When The Empire Calls
Message delivered to The Workers Summit of the Americas—organized to counteract the Summit of the Americas organized by the U.S. Department of State in Los Angeles, California. This conference is a place where the countries that are besieged by the U.S. (Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba,) and who have been barred from participation in the Summit of the Americas, participated. It was held in Tijuana, Mexico from June 10 – 12, 2022. Mumia’s message was read at the opening.
My brothers, sisters, and comrades in Tijuana, I welcome you—delegates of the excluded—people from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and beyond.
Many of you come from poor nations, countries with relatively low GDP like Cuba, for example, which has a GDP roughly equal to Ghana.
As I write from the richest nation on earth, I have to add, that I also write from a nation that cannot protect its own children. See the ugly massacre in Texas where 19 babies were slain in elementary school while cops prowled the halls.
Here, tens-of-thousands of former students can’t afford to pay their loans to schools and colleges. Again, look at Cuba, where people can go from kindergarten to medical school for free. And not just Cubans, for students can go to medical school in Cuba even if they aren’t from Cuba. And remember, Cuba isn’t a rich country, it does what it does because it dedicates its resources to public service: Medicine.
What does it matter if America, with all its riches, couldn’t prevent the deaths of one million people—one million people because of COVID-19?
You can go to any ghetto in America and see hunger and poverty—people who live in food deserts, people who are homeless. You’ll also find the greatest level of imprisonment in the world. So why should poor nations listen to rich nations? What do they have to teach us? Racism? Class strife? Violent cops? Corrupt politicians? Greedy businessman? Militarism?
The poor and excluded of the world have only each other. If we work in solidarity, we sure can do better.
Write to Mumia at:
Smart Communications/PADOC
Mumia Abu-Jamal #AM-8335
SCI Mahanoy
P.O. Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733