Peter Vander Meulen, Catherine Cooper, and Gary Mulder, representing the Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Social Justice, met with policymakers in Washington, D.C., at the end of September to press for an end to the ban on travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens and residents.
For decades, the U.S. travel ban has disrupted the work of the agencies of the CRC in North America and fellowship with the 12 congregations of the Christian Reformed Church in Cuba. Some American congregations have maintained relationships with the Cuban congregations, despite difficulties with travel.
The CRC has lobbied for an end to the embargo for more than a decade after a letter from the Cuban CRC’s synod of 1998 requested that the North Americans express to the U.S. government that the embargo is an “injustice that causes suffering for the very weakest people.”
The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act (H.R. 874/S.428) would end the restrictions on travel to and from Cuba by U.S. citizens. There are no Canadian restrictions on travel to Cuba.
About the Author
Gayla Postma retired as news editor for The Banner in 2020.
