By Khadidja Bâ
Khadidja Bâ is a Guyanese journalist recognized for her human-interest reporting, investigative features, and coverage of local governance and social issues in Guyana. She has contributed to major national news outlets, including Stabroek News and Kaieteur News. A main focus of her work has been community-driven stories, human rights, and the ethical reporting of trauma, giving a voice to Indigenous and other marginalized communities across Guyana.
August 13, 2026, marked the 100thbirthday of Cuban revolutionary, Fidel Castro. Throughout the month, people gathered across the world to pay tribute to Castro’s legacy. Guyana was no exception, with the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, in partnership with the Guyana Coalition in Solidarity with Cuba, hosting an event at the Embassy.
The first speaker, Dr. Gerald Perreira, Chairperson of Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP) told the large gathering: “Fidel Castro had a vision for a new society, built on the affirmation of human dignity and the sanctity of the human person. That vision endures today”. He explained that “every revolution must go through a process of rectification and renewal to respond to shifting internal and external dynamics. All political and social systems must evolve and change or otherwise become stagnant and perish”. However, Dr. Perreira was adamant that “the kind of reforms and changes that will happen in Cuba is the business of the Cuban people and only the Cuban people – a people who understand what it means to be independent, sovereign and self determining and for them, there is no turning back. The changes that Cuba is currently pursuing are not about taking Cuba in the direction of capitalist restoration, but rather about finding ways to make the socialist project more viable and sustainable, so that it can exist in a hostile sea of neo-liberal capitalism”.
He said that “the Cuban revolution taught us how to remain steadfast, courageous and relevant in an ever-changing world, ravaged by the flawed liberal-democratic notion of what constitutes democracy, where 1% own and control everything, and where the resources and wealth of a nation do not benefit the majority of the people.” Highlighting some shocking statistics documented in a recent Oxfam report, which notes that the world’s 12 richest individuals own more wealth than the bottom half of humanity, approximately 4.1 billion people, he added that it is no wonder that the “marketplace governed by capitalism is referred to as a slaughterhouse”.
Dr. Perreira said that “although the US did everything in its power to cultivate an opposition in Cuba that could topple the revolution, all its efforts have failed”. This he said “stands as a testimony to Fidel and the Cuban revolutionary leadership…after almost 7 months of this intensified embargo that would bring any nation to its knees, Cuba is still standing strong and more than 6 million Cubans have signed up to defend their homeland. No revolution can withstand all that Cuba has withstood without the support of the majority of the people…the determination of the majority of the Cuban people to honour the life of their heroic leader by continuing the struggle for Cuba’s right to self-determination and true independence is perhaps Fidel’s greatest legacy…this is surely the litmus test of any revolution”. He pointed out that the people of Cuba are “highly educated and politically conscientized and cannot be easily confused or misled”.
gathering
The crowd watched a heartfelt exchange between Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela during Castro’s visit to South Africa. The defeat of the South African military by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces at the historic battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1988 is credited with forcing the apartheid regime to the negotiating table. It was recalled with pride that President Forbes Burnham had allowed Cuban planes to refuel in Guyana on their way to Angola. Claiming that every revolutionary initiative worldwide, since 1959, owes a debt of gratitude to the Cuban revolution, Dr. Perreira asked the crowd, “How can we repay that debt?”
His answer was that “if those gathered truly want to honour Fidel, that Fidel himself would expect nothing less than for us to use this commemoration of his birthday to recommit ourselves to the struggle for a just and humane world. He said “this means standing with Cuba – our solidarity at this time is imperative. Cuba must not fall – and it is up to us in the Caribbean to grow the solidarity movement and our resistance to this illegal and inhumane blockade. We must continue to demand a return of the Cuban Medical Brigade to Guyana and join with anti imperialist movements throughout the Caribbean to make it clear that any military intervention in Cuba is an attack on the entire region. I urge you to never believe that you cannot make a difference – all of you here tonight are making a difference when you stand for the truth and on the right side of history”.
