Office of The Prime Minister - Saturday, November 26th, 2016 at 3:26 PM (UTC-4)
It was with sadness that I received the news of the passing of Comrade Fidel Castro, the former President and the Revolutionary Leader of the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban people. Fidel Castro was somebody who had a very long and positive impact on the entire world having served for several decades.
But it is not only about his long-standing leadership of Cuba that is of note, but his generosity to the world and the impact which Cuba made on Freedom for many countries. In South Africa, Cuba was very instrumental with the ANC in fighting for the equal rights of people of colour. Also in many African countries, Cuba played a very critical role in the freedom of black people, African people.
In terms of health care and education, I believe that every country in this world would have been impacted upon by the generosity of the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro. He was a well respected world leader. In Dominica, in every sphere of our society has been impacted by the generosity of Fidel Castro.
We will certainly miss him a lot and miss his presence in the world. We wish to extend our sincere condolences from the Government and people of Dominica, and my own behalf and that of my family, to the Government, his brother Raul, and to the Cuban people, and the Cuban Ambassador resident here in Dominica – our sincere and deepest condolences on the passing of Fidel.
I have had the occasion over an extended period of time to interact with him. I consider him to be a mentor, I consider him to be a friend. I have learned quite a bit from him in terms of his leadership and how he views world issues.
In recognition of his life and his contribution to Dominica and the Caribbean region, our flags in Dominica will be flown at half staff until the day after his burial as a sign of our respect, admiration, and appreciation for his contribution to Dominica.
Fortunately for us, we had the opportunity to bestow upon him a few years ago, the highest national award of our country in recognition of not only his contribution to Dominica but his contribution to the region.
The tribute text
Salutations
• H. E Raul Castro, President of the Republic of Cuba
• Heads of State and Government
• Excellencies
• Ladies and Gentlemen
• The Great Cuban People
The pages of history record that in every century, there has emerged
at least one larger-than-life personality who captures the attention of
the world if only for their unique boldness in pursuing the
extraordinary and for the shockwaves they generate in confronting
oppression and the established order.
Fidel Castro, the acknowledged leader of the Cuban revolution, was
one such person. I feel privileged to have been able to call him a
friend and mentor.
Inspired by the great Cuban independence hero Jose Marti, who had the
vision of a Cuba free of U.S interference, a Cuba “for all Cubans and
the good of all Cubans”; he liberated Cubans from the brutal Batista
dictatorship, leading his country along the socialist path of
self-determination.
For over fifty years, and with the support of friends, the Cuban
revolution survived a harsh, western engineered economic and trade
embargo that cost you, the Cuban people, billions of dollars. The
Caribbean Community, CARICOM, recalls with pride that it was four of our
Member States who rallied together in 1972 to break the diplomatic
isolation of Cuba in this hemisphere.
Under the indomitable leadership of Fidel, Cuba did not only survive,
but went on to develop a public health care system second to none, an
education system that left no one behind, a capacity for scientific
research and for innovation in the pharmaceutical industry that has
placed Cuba among global leaders, and an athletics and sports
infrastructure renowned for producing world champions.
Comrade Fidel’s zeal to untangle the grip of colonisation and oppression went beyond the shores of his beloved Cuba.
His interventions in Mozambique and the Angolan War changed the
course of history in these two former Portuguese colonies and played a
defining role in the struggle to free South Africa and the continent
from the scourge of apartheid.
He was a true friend, reaching out to newly independent countries
across Latin America and the Caribbean to assist in areas where Cuba was
relatively strong. This was especially evident in the training of
medical doctors and other health care workers and the granting of
scholarships in other disciplines.
CARICOM will be forever grateful to Fidel and to you, the Cuban
people for the great sacrifices you have made, against great adversity,
in annually sustaining the training of our professionals for decades on
both a bilateral and multilateral basis.
It is difficult to identify a sector in any of our economies that
Cuba and Comrade Fidel have not impacted for the better. I can say,
without fear of being contradicted, that our health services would be
the poorer, but for the generous hand of Fidel at critical times in our
development. We have recognised that contribution, by awarding him our
highest honour, the Order of the Caribbean Community, in 2008, the only
non-CARICOM citizen to whom it has been accorded.
Comrade Fidel was undoubtedly, one of the iconic political giants of
the second half of the twentieth century. He joins a distinguished
brotherhood of freedom fighters such as Yasser Arafat and Nelson
Mandela, whose resilience and determination were a source of strength
for their people.
Cuba now mourns the loss of a great leader, teacher and father; we
share the pain and emptiness that you feel, for we have lost a faithful
and valued friend.
His memory lives on in our mission to provide for our people and to build a world in which justice, fairness and peace prevail.
Fidel Castro was a man of his time and used the tools available to
deal with the realities faced by Cuba, in the fight against injustice
and oppression.
As for me, I have lost a friend and a great teacher. A man who had a
genuine interest in the peculiar challenges besetting small island
states and who readily assisted, not only in thought and talk, but in
deed.
The Commonwealth of Dominica shall, at the appropriate time, act
decisively to ensure that his contribution to our island and region, and
indeed to humanity, is memorialized, for the enlightenment of future
generations.
Rest, My Brother, Rest Peacefully.
