International Solidarity and Friendship Centre

International Centre of Solidarity & Friendship
with the Bolivarian Revolution

Background & Introduction

Our organisation, Victoria in Solidarity with Venezuela (VSV), is based on Vancouver Island in the city of Victoria, the province of British Columbia, Western Canada. The members of our organisation are in solidarity with the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela. VSV was founded more than three years ago, but some of our members have been actively working in solidarity with the Bolivarian revolution for several years.

VSV has been focusing on educating our community about the Bolivarian revolution. Our members learn about the process going on in Venezuela and then we teach it to our community in public events. We have done this through showing films, bringing books for sale, downloading information from the internet and providing web sites where people can get up to date information about the Bolivarian revolution outside of the distortions in the corporate media. We have brought involved activists from Venezuela to speak to our community. We have also sent our own members (and encouraged others) to visit Venezuela to witness the process and to report back to our community.

In the past year VSV has hosted two members of the Legislative Assembly, two Union leaders as well as the Venezuelan Ambassador to Canada in open public events. In turn five activists from our community went to Venezuela for the third Encuentro Mundial con la Revolucion Bolivariana in April 2005; three activists went to the World Social Forum in January 2006; and two VSV members went for one month in May 2006 to travel and witness the process by meeting with many activists, community leaders, organisations, politicians as well as visiting schools, clinics, co-ops, factories and the like.

Some members of our organisation who have been involved in solidarity work with people’s movements for many years have been considering how our work can be more effective to help strengthen the international Bolivarian solidarity movement. The biggest issue that the international solidarity movement faces is ignorance. Ignorance caused by a lack of information about the issue compounded with the ignorance cultivated by the lies and misinformation spread by the opposition forces. Most of the time these opposition forces are able to present a united front with their propaganda and attacks on the financially strapped, less unified, mostly volunteer solidarity movement. In discussions with VSV members, with other interested solidarity activists and with our contacts in Venezuela, we have come to the conclusion and agreement that the international solidarity movement with the Bolivarian revolution must be better unified, organised and strengthened.

We have heard that travelers to Venezuela have had a hard time making the best of their time and organising their itinerary while there. One example is worth mentioning: A women from Victoria traveled to Venezuela for the World Social Forum in Caracas. She found a package deal through the internet that included room, board and Spanish lessons for a specific price in Caracas. She was interested in the revolution and planned to stay for one month. Once there, she stayed with people who were against the revolution. She was told lies about the process and that the revolution was more popular outside Venezuela than with Venezuelan citizens. The Spanish lessons were very inferior. She became very ill shortly after her arrival and had to fly back to Canada after the first week. She had paid for the whole month, only stayed one week, but no refunds were given to her. Back in Victoria she was spreading her misguided opinions by stating that there is no support for Chávez in Venezuela. This created confusion and discredited the educational work done by activists from the VSV and other groups. One person like this can do a lot of damage to the solidarity work in the community.

Another aspect to consider is the cost travelers spend on a trip to Venezuela. The money goes to hotels, restaurants, transportation and purchases brought back with them. These expenditures can amount to hundreds if not thousands of dollars for each traveler. Most of this money goes to private enterprise - to people opposed to the process. Travelers are not guided or directed to the places where they can see the reality of Venezuela today. Many travelers do not speak Spanish and without a translator they have a hard time understanding what is taking place or communicating with ordinary people. They can become targets for theft or other crimes.

We feel that the international solidarity movement with Venezuela is not being utilized in a properly organized manner to give the revolution encouragement and strength from its many friends from around the world. At the same time resources coming into the country from the movement are getting into the opposition’s hands.

Our proposal is to organise and construct a self-sustaining International Solidarity Centre within Venezuela for the purpose of building solidarity between the people of Venezuela involved in and dedicated to the process and the international community who are in solidarity with the process or who want to learn more about it.

We believe that an International Solidarity Centre within Venezuela where visitors from other countries can stay, learn about the process, contribute towards it and bring it back to their communities would begin the process of strengthening and unifying the solidarity movement.

The centre would put out international appeals to encourage people and organisations to visit Venezuela and stay at the centre. The centre would be a place where visitors from different countries in solidarity with the process, or people who want to learn about the process, can come and stay. The centre would provide all the services and needs visitors require. The centre would organize tours around the specific interests of visiting groups. The centre would provide the transportation, guides and contacts for the tours. The centre would encourage the neighbouring community and the employees of the centre to educate visitors about the process of the revolution.

2. Link international movements in solidarity with the Bolivarian revolution with each other.

International organisations sending people and representatives to the centre would have a chance to meet and discuss their solidarity work with groups from other places. Workshops could be organised to facilitate interaction between different groups. The centre would encourage groups to stay connected with each other and the centre so an international solidarity network of organisations and individuals can be maintained and united. International projects and campaigns can be proposed and initiated through the centre.

