On the 28th International Camp of Democratic, Anti-Fascist and Anti-Imperialist Youth, held August 18-25th in the Dominican Republic

 See also:  durhamspark.blogspot.com/2024/04/appeal-for-28th-international-camp-of.html

Lucha #426, September 2024  [Red Star Publishers sent out these translated articles from  September 10th.]

Central Organ of the Communist Party of Labor – PCT
of the Dominican Republic

Final Resolution of the 28th International Camp of Anti-Fascist and Anti-Imperialist Youth (ICJDAA)

ICDAAY Delegates

The 28th International Camp of Anti-Fascist and Anti-Imperialist Youth (ICDAAY) has come to an end. Young people from all over the world gathered under the slogan "Youth united for peace and their future, against imperialism and its wars". This meeting is a clear example that it is possible to build a world where true peace, equality and freedom prevail. What we have achieved in this camp, together with the struggles undertaken by young people around the world, is a foretaste of the change that the international youth struggle can bring.

Hundreds of young people gathered in the Dominican Republic between August 18 and 25, discussing how to combat those who expand their rule by exploiting the working class and peoples. Delegations from Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Haiti, United States, Spain, Germany and Turkey share our experiences of fighting for youth rights and social change, while also exchanging our music, dances and cultures.

The world is under the shadow of inter-imperialist contradictions, economic crises, regional wars, occupation and plunder by the powers. The imperialists and their collaborators cause death and destruction among the peoples. The most tangible evidence is the genocide perpetrated by the U.S.-backed Zionist state of Israel against the Palestinian people. The death toll has topped 40,000, mostly women and children. Predatory wars between imperialist powers bring poverty, hunger and unemployment into our lives, while global spending on armaments has amounted to $2.4 trillion. This plunder destroys nature, making more and more frequent catastrophes such as forest fires and floods, which mainly affect the working class and peoples, while the monopolies and large corporations enrich themselves by plundering natural resources.

The imperialists, through the tensions and conflicts they create, are paving the way for the organization of the extreme right, nationalism and reactionary groups that position themselves against the working class, the people and youth who are struggling. The growing fascist tendency in some countries is being organized by the imperialist powers to consolidate their rule throughout the world, promoting reactionary violence, hostility towards immigrants, racism, sexist policies and practices aimed at suppressing social opposition.

The imperialists are lining their pockets by stealing the future of the youth. There are systematic attacks on the right to education, health care, employment and a dignified life for young people around the world, while military budgets are increasing. The working conditions of young people are worsening with precariousness, long working hours that do not allow them to rest, eat or exercise properly, all for poverty salaries. The WHO notes that one in seven people aged 10 to 19 suffers from depression, and suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29. Mental health is another of the fronts of struggle imposed by this system.

Paramilitarism and drug trafficking also threaten the lives of young people as mechanisms of intimidation and oppression. Organized crime, taking advantage of the vulnerability of young people, lures many with false promises of provisions. This criminal escalation is an inherent part of the corruption of the system.

If imperialism, the bourgeoisie and their repressive forces are preparing for new wars, it is essential that we strengthen our organization and struggle from the democratic and leftist sectors. We must concentrate our energies on agitation and propaganda, using all available resources, especially the digital media, art and culture. Political tools, such as our newspapers, have been instrumental in increasing our ranks and strengthening political work among youth.

Only with a concrete knowledge of the global situation will our generation be able to face the daily challenges and counter the ideology of the rich, which is disseminated through numerous media. To offer an alternative to this worldview, we must occupy all spaces, physical and virtual, with the propaganda of our ideas. Let us increase the organization of the youth and our struggle for an end to imperialist exploitation and aggression!

Young people want to live, but capitalism kills us every day. Young people want to study, but our schools close and universities become precarious. We want access to leisure, culture and sport, but there are no incentives. We want a different perspective on life, but the system oppresses and limits us, putting our future and the very existence of the planet at risk.

