It belongs to the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and was founded on February 25, 1972. It is located in the municipality Caimito, Artemisa province.
The idea of ??creating a place dedicated to the attention of solidarity and friends who would come to know the Cuban reality came from the comrade Fidel Castro Ruz.
It all started when young people from 27 nations came to Cuba. Its objective was to build a basic secondary school in the countryside and 28 homes for workers in Los Naranjos Genetic Plan in less than six months. The idea emerged during a visit of a delegation from the World Federation of Democratic Youth to educational centers in the countryside.
Subsequently, the conditions were created to accommodate the international brigade members who have visited the country for more than 36 years, not only to provide their selfless work contribution but also to exchange with entities of all kinds, thus contributing to the dissemination of the true reality of Cuba and against the blockade imposed on the Island.
It has hosted, among others, the Nordic brigades, “Antonio Maceo” (United States), “Cross of the South” (Australia and New Zealand), “Carlos Roloff” (Poland), “Tupac Amaru” (Peru). He has received groups from several Latin American countries such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Santo Domingo and Jamaica. It hosted the 1st and 2nd Latin American and Caribbean Encounter of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba.
On July 30, 1972, Jorge Dimitrov secondary school was concluded, now Camilo Cienfuegos military school, and the 28 homes for workers of Los Naranjos Genetic Plan. Everything was done in less than six months. The center that sheltered the brigadistas was not demolished nor changed the sense that gave rise to it. It became International Camp and kept the name of Julio Antonio Mella, in honor to that initiative that did transcend the value of the voluntary work. It has changed a lot since that February of 1972, but time rejuvenates it, as well as the warmth of its workers and the trace of affection left by its visitors.
Objectives:
? Solidarity with the struggle of the Cuban people to dignify the human race.
? To inform the reality of the Cuban people and the achievements of the Revolution.
? To serve as a link between solidarity groups with Cuba at the national level.
? To motivate systematic and coordinated work among national groups.
? To provide support material for solidarity work.
? To help break the information blockade imposed on Cuba by the big news chains that directly affect the country.
Nowadays
To talk about the International Camp “Julio Antonio Mella” in Caimito, it is necessary to start by informing that are awarded with the banner of National Vanguard, it is necessary to look at all times: the past, the present and the future, to be able to assess the immense value of this center, open wide to the friends of Cuba in the whole world and open to any work that dignifies the human condition.
Since its founding, the International Camp has sheltered more than 55,000 brigadistas from all five continents, people who have come to the Island with the intention of knowing the reality of the country, not the one that appears in the mass media, but the one that pulsates in every street and every house, and almost never occupies space in these multi-million dollar media or occupies them in a lamentable way.
With the help of the hands of those brigadistas (whites, blacks, mestizos, women, children …), there have been many works of the educational, medical and residential sectors in Caimito, such as the construction of the Los Naranjos community, Doctors? offices in the municipality and the Rehabilitation Room in Ceiba del Agua; The total repair of Miguel Perera Elementary School in the town of Vereda Nueva and the refurbishment of the Jorge Dimitrov Pre-university Institute (Ceiba 7), works of undeniable weight in the Battle of Ideas, but which are a minimum of what was contributed during 24 Years, by brothers who defend the cause of the revolutionary process anywhere and under any flag.
In addition to the contribution to Cuban construction and citrus fields, there has also been a contribution in foreign exchange for the purchase of medicines, materials and resources, denied by the reactionary forces, and a sustained and fruitful work in their countries of origin, which increases day by day the prestige of the Cuban nation in the eyes of the planet. The camp has become the venue for national events, training plans and congresses of foreign students in Cuba, for which it provides well-recognized accommodation and food services.
With 67 workers on its staff, the Julio Antonio Mella International Camp has been a place specially loved by the families of the Five Heroes, kidnapped in prisons of the Empire, a space of confrontation and debate to contribute to the liberation of these young people who protected their country from the jaws of terrorism. This work of love, constantly improving, could now fill thousands of beautiful pages in the history of solidarity among men around the world with those of an island that is always open, sincere and cordial.
By Redacción digital
Equipo de redactores del sitio web de Radio Mayabeque