The centre would organise educational workshops and events with people who can explain to visitors what is really taking place within the country politically and economically. It would also stock leaflets and books with facts and figures of the process for visitors to bring back with them to spread to their own communities.

4. Bring financial support to build the structure, maintain solidarity and friendship between visitors and locals, support itself and work towards its expansion.

The centre would provide a number of services for visitors like transportation, translation, organising tours and brigades, meals, cultural events and the like. Specialized diets could be served to visitors that are not easy to find in Venezuela such as vegetarian, vegan or meals for people with medical concerns. By providing and charging for these services it would bring funds for the upkeep and maintenance of the centre, employ people within the centre, with surplus funds going towards expanding the centre or starting and supporting other projects outside of the centre.

The centre should be self-sustaining by growing its own food and producing by-products for consumption within the centre and to sell to the community outside of the centre.

Other products can be either produced at the centre or bought outside and resold to visitors in the centre.

6. Organise and encourage work brigades and connect visitors with Venezuelans to build solidarity, exchange ideas and educate each other.

Visitors would be linked to the community around the centre. They could be involved in various aspects of the process such as: missions, co-ops, unions, women’s organisations. They could meet politicians, teachers, doctors, community activists, etc. Brigades can be organised so that visitors can spend time with ordinary workers and work alongside them to understand what Venezuelan life is like for workers inside the Bolivarian revolution. Brigades could be set up so visitors can help with the building of the centre itself. This would make visitors feel that the centre belongs to them also so that they can go back to their community and encourage people to come to Venezuela and stay in the centre.

7. Encourage, stimulate and unite the people and community around it so they become more involved and effective in the political work needed to secure the process.

The centre can also be used to bring people together for conferences, conventions and meetings from the internal or external community. Classes can be given to teach Spanish to visitors and English to the locals. Classes on alternative building materials such as: paper, bamboo, rammed earth, straw etc. can also be initiated.
Space for cultural gatherings and events such as concerts, dancing, films, etc. can also be available to link the community with the visitors.

a. International visitors in solidarity with the Bolivarian process.
b. People involved in the Bolivarian process.
c. The community within and around the centre.

The centre must be in the country to encourage people to get away from the urban environment. Cities create major problems for humanity, the environment and they are not sustainable. The centre would be an example and teach people about good health and a clean sustainable environment.

Although the centre should be in the country, it should also be easily accessible by visitors who are coming from far away. It should not be more than 2 hours away from the airport.

It should be close to a community that is willing to show many of their accomplishments through the process. There should be co-ops, child care centres, schools, factories, missions, circulos, clinics, etc. near the centre to show and educate visitors about the process and how people are involved in it.

The centre should have around 5 to 10 hectares of arable land so that various projects can be established within it and form a sustainable economy in itself.

The land should have either a pond, a lake or a river going through it so that there is enough water for the production of food, the raising of animals and a fish farm project to be implemented in a timely manner.

With 10 hectares of land a plan with multiple stages or phases can be drafted. Construction could begin then. The first stage should have a main area to feed, cook for and entertain visitors. There should be either cabins to sleep in that are disconnected from the main centre or have rooms attached in such a way so that noise from cultural or social events would not affect the sleeping area.

This stage should be small enough to be built quickly. The cost would be lower and financing easier to acquire. Once the first stage is finished, it could be opened to visitors and operable. The next stage could be financed by itself, beginning the process of self-sustainability.

The centre would be built by alternative methods and materials such as paper blocks, bamboo, rammed earth, etc. Builders, or people interested from the community, would be invited to witness and learn from these methods. The plan is to come up with ideas for building faster, easier, and cheaper that could be applied to housing needs around the country.

1. Organisations or individuals in support of the process internationally will be asked with a concrete plan to assist with the building of the centre.
2. Borrowing money from: a financial institution, government or individuals.
3. Selling shares to specific individuals and organisations.

Partial labour can be organised so that international work brigades can also take part in the building and landscaping. This would make them also feel that they are part of it so that they will in turn send visitors from their communities.

The centre will have a main area for cultural events to educate & entertain the surrounding community and international visitors.

The presentation of music, theatre, poetry, carnivals, films, dance, story telling would be incorporated into the centre.

People from the community and visitors would be encouraged to perform and take part in the exchange of culture, ideas and knowledge to build a strong solidarity and friendship connection.

Projects can include food production such as: growing vegetables, fruits and herbs and raising animals. By-products from these projects in turn will produce other projects such as: preserving certain foods and fruits, juice making, cheese production and the like. A lake, pond or river on the land will assist with the food production and also a fish production farm can be established.

Other projects like making crafts or the production of revolutionary paraphernalia such as: buttons, posters, hats, T-shirts, books, leaflets, and the like can also be implemented to help the sustainability of the centre. This will make it easier for visitors to take home items that will help build a stronger international solidarity movement with the Bolivarian revolution.