Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro
As much as the ongoing solidarity campaign by Namibians and fellows with Cuba may not be based on ideological grounds and/or convictions, it is pleasing to see this initiative and it needs every possible support, especially from Namibians, given the role that Cuba played during the country’s liberation struggle.
Eventually Namibia is a free, independent and sovereign country – not so much an equal among the nations of the world, but it has claimed its nominal place among the nations of the world. It cannot be expected at this stage to be an equal among fellows and other countries of the world while her citizens are not equal to one another in many aspects and respects.
Whether socially, economically, religiously and culturally. Which are at this stage at best just a vision and from the current pace it will be a long time before the country attains some measure of equality among its citizens. But to echo the words of the Namibia-Cuba Friendship Association (NAMCUFA) Secretary General, Cecilia Muzile, regarding the recently launched “Namibians in Solidarity with the People of Cuba Campaign for Humanitarian Aid”, indeed the best that Namibians can do for now is to provide this sister country, if only for now, the moral and humanitarian aid it very much needs in this era of Make America Great Again (MAGA) as spearheaded by its belligerent and warmongering, if not altogether fascist, President Donald Trump.
From the signals coming from the MAGA agent provocateur supreme, Trump, and the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the ongoing war of aggression and attrition against Iran, there’s no mistaking that the Cuban people, the already crippling economic blockade that has been in operation for more than three decades notwithstanding, worsened by the ongoing added oil embargo on Cuba, have as yet to see the worst. In fact, the bellicose Trump has been on record many a time that he is coming for Cuba.
Eventually fulfilling a threat that many previous American presidents have for long been sending. But since coming to power in that country, the belligerent and demented Trump has been voicing louder and louder. Not only have the American threats against Cuba and the Cuban people been louder but also purposeful, and one cannot ignore or exclude the fact that, sooner than later, this is to be followed by overarching actions, including military ones, even an invasion of the country. As just preceded and manifested by America’s indictment of former Cuban President Raul Castro.
For conspiracy to kill United States of America (USA) nationals over the fatal attack on two planes in 1996. When the Cuban military jets shot down two civilian planes operated by exiles from Cuba, killing four people.
But there’s more to the USA’s indictment of President Castro than meets the eye or the world would be made to believe by the USA and, indeed, the world’s propagandist media. America’s vengeance against Cuba has long been coming. More than anything it is not about Cuba having perse committed any crime, be it in the eyes of the beholder, America, and its trigger-happy President, Trump. No, this is far from it. Nor is it intrinsically about a bad human rights record of Cuba as America would make us believe.
That, for that matter, if needs be, needs to be looked at from a different perspective. If not balanced for that matter with Cuba’s socio-economic equality ratings, that must be the envy of the world, even America herself. But which the world would hardly credit her for. Juxtaposed with America’s own gross and glaring socio-economic inequalities. Inequalities that, by virtue of the capitalist system, the USA and its capitalist allies have not only exported the world over but continue to impose on the world by any means necessary.
Hence the regime change that the world has been seeing the world over, which has been orchestrated by America and her capitalist ideological friends, as would be in the so-called Western countries.
Cuba undeniably is one of the foremost, if not the only, country in the world that could boast about socio-economic equality, having attained some measure of equality for its citizens in one way or another. For sure the information gatekeepers of this world, led by the USA herself, would never inform us about the universality of services such as healthcare, to mention but one of the social services that are freely and widely available to all Cuban citizens irrespective of anyone’s socio-economic status.
“Cuban society has transitioned from a highly egalitarian state-socialist model into one increasingly stratified by race, access to foreign currency and private enterprise.”
Typically, this is what the USA’s propaganda machinery would like you and the world to believe. Without bringing you the context of this. Especially the fact that for 66 years now Cuba has been under the USA’s economic blockade. Estimated to have cost Cuba’s economy over $144 billion. Needless to say this blockade has severely affected Cuba’s egalitarian endeavours. Exactly the USA’s intent.
To stir up social unrest in Cuba before a regime change. “Cubans are reacting to the country’s worst economic crisis in decades with a mixture of despair, mass emigration, and sporadic public defiance,” it is reported. This is exactly what the USA for years has not only been hoping for but masterminding. With the destabilisation of Cuba by weakening its economy and thereby fostering social unrest in preparation for the takeover of the country.
Lately following the kidnapping of Maduro, Trump has been on record and equivocal about going for Cuba. The indictment of President Castro just signals his very intent in this regard. Namibia, NNN, Namibians! America is coming for your friend!!!! It’s indeed a Catch-22 situation for the country.
Given that ideologically there has been and there’s little Namibia can offer one of its best, if not only best, friends of years, if not years gone by. Hence, the humanitarian endeavour by civil society is indeed laudable until….? Who knows?