Former President Donald Ramotar took to the podium next, having returned from Cuba earlier that day after attending the commemoration of Fidel’s 100th birthday in Havana, along with 1500 delegates from 63 countries. He told the audience that “people from all over the world travelled to Havana for the commemoration because this great son of the Caribbean was not just the principal leader of Cuba, but one of the greatest champions of working and oppressed people the world over”.
Mr. Ramotar told the audience that he was expecting to see a Cuba that was devastated and was pleasantly surprised to once again witness the extraordinary resilience, steadfastness and creative genius of a people determined to resist and to fight for their right to self-determination. He said that the “mood in Cuba was calm and defiant and that the Cubans were united in their determination to defend their revolution”.
Mr. Ramotar took the audience back to a time when the English-speaking Caribbean was still under colonial domination. He explained that “when the Cuban Revolution triumphed, “anti-communist propaganda against Cuba was spread throughout the region. This was when the criminal blockade was first imposed on Cuba, a blockade that persists to this day”.
He recalled that back then, “the governments of South America and the Caribbean came under tremendous pressure from the US to break relations with Cuba, to isolate the isle of freedom”, however, he said “one colony stood up heroically and that was British Guiana under the premiership of Dr. Cheddi Jagan. In those difficult days, British Guiana was the only colony in the region that sent congratulations to Fidel on the victory of the revolution, and Dr.Jagan was the first leader in the region to visit Cuba”.
Mr. Ramotar drew the audience’s attention to the courageous step taken by then President Forbes Burnham, Michael Manley of Jamaica, Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, and Errol Barrow of Barbados, when in 1972, as newly independent nations, they announced their decision in unison to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, breaking Cuba’s diplomatic isolation in the Western Hemisphere and challenging the trade embargo imposed by the US. He said, “this demonstrated that when we are united, we can have a profound impact on international relations, despite size and geography”.
Mr. Ramotar pointed out that “thanks to the revolution, Cuba is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of human capital, which is the most important condition for socio-economic progress…one of the reasons that the US spends billions in its desperate attempts to destroy the revolution is their fear of the example that Cuba can become if given the chance to compete on an equal footing”.
He also spoke of the huge amount of assistance that Guyana and the Caribbean received from Cuba, contending “that if we put a price on Cuba’s generosity, we would find that it is far greater than the ‘assistance’ the region got from Western sources”.
Cuban Ambassador to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, H.E. Jorge Francisco Soberón Luis spoke last. He thanked all those present, commenting that he was particularly pleased to see so many young people attending, and also so many Cuban residents. He congratulated the people of Guyana for their historic and heartfelt solidarity, and in the name of the people of Cuba, thanked the Coalition in Solidarity with Cuba for their hard work. He reported that the Cuban Relief Project, initiated by the Coalition, which includes concerned citizens, organizations and representatives of the Christian, Muslim and Hindu communities, had already sent 120 tons of rice to Cuba which was distributed to the most vulnerable citizens. Ambassador Luis described the relief project, called A container of Love from the People of Guyana to the People of Cuba, as an historic and extraordinary people-to-people initiative, and announced that a third shipment would soon leave for Cuba containing food items, medical supplies, personal hygiene and cleaning products, clothing, footwear and over 100 solar powered fans. lights and other equipment, all donated by the people of Guyana. Ambassador Luis also took the opportunity to recognize the outstanding performance of Dr. Asaph Ahmad from Guyana, who was the top graduating student at the University of Medical Sciences in Havana in 2026.
At the end of the programme, Guyanese guests joined their Cuban brothers and sisters to share Cuban and Guyanese delicacies and drinks. As chants of Venceremos (we shall overcome) could be heard breaking through the upbeat Cuban music that filled the air, the mood was one of resistance, steadfastness and hope – certainly not despair or defeat. It seems that Cuba has once again taught the world what true empowerment and dignity looks like – a small Caribbean nation that refuses to surrender its sovereignty, no matter what the cost.
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