Cuba, IV International Patria Colloquium continues on its 2nd day

teleSUR English

*Nearly 400 guests from 48 countries take part in the IV Patria Colloquium *Documentary “Soundtrack to a coup d’état” to be presented *2nd day continues with workshops and exchange of learned experiences

Transcript

00:00And as the 4th International Patriarch Colloquium continues on the second day,

00:03let's go live with our correspondent Belén Losantos in Havana to have all the details.

00:07Hello Belén, welcome again to From the South. What can you tell us?

00:12Hello Luis, once again here from the University of Havana and exactly as you were saying,

00:18we continue at this Patriarch Colloquium 4th edition. We continue bringing you

00:22everything that is happening here and as you were just mentioning,

00:26one of the highlights of today is the screening of a documentary. We're talking about digital

00:32platforms, we're talking about news, but we're also talking about how culture artifacts can

00:38also be a part of this debunking of imperialist narratives, for example. How can movies,

00:45documentaries, TV series, also productions for social media from a cultural aspect also impact

00:52in this discussion? And for this, we are joined today by Hannah Craig. She is Director of Culture

00:59at the People's Forum from the US. So hello Hannah, thank you for joining us here in Tell

01:03Us Your English and please tell us your perspective. Why is it important to come

01:08down here to Havana to have these discussions with partners from all around the world?

01:13Well, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. You know, this Patriarch Colloquium is an

01:19incredible example of the way that people from all over the world, but particularly from the

01:24Americas, can come together to really discuss and debate the next steps that we have to take as

01:30people. Because it is all of our movements, all of our people who are coming together to be able to

01:35to fight against the structures of injustice that are unfortunately all around us,

01:41but that we know will be successful when we come together and able to really communicate and

01:45connect in order to make the next kind of intervention that we have to make in the world.

01:52And just like you said, we really know that culture is an important part of the way we do that.

01:56The imperialists, the ruling class, they're always using culture to try to change

02:03ideas about the way the world should be, or to try to uphold their own hegemony, to try to uphold

02:09their own culture and their own rules and laws and things. But we have to be producing

02:15our own people's culture in order to really transform the world and to be able to bring

02:20more and more people along for that journey, in order to show the rights that we have

02:27for each other, the responsibility that we have to each other to transform the world.

02:34And what a better place to do that than Havana, where we've seen the transformation

02:39of society happen over the course of years, and the resistance to the imperialist aggression

02:44constantly. The US blockade is something that of course we all have to fight against, and

02:48we can use culture to fight against that narrative as well.

02:51So we were saying that today we have the screening of not only a documentary, but also we've seen

02:57different experiences that are being showcased here, for example, linked to the ongoing

03:04genocide in Gaza. We've had major attacks just overnight, breaking a ceasefire once again.

03:12This is all part of the imperialist narrative that we are day in and day out trying to expose,

03:19to debunk, to show really what is happening. And we're talking about technology, we're talking

03:25about artificial intelligence, and we're also talking about how movies and documentaries

03:30can play a significant role in how to emotionally, how to touch a different sensitivity,

03:37to really transfer what is happening in the world. Can you tell us a little bit about those

03:42experiences, the screening that is happening today, just a few concrete experiences of how

03:48can art and culture affect this discussion? Yeah, absolutely. So tonight the screening

03:55will be of the documentary soundtrack to a coup d'etat, which really tells the story of a lot of

04:01historical moments, but it's not just a relic of history, it's actually a call to action.

04:07The film is specifically talking about the assassination of Lumumba and the involvement

04:13of Belgium and the US governments in that assassination, but also it talks about the

04:20US State Department sending jazz ambassadors, so jazz performers from the US, to the continent of

04:27Africa in order to perform jazz as a way to kind of impose the US agenda onto the people of Africa.

