Statement by Ambassador of Cuba, Luis Ernesto Morejón Rodríguez, October 25th, 2023. Tribute to the Cubans collaborators died during the US invasion to Grenada in 1983.
Her Excellency Dame Cécile La Grenade, Governor General.
Hon. Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada.
Hon. Joseph Andall, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Other members of the Cabinet.
Hon. Dessima Williams, President of the Senate.
Hon. Leo Cato, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The Right Hon. Dr. Keith Mitchell, Leader of the Opposition.
Other members of The Senate and The House of Representatives.
Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and other members of the diplomatic corps.
Authorities of Maurice Bishop International Airport.
Members of Cuba and Grenada Friendship Association.
Members of the Association of Graduates.
Cuban collaborators and residents.
Members of the media.
Good morning all:
As every 25 of October, we are here today to pay tribute to the 24 Cuban internationalist workers who lost their lives during the invasion of US in Grenada. They were part of the Cuban Brigade that was working on the construction of this airport, essential for the development of the tourism in the island.
They were part of the 784 Cubans that were in Grenada during the invasion, including diplomatic staff with their families and children. They were here to help the people of Grenada to develop their infrastructure.
We are grateful to have a place where we can pay tribute to our internationalist workers who fell heroically in combat, fulfilling with honour their patriotic and internationalist duty.
In this regard, I want to acknowledge the invaluable support from former Ambassador to Cuba, Clarice Charles, comrade Lynden Ramdhanny and the airport authorities, who have always expressed its support and collaboration.
This Memorial, built with the efforts of Cubans and Grenadians, represents the longstanding friendship relations between our two peoples and we have to preserve it as a Symbol of heroism, humanism and solidarity.
I want to point out the words of our Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, in the farewell ceremony of our heroes who fell in unequal combat against imperialism in Granada, held at Revolution Square, on November 14, 1983, and I quote:
“They did not even die in their land. There, far from Cuba, they were contributing with their noble internationalist work with a poorer and smaller country than our country, and they were also able to give their blood and their lives. But they knew they were also defending their people and their homeland. It is not possible to express in purest form the generosity and self-sacrifice of those human beings. Their example will multiply; their ideas will multiply and multiply themselves in us! There will be no power, no weapons, no force that can prevail over patriotism, internationalism, feelings of human fraternity and communist consciousness that they represented!”
Also, we wish to extend this tribute to honour the memory of Maurice Bishop and the comrades who were cruelly murdered together with him exactly 40 years ago.
Dear sisters and brothers, the aim of imperialism in the most difficult hours of recent years has been to achieve the end of the Revolution and the collapse of socialism in Cuba, and it is true that they have caused us damage, hardship, shortages and other difficulties, but they have not manage to collapse the Cuban Revolution or will they ever achieve it!
The creative resistance of the Cuban people has shown that imperialism has no capacity to bend our will, nor break the commitment of our people to the Revolution.
We have faith in our cause, we trust in our work of social justice and we feel the solidarity support of brothers and sisters in all parts of the world.
That is why we demand solidarity and not selfishness; cooperation and not rivalry; decent work and not exploitation; harmony, respect and tolerance, and not racism or discrimination of any kind.
People have the right to determine their destiny without foreign interference or impositions.
We will continue to defend equity and we will remain committed to protecting the socialist system for which so many generations of Cubans have sacrificed.
We have never abandoned nor will we abandon the principle of solidarity even in times of greatest material limitations, and we will continue to share not what we have left over but what we have.
We will continue together with you fighting for Cuba!, fighting for social justice!, fighting to conquer a better world! And we will achieve it! And we will win!
Dear friends, I will be ending my mission as Ambassador to Grenada in the coming days. It was an honour to represent Cuba and work on this island (unique and close in so many ways), and to get to know the Grenadian people through persons like yourselves. Along the way, during these two intense years, which today seem to have passed by quickly, it was easy to have deep respect and love for you. Thanks to those who have supported us always and I ask that you receive with the same sentiments the incoming Ambassador, who will be replacing me shortly. Thanks to everyone and I reiterate a “see you soon” convinced that in our fight for a better world we will meet again. I will never, never forget you! And Grenada… Grenada will be with me wherever I am for always!!!
As Ernesto Ché Guevara said, ¡Hasta la Victoria, Siempre!
Long live our Heroes and Martyrs.
Long live the friendship between the peoples of Cuba and Grenada.
I thank you.