| Havana. August 18, 2007 | |
| Che is a paradigm of revolutionary and communist • Speech given by Cuban President Fidel Castro at the central ceremony for the 30th anniversary of the fall in combat of Che Guevara and his comrades and for the exhumation of their remains at the City of Santa Clara Monument, Villa Clara, October 17, 1997 Family members of the comrades fallen in combat; Invited guests; People of Villa Clara; Compatriots: With profound emotion we are living one of those moments that are not often repeated. We have not come to say our farewells to Che and his heroic comrades. We have come to receive them. I see Che and his men as a reinforcement, as a detachment of invincible combatants which this time, includes not only Cubans but also Latin Americans who are arriving to fight alongside us and to write new pages of history and glory. I also see Che as a moral giant who is growing every day, whose image, whose force, whose influence has multiplied all over the land. How could he fit under a gravestone? How could he fit in this plaza? How could he only fit in our beloved but little island? Only in the world of which he dreamed, for which he lived and for which he fought is there sufficient space for him. The more injustice, the more exploitation, the more inequality, the more poverty, hunger and misery prevail in human society, the greater his figure will be. The more the power of imperialism, hegemony, domination and interventionism grow, in detriment of the most sacred rights of the peoples, especially the weakest, backward and poor nations that were Western colonies and sources of slave labor, the more the values that he defended will be elevated. The more the abuses, the more the selfihness, the more the alienation; the more the discrimination against native Indians, ethnic minorities, women, immigrants; the more the children subjected to the sex trade or forced to work in figures that amount to hundreds of millions; the more the ignorance, the more the insalubrity, the more the insecurity, the more the neglect, the more his profound humanist sense will stand out. His example as a pure, revolutionary and consistent man will shine out more brightly the more corrupt politicians, demagogues and hypocrites there are in anywhere. The more cowards, opportunists and traitors there are on the earth, the more his personal courage and revolutionary integrity will be admired; the weaker others are in fulfilling their duty, the more admired his iron will; the more people there are lacking a minimum of human pride, the more admired his sense of honor and dignity; the more skeptics, the more admired his faith in humanity; the more idlers squandering in luxuries and inactivity the product of the labor of the rest, the more admired his daring. Che was a real communist and today is an example and a paradigm of a revolutionary and a communist. Che was a teacher and forger of men and women like him. Consistent in his acts, he never failed to do what he preached, and always demanded of himself more than he demanded of others. Whenever a volunteer was needed for a difficult mission, he offered himself first, both in war and in peace. He subordinated his great dreams to a preparedness to generously give up his life. For him, nothing was impossible, and he was capable of making the impossible possible. Among other actions, the invasion from the Sierra Maestra via immense and unprotected plains, and the taking of the city of Santa Clara with a few men testify to the feats of which he was capable. His ideas on revolution in the land of his birth and in the rest of South America, despite enormous difficulties, were possible. If they had been attained, perhaps the world of today would have been different. Vietnam demonstrated that it could fight against the interventionist forces of imperialism and overcome them. The Sandinistas won against one of the most powerful U.S. puppets. Salvadoran revolutionaries were at the point of attaining victory. In Africa, apartheid – despite possessing nuclear weapons – was defeated. Thanks to the heroic fight of its workers and peasants, China is now one of the countries with the most prospects in the world. Hong Kong had to be returned after 150 years of occupation, which was undertaken to impose the drug trade on an immense country. Not all epochs or all circumstances require the same methods and the same tactics. But nothing can detain the course of history; its objective laws have perennial validity. Che based himself on those laws and had absolute faith in humanity. On many occasions the great transformers and revolutionaries of humanity did not have the privilege of seeing their dreams made real as soon as they hoped or desired, but sooner or later they triumphed. A combatant might die, but not his ideas. What was a U.S. government man doing there where Che was injured and a prisoner? Why did they believe that by killing him he would cease to exist as a combatant? Now he is not in La Higuera, but everywhere, anywhere where there is a just cause to defend. Those interested in eliminating and disappearing him were incapable of understanding that his indelible imprint was already in history and his luminous regard of a prophet would become a symbol for all the poor of this world, who are billions. Young people, children, the elderly, men and women who knew of him, honest people from all over the earth, independently of their social origin, admire him. Che is waging and winning more battles than ever. Thank you, Che, for your history, your life and your example! Thank you for coming to reinforce us in this difficult fight that we are waging today to save the ideas for which you fought so much, to save the Revolution, the homeland and the gains of socialism, which are in part realized from the great dreams that you harbored! In order to carry out this enormous feat, to defeat the imperialist plans against Cuba, to resist the blockade, to attain victory, we can count on you. As you see, this land that is your land, this people that is your people, this revolution that is your revolution, continues raising the banners of socialism with honor and pride. Welcome, heroic comrades of the reinforcement detachment! The trenches of ideas and of justice that you will defend alongside our people can never be conquered by the enemy! And together we shall continue fighting for a better world! ¡Hasta la Victoria siempre! | |
Come Together and Create!
Peter S. Lopez ~aka:Peta
Sacramento, California, Aztlan
Email: sacranative@yahoo.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Humane-Rights-Agenda/
C/S
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please keep comments humane!