On Friday, November 21st at a press conference held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sia Creese, James Gibson and Víctor Byron accompanied by the Head of the Venezuelan Mission in SVG, Francisco Pérez Santana; related their contribution, support and experiences in the last International Afro-descendant Congress held in Venezuela from November 11th to 13th .
Sia Creese, a member of the Youth arm of the Unity Labor Party highlighted the importance of holding the Afro-Descendent International Congress where the African culture was highlighted.
She explained her participation in the different working groups, as is the case of the reparations debate “ Reparations are not just about getting money; but it is about recovering the Afro-descendant culture and repairing the psychological damage that was done to our people.
” She said that during this activity she was surrounded by “black excellence; people from all over the world, proud to be black. ”
The Secretary of the youth arm of the Unity Labor Party, James Gibson narrated in detail his experience upon his arrival in Venezuela, ensuring that he had as his objective to see the firsthand and compare the reality in Venezuela with what the media corporations expose daily, he further explained that what he observed was totally different “there is electricity, water, supermarkets full of food and people, people walk happily through the streets … do not believe what CNN, BBC, etc. repeats, everything is false … I saw firsthand that Venezuelans are supporting their leader (Nicolás Maduro).
The United States Government has failed in its attempt to overthrow Nicolás Maduro and his Presidency … In Venezuela people understand that the resources they have belong to them, not to the United States, not to Europe, or to any other country; it’s theirs and only they should determine how those resources are managed. ”
For his part, Victor Byron President of “Resistant Heartbeat Drummers” defined this experience as “memorable and educational” and explained that in Venezuela he saw “smiling people, prepared to take on the challenges they face due to the blockade and the financial embargo, I see people who resist, people who say “we are not ready to give up, we will not be traitors”, we cannot allow the Bolivarian Revolution to recede … the Revolution will triumph.
Head of the Venezuelan mission, Pérez Santana expressed gratitude for the support and contribution of the Vincentians to this fight, and took the opportunity to inform the Vincentian people that within the framework of the Diplomacy of Peace and with the aim of continuing in the strengthening of ties with the Vincentian Government and people, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will open a selection process to give Vincentians the opportunity to obtain scholarships through the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Foundation (FUNDAYACUCHO) “we are opening the selective process, twenty students will pursue careers in Venezuela: ten will study Integral Community Medicine and the others in professions that contribute to the development of this Nation ”.
According to Creese, the representatives of SVG in the Congress raised their voices in solidarity with the Venezuelan Government and people “To the people of Venezuela, President Maduro, and all the countries that support them; all of us, we say no to crimes against humanity, we sympathize with all the peoples in which the United States Government is interfering and attacking,”said the official final declaration of the Congress.
