Socialist Action /October 2000
Castro Speaks to Thousands in Harlem
By PAUL SIEGEL
Castro Hugs a Child Before Speaking at Riverside
Church
NEW YORK-Fidel Castro, here for a United Nations
summit meeting, addressed an enthusiastic crowd of 3000 on Sept. 8 at Riverside
Church. An overflow of 1000 heard his speech on loud speakers outside.
Riverside Church is the interdenominational and
interracial church on the outskirts of Harlem at which Martin Luther King
delivered his denunciation of the Vietnam War.
The crowd was notable for its diversity of age,
color, and ethnicity. Perhaps 40 percent to 50 percent were African Americans,
and there were many Latinos. A number of international guests attended in
bright African and Asiatic garb as well as Palestinians wearing T-shirts
demanding the right of return.
Although The New York Times managed to find two
women with anti-Castro signs for the photograph accompanying its news story,
no one else saw any hostile demonstrators. Ramon Sanchez, the head of the
anti-Castro so-called Democracy Movement, told the New York Daily News that
"we chose to ignore" the meeting since "we don't want to
cause any conflicts with the African American community, which feels differently
about Castro."
This prudent decision, a retreat from their stance
in the past, marked a victory for opponents of the U.S. embargo of Cuba.
The program was shortened since it was late in
getting under way as a result of security precautions. However, the audience
did get to sing "Happy birthday, dear Fidel" in honor of his 74th
birthday.
In reply, Castro thanked the audience and commented
that it was a miracle he had lived to that age, adding that the audience
will understand what he meant. He was evidently alluding to the many attempts
by the CIA to assassinate him.
Castro's speech lasted for more than four hours
(including the time for translation), from just before 10 p.m. until a little
after 2 a.m. It was delivered in a quiet, conversational manner, without
oratorical flourishes.
Although he spoke without notes except for a 10-minute
segment in which he quoted UN reports, Castro's command of the copious statistics
he cited was quite remarkable. The audience listened intently, from time
to time applauding the recital of Cuban accomplishments.
Castro began his speech by describing the catastrophic
situation in the world today, the result of the policies and institutions
of the dominant countries. The already enormous gap between rich and poor
countries as well as between rich and poor in all countries is widening
considerably.
To cite just a few of his salient statistics, the
per capita income of 100 countries is lower than it was 15 years ago. The
debt of the Third World, which strangles its development, is greater than
ever.
The developed countries control 97 percent of all
patents, and the great corporations think only of profit, not of satisfying
need. Only 1 percent of research related to health is devoted to medications
for the illnesses afflicting the Third World.
The consequence is that 11 million children die
every year from preventable diseases. One out of three infants in the Third
World is born underweight, and two out of five children suffer from growth
retardation. In sub-Saharan Africa life expectancy is less than 48 years.
Turning to Cuba, he stated that Cuba is a poor
country but it tries to distribute wealth as evenly as possible. Prices
of necessities and of prescription drugs are the same as they were 40 years
ago. The cost of admission to a movie or to a museum is five cents.
There is one doctor for each 68 persons. People
who receive drugs in hospital do not have to pay for them, and transplants
are free. Life expectancy at birth is 75 years.
Cuba, Castro went on, is governed by the principle
of solidarity with the poor all over the world. It has provided without
charge 500,000 teachers and technicians to Third World countries, particularly
in Africa, who serve as volunteers. It has more doctors working in the Third
World than ever before, with 400 in Haiti alone.
Furthermore, it has recently opened an international
medical school for Latin American countries, with a capacity of 40,000 students
that will give a medical education free of charge. Some 3000 students are
there now, and 8000 are expected within four years.
Castro told of how he met a U.S. congressman from
the Black Caucus who complained to him of the poor health care in Black
ghettoes. In response, Castro offered to receive 250 students a year for
a medical education without charge, provided that they commit themselves
to return as doctors to their communities. (See next article.)
"I had to come to Harlem," Castro said.
"It is in Harlem where I will find my best friends. He spoke of the
discussions in Cuba after Shaka Sankofa (Gary Graham) was executed and of
the sympathy for Mumia Abu-Jamal, fighting to save his life after having
been unjustly condemned to death.
In the course of his talk, Castro told the audience
of how Elian Gonzalez is getting along. Elian is well adjusted and happy,
he said, a normal child who has not been singled out in any way. His father,
who had been offered a million dollars while in the United States to defect
but refused, was back at his humble job.
Castro also told of his handshake with Clinton
that raised such a hubbub in the American mass media, a U.S. government
spokesperson at first falsely denying that it had taken place and the New
York Daily News faking a photo of it.
What happened was that Castro had been walking
along to proceed to an official photograph when he saw Clinton just ahead
shaking hands with other heads of government coming down the line. Wedged
between tables, he couldn't easily get away, and it would have been both
cowardly and rude for him to have done so. Instead, "with great dignity
and courtesy," he simply offered his hand, which Clinton shook.
Castro concluded his speech by apologizing for
the length of time he had taken and wishing the audience "Good Morning."
Socialist Action /October 2000 |