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Reflections of
Fidel
Meeting with Barbara Lee and other
members of the Black Caucus
THE
morning was stormy, humid, cold. A strong wind was
blowing and the sky was clouded. It was not a spring
day, or warm.
Barbara wanted to visit the ELAM [Latin American
School of Medicine], where 114 young people from the
United States are studying Medicine.
The
official aircraft that brought them to Cuba had
advanced the return flight 24 hours; they were
leaving at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, rather than
Wednesday.
I
did not attempt a meeting with all of them because I
do not have enough space for the seven of them, plus
an interpreter and the minister accompanying them. I
asked her to visit me with two other legislators
selected by the group. Thus I could meet with her
once again.
On
this occasion, circumstances had changed a lot. The
Congressional Black Caucus represents a sector of
significant weight in the United States.
The
long struggle for equality and social justice was
illuminated by the life and example of Martin Luther
King, whose thinking and work today captivate
millions of people in the world and was what, in my
judgment, explains how – in a time of profound
crisis – a Black citizen could attain the presidency
of the United States.
Hence, for me, in personal terms, another meeting
with the Black Caucus would acquire special
importance. I knew about the details of their stay
in Cuba via the compañeros who looked after
them during their visit, the basic ideas of the
congressional organization and the opinions of its
members.
Raúl
also transmitted to me the magnificent impression
that they left on him during his meeting with them,
which extended to nearly four hours last night,
Monday.
When
Barbara Lee arrived at the house accompanied by
Bobby Rush, Democratic congressman for Illinois, and
Laura Richardson, for California, together with the
CITMA [Ministry of Science, Technology and the
Environment] minister, José Miyar Barrueco, who was
secretary of the Council of State for many years, it
was 11:35 am; the sky had cleared and a radiant sun
was beaming down on the patio. I was really happy to
see Barbara again and have the opportunity to
personally greet Bobby and Laura, whose names were
already familiar, for their words at the meetings
with Raúl, Alarcón, Bruno, Miyar and the families of
the five heroes.
The
meeting with me lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes,
according to the clock; in reality, half a minute,
if I go by the speed with which it went by and the
desire to listen to them.
I
briefly related to them my experiences of two years
and seven months of hospital confinement and the
activities to which I am now dedicating. I explained
what I had learned in that time of obligatory
reclusion; above all, my great interest in what was
happening in the world and particularly in the
United States, as I compiled news and concentrated
on studying.
I
remembered that I had invited them to listen to them
and I was beginning to forget what most interested
me: to know their opinions. The interest and depth
with which they expounded their points of view, the
sincerity and quality of their words, simple and
profound, was comforting. The three reflected
transparency, pride in their work, their
organization, their struggle and their country. It
is evident that they know Obama and reflect
confidence, security in and warmth toward him.
Barbara is proud of presiding over the Black Caucus,
of actively participating in the politics of her
country with a new spirit and optimism, of her son,
who was far from being born when the Revolution
triumphed in Cuba, and of her five grandchildren.
She had voted alone against Bush’s genocidal war in
Iraq. That was insuperable proof of her political
bravery. She merits all honors.
She
especially recalled Dellums, who brought her to Cuba
for the first time, when she was his assistant and
they were with me in a cay talking for hours. He is
no longer a legislator, she told me, but is the
mayor of Oklahoma, attending to a population of
400,000 inhabitants, and she also told me about the
ex-congresswoman who visited Cuba with Dellums, who
is now 98 and sent effusive greetings.
Laura is a congresswoman in California, for the Long
Beach district; she spoke with particular pride of
the port of California which, as she explained “is
the third in the world.” I really couldn’t resist
making a joke and, bearing in mind that she is an
active defender of the environment, I said to her:
“Laura, if the polar ice cap melts, your third port
in the world will be under water.” In the atmosphere
created she wasn’t at all upset, and continued
saying interesting things.
Then
it was the turn of Rush, the oldest and most
experienced member of the delegation, a radical
fighter in his early years, whose life has been an
incessant growth of political and human knowledge.
He is a member of the Committee on Energy and
Commerce and the Communications, Technology and
Internet Subcommittee. For a period of 15 or 20
minutes I listened to him without any interruption.
He explained that, in his youth, he read the works
and writings of important modern revolutionary
thinkers, which were the starting point for his
later political maturity, through observation of and
meditation on what was taking place in his country
and the world. He mentioned by name Mandela, Che and
other exceptional people who sacrificed themselves
for others. As is a generalized truth among leaders
of the Black Caucus, passages from the Bible are
quoted, as Martin Luther King used to do to sustain
his points of view; “The word justice is mentioned
on 2,000 occasions in the Bible, almost as many
times as the word love,” he told me. He spoke about
his health, the battles that he waged to preserve it
and survive a carcinogenic illness.
He
knows Obama personally, given that he has had close
dealings with him for years, even as an adversary on
occasions, expressing a high and sincere opinion of
him; he described him as an honest and good person
who wishes to help the U.S. people.
He
expressed admiration for the health services
available to the population in Cuba and the research
centers devoted to fighting disease.
I
could have listened to him for hours as an
inexhaustible spring of knowledge and maturity.
I
asked him a question on the meaning of his
affirmation: “Obama can improve relations with Cuba,
but Cuba has to help Obama.” We were not the
aggressors nor did we threaten the United States.
Cuba did not have any alternative that would allow
it to take the initiative. We were starting from the
certainty that his [Obama’s] words were sincere and
we had affirmed that publicly before and after his
election. At the same time, we were expressing the
belief that the objective realities were, in the
United States, more powerful than Obama’s sincere
intentions.
Finally, I asked him which were the best works
published in English in the United States on Martin
Luther King and if they had been translated into
Spanish. He spoke of the three in Taylor Brecht’s
trilogy as among the most interesting, among them,
“Letters from Prison.” They weren’t sure about their
translation into Spanish and promised to send me the
pertinent material.
It
was a magnificent meeting.
Fidel Castro Ruz
April 7, 2009
6:31 p.m.
Translated
by Granma International
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