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Fidel Castro . . . Revolutionary par excellence

Hildegarde The Arena—

WHEN news of the passing on of El Commandante Fidel Castro Ruz on Friday, November 25 was confirmed, there was a deep sense of emptiness, followed by gratitude and admiration for what Fidel stood for on the world stage in the 20th Century to date.On January 1, 1959 together with his comrades-in-arms, Fidel reportedly entered Cuba, the country they had freed from the dictatorship of the Batista regime, and he said: “I am Fidel Castro and we have come to liberate Cuba.”

There is also no way one could forget a man who on September 26, 1960 set a record when he delivered one of the longest speeches (four-and-a-half hours) at the United Nations General Assembly, despite having promised that he would be brief.

What followed news of his death were conversations or solidarity messages with mutual friends in different parts of the world about Fidel the man, Fidel the revolutionary, Fidel the visionary, Fidel and his legacy and more.

Wrote RM: “I write to you because I think you are the last comrades I have; you are the only ones I know will feel as I do, not the terrible loss of Fidel – we shall never lose him as his life’s work is engraved in stone and in Cuba the country he and others rescued from the fate of the rest of Latin America. It is the fury – I know you will feel too the fury I feel … I long for a voice that tells the world that Fidel was our hero, the hero of millions and we mourn for our hero and give him the due respect that is due to him as one of the great, just and fearless persons of the 20th Century.”

To which Micere responded from another distant land: “We share your pain, comrade, but also the comforting realisation that the amazing revolutionary achievements of this hero of liberation are permanently etched in the annals of the history of humankind.

“What added to the hurt was that this hero of the revolution died on the so-called Black Friday, with all the symbolism the day carries for American capitalism.”

Micere continued: “But what really, really made me sick to the stomach was witnessing Cubans with no soul in Miami and other parts of America celebrating the death of this great leader. As for the world’s mainstream media and the likes of Russia and China, they have sold history to the Market. Aluta continua!”

Sara chipped in: “In solidarity with all who have been committed to continue a true struggle for socialism, and especially to remember the role that Fidel played in the Angolan struggle for independence, as well as the end of the apartheid regime.

“My visit to Cuba last year was a wake-up call to how fragile such a struggle can be, but also the strength of commitment to national pride instilled in schoolchildren.”

After writing “Looking for the living among the living”, of which Fidel was one of them, it was difficult for this writer to comprehend that the man who had cheated death more than 600 times was gone with the wind. For they will never make them in the mould of Fidel.

He was in a class of his own: a strategist who survived the onslaught of more than 10 US presidents.

In power and out of power, Fidel was alive to current affairs; he was alive to history and was also alive to the future.

Castro’s leadership is held in high esteem for keeping the revolutionary flame burning, despite the five-decade economic embargo by the United States of America and its allies.

There are parallels between Cuba and Zimbabwe, and as we look at Fidel’s legacy, we get a broader picture that not only do they share a common destiny, but they have so much to learn from one another. The lessons should give them the conviction that they are in fact victors and not losers.

Cuba and Zimbabwe have become some of the shining examples of how being small can translate into might if powerful nations, for decades on end have to invest so much in order to destroy them.

Cuba is less than 100km from the world’s superpower, the United States, but it has defied the mammoth. It has been demonised, but its people have remained united, rallying other progressive forces in the international community on their side.

Evidently, some along the way become sellouts, but this has not doused the revolutionary flame. The economic crunch has taken its toll, but they are down but not out.

Like their hero José Martí, Cubans refused to be treated like scoundrels and buried in darkness to die like traitors, for they know that in the commonwealth of nations, they are equally good and as good men, they will die facing the sun.

Despite the thawing of relations between Cuba and the US under the Obama administration, chances are that Donald Trump will derail the positives so far made, for the empire never wants you to be yourself.

When push comes to shove, especially when Cubans continue to press on the unconditional removal of the economic embargo, Fidel’s revolutionary formula should be applied. Trump must be made to see that small is equally big.

In 1959, Fidel bragged: “I began (the) revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and (a) plan of action.” He was also a man who saw the length, breadth and depth of Cuba’s role on the geo-political sphere: “Our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity.”

This is why we celebrate his life.

Cuba’s Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla summed up these ties in an interview with the writer, published on December 10, 2013: “Well, Africa has a special priority for Cuba. We are Latin American and African people by our cultural roots and ancestry. We also share common elements in our struggles for exercising sovereignty on our national resources and defending our path based on self-determination, and looking for the same goals in international peace and security and full observation of international law.

“I come to Africa and confirm not only the resilient spirit of freedom on this powerful continent, but at the same time, the validity of our goals at this time and celebrating the end of apartheid . . .; the implementation of United Nations resolutions and the granting of independence to Namibia, and the preservation of Angola’s independence.

“I feel that there is a special and promising moment for Africa and for Latin America and the Caribbean states. If we could unite in our efforts, and speak with a common voice and in a louder way, we will be listened to by the international community.”

Turning to the United States’ regime change agenda, Foreign Minister Rodriguez Parrilla said: “Unfortunately, the US official policy for Cuba is illegal. They seek regime change by enhancing non-conventional wars, and even strengthening the blockade in our financial transactions. I could say that the US policy against Cuba is the only isolated thing.

“We have also overcome the more than 50-year economic sanctions in the most comprehensive way in human history because of the strong political leadership of the Cuban revolution led by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and President Raul Castro Ruz; and, because of our strong unity; the leadership of our Communist Party; our cohesion, the monolithic cohesion of our people in supporting the revolution in an overwhelming way.

“These unjust, illegal and unilateral sanctions are in contravention of the Geneva Convention. At the same time, they are an act of economic war with the most cunning human and economic damage on three generations of Cubans.

“Seventy-six percent of Cubans were born under the blockade policy and every Cuban family has suffered serious consequences through shortages, hardships in their day-to-day lives even for our children, the elderly reaching a peak of US$1 trillion in cumulative economic damages.

“But, we are a resilient country, a resilient economy. We are updating our economic model towards socialism, toward a more efficient economy, higher productivity and looking for economic sustainability of the Cuban revolution. We are succeeding. No doubt about that. In a couple of decades, Cuba rose from being a sugar producer, to the most important exporter of medical services; from a raw materials exporting economy to a knowledge services economy, and right now, we’re in a better condition for granting the continuity of the Cuban revolution.”