International

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers returned to the capital from a July 4th recess with their constituents’ urgent demands for an end to the Iraq war still ringing in their ears.

Darfur has almost become a household word, and with good reason. The first human-made catastrophe of the 21st century, its death count combined with the huge humanitarian crisis staggers the imagination. Whether it’s the 400,000 claimed by some or the 70,000 suggested by the UN in March, the human toll combined with rapes, burned villages and destroyed lives has torn a gaping hole in the fabric of humanity.

El caso colonial de Puerto Rico puede venir antes de la Asamblea General de la ONU después de una resolución unánime del Comité Especial de Descolonización. La resolución del 14 de junio fue auspiciada por Cuba y Venezuela.

La obra de Vilma a favor de la mujer, de la clase trabajadora y de la humanidad transciende las fronteras nacionales y es de significado mundial. A pesar de que lamentamos que haya fallecido, sabemos a la vez que lo que ella construyó, es sólida.

Vilma ha muerto. Acaba de pasar a otra categoría de entrañables. Vilma Espín pasa a ser un icono revolucionario, algo que su sencillez no le permitió nunca siquiera imaginar porque una de sus grandes virtudes personales y revolucionarias fue esa: la modestia.

NUEVA YORK — En 1964 Nguyen Thi Hong, en aquel entonces jovencita de 17 años, se dedicó a la lucha contra la ocupación norteamericana de su país, Vietnam. Supo que pudo perder la vida pero no tuvo ninguna idea de que se iba a enfermarse por más de 30 años.

Against a backdrop of ratcheted-up Bush attacks on Cuba and the devastating contradictions afflicting U.S. health care, the documentary “Salud!” by Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba is timely, informative and inspiring.

Israel is paying a heavy price for the continued occupation of the Palestinian territories, one that is sorely felt in most households. The Palestinians, as is well known, are paying a much heavier price, but this fact does not in any way make the price that Israelis are paying any smaller or less significant.

CHICAGO — Two leaders of Iraq’s labor movement placed a plaque at the Haymarket Memorial here June 23 as leaders of major U.S. labor organizations looked on. The presentation was the Iraqis’ way of remembering both Iraqi and American workers who have been killed defending human rights. In Arabic and English, the plaque reads, “May the bonds of international labor solidarity help us all in our struggles for justice, peace, democracy and workers’ rights.”

Ousmane Sembene, universally regarded as the “father of African cinema,” died June 9 at the age of 84 at his home in Dakar, Senegal. A lifelong radical, his films tackled the most contentious issues in Africa, frequently provoking the indignation of the ruling class of both his home country and its former colonizer.