Australia Cuba Friendship Society
(Sydney branch)

Dear Visitor,

Thank you for visiting the ACFS Sydney site. The Australia Cuba Friendship Society aims to encourage solidarity with Cuba and is welcoming to all friends of Cuba.

We are currently upgrading our website, which should be completed early in 2012. In the meantime, please visit our ACFS facebook group which has regular updates and information.

If you are interested in attending a meeting of the society, we meet on the first Thursday of each month at Level 1, Teachers Federation House, 33 Mary Street Surry Hills (map).

If you are interested in joining the Southern Cross Brigade to Cuba, which runs annually from late December to January, please visit www.cubabrigade.org.au.

If you would like more information or to contact us, please email Chela Weitzel at president@sydney-acfs.org.

Viva Cuba!

What is ACFS?
The ACFS aims to promote and encourage friendship, understanding, trade and other exchange between the people of Australia and Cuba.

We organise a variety of politico-cultural events during the year culminating in the annual Work/Study Brigade to Cuba. This is a three-week visit to Cuba focussing on political, economic, cultural and social aspects of Cuba. The ACFS supports humanitarian projects in Cuba. An ACFS priority is to end the US blockade of Cuba.

The ACFS meets at 6.30pm on the first Thursday of every month (except January) at the NSW Teachers' Federation building, Level 1, 33 Mary Street, Surry Hills (map). Meetings are open to all friends of Cuba and those interested in finding out more about Cuba.

Membership of the ACFS is $20 ($10 unwaged) per year. Here is our membership form. There is also a western suburbs branch whose meetings are conducted in Spanish. There are also many other branches of the ACFS around Australia. See below for their contact details.

To contact us, write to secretary@sydney-acfs.org or PO Box K364, Haymarket NSW 1240.

Join the Work/Study Brigade to Cuba:
Contact us to join this year's brigade to Cuba or if you have any questions about the brigade: brigade@sydney-acfs.org. You can also visit www.cubabrigade.org.au for more information.

New meeting venue!
ACFS monthly meetings are now held at a new venue. We meet at 6.30pm at the NSW Teachers' Federation building, Level 1, 33 Mary Street, Surry Hills (map).

Latest Newsletter: August 2011 (and others)

Mailing List: Members and friends can join our mailing list by typing in your email address below and clicking on the Subscribe button. You will be sent a confirmation email.

  sydneyACFS@googlegroups.com (Announcements and news)

Your email address:

International Fight to Free the Cuban Five
After thirteen years in US jails!

The Cuban Five - Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labańino, René González, Antonio Guerrero, and Fernando González were arrested in Florida in September 1998 on frame-up charges of "conspiracy to commit espionage" or "conspiracy to act as non-registered foreign agents" and given long sentences. Hernández was also charged with "conspiracy to commit murder" and handed a double-life sentence plus 15 years.

They had been gathering information on right-wing Cuban exile groups in the United States that have a history of carrying out violent attacks against Cuba. Newly discovered evidence shows that the U.S. government paid journalists to intensify media stories against the men during their trials in Miami over 1998-2001.

The U.S. government recently singled out Gerardo Hernández, one of the five, for brutal punishment by placing him in solitary confinement. This was met by a successful international protest campaign that won his release from the prison "hole" after only 13 days. In June lawyers for Hernández filed a 'habeus corpus' appeal against his conviction.

Now is the time to step up the fight to free the Cuban Five!

For further information contact: freethefive@yahoo.com or phone: Mara 0424 652 802, or Ron 0413 450 981
Presentation by Adriana Navarro at the Sydney Latin American Forum 10/10/2009
Thanks to the Sydney Latin American Social Forum and Adriana Navarro for this presentation on legal issues regarding the Cuban Five.

Links to other Cuba solidarity organisations:

Friends of Cuba - Campaign against the blockade against Cuba.
Free the Five! - free the Cuban political prisoners in the U.S. (freethefive@yahoo.com)

Local Branches: Here are the contact details for all branches of the ACFS:

Sydney:
Web: http://sydney-acfs.org/
Mail: info@sydney-acfs.org (Chela Weitzel)
Mail: president@sydney-acfs.org (Chela Weitzel)
Mail: secretary@sydney-acfs.org (Matthew Clark)
Mail: membership@sydney-acfs.org (Marce Cameron)
Mail: treasurer@sydney-acfs.org (Chris Atkinson)
Mail: brigade@sydney-acfs.org (Peter Duggan)
Mail: brigadepromo@sydney-acfs.org (Justine McCarthy)
Post: PO Box K364, Haymarket NSW 1240

Sydney Western Suburbs:
Mail: Hugo Nardini hnardini@bigpond.net.au

Melbourne:
Web: http://www.geocities.com/melbacfs/
Mail: melbacfs@yahoo.com.au
Post: PO Box 1051, Collingwood VIC 3066

Canberra:
Web: http://www.geocities.com/australiacubafriendship/
Mail: australiacubafriendship@yahoo.com.au
Post: PO Box E190, Kingston ACT 2604

Brisbane:
Web: http://www.acfs-brisbane.org.au/
Mail: acfs.brisbane@gmail.com
Post: PO Box 5683, West End QLD 4101

Adelaide:
Secretary: Bob Briton bobbrit@planetmail.com
Web: http://www.acfsadelaide.blogspot.com/
Web: http://www.fiveheroes.blogspot.com/
Mail: acfsadelaide@gmail.com
Post: PO Box 612, Port Adelaide SA 5015

Perth:
President: Vinnie Molina vinniemolin@hotmail.com
Secretary: Elizabeth Hulm elizabethhulm@yahoo.com.au
Mail: acfsperth@gmail.com
Post: PO Box 1455, South Perth WA 6951

Hobart:
Mail: Ro Dallow rdallow@iinet.com.au
Post: GPO Box 323, Hobart TAS 7001

Albury/Wodonga:
Mail: Peter Hood phood4@bigpond.com
Post: PO Box 854, Albury NSW 2640

Newcastle:
Mail: Kate Ferguson katelind@tpg.com.au

Central Coast NSW:
Post: PO Box 1082, Gosford NSW 2250

Otautahi-Christchurch:
Mail: Ina Lawrence inashina@clear.net.nz
Mail: Gael Donald gael.d@clear.net.nz
Mail: Cuba Solidarity Christchurch cusolch@gmail.com
Web: http://cubasolidarity.blogspot.com/