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Dealing with youth — Cuban style

By CATHY PLOWMAN

The Union of Young Com- munists of Cuba held its Sth Con- gress in Havana April Ist to Sth Under the slogan ‘With the Party, together with Fidel, Marching Towards the Year 2000’. The idea of the slogan is that the pres- €nt generation of Cuban youth will be the leaders of the country in the next century. The Congress Was attended by about 1,500 dele- gates, 200 international guests and many national guests.

It was easy to feel the excite- ment of the convention. Before €ach session opened, delegates Would chant slogans, play drums and other musical instruments, and display banners and fans. Most striking was the open, frank and often self-critical discussion. Fidel Castro, along with many g0vernment ministers attended Most of the sessions. It was not Uncommon for Fidel to enter into a long discussion with a delegate about any issue, big or small. It Was just as common for the minis-

CONGRESO

"CON EL PARTIDO JUNTO A FIDEL EN MARCHA HACIA EL 2000

ter responsible to be asked to re- spond to the delegates’ com- ments.

Most of the discussion centered around production problems and ways to improve efficiency and quality control. One of the areas that received the most attention was the new decentralized em- ployment system called the free contract system. Under the new law, managers can hire who they want and workers can apply for any job they want. This new sys- tem led to some problems of pa- tronage. Some managers refused to hire youth because they said they were too inexperienced, or they thought they would not stay long at their jobs. The solution proposed by the minister of labor was to make the appropriate changes to the law. A committee composed of the party, trade union, management and UJC representatives in each enterprise would decide on hiring for 50 to 75 per cent of all jobs.

Many delegates were critical of

their own UJC branches for not

‘helping to integrate new young

workers into their factories. It was decided that a member from the UJC should talk to new work- ers and find out what their con- cerns or problems are so that they will not become disgruntled and leave their jobs in a few months. They also discussed the extent to which seniority lists discriminate against youth. Many delegates felt that skill and knowledge should be included in the cri- terion.

Fidel stressed that the way to solve youth unemployment was not by having swollen payrolls, i.e.: more than one person doing a job requiring only one. Overspe- cialization also contributes to this problem, he added. One solution proposed was the people should be trained to do more than one job. These people should also be paid more.

A bold new program of having a family doctor in every community has also been undertaken. The state is providing houses for these doctors to set up their practices and residences in the community. The idea is for the doctor to be integrated into the community. As

Fidel stated, medicine is not pure-

ly a physical science but a com- bination of the biological and so- cial sciences. Doctors have to

The Youth Congress was marked by its open and frank debate with no room for routin- ism.

deal with social problems as well as physical ones.

The delegates discussed other questions of interest to Cuban youth, including military service. Should it begin before or after university? Other issues dis- cussed were the need for more sex education, planned recreation for youth and a campaign aimed at convincing the population to eat better and exercise regularly. A new initiative aimed at creating more recreation for youth is the establishment of video halls where young people can go to watch movies free of charge.

Following the Congress, the World Federation of Democratic Youth held a meeting of Latin

American and Caribbean youth organizations to discuss ways of improving the work of the Fed- eration in these regions. In addi- tion, there was also a full program of activities for international guests, such as visiting museums, farms, hospitals and of course going to the beach and dancing. Although Cuban youth still have problems, they do not have to confront the poverty, discrimi- nation and powerlessness that many Canadian youth face. They are also actively involved in eco- nomic and political affairs of their country. Cathy Plowman was the YCL repre- sentative at the UJC Congress in Cuba.

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS Tom Morris

a

Protecting Royal bloodlines

The rude multitudes have always suspected that Royalty Were a special lot. They're not built like we mortals. That’s why, we’re told, kings, queens, dukes, princes and Other assorted personages al- Ways inter-marry.

Rumor says it has something to do with bloodlines — like

reeding dobermans, fine race horses or salamanders ... Something called ‘‘blueblood”’

‘Oval condoms are next?

The Duke and Duchess of York on the road. Are w

is mentioned in hushed tones. So it’s not surprising that the Royal family will now travel accompanied by a medical back-up kit containing needles, syringes, blood plasma (color not mentioned) and other goodies which will permit it to survive 72 hours without blood transfusion in case of emer- gency. The reasoning here 1s clear: that gives plenty of time to hook up one royal arm to another. : The equipment is officially described as an anti-AIDS kit,

e to assume

but obviously answers only part of the problem. Are we to assume there are Royal con- doms as well?

Britain’s Princess Margaret will be the first to know. She is to be provided with the latest Royal Protection kit on her coming visit to China.

Garbage barge is Brian’s chance

_ Mexico’s navy sent war- ships to drive it off.

The state of Louisiana threatened to call out the Na- tional Guard. North Carolina authorities refused it permis- sion to land.

This orphan of the sea, a huge barge loaded with 3,000 tons of smelly garbage, was last seen steaming in circles in the Gulf of Mexico, as the U.S. State Department of the En- vironment considered its fate.

The barge, Break of Dawn, had left New York about four weeks ago with the garbage, an overflow from,a local dump,

but it seems neighboring states weren't cooperating.

Here’s a chance for Mul- roney.

Inasmuch as he’s content to let Reagan ride out his last two years without a deal on acid rain, why not let Americans dump their garbage here as well?

Since we’ re now getting tons of U.S. sulphur dioxide from the sky and God knows what directly into our waterways — what’s a smelly little garbage barge? We could allow it to dump its load straight into the St. Lawrence river, it’s cer- tainly nice and close to New York.

What about dumping the stuff just off Baie Comeau so the Prime Minister could get full credit from his con- stituents?

Just think of the bargaining chip in the free trade talks. Added to the lumber, fish, steel sell-outs; added to the arctic, to drugs, De Havilland and now the Dome giveaways, permitting the U.S. to dump its garbage in Canada would once more show Reagan just what a friend he has in Mulroney.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MAY 6, 1987 e 9

Out from under their rock

It’s probably fitting that two old warhorses have joined voi- ces to condemn possible U.S.-USSR_ nuclear missile cutbacks in Europe.

By coming out from under their rocks to oppose the cuts, former President Nixon and his former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger may just have done the peace movement a favor.

If these two crooks think arms control is bad, it must be good. If a discredited former president and his foreign pol- licy architect (remember Viet- nam?) say that Europe is safer with nuclear missiles poised just eight minutes from target, their logic speaks for itself.

Remember Nixon? He boozed himself into a stupor aboard the presidential yacht as he pondered sending his B-52s secretly over Cambodia. Then to screw up his courage, he screened the film Patton and, sitting right there next to him — was loyal Henry.

First time tragedy, second time farce ...