http://www.israelshamir.net/ 

Cuba Libre 

By Israel Shamir 

A Talk for the International Conference 

WITH ALL AND FOR THE GOOD OF ALL 

Havana, Cuba (24 – 26 October, 2005) 

In the North of the Holy Land, in a deep valley, there is a shining
white stone pierced by a perennial spring. One may swim in its lucid
waters into the depth of the rock, until the tunnel abruptly ends. But a
brave soul can inhale, dive under the stony roof for a few meters and
emerge in a spacious chamber with good air to breathe and sunlight to
enjoy. Such a narrow passage is called a ‘siphon’, and daredevils
venture into this great unknown, hoping for the air bubble in the deep
innards of earth. This is a risky enterprise, for they do not know
whether they face a siphon or a dead end. 

In 1991, Cuba came to the abrupt end of the world socialist system. In a
course of a few months, the mighty edifice built by the workers of the
world in Russia and Eastern Europe collapsed and was taken over by the
imperialist forces and their local agents. A cowardly or simply prudent
man would turn back into the tender clutches of the new world order
waiting at the exit. But Cuba, led by intrepid Fidel, bravely soldiered
on, into total darkness of isolation, blockade, embargo, trade war and
threats of invasion. Cubans survived with little food and no oil, grass
grew thick on their motorways, and their enemies in Miami and Washington
counted days to Cuba's collapse. 

Surprisingly, this adventure worked out well, for Cuba is no longer
alone – her Bolivarian sister Venezuela stands next to her. The blockade
is broken, Venezuelan oil flows into Cuban factories and power stations,
the darkness is left behind. The Cubans emerged into the sunlight. Their
cars are running the roads; people come from all over the world to learn
the lesson of survival and victory. Once the backyard of the Yanks,
Latin America today strives for freedom and independence. 

Cuba's miraculous survival and the Venezuelan breakthrough were made
possible, to a not discountable extent, by the stubborn peoples of the
Middle East, for theirs was the area the US imperialists planned to take
over after their victory in the Eastern Europe. Instead, they
concentrated all their attention in Faluja and Baghdad, in Gaza and
Ramallah, in Tehran and Damascus, and forgot about the glowing unrest in
Latin America. Thus the Eye of Sauron was wandering in far-away places
and battlefields while its Nemesis was approaching the Dark Tower. Even
now, as we speak here, the US war machine is ground down by the barbudos
of Iraq. Iran withstands the pressure, encouraged by your successes. The
bleeding wound of Palestine is still open, and the overextended Yanks,
in hock to the Zionists, can’t disengage from the Middle East and turn
to slipping-away Latin America. The neocons of Washington have thus
brought the long-predicted disaster to their own powerbase. 

Your stand is the great encouragement to people everywhere. Belarus
upheld the red banner of the Soviet Union; it sticks to its independence
despite NATO threats. In Kiev, the pro-American president tried to vote
against Cuba, and masses of people crowded the main square protesting;
they forced him to apologise for this act. In Russia, your friends are
recovering lost ground. The Red giant of China goes through its
modernisation and liaises with Venezuela. 

The world has changed greatly since 1991. If, in the 1980s, Islamic
militants fought the Russians on the US side in Afghanistan, now they
have made a full turn-around, and have taken an important place in the
anti-imperialist struggle. In Palestine, Hamas has gained wide public
support; in Lebanon, over a million men and women demonstrated in
support of Hizbullah. This is not to be dismissed -- in the new war
against globalising imperialism, we need all the allies we can get!
Their success also shows the need of the masses for spiritual dimension.
The Old Left led by rigid Marxists overlooked it; now we should build a
new coalition for freedom, for spirit, for patriotism and love for one’s
land against the enslaving, uprooting neo-Liberal and pro-Zionist
forces. 

The great success of Cuba was due to this amalgamation of Left paradigm
with patriotism as expressed in Fidel’s words “Patria o Muerte.”
Patriotism offers a way for new coalition building, for there is a
convergence of interests of various Left and Right patriotic forces,
despite many inherent differences. Within the Left, as well as within
the Right, there are pro-globalist, pro-US and anti-globalist, anti-US
elements. In post-Soviet Russia, such a political coalition between the
Communists and other Left patriotic forces on one side and the
Nationalists, religious and right-wing patriotic elements on the other
side came to existence, in order to counteract the union between
pro-Western left liberals and pro-Western right-wing neo-liberals. 

Such coalitions are not a new phenomenon: Chairman Mao called for
cooperation with the nationalist Kuomintang against the compradors.
However, there are new elements. The new globalist imperialism differs
from the older version by its anti-spiritual anti-national
anti-traditional tendency. This tendency creates new possible allies,
namely, the patriotic elements in the national churches, nationalists
and traditionalists. 

Within the US, your great neighbour to the North, disenchantment grows
with the imperialist course of the political establishment. We wish US
well, provided they keep to themselves. A good dose of isolationism is
the best we can hope for them. Let them sort out their social disparity,
attend to their own problems, and forget about the rest of the world for
a while. It will be good for them, and for the world. 

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From Dennis Hayman

Dear Israel,

Well said my friend! Cuba has been an inspiration to many here in the
United States as well. What this poor country, made poorer by the
actions of the U.S. government, has accomplished using cooperation among
its population, is a closely guarded secret here in the U.S. Imagine if
the people got wind of this? 

Cuba may be poor by financial standards but it is hugely wealthy in
social capital. There is a lesson there for the whole world to learn
from. 

For example, to people I know, I like to compare the difference between
what happened in the United States with hurricane Katrina in 2005, with
what happened in Cuba in 2004 when a Category 5 hurricane came across
the island. The U.S. had a disaster - while Cuba did not. Not one person
was killed, even though the devastation of the storm was great. People,
on the grassroots level, are heavily involved in risk management,
mitigation, preparedness and recovery from the storms. People work
together all the way up the chain to the national level. Human life -
(and the lives of the people's animals also) are given priority - from
the national level all the way down to the neighborhood level. This is a
rich nation. Rich in the important things in life. 

As you say so many times - and for this I love you - it is the
connection with the land that is so important to people. The Earth is
our Mother and if we all still feel a part of the land, our family
oneness will be evident again. 

Keep up the great work, Israel. Bless you in all you do. 

Warmest regards,

Bear