[News] What did Che Guevara Fight For?

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://www.thedawn-news.org/2017/09/26/what-did-che-guevara-fight-for-by-his-daughter-aleida-guevara/ 



  What did Che Guevara Fight For?

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*/Che Guevara’s daughter reminds us of the reasons behind his 
revolutionary struggle/*

By: Aleida Guevara March / The Dawn News / September 26, 2017

<http://www.thedawn-news.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Ernesto-Guevara-de-la-Serna-Che-Guevara-Argentina-Cuba-Headline-News.jpg>Photo 
credit: Politico Scope

In order to speak about the Che Guevara we need time and space, but in 
order to explain his existence in our times we just need to look around 
us. If we ask what he was fighting for, the immediate answer is: for a 
better world. But what does this mean? Decent houses for everyone, free 
and high-quality education in equal conditions, accessible healthcare 
for all of the population, peace that would enable us to destine the 
available resources to research how to have better life. But, what do we 
really have?

To Che Guevara, youth is the clay with which we can model the New Man. 
But, what are we actually doing to youth? What kind of life are we 
offering them? What example are we setting for them? Who can inspire 
them to perfect their conduct? These are many questions and there are 
practically no answers—at least not the answers that youth need.

He said: “How long will we continue to have this order that is based on 
an absurd sense of caste—that is a question I can’t answer, but it is 
time for our rulers to dedicate less time to propagandizing their 
virtues as a regime and destine more money—much, much more money—to fund 
works for the benefit of society”.

What do you think about that? We could say the same thing to many rulers 
who do a bad job at governing many of our peoples, to begin with.

“… but those people who tackle things head on, who lead by example—to 
follow or to get others to follow you is a difficult task at times, but 
it is enormously easier than to push other to get them walking…”

Where do we want to go? What do we need? If we don’t fight for what we 
need, who will do it for us? It is undeniable that we have strength and 
courage, but we need unity, we need to organize that strength in order 
to conquer what we need to modify what doesn’t work, at least for the 
majority of the people.

“… to be quintessentially human, to be so human that we approach the 
best qualities of humanity, to purify what’s best in mankind through 
work, study, the exercise of continuous solidarity with the people and 
with all the peoples in the world…”

“… to develop sensibility to the maximum, to the point that we feel 
distressed when a man is killed in any corner of the world, and to feel 
enthusiasm when in any corner of the world a new flag of freedom is risen”.

That’s what we want for our youth, and it is very important to keep it 
in mind it now that we’re raising our voices to claim for the life of a 
young man like Santiago Maldonado, who recently disappeared in Argentina 
for being on the side of the Mapuche people and defending their rights. 
What message are they trying to send with the forced disapparition of 
this young man? Fear, that’s what they want us to feel in order to 
paralyze us, to silence us.

I remember the first time I was in Brazil. Imagine this young woman 
arriving in Sao Paulo and being told to not roll down the window of the 
car she’s travelling in, who feels fear for her driver whenever the car 
has to make a stop at a corner, which is when they assault you, who sees 
the eyes of a child high on drugs asking for something to eat—my 
reaction was immediate and I repeat what I said back then: it is better 
to die trying to change that reality than to avoid dying of hunger. But 
then I remembered that I come from a different culture, a different 
people, where the life of a human being, and especially of a child, is 
sacred, it is the most important thing. I thought I was reacting like 
this because I am Cuban, and I was raised by the socialist Revolution 
that we have, but I was wrong. Later on in my journey I met Mrs. Rosa, 
in Rio Grande do Sul. She’s a member of the Landless People’s Movement 
of Brazil. This humble peasant not only said what I was thinking, but 
she died defending a piece of land with which to feed her children. Mrs. 
Rosa proved to me that we indeed can and must fight for that better 
world, no matter where we come from, or which culture we carry with 
us—what matters and what prevails is the need to live.

“Let me tell you, at the risk of sounding ridiculous, that the true 
revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. It is impossible to 
think of a true revolutionary without this virtue” .

A virtue that is indispensable to be able to give our best for a just 
cause, even risking our lives. I truly believe in this and I have seen 
it in the dedication of many men and women, luckily, in many parts of 
the world.

“And we, the exploited of the world, what role do we play? The peoples 
of three continents are watching and learning their lesson from Vietnam. 
Because, with the threat of war, imperialists blackmail the entire 
humanity: not fearing war is the right answer”.

“Under the slogan ‘We Won’t Allow Another Cuba’ there’s a hidden 
possibility of widespread aggressions, such as the one perpetrated 
against Dominican Republic or, previously, the Panama massacre, and the 
clear sign that yankee troops are willing to intervene anywhere in Latin 
America where the established order is altered and their interests are 
threatened”.

“This policy has almost absolute impunity: the OAS is a comfortable 
mask, however discredited; the UN has a degree of incompetence that 
borders ridicule or tragedy; the armies of every country in Latin 
America are ready to intervene to crush their peoples. The 
internationale of crime and betrayal has been formed /de facto/”.

Luckily for us, it is not like that anymore for all the peoples, but 
unfortunately in many the army is still a tool to crush the just claims 
of our people and one wonders where these men come from, who attack 
their own people. We’ve seen pictures of these uniformed men repressing 
demonstrations, attacking youth, women and even children without 
vacillation, and what do the Magna Cartas say about this? Because I know 
for a fact that many of them state that the army exists to defend the 
people and what happens in fact is exactly the opposite—so, whose side 
is violating the law?

When reading the Che’s words today, 50 years after his death, many 
things still resonate with what we see day to day, the relevance of his 
thoughts is strong and we should turn to him for answers more often.

There’s plenty to do, and the road is long and difficult, but we can and 
we must change many things to achieve the full dignity that human beings 
require in order to live. I always remember something that an Argentine 
mother had written on the tombstone of her daughter when she found her 
remains: “if I die, don’t cry for me; do what I did and in you I’ll 
live”. That is exactly what we owe to the men and women who have given 
their strength to us through their example, and encourage us to take 
action. Go on comrades, let’s live in such a way that, when our days 
come to an end, we don’t feel pain for the years that passed in vain, 
let’s feel the joy of leaving something beautiful for those to come.

Until Victory Always!

-- 
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