By Leyanis Infante Curbelo
leyanis@juventudrebelde.cu
Maykel Espinosa Rodríguez
English Article Here
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Next Tuesday will be a day of great movement throughout Cuba. It is May Day, when one of the country’s massive celebrations takes place and is joined by large sectors of the population. It’s International Workers’ Day.
Millions of workers, professionals and students will greed the sunrise, occupying their positions to participate in the traditional parade that is organized in every corner of the archipelago. It is a time to celebrate our conquests and to reaffirm our support for the continuation of the revolutionary process.
We invite you to share with us your experiences as part of this commemoration through the most personal of images: a selfie. The most original and successful will be published in the printed version of our journal.
You can send your images to our emails mirada@juventudrebelde.cu and lamiradadellector@gmail.com, or through our Facebook. Remember to attach your data, and the geographical location (country, city, municipality, neighborhood…) where the photo was taken.
So grab your camera or cell phone and meet me at the parade.
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews
United Nations, 13 Apr (PL) Cuba’s permanent representative to the UN, Anayansi Rodríguez, today recalled the closeness of the people of that Caribbean island to Winnie Mandela (1936-2018) and how she was an inspiration to everyone in the world.
We Cubans saw her as someone very close to us. For us, she and Nelson have always been, are and will be indivisible, two parts of a single symbol, of the same ideal. And so we will always remember her,’ he said at a tribute ceremony.
Rodriguez recalled how the cause that this woman defended also motivated the Cubans who left their blood and sweat in the anti-colonial struggles in Africa.
Winnie will always have a special place in the hearts of Cubans, who have accompanied her struggle for more than four decades for the definitive emancipation of her country, he added.
She is also remembered as a paradigm of the unbreakable bonds of friendship and solidarity between Cuba and South Africa, forged during long years of common struggle, the Cuban diplomat said.
Faced with the immense figure of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Cuba renews its commitment to the noble causes of the African peoples and its will to continue to accompany them in their struggles, dreams and hopes, he emphasized.
Winnie was and is living history, she was the voice of Nelson Mandela in the streets of their country and around the world, while the apartheid regime held him prisoner for almost three decades, Rodríguez said.
This woman’s spirit of resistance aroused the admiration of worthy people and also the fear of her enemies, who could never break her, she said.
‘Mother of the South African nation’ has rightly been called, but she was much more than that: her motherly embrace transcended the borders of her homeland. With the victory of her people over apartheid, Africa was reborn and the world turned its gaze to that continent, she stressed.
In the opinion of the Cuban ambassador, this anti-apartheid fighter was an expression of the spirit of rebellion and the firmness of African women.
Mama Winnie left for immortality, to join Madiba. Next to him, to welcome her, will be Amilcar, Neto, Machel, Lumumba, Sankara, Nkrumah and many other builders of African independence.
The Cuban diplomat offered her heartfelt condolences and sincere feelings of solidarity with her family and with the Government and people of South Africa.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is remembered as a tireless freedom fighter in South Africa and a symbol of resistance against the apartheid regime.
The anti-apartheid fighter died on 2 April at the age of 81 in Johannesburg and was buried with the honours of a head of state on 7 April.
pgh/ifb
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Pretoria, 14 Apr (PL) South Africa today bid its final farewell to veteran anti-apartheid fighter Winnie Mandela, with a mass funeral ceremony in Johannesburg and a burial reserved for heads of state and government.
The coffin with her remains was moved from Winnie’s residence to nearby Orlando Stadium in the Soweto neighborhood, followed by a procession led by her daughters, grandchildren, sisters and relatives, accompanied by President Cyril Ramaphosa, as well as other leaders and personalities.
At dawn there was a ceremony at the family home, where her body was laid out, a sermon was given and the coffin was covered with the South African flag.
In his eulogy, Ramaphosa stressed that she spoke when others were silent, was able to mobilize and lead South Africans against apartheid when others were forced into exile, had great courage and commitment and was not able to be silenced or frightened by the racial segregation regime, despite all the actions taken against her.
He pointed out that Winnie herself had to heal her wounds for most of her life, although she was always willing to relieve those of her country.
The president pointed out that she was the symbol of the resistance and considered a threat by the apartheid regime, and defied all attempts against her and could not silence or frighten her.
He recalled that Mama Winnie offered leadership in the most difficult times of apartheid without expecting compensation because her conscience and convictions left her no choice but to resist.
The Mother of the Nation died, but she is with us, she lives in the poor, in the workers, in those who are abused…, in the conscience of the apartheid security agents for everything they did to her,” said Ramaphosa.
He wished Winnie an eternal rest in peace after a long career in this life.
The remains of this woman, considered the Mother of the Nation, were taken from the funeral home to her residence on Friday afternoon and thousands of people along the way paid posthumous tribute to her.
Tens of thousands of South Africans filled the Orlando sports facility early in the morning, with the participation of President Ramaphosa and the heads of state of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nhuesso, and of Namibia, Hage Geingob, as well as U.S. human rights activist Jesse Jackson, among many other personalities.
Numerous speeches were made in Mama Winnie’s honor during this mass farewell. These included those by Filike Mbabula on behalf of the African National Congress, Bathabile Dlamini as leader of her Women’s League, the Minister of Energy, Jeff Radebe, representing the family, and the head of the Gauteng province government, David Makhura.
Also speaking was Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters opposition party (EFF), an organization that on Wednesday paid tribute to Winnie with a memorial in the province of Estado Libre.
Her daughters Zindzi and Zenani, her sisters and two grandchildren, one of whom read the obituary, also paid their respects to the crowded audience. They sang in honor of this courageous woman who became the face of South Africa during the years of repression of the apartheid regime.
Her daughter Zenani Dlamini thanked her for the many expressions of pain, affection and support she had received since Winnie’s death on April 2 and said,’I am here to mourn my mother and also to celebrate her life.
Her own was one of the most particular recent stories because she was able to confront one of the most evil regimes of the last century and triumphed,’ she said.
The final tribute to Winnie, which lasted more than four hours, ended with a sermon that gave way to military honors by heads of state and government before the procession headed for Fourways Memorial Park Cemetery in Johannesburg.
ocs/ir
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