By Denrele Animasaun

“I think that a man should not live beyond the age when he begins to deteriorate when the flame that lighted the brightest moment of his life has weakened.” – Fidel Castro

They say, that old soldiers never die, that they simply fade away. This soldier, this particular soldier is no ordinary soldier; Fidel Castro, El commandant, the revolutionary and former Cuban president died at the age of 90.

In fact, he went to bed and died in his sleep. He seemed that he had done all that he could have done in his lifetime and was waiting to meet his maker; he handed the reins of office a decade earlier to his brother Raul. He was not well but made a good recovery and up until a few weeks ago, he was receiving overseas guests and making farewell speeches. He had found peace and contentment. He could teach some of our die-hard politicians a lesson or two in power and pragmatism.

This was no ordinary man and if his passing was celebrated by his old enemies and if they want to rewrite their version of history, then, by all means, they should go right ahead. For those who know better then, they can make up their mind and dismiss whatever misinformation that insults their intelligence.

The fact is the world has changed and there is so much information out there that is accessible to all.

In my lifetime, Castro and Che Guevara were intricately synonymous to people’s revolution and socialism with a human face.

Castro

They say that this man was responsible for violation of human rights against journalists and his people. Under Fidel, there was 276 executions and in the US, the police have killed 875 people in 2016 so far alone so this may help to put things in perspective and for those getting on their sanctimonious high horses, they are cherry picking and suffer selective memory and they do damage and sully reputations if the person disagrees with their agenda.

Fidel was not a saint but he single-handedly supported and dedicated resources and manpower to advance racial equality for the African Americans. He helped South Africans fighting the apartheid regime.

“…our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity.

Castro gave asylum to Assata Shakur, a member of the Black Liberation army who escaped from a US prison after being convicted for involvement in the death of a state trooper. Fidel did not shirk or flinch in his support for the Black panthers. He also was committed and sympathetic to the struggles of African Americans during the civil rights moment and this was well documented.

This got under the skin of the American government. It was all right that African American to be discriminated against and to live under segregation. They could not bear that an Islander General was helping the oppressed even if they were Americans.   And they tried to silence him, permanently: the CIA made over 600 attempts on his life, including one of an exploding cigar.

His enemies knew of his passion for the best Cuban Cigars and also enlisted the help of his girlfriend but to no avail. He said of the attempts on his life: that if there were Olympic medals for the most attempts on someone’s life he would have won the most medals. This is Castro and nothing fazed him even if they tried in every way possible to obliterate him. He has seen off eleven American presidents and countless African leaders.

So for those not in the know was that Cuba, before the Castro revolution was entrenched in racial segregation and there were places especially for the whites and another for the blacks and this practice ended once Castro came to power.

He brought equality and nationhood to Cuba. Of course, this was not the everyone’s liking because in Castro, every Cuban had equal opportunities. So the jubilation by majority of white Cubans in Miami after his passing is a fine example of how deep the resentment lies for those privileged Cubans before the Castro revolution.

His help with stamping out inequality and imperialism is quite extraordinary especially in Africa.  Castro helped sent 25,000 troops to fight in Angola alongside factions opposing the South African Apartheid government.

He gave medical assistance, financial and educational support. Of course, they don’t want the world to notice so it would not be in keeping with their narrative they would not acknowledge his contributions that their governments were on the wrong side of history, or that they sponsored dictatorships in many developing countries.

Castro: “They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?”

The fact is that they demonised him because he helped black people. He was an ally to black people so that makes him an automatic enemy; he helped Africans fight against apartheid, and he provided education to train Africans as doctors. He provided universal healthcare for his people and Cuba has the highest literacy rate in the world! 98%!

Castro: “My idea, as the whole world knows, is that the capitalist system now doesn’t work either for the United States or the world, driving it from crisis to crisis, which are each time more serious.”

It didn’t help that Castro found a formidable ally in the then Soviet Union. This was crucial when America tried to and failed to invade Cuba. With the help of Russia, America retreated when faced with the threat of a nuclear war. They agreed not to attack Cuba but it enforced a strict economic embargo that rendered Cuba’s isolation for over five decades.

For as long as I remember, Fidel Castro was a hero, a David to America’s Goliath of our liberation. He was fighting for his country and social justice and he was fighting for small countries. One American commentator had the temerity to ask Nelson Mandela why he praised Fidel Castro as a leader of human rights? Mandela schooled the American with his response:” one of the mistakes that political commentators make is that they believe that their enemy should be our enemy.

We will never do that because Cuba supported our struggle, our attitude to those that helped during our struggle as our friends. There is no reason why we should hesitate their commitment to our human rights. Cuba supported us not in rhetoric but with resources to win the struggle”

Castro: “We must establish a new world order based on justice, on equity, and on peace.”

“…Let us be more generous, more jointly responsible, and more humane. Let South Africa become a model of a more just, more humane, future world. If you can achieve it, all of us will be able to”

And he said: “Capitalism has neither the capacity, nor the morality, nor the ethics to solve the problems of poverty.”.

Castro was very clear: “We don’t need the empire to give us any presents.” (Castro on US President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba)

Castro’s central foreign policy goal was internationalism – the promotion of decolonisation and revolutionary politics abroad.