After Fidel…

We have lost Fidel Castro Ruz, the commander in chief of the Cuban Revolution. We are bidding farewell to the historical leader of the country that keeps defending the good and the right despite the imperialist siege in a world where reactionism and injustice run rampant. As friends of Cuba trying to be the voice of this honourable island in Turkey, we deeply share the grief of the Cuban people and revolutionaries.

The political will that created in a small island country an egalitarian, fair and humanitarian life, which is like a blissful and yet distant future for most of us, has been utmost materialized in Fidel’s personality without a doubt. Not only that Fidel pioneered the grand transformation in his country… But also Fidel’s Cuba stood with the peoples of the world in their fights against imperialist oppression, in their struggle for life under the grip of natural disasters, or in their strenuous effort to overcome ignorance. The plain words of the commander in chief outline the perspective of his country: “Those who do not fight for others can never fight for themselves.” That is exactly why the oppressed peoples of the world, the progressive and enlightened are mourning for Fidel today.  

There are yet a handful of people content with the loss of Fidel. Though they are only a few people ranging from the Cuban counter-revolutionaries in Miami to the liberal pro-Americans of our country, their screams of joy are coming from the depths of an intense darkness. We profoundly believe that Fidel will be an inspiration for the progression of young generations, just as José Martí was in his centenary birthday for the young Cuban revolutionaries in their rebellion in 1953 that sparked off the Cuban revolution. Those joyfully screeching ones, on the other hand, will be a foul detail in the history that nobody even deign to forget.

More can be said after our great contemporary Cuban revolutionary. We declare that we will maintain Fidel’s legacy by propagating the gains of socialist Cuba with greater vigour and by championing persistently the Cuban people’s right to live against the imperialist blockade.  

José Martí Cuba-Turkey Friendship Association

26.11.2016