Former South African President Nelson Mandela and former President Fidel Castro in Cuba during 1991. Mandela praised the role of Cuba in the liberation of southern Africa.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Norman (Otis) Richmond
Producer/Host Saturday Morning Live
CKLN-FM 88.1
Saturdays 10am-1pm
http://www.ckln.fm
This is a call for Afrikans at home and abroad to honour Castro and the people of Cuba for their many sacrifices on behalf of Afrika.
Baffour Ankomah, editor of the London based New African magazine explained why in the April edition.
Says Ankomah, “In the 1970s and 1980s, Fidel Castro sent 350,000 Cuban soldiers, civilians and doctors to support the African liberation struggle, especially in Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and Sao Tome & Principe… A good 2,077 Cubans died fighting in Africa.”
Let the record reflects that the battle of Cuito Cuanavale in April 1988, is where the Angolan army, the South West African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) of Namibia and Cuban internationalist troops decisively defeated Apartheid South and its allies.
South Africa's major ally the United States made arrangements to transfer to South Africa- racist, fascist South Africa --- several atomic bombs, similar to those it exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Elombe Brath, Professor Ron Wilkins and Abayomi Azikiwe have endorsed the idea. Brath and Wilkins represent the Patrice Lumumba Coalition in New York City and Los Angeles respectively and Azikiwe is the editor of the Pan African News Wire.
This writer joins the trio in calling on Afrikans in the West to heed Ankomah’s call by screening the BBC‘s film “Cuba! Africa! Revolution!” on Sunday, May 25th the 45th anniversary of Afrikan Liberation Day.
Ankomah also suggests that people study Castro’s life.
“Interestingly, in his memoirs, Castro talks about Cuba’s love affair with Africa with such gusto and passion that you might think it happened only yesterday.” Titled “My Life, Fidel Castro” …. Every African must get a copy!”
Richmond can be contacted [email protected]
416 979-5252 ext 2372
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