Yahoo! September 12, 2000
Americans Can Legally Travel to Cuba With Non-Profit Organization
Tuesday September 12, 9:01 am Eastern Time. Press Release. SOURCE: Cross-Cultural Solutions
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Cross-Cultural Solutions, a not-for profit humanitarian organization, has developed a one-week travel program called Insight Cuba. This one-of-a-kind program enables the visitor to travel to Cuba legally and experience firsthand the everyday life of
Cuban citizens. Participants interact with artists and writers in their studios, teachers and students at local schools, farmers and tobacco rollers on their farms; and meet with women's groups and religious leaders as they explore several cities and towns. Specialized programs also offer the
opportunity to attend Cuban music festivals and natural healing programs. See http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org
Granted a license from the US Treasury Department to promote cross- cultural exchange, "CCS' Insight Cuba Program gives special access to people and places, and insight into Cuban life,'' said Steven Rosenthal, Executive Director of Cross-Cultural Solutions. "We launched this program
to help foster friendships and a greater understanding between the American and Cuban people,'' he said.
Cross-Cultural Solutions also offers Insight Programs to India, Ghana and Peru. These programs are a departure from the regular tourist path with small groups (a maximum of 15 people) and the opportunity to directly interact with tribal chiefs, social pioneers, traditional healers and women's
groups while they visit villages, shantytowns, places of worship, cultural treasures; and partake in festivals and rituals. Participants are also introduced to local cuisines, music and dance.
CCS Insight Programs:
-- Provide access to people and places the average travel would rarely
see;
-- Offer insight into culture and community development;
-- Empower local communities and further social progress;
-- Foster cultural sensitivity, understanding and humanitarianism;
-- Promote the conservation of a country's heritage.
Cross-Cultural Solutions' Insight Travel Programs use local services -- including in-country staff, local hotels and transport companies, to ensure that as much revenue as possible stays within the country and therefore benefits local communities.
To learn more about Cross-Cultural Solutions' Insight Travel Programs or Volunteer Vacation Programs please visit http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org or call 1-800-380-4777.
Cross-Cultural Solutions is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing people together to work on global issues in the areas of healthcare, education and community development. Programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America strive to empower local communities and promote cultural understanding.
Activities include:
Volunteer programs;
Educational Field Visits; and
Global issues education initiatives.
Cuban Denied Permission To Travel
NEW YORK (AP) - A senior Cuban official called the U.S. refusal to allow him to travel to Washington "incredible,'' charging that it was a political decision to win the support of anti-Castro Cubans in Florida.
The U.S. State Department had previously refused to grant National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon a visa to attend a meeting of presiding officers of the world's parliaments two weeks ago, but did grant him a visa to attend last week's Millennium Summit of world leaders at the United
Nations.
The Congressional Black Caucus invited Alarcon and other Cubans to Washington for festivities marking the founding of the group, but a State Department official said Monday a request for Alarcon to travel to the capital had been denied.
"Two denials in two weeks - this is incredible,'' Alarcon said at a reception Monday night hosted by Cuba's U.N. Mission in honor of their foreign minister. "This is yet another attempt to get votes in the Miami community.''
Cuban officials who travel to the United Nations on U.N. business normally are not given permission to travel more than 25 miles from New York, the State Department official said.
The Congressional Black Caucus also invited Alarcon's top aide, Miguel Alvarez, and seven Cuban lawmakers to visit Washington but Alvarez said in Havana that no word had been received on their visa requests.
Rep. James Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina, the caucus chairman, said another purpose of the invitation was to permit an exchange of views with Cuban lawmakers as the Congress debates whether to ease restrictions on food sales to the island.
Clyburn noted that the United States is about to have normal trade ties with China and said farmers in his state are far more interested in the trade potential offered by the Cuban market.
In Cuba, President Fidel Castro said he was pleased with the Millennium Summit and hoped it would prompt the world's leaders into doing something about global problems.
Castro, who returned to Cuba on Saturday after attending the summit, said in a speech shown on state television Monday that the gathering by itself would not solve global troubles, but that it was "useful.''
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