The scenes of Cuban expats in Miami celebrating the death of Fidel Castro must be among the more disgusting television images from the US to date. Coming hot on the heels of the presidential election victory of a racist, misogynist, Islamophobe like Donald Trump, whose victory they also wildly celebrated, it is almost too distressing to bear.
That we do not speak ill of the dead is a hallmark of any civilised society. It says much of an America under Trump. Clearly, Cuba is well rid of them.
Fidel, as his fellow Cubans and admirers around the globe affectionately and in deep respect referred to him, had more integrity and morality in his little pinkie than some of the celebrants in their entire obese bodies.
For the commander among commanders liberated not only Cuba from being the prostitute of the US, but millions of other oppressed peoples around the globe, including us in South and Southern Africa. And at an enormous cost to his own people and himself. The CIA reportedly made over 600 attempts to assassinate him. It must have been like he was walking beside his grave every minute of every day.
Were it not for Fidel and the Cubans, we would not be around to pen this editorial today, and our own beloved Madiba would by now have suffered a cold and lonely, broken death in prison, at the hands of the ideological bedmates of the Cuban expats and the Trumps, the South African racists. That was finally made clear in the excellent piece we carried on Friday by our foreign editor, Shannon Ebrahim: “Cuba’s critical role in Africa’s liberation, Changes fuelled by Fidel Castro’s zeal”.
Yet there is a tinge of regret. It is perhaps one of the greatest paradoxes of our time that someone so overwhelmingly popular among his own people would forsake an open, multi-party democracy. Fidel and his party would have walked any election, surely.
Also, while he contributed immensely on foreign soil to the release of so many political prisoners like Nelson Mandela, he had a few of his own.
Nonethless, we dip our revolutionary banner in honour of one of the most extraordinary liberators of our time, and commiserate with the Cuban people, who are our people, and with peace-loving people the world over.
We say hamba kahle Fidel Castro, lala ngoxolo.