04:35Of course at the same time we also see amazing revolutionary jazz performers who also have

04:41played an important role in building a people's culture, and so these two narratives kind of

04:48push against one another. But it's important for us to have documentaries like this that do

04:53tell the real story, the real truth, expose the truth of the past, because it helps us to

04:59understand what's happening in the present. Of course the situation in the Congo right now is

05:03extremely dire, and just like you said, the genocide in Gaza, it's been something that we've

05:09been mobilizing for around the world for decades to be honest, and of course in the last

05:16year and a half it's only intensified with the genocide being so intense and so ongoing,

05:22and to all be here today on this day where the Israelis have murdered

05:30over 400, I'm sure it's more at this point, Palestinians, it's a reminder that we have to

05:37come together, we have to act, we have to be telling and exposing the truth of what is happening,

05:42and art and culture can be an important way that people are able to connect to those stories,

05:48especially because like you said, art and culture can often be the thing that stirs someone

05:53emotionally from inside, and they're able to really connect with the real situation, it can

05:59call people to action, and so I'm part of a network of over 15,000 artists and cultural

06:06workers who are using their practices as tools against the genocide, against apartheid, it's

06:14called Artists Against Apartheid, and we think it's important for all artists and cultural workers

06:19to come together and to join the movement. Definitely, and it's great to hear that in

06:24events such as this one, that is taking place as well. Hanna, I do not want to end our interview

06:30without asking you, the US is entering a whole new stage with the second administration of

06:36Donald Trump, and that is affecting just geopolitical relations around the world,

06:42with a particularly severe, harsh view on the peoples of our Americas, for example, and as

06:50part of a news outlet that targets and also fosters solidarity with our peoples in the global

06:58south, how are you looking at, what are the challenges of producing news and telling the

07:05state of the world today in this new stage of US politics? I mean, there are lots of challenges,

07:12but I think there are lots of opportunities as well. The current administration is really

07:19showing itself bare for what it is, and every day as the situation unfolds and there is more and

07:28more devastation or destruction of people's lives inside the US, people being deported,

07:37people being sent to ICE detention centers who really shouldn't be there, it's opening up a lot

07:44of outlets for us to understand really what is at the root of this administration, and rather than

07:52being frozen by fear, our responsibility is actually to be out in bigger numbers than we've

07:59ever been before, and really show that we're not going to let this slide, the people of the world,

08:06the people inside the US, but also in solidarity with the people of the entire world, are going

08:11to stand up against the attacks and the bullying of this administration, and all of those on the

08:18ultra-right who are attacking people's rights, I mean, even our right to free speech is under attack

08:26right now, and it's important for us to be constantly recognizing that we're not alone,

08:32actually, that we're all together in this struggle, and it's something that will unify us.

08:38And so I think there has been a lot of fear, a lot of people saying, you know, we'll just stay

08:43home, like there's no possibility for change, but actually, exactly the opposite is true.

08:50What we're seeing, even in the last couple of weeks in the US, tons of support and solidarity

08:56for Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian student who was sent to an ICE detention center after his

09:03activities as part of the Columbia University encampments against the genocide. So many people

09:09are out in the streets, we're not going to be scared by the bullying of this administration,

09:13in fact, we're going to continue to stand together, to be united, and to show the world that we're not

09:21going to stop anywhere before we get justice. Well, the idea of weaving networks is one of

09:27the slogans of this event. So definitely, we are not alone. It's great to have these discussions

09:33in this context in Havana. Hannah, thank you so much for joining us in Tell Us Your English.

09:38It's a pleasure to have Hannah Gregg from the People's Forum in Tell Us Your English.

09:42So as we were saying, as we have been saying for the past day, Luis, this is just some of

09:47the discussions that are being held here in the University of Havana, as you see with people

09:53from different backgrounds, different countries, different experiences, and all focused on just a

09:59way of thinking how to keep that struggle moving around the global south and around the world.

10:06So I go back to you, Luis. Now we'll continue to keep in touch throughout the day.

10:11Thank you, Belén, for the information. Of course, thank you to your guest,

10:14Hannah, for her inputs here from the south, everything that is happening and the impact

10:18that these kind of colloquiums can have in sharing news and experiences to continue moving forward.

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