Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Farewell Fidel

By James Norman - posted Friday, 22 February 2008


A few years back, I was fortunate enough to make the journey to Cuba.

At that time, I thought that I should make the effort to see the place while Fidel Castro was still alive. That was not because I idolised the stubborn old revolutionary - but more out of the determination to see the place as it was before the inevitable transformation that would occur in a post-Castro period.

It must be frustrating for the US that Fidel has chosen to gracefully retire this week, rather than finally succumbing to the ongoing bullying from the USA - the embargoes, the assassination attempts, the demonising.

Advertisement

This frustration must be further compounded by the knowledge that Castro will hand over power to someone equally committed to his own revolutionary ideas for the way Cuban society should be structured.

My experience of Cuba, albeit a superficial one after spending just a few weeks there, was of a deeply complex society awash with contradictions - smart healthy virile people, but still the palpable frustration that they couldn’t even obtain a passport to leave if they chose. The evident anti-Americanism amidst the crumbling facades of the once graceful Havana, yet the expectation that as a foreigner, I would only do business in Cuba in US dollars.

The truth is that America has had an almost obsessive determination to topple Fidel Castro for almost five decades now.

And yet, Castro has outlived them all: he is in fact the longest serving surviving political leader of our time (not counting monarchs) and has been a constant thorn in the side of the USA - both figuratively and geographically.

The Florida school of thought would have it that as soon as Fidel falls, the oppressed people of Cuba would welcome US intervention with open arms. But this is not the way things are unfolding. The US embargoes have achieved little beyond making a spiteful symbolic gesture, and the Cuban economy has greatly benefited in the last years from trading with European countries including Germany and Spain and Italy, and enjoyed cheap oil courtesy of the sympathetic government of Venezuela.

In fact, for all the flaws of Castro’s leadership (including the brutality toward some dissidents and his early era that was marred by such things as imprisoning people with HIV) Castro will be remembered as a formidable foe to American imperialism.

Advertisement

There are many humanitarian, health and educational aspects to Cuba that stand as an inspiration to other developing nations around the world. And, perhaps most frustratingly for those in the US that hold onto their almost juvenile hatred of Fidel Castro’s Cuba - it is the Cuban people themselves, not Washington, who will rightfully dictate the new fate of their own country.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

16 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

James Norman is communications coordinator for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. He is a contributor to The Age, The Australian and the Herald Sun. He also wrote Bob Brown's biography for Allen & Unwin.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by James Norman

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of James Norman
Article Tools
Comment 16 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy