ellsworth (D, IN-8) Peterson, Collin (D, MN-7) Halvorson (D, IL-11) Pomeroy (D, ND-At large) Herseth-Sandlin (D, SD-At large) Scott, David (D, GA-13) Holden (D, PA-17) Walz (D, MN-1) Johnson, Tim (R- IL-15)

We must also make clear to those members who voted against the majority of U.S. citizens, major human rights organizations, the religious community, the business community, U.S. farmers, Cuban Americans, academics, and countless others, that their decision will not go unnoticed. Please register your disappointment with your member’s office if she/he appears on the list below.

Agriculture Committee members who voted against H.R. 4645 and U.S. citizens’ right to travel to Cuba:

Baca (D, CA-43) Neugebauer (R, TX-19) Conaway (R, TX-11) Roe (R, TN-1) Dahlkemper (D, PA-3) Rogers, Michael (R, AL-3) Fortenberry (R, NE-1) Rooney (R, FL-16) Goodlatte (R, VA-6) Schauer (D, MI-7) Graves (R, MO-6) Schmidt (R, OH-2) King (R, IA-5) Schrader (D, OR-5) Lucas (R, OK-3) Smith, Adrian (R, NE-3) Luetkemeyer (R, MO-9) Thompson, Glenn (R, PA-5) Marshall (D, GA-8) McIntyre (D, NC-7)

Your efforts made this victory possible; but, although this vote was historic, the ban on travel to Cuba is not yet history. The next step is to get this bill to the House floor before election fever kicks into full gear–and to do that, we’ll need to redouble our efforts in the coming weeks.

Congress will be in recess all next week, many in their home districts.  Their first full day of work will begin around July 13.  There will be further updates, after the July 4th holiday weekend on which Congress people to focus our attention on.

Stay tuned!

Sustainability and Food Sovereignty in Cuba July 17-31, 2010

“Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations. It ensures that the rights to use and manage lands, territories, waters, seeds, livestock and biodiversity are in the hands of those of us who produce food.”
– Declaration of the Forum on Food Sovereignty, Nyeleni, Mali, 2007

Cuba’s unique history has shaped its food system in a way unlike other countries in today’s modern world. Exclusion from global trade has forced Cuba to pursue alternatives to conventional industrial agriculture. As a result it has emerged as a progressive example of sustainable agriculture based heavily on local production. By breaking from the global food system, Cubans have made great strides towards reclaiming control of their food interests. On this tour you will meet the Cuban farmers, activists, policymakers, and local consumers who are fighting for food sovereignty.

Join Global Exchange and Food First as we take you straight to the roots of Cuba’s food system. Learn about its uniqueness in the global economy and meet the people on the ground fighting for food sovereignty.  This delegation will be one of a unique hands on experience!  Please see the draft itinerary on the website for details!

Cost: $2,290

Price Includes:

• Airfare from Cancun, Mexico to Havana, Cuba
• Double room accommodations in 2 star hotels and guest houses
• Transportation by private, air-conditioned motor coach as well as transfers for group as appropriate.
• Admission and fees to museums and program activities.
• Two meals a day (excluding arrival and departure days).

Remember: This tour is open to ANY AND ALL PERSONS seeking to learn about the Cuban food system and promote solidarity with Cuban agriculturalists.  This is a unique opportunity open to all persons to legally travel with Global Exchange and Food First.

For more information and a sample itinerary please go to this link: http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/1125.html

The dates of this delegation are fast approaching so please contact Leslie at leslie@globalexchange.org or Drea at drea@globalexchange.org as soon as possible to reserve your space!  We also have a limited number of scholarships available for this delegation so persons who may be hesitating because of price, please see our website for scholarship details
http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/forms.html

Freedom to Travel to Cuba!
Now is the time to get every possible YES vote for H.R. 4645, the “Freedom to Travel to Cuba” Bill, now known as the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act.

This bill restores our right to travel to Cuba and lifts restrictions on agricultural sales to Cuba. It will be voted on in the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture during the month of June. Then it will move to the Floor of the House and Speaker Pelosi will bring every possible Democrat on board. President Barack Obama will then sign this bill into law.

This is the best opportunity we’ve had in years to end the Cuba travel restrictions and maybe our last chance for the next several years.

This bill will pass in the Senate with 62 YES votes! We now have 205 YES votes in the House. We only need 13 more votes!If you’re wondering who’s on the fence, check out the swing votes.

Are you in a power position? If you are a constituent of one of the swing vote representatives, or know someone who is, you are in a powerful position to help pass this Bill!

Here’s what to do:

1) Go to the Global Exchange Cuba bill info page for moreinformation on this bill and what you can do to help get it passed. There you will find the complete text of the bill, talking points, and exactly what to say to your Congressperson.

2) Help us spread the word by forwarding this post on to your friends, family, and colleagues. Include a personal note letting them know why this issue is important to you. Ask that they, too, email and call their congressperson’s office.

3) Forward the information here to any businesspeople, farmers,  farmers associations, travel agents,  travel associations, municipal and church leaders, or other influential constituents who’d be willing to weigh in with your congressperson along with your personal note.

Lifting the travel ban is within our grasp. It hasn’t been easy to get here. Let’s make sure that all the emails, calls, letters-to-the-editor, delegations to Cuba, and rallies over the last fifty years pay off this year, in this Congress, by acting today