“Cuba's experience is very valuable,” says young brigadista

MATANZAS, Cuba, Jul 25 (ACN) “Cuba’s experience is very valuable, and it is very important that we learn from each other,” said Ertol Zhurda, a 29-year-old communist engineer from Greece, one of the 47 members of the 50th José Martí Brigade of Voluntary Work and Solidarity with Cuba, made up of 13 countries.

“Here I found very warm, open-hearted people, and we hope to breed solidarity with Cuba throughout Europe for the defense of the Revolution,” he remarked about his first visit to the Island.

Elizabeth Ribalta, an official of the Europe Division of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and director of the Brigade, stressed that more young people came than in previous Brigades, which reveals their wish to learn about Cuba.

On his end, the Andalusian Manuel Morales Reyes, who has been in Cuba seven times as a brigadista, pointed out his awareness of the effects of the U.S. blockade on the Cuban people’s day-to-day.

In meetings with Government and Party leaders, the visitors learned details about the province of Matanzas and asked about special education programs, local industries and renewable energy sources, foreign investment, and the efforts to salvage the Supertanker Base after the unfortunate fire of August 5, 2022.