Republican News · Thursday 31 January 2002

Dublin crowds flocks to hear Ché Guevara's daughter, Aleida"

BY ROISIN DE ROSA

We won't go back, even to speed up again - Aleida Guevara

Ché Guevara has touched the imaginations, the political and thinking lives, of peoples across the world. His struggle to liberate the impoverished peoples of central and south America from imperialism has inspired thousands on every continent. That spirit is by no means dead in Ireland.

They came in their hundreds, each for their own reason, to see, to hear, to in some way reach out to touch that dream which is Ché Guevara's life, and terrible death, and whatever that reality meant for them. They queued to get into the meeting on Tuesday night in Dublin's Gresham Hotel, where his eldest daughter, Aleida, was speaking. At least a thousand could not get in, though many were still waiting even after the end of the meeting. It was an extraordinary event.

The invited speakers were Dr Aleida Guevara, a specialist paediatrician who has worked in many countries and Sergio Corrieri, of the University of Havana, who heads up the Cuban ministry for the friendship of the peoples, both members of the communist party of Cuba.

They spoke of the present situation in Cuba, and the stages of their struggle, and the victory of their continuing revolution against the most powerful country in the world. Like Castro, they talked facts and figures, and they talked of generosity, of how there is scarcely a family in Cuba where at least one member has not undertaken voluntary solidarity work in another country in South America, where 232 million of 500 million people live below poverty levels.

Aleida Gurvara talked of the struggle of 400 years as an US colony and 50 years of neo-colonialism. She talked of the terrible deprivations Cuba had suffered after the end of the Soviet Union and the severance of fair trading relations which Cuba had with the USSR.

She talked of her father too, her memories as he left Cuba to join the revolution in Angola. She talked of the heritage he had left, "to live every hour of your life to its fullest, because a bullet may end it quickly". She talked of her father's Irish ancestors, about whom little is known: that his name was Lynch, he had red hair, he was tall, and had eleven children, one of whom was the grandfather of Ché's grandmother.

Sergio Corrieri spoke of Cuba today, of the blockade and the amazing achievement of 3% growth in GDP last year, despite the appalling ravages of the Hurricane. Only three other countries in Latin America achieved similar growth rates last year. All the indices for the quality of life - education, child care, literacy, social security, health, were the highest in any country in the 'Third' world.

He talked of all the pretexts used to 'justify' the US blockade, and how they have "no further leaf left in their pouch". 167 countries at the UN have voted for an end to the blockade of Cuba. There are only three countries voting for the isolation of Cuba - the US, Israel and the Marshall Islands - a US protectorate. These are the realities of the continuing Cuban revolution.

Declan McKenna, the chairperson of the Cuban Solidarity campaign, which organised the meeting, enjoined people to come closer, to help the important solidarity work, and to buy raffle tickets for a free holiday to Cuba.

Des Bonass, on behalf of the Dublin Trades Council, presented Aleida with a history of 100 years of trade union struggle in Ireland.

People left the meeting slowly, they had touched a dream, a dream of a better world. Somehow they had been a little bit close to Ché for a couple of hours. Aleida quoted Che, a poem he gave her,

"If I die do not cry for me.
Do what I used to do,
d I will continue to live, in you."

Somehow, somewhere, with the hundreds of all ages who came to hear Ché's daughter, in Dublin this week, perhaps he does.

(roisinderosa@hotmail.com)