Dear Friends of Palestine: A Letter from the Cuban Pioneers

The Cuban Pioneer National Assembly is being held in Havana and from this meeting of Cuban youth has come this powerful and moving letter of love and solidarity (translated from the Spanish):

Dear Friends of Palestine:

From Cuba, we send you all our love. We know you are going through very sad times, that the war prevents you from going to school, playing, or sleeping peacefully. Our hearts ache when we think of all of your suffering, but we want you to know you are not alone. We Cuban pioneers carry you in our thoughts, hoping for peace to soon come to your homeland.

You are brave, like the heroes in the stories we've read, because every day you face fear and pain with a strength that inspires us. We are saddened to know that many have lost their families, their homes, and even their laughter due to the atrocious genocide. Even though we are far away, we love you like brothers and sisters and we tell you: "Don't give up, the world needs to hear your voices."

In Cuba, our grandparents and parents taught us that solidarity is the greatest love that exists. That's why, in our classrooms, we draw Palestinian flags and write letters like these so that all children and adolescents in other countries know about your cause, which is also our cause.

We know who is primarily responsible for what you are experiencing: Israel and its accomplice, the United States government, the same government that tries to block our joy. Israel has no right to exterminate your people, and that is why we will not remain silent until we achieve recognition of a Palestinian state.

The day will soon come when you can return to your schools, hug your loved ones, and look up at the sky without fear. You deserve childhoods filled with joy, not bombs and tears. Until then, we hold your stories in our hearts and share them so the world doesn't forget what's happening in Palestine. We may not be able to stop the bullets, but we can unite to demand: Enough is enough! Children deserve peace.

A big hug and all our love from the Cuban pioneers.

This work was translated and shared via a License CC-BY-NC