The discussions in the ICDAAY have raised with us the need to organize the youth to strengthen the class struggle in our countries and throughout the world, allying ourselves with the working class in the defense of social transformation and revolution. In this way, we will continue to expose the capitalist-imperialist system and move forward towards organizing revolution and building a new socialist society.

The fight for a better world is not easy. The path of rebellion against this system is fraught with dangers and attacks by those who wish to maintain their privileges. In this process, many comrades have fallen to the violence of the system. We pay tribute to all those who have been victims of repression. Ten years after the disappearance of the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Normal School, we demand justice. We also honor the memory of Sarah Silva Domingues, a youth leader in Brazil, and condemn the brutal attack against Rosseel Rivera of the Mexican Revolutionary Youth Union, during the protests in solidarity with Palestine.

It is possible to dismantle the savage system that the powerful have imposed by keeping alive the memory of our comrades and raising their banners higher. Let us advance the struggles in each of our countries and firmly oppose imperialist violence and exploitation. The 28th ICDAAY ratifies its commitment to integrate the youth of the world in the struggle for national and social liberation, against imperialist war and for socialism.

Long live the 28th International Camp of Democratic, Anti-Fascist and Anti-Imperialist Youth!

Long live the struggle of the youth, the workers and peoples of the world!

Down with imperialism and its wars!

 

The Experience of the 28th International Camp of Anti-Fascist and Anti-Imperialist Youth:

A Week of Struggle and Solidarity

By Oscarina Martínez

From August 18 to 25, 2024, the Dominican Republic was the scene of the 28th International Camp of Antifascist and Anti-Imperialist Youth (ICDAAY), a place where young people from all over the world gathered under the slogan "Youth united for peace and their future, against imperialism and its wars". This event not only served as a meeting place for young militants, but as a real space for learning, reflection and international solidarity.

Hundreds of young people from countries such as Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Haiti, United States, Spain, Germany and Turkey shared their local struggles, their perspectives on the future and their commitment to social transformation. The camp became a vibrant and diverse place, where cultural differences were celebrated and similarities in the struggle against the capitalist-imperialist system served as the foundation of unity. In addition to the discussions and work tables, the young people enjoyed music, dances and cultural expressions that reflected the richness of the different delegations.

During the camp, participants addressed the current crises affecting the world under the shadow of imperialism: regional wars, occupations, plundering of natural resources, inter-imperialist contradictions, and the devastating consequences of the capitalist system on the lives of the working class and youth. In the midst of the discussions, the genocide against the Palestinian people perpetrated by the U.S.-backed Zionist state of Israel stood out as one of the clearest examples of imperialist brutality.

Predatory wars between powers not only leave a trail of death and destruction, but also bring with them poverty, hunger and unemployment. Faced with this scenario, the young people of the ICDAAY reaffirmed their commitment to fight against this system that prioritizes military spending – amounting to $2.4 trillion worldwide – over the basic needs of the population, such as education, health care and social welfare.

One of the key themes that emerged during the camp was the role that youth must play in the struggle for social transformation. The way the imperialist forces and the bourgeoisie have made the lives of young people a battlefield, attacking their rights to education, health, employment and a dignified life, was discussed. The deterioration of working conditions, the lack of opportunities, the increase in mental health problems and the precariousness of access to culture and leisure were some of the issues that were discussed in depth.

The youth of the ICDAAY made it clear that their struggle is not only local, but global. They pledged to continue to organize the struggle against imperialist exploitation and aggression in each of their countries, while strengthening international solidarity.

The 28th ICDAAY concluded with a clear resolution: to increase the organization of youth throughout the world and to strengthen the struggle against imperialism and its wars. The camp reaffirmed that only through internationalist unity and constant mobilization can progress be made towards a new society, free from exploitation, oppression and violence.

The 28th ICDAAY has been an example showing that united youth can not only resist, but also transform the world. And this camp is just the beginning of what's to come.

Long live the Revolutionary Youth!

Long live Internationalist Solidarity!

Down with imperialism and its wars!