“The brotherhood that united the Commander and the Founding Father fertilized the friendship and cooperation between our peoples”

 

 

Journalist: Cuba has launched a program lasting more than a year to celebrate the centennial of Fidel Castro's birth.

 

In Namibia, the program is also in full swing. We are now joined by the Cuban Ambassador to Namibia, Sergio Vigoa de la Uz, to talk about the events that will take place here.

 

Good morning, Ambassador, thank you for your presence...

 

Before going into details about the events here in Namibia, could you tell us about the program that was launched in Cuba and that will be held in many other countries?

 

Ambassador: The Commemorative Program will be held worldwide between August 2025 and November 2026.

 

The fundamental objectives of this program are to preserve and share the work and ideals of Fidel Castro Ruz for present and future generations in Cuba and around the world, based on the conviction that the Commander-in-Chief's thought constitutes an indispensable source of knowledge and reference.

 

In a context of polarization, in which the right is vying for prominence, progressive and leftist forces in Latin America and around the world find guidance in his thought.

 

In terms of foreign policy, Fidel's work is enduring. The Commander was the undisputed creator and protagonist of Cuban revolutionary diplomacy, and his legacy remains fully relevant on the international stage due to his staunch defense of national sovereignty, anti-imperialism, and solidarity with the people. His influence left a profound mark on the history of international relations in the 20th and 21st centuries.

 

Journalist: How important is the program, and how will key stakeholders ensure that it is not just an opportunity to nostalgically recall Fidel Castro's role in Cuba and the world?

 

Ambassador: It is very important that the commemoration not be just a moment of remembrance. The program has specific objectives aimed at reviewing Fidel's influence on the national liberation and leftist movements and his concrete contributions in the struggle against colonialism, racism, and apartheid, including his participation in the creation and consolidation of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77.

 

Our intention will be to highlight his contribution to the unity and integration of Latin America and the Caribbean and how his personal leadership led Cuba to play a leading role in many global and regional processes.

 

We intend to carry out international mobilization actions to involve governments, political forces, solidarity groups, Cubans living abroad, and people of good will around the world who identify with the Fidel´s thinking and fight for the unity of revolutionary and progressive forces globally and for the promotion of a more just international order.

 

Journalist: Naturally, the activities will cover Fidel's career from his childhood in this rural settlement in eastern Cuba to his rise to the architect of the Cuban Revolution, but what will be the highlights of the year-long program?

 

Ambassador: The commemorative program is designed to explore the Fidel's life and political thought throughout the entire tribute period. However, there are events of great impact that will constitute relevant points, such as the 100th anniversary of his birth on August 13, 2026, and the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of his physical departure on November 25, 2026.

 

There will be many other important activities, such as an international meeting on the life, work, and legacy of the Commander in Chief, in which foreign figures from a wide variety of fields are expected to participate.

 

Likewise, a compilation of texts on the main ideas championed by the Commander in Chief on principles of Cuban foreign policy and global issues is planned for worldwide distribution. In addition, Fidel Castro's Selected Works will be donated to selected libraries, foundations, universities, and research centers around the world.

 

A highly engaging international initiative is the promotion of personal experiences on digital social media, where each Internet user can share in one minute how they met the Commander in Chief.

 

During the celebration of Fidel's Centennial, we intend to make the “Pensando Américas” website, along with its social media accounts, the leading platform, with international collaboration.

 

Journalist: It's September, and during this month, Fidel Castro set foot on Namibian soil on September 1st, 1998. It was very significant for him to be in an independent Namibia, given Cuba's role in the liberation struggle.

 

Ambassador: Commander in Chief Fidel Castro's historical connection with Africa is very special. It was Fidel who taught us that, with the presence of hundreds of thousands of Cubans in the war for the independence of Angola and Namibia and the elimination of the apartheid regime, Cuba reciprocated the actions of the slaves who arrived on the island and joined the Liberation Army en masse against the Spanish colony.

 

Indeed, on September 1st 1998, on his trip to South Africa, the Commander in Chief visited independent Namibia and was received on the plane's steps by Founding Father San Nujoma.

 

It was a very moving moment in which he remembered the blood of the Cubans who water your freedom for this sister nation, as the Namibian national anthem expresses. He had the opportunity to share with Namibians who had been educated in Cuba and were already contributing to the country's social development.

 

Just one example of the impact Fidel had on Namibia is the fact that many Namibian citizens of all generations bear that name. It is also a source of honor to know that his name is on a street in a very importat location of the city of Windhoek and on a primary school in the heart of the vulnerable Katutura area.

 

Journalist: The Cuban Embassy is also planning its own activities here in Namibia. Could you explain what these activities entail?

 

Ambassador: Ambassador: Our collaborators, Cuban residents, as well as Namibian supporters will participate in the activities planned by the Cuban Embassy in Namibia. However, we want a leading role to be played by those young Namibians who, thanks to the visionary work of San Nujoma and Fidel Castro, went to Cuba to heal the physical and mental wounds of the Cassinga massacre and to prepare themselves as professionals who proved vital to Namibia's development.

 

In the coming days, we will hold a meeting in Outapi of Namibians who studied in Cuba to commemorate the legacy of Fidel and Nujoma. We will also exchange anecdotes related to the Cuban leader and their encounters with those students in Cuba.

 

We will also hold a painting contest for children, primarily at the Fidel Castro Primary School, to commemorate the Comandante.

 

We know that there are journalistic works in the archives of NBC and Cuban television that highlight the relations between the two countries, and this program, which has been running for more than a year, will make it possible to present them again here.

 

We have planned a photo exhibition of Fidel and his relationship with Africa and Namibia, for the enjoyment of the Namibian public.

 

Journalist: Any final comments?

 

Ambassador: As a Cuban diplomat, it is a privilege to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the Commander in Chief in this sister land that Fidel loved so much and supported in his struggle for definitive independence and the end of apartheid.

 

The brotherhood that united the Commander and the Founding Father cemented the friendship and cooperation between our peoples. That is why we have a common history to pass on to the youngest so that the legacy of our historic leaders endures forever.