"If I want to assess Fidel's legacy, I believe his greatest accomplishment is to have won the struggle for national independence," says Cuban Ambassador to Cairo Angel Delmau Fernàndez If someone were ever to organise a contest to determine the country that has had the most positive impact on the continent of Africa in the post-colonial era, I think my vote would go to Cuba. The Caribbean island-nation fought ferociously against apartheid South Africa, not just using verbal antics at international forums, but more significantly it waged bloody battles against the forces of apartheid. Even in this era of laissez faire when it is argued that nothing does more to alleviate poverty than deregulation-driven rapid economic growth, Cuban benevolence is felt in numerous spheres, most importantly in the crumbling health sector of the continent. And, there are no strings attached to Cuba's largesse. The first time I met Fidel Castro was at my father's funeral in Conakry, Guinea, in 1972. I was barely 12 and he made such an impression with his battle cry: Derrota Del Imperialismo! (Down with imperialism!) Those were heady days, before the fall of Saigon, or rather Ho Chi Minh City, in 1975. In military fatigues Castro cut a dashing figure. Fidel was by far the most venerated leader among the crowds, far more popular than the country's strongman at the time Ahmed Sekou Toure. Fidel was an intensely emotional orator, and that is how I remember him. I also recollect the instantaneous, miraculous rapport with the masses, the crowds if you will. He thundered away in rapturous Spanish, his enraptured audience, most with only a smattering of French, listened intently to his every word, breaking into thunderous applause every now and then. Fidel was like a giant magnet. However, there was more to Fidel than electrifying oratory. In his richly reflective sermon, there was another big idea struggling for supremacy. His underlying argument reflected Kwame Nkrumah's penetrating insight into the workings of neocolonial, how colonials powers continued to hold Africa in their grip, even after political emancipation. Under the glaring African sun, the small Caribbean island- nation's Herculean efforts put the United States into the shade. Africa is a youthful continent, with half the population under 16. This is a vexed generation. Unemployment, the systematic thwarting of African youth's aspirations and the political disfranchisement, means that the sole purpose of the vast majority of Africa's youth is to seek employment opportunities in Western nations, even if it entails the risk of loss of life and limb. The West has never seriously worked to develop the continent, except as a source of raw materials and slaves, as a place to colonise and use as a playground for its rich. Though its modus operandi has changed over the years, relations are far from rosy today. And with the misery facing African youth today, it has focussed on making it more difficult for youth to escape that misery, though it is not above luring away the best-educated African professionals with the promise of "freedom". This betrayal of the young and promising was matched by the betrayal of the sick and hapless, the powerless and the oppressed. Some 30 million Africans suffer from the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Not only has Cuba consistently trained 30,000 Africans annually either in Cuba or on the African continent, but it has established its remarkable Integral Health Programme for cooperation with Africa on health matters. The focus, once again, is on preventive healthcare. And, the results have been nothing short of miraculous. In countries as far afield as Ghana and Eritrea the lives of millions of babies and their mothers have been saved. In Ghana, thanks to Cuban medical assistance, the number of babies that die at birth dropped dramatically from 59 to 7.8 per 1,000 live births. Likewise, in Eritrea, the respective figures are 48 to 10.6 per 1,000 live births. This at a time when the mass exodus of Ghanaian medical personnel, doctors and nurses to the US, Canada and Britain is skyrocketing. It should be noted that Cuba educates Africans and others on the express understanding that they will not betray their countries and sneak off to the West to line their pockets. There is something inherently repugnant about promising goodies, which wealthy donor nations do with great fanfare, but subsequently fail to deliver. Fidel's Cuba delivered, and delivered on time. Havana was at the disposal of African revolutionary causes. Fidel's Cuba delivered change that made an immense difference to the lives of literally millions of African lives, especially in remote rural backwaters. The crippling brain drain that has plagued Africa from the very start of its tragic colonial history has meant that Western-trained professionals, doctors and engineers inevitably have sought greener pastures overseas and in Western countries to be precise. The Cubans came to the rescue. Cuban doctors and paramedics spread the four corners of the continent saving lives in the most inhospitable backwoods of the vast continent, without the hidden intent to getting out while the getting is good. Thousands of Africans were trained at the now legendary Isla de la Juventud, the Island of Youth in the southern tip of Cuba. Generations of Africans learnt their invaluable professional skills in this remote outpost of Communism. Cuba today maintains diplomatic relations with 53 African states, and provides technical assistance to 51. But not all African governments are grateful for Cuba's generous beneficence. Many African governments while begrudgingly acknowledging the vital necessity of Cuban munificence, seek closer political ties, presumably for expediency's sake, with Washington. None of this seems to have dented Fidel's ability to galvanise Africans. Fidel will continue to be the venerable symbol of the ideals of an age bygone. An era when those fired with ideological ideals gave without the slightest thought for recompense. And, no single event would have such a lasting imprint in the African mind than the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale. The Americans and their South African lackeys ended up looking more like idiotic pranksters than serious threats. Southern Africa was liberated, Angola saved and Cuito Cuanavale was inscribed with blood on the legendary annals of Southern Africans' collective memory. The remote, albeit strategically-located southeastern Angolan town of Cuito Cuanavale was the target of apartheid South African troops in the late 1980s. Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos appealed directly to the Cubans for help. "The difficult situation we are in because of South African aggression is getting worse everyday," he pleaded with Fidel's Cuba. Fidel rose to the occasion. Some 300,000 Cubans fought in Angola between 1975 and 1989. No less than 2,016 were killed in combat, but that did not deter the Cubans. "By going there we placed ourselves in the lion's jaws," Castro declared. "We accepted the challenge," he mused later. Cuba's successful use of airpower and the clever deployment of Cuban MIG23s was instrumental in securing the victory of the combined Angolan and Cuban forces. The South Africans, the interlocutors of the Americans, were not only badly bruised, but utterly defeated. "Cuito Cuanavale was the turning point for the liberation of our continent, and of my people, from the scourge of apartheid," stressed Nelson Mandela. The architect of Ronald Reagan's so- called "constructive engagement" with South Africa, Chester Crocker, aptly summed the situation up. "Reading the Cubans is yet another art form. They are prepared for both war and peace," Crocker noted. In the Horn of Africa, too, Fidel's Cuba had a colossal imprint. At one point there were 12,000 Cuban troops fighting alongside the embattled Ethiopians in the Horn of Africa. Here again, successive governments were to distort the Cuban position. The golden age of Cuban cooperation with Africa may be coming to an end. However, the legacy of cooperation lingers on. Namibia is today the largest recipient of Cuban investment in Africa -- including investments in the production of generic medicines to combat HIV/AIDS. Cuba's ties with the ruling South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO), is as strong as ever. Cuito Cuanavale was fought, not just to salvage Angolan sovereignty, but to liberate Namibia as well. It was only a demonstration of Cuba's commitment to the continent. Such devotion and altruism will not soon be forgotten.
