In a world of shifting alliances, Cuba stands on principles, By Owei Lakemfa

My major goal for being in Cuba from 13-22 March was to attend the Fourth Worldwide Colloquium, in any other case referred to as the Patria. The convention was held towards the background of two anniversaries: the 133rd yr because the institution of the ‘Patria Newspapers’ based by Cuban worldwide revolutionary, José Marti, and the 20th anniversary of the worldwide tv community, teleSUR, impressed by Fidel Castro…and, Hugo Chavez…

I walked into the Casa de Africa or Africa Home in Havana. I wished to search out out what made it uniquely African. However I used to be in for a shock. I had not realised that it additionally housed a novel class for youngsters studying primary topics like historical past, geography and African languages, together with Yoruba.

I attempted to tip toe in order to not disturb the category. The tour information, Miguel Abreu, and I spoke in low tones. However the youngsters had been advised {that a} good friend of Cuba was visiting. They rose and welcomed me with a track.

How was I to clarify to those fifth graders that the first explanation for their nation’s issues is that it has a neighbour 95 miles away, which for 63 years has imposed extreme sanctions on it?

So, I assured them that their nation has mates throughout the universe, notably in Africa. The interpretation in Spanish, was by one of many youngsters. We took images and so they continued their classes.

On the Home, I additionally bumped into an African delegation, which included the Zimbabwean and Namibian Ambassadors. We took images below an enormous map of Africa.

Cuba had made a decisive navy intervention in Africa, sending hundreds of its youths to struggle Apartheid forces and liberate the continent from colonialism. The Castro authorities, within the Nineteen Eighties, needed to clarify to the Cuban folks why their youths had been shedding treasured blood to extricate African nations like Angola, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe from the stranglehold of the Apartheid forces, and to decolonise Namibia and South Africa. The institution of Casa de Africa was partly to clarify to the folks why Cubans had been combating and sacrificing their lives in Africa, some 11,000 kilometres away.

The director of the Home is Alberto Granado Duque. He’s the son of Alberto Granado, the biochemist who with the legendary revolutionary, Ernesto Che Guevera in 1951, set out on a motorbike tour of Latin America. Amongst those that had visited the Home was the previous Ooni of Ife, Olubuse, who was there in 1986.

A part of the theme the Home depicts is that Africa is the mom of humanity and slavery was the best crime towards humanity.

I used to be additionally at Africa Heroes Park in Havana. There busts of excellent African leaders, like these of Samora Machel and Eduardo Modlande of Mozambique, Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo of South Africa, Sekou Toure of Guinea, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, are on show. Additionally within the park are busts of Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, Amilcar Cabral of Guinea Bissau, Laurent-Want Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania.

Most of the slaves delivered to Cuba had been from the ‘Congo and Calabari’ areas of current day Nigeria. They had been in fixed revolt towards the system and lots of misplaced their lives within the course of. For them, it was both freedom or demise. This would possibly clarify the place Cubans received their resolve to withstand oppression below any sky.

The slaves, who labored a median of 15 hours every day, performed rumba of their spare time, and deepened their ancestral tradition, most of which they ultimately merged. Even after they conspired towards the slave homeowners and the system, in lots of circumstances they used gestures and symbols. The 78-year-old Abreu advised me: “We converse with our eyes, our palms and our legs.”

A few of the virtually 5,000 items on show within the Home embrace chains and shackles used through the slavery period. Cuba was one of many earliest sugar producers on the earth and it was for this that hundreds of thousands had been enslaved. One of many primary causes for the US blockade since 1962, was the nationalisation of the sugar trade by the Castro authorities.

Additionally on show was the normal faith of the Cuban folks, which is a mix of African traditions, primarily of the Yoruba folks, and Catholicism. It’s referred to as Santeria.

On show on the Home are gods of this faith, particularly Obatala, Yemaya (Yemoja), O Hun (Osun), Oya and Sango, the god of thunder and lightning.

There have been additionally presents from numerous components of Africa on show. These embrace two stuffed lions given to Fidel Castro by Emperor Haile Selassie and, a lion pores and skin by then Somalian President Siad Barre. There are additionally two huge carvings by Nigeria’s Bisi Fakeye.

I used to be additionally at Africa Heroes Park in Havana. There busts of excellent African leaders, like these of Samora Machel and Eduardo Modlande of Mozambique, Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo of South Africa, Sekou Toure of Guinea, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, are on show. Additionally within the park are busts of Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, Amilcar Cabral of Guinea Bissau, Laurent-Want Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania. Three former Nigerian leaders, Tafawa Balewa, Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe are painted on a pedestal, clearly ready for his or her busts to be made or donated.

My major goal for being in Cuba from 13-22 March was to attend the Fourth Worldwide Colloquium, in any other case referred to as the Patria. The convention was held towards the background of two anniversaries: the 133rd yr because the institution of the ‘Patria Newspapers’ based by Cuban worldwide revolutionary, José Marti, and the 20th anniversary of the worldwide tv community, teleSUR, impressed by Fidel Castro, was president of Cuba on the time of its founding and, Hugo Chavez, then president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

The Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, attended periods of the convention. On the opening ceremony, he spent beneficiant time taking images on the steps of the College of Havana. It was when he was leaving that I realised {that a} automobile I used to be a number of metres away from was truly his official automobile and that three males I stood round with had been his bodyguards. I’m used to bodyguards in darkish fits, sporting darkish glasses and dangling earphones.

The colloquium explored the dynamics of energy in an interconnected world, the challenges of hate speech, disinformation and the final manipulation of data. It additionally examined the worldwide hegemonic powers in techno-politics and the way collective efforts might be made by different teams to foster “networks of hope and in style mobilization.”

The Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, attended periods of the convention. On the opening ceremony, he spent beneficiant time taking images on the steps of the College of Havana. It was when he was leaving that I realised {that a} automobile I used to be a number of metres away from was truly his official automobile and that three males I stood round with had been his bodyguards. I’m used to bodyguards in darkish fits, sporting darkish glasses and dangling earphones. In distinction, the Cuban Presidential guards blended with the populace and atmosphere.

On the over one hour closing session, Diaz-Canel merely listened.

There have been numerous documentaries. In one among them, a Palestinian girl tells an Israeli: “You’re stealing my home.” The Israeli replied: “If I don’t, another person will steal it.”

Delegates usually agreed that the factors for belonging to the emergent group is to be anti-imperialist, anti-fascist and anti-Zionist. A participant raised the issue of Zionism hiding below Judaism, and how you can separate the parasite from Judaism.

There have been numerous discussions on media linkages and solutions made about organising teams per nation.

I additionally had the privilege of assembly a administration staff of the College of Havana led by the vice rector, Dionisio Zaldivar. On the college, which was established on 5 January, 1728, we mentioned potential linkages with some Nigeria universities. I proposed these may very well be within the fields of historical past and worldwide relations.

I discovered Cuba, whereas current in a world of shifting alliances, as ever standing on ideas.

Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary normal of African employees, is a human rights activist, journalist and creator.