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The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, December 07, 2016
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Fidel Castro: A Legend
Loved And Loathed
“We know that this momentfills Cubans - in Cuba and in the United States - with powerful
emotions, recalling the countless ways in which Fidel Castro altered the course of individ
ual lives, families, and of the Cuban nation. Histoiy will record and judge the enormous
impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him. ” — President Barack
Obama, Statement on the Passing of Fidel Castro, November 26, 2016
Thank You For Reading
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Since the an
nouncement of his death,
the significance and impact
of Fidel Castro’s legacy has
been subjected to heated and
polarized debate. Castro’s
admirers will rightly point
to his unprecedented re
forms in healthcare and ed
ucation on the island-nation
of Cuba, nearly eradicating
illiteracy and reaching re
cord lows in infant and ma
ternal mortality rates, as the
work of a leader devoted to
the well-being of his people.
His detractors will rightly
point to his denial of basic
political freedoms and hu
man rights abuses, including
suppressing free speech and
the torture and executions of
political opponents, as the
work of a ruthless dictator
concerned only with power
and its preservation.
Whether history
will ultimately absolve or
condemn this man, it is clear
that Castro was a towering
figure of the 20th century.
His place in the pages of
history is secured and his
political and social justice
influence in Cuba, the Ca
ribbean, Latin America, Af
rica and beyond, can neither
be denied nor, for better or
worse, forgotten.
The course of
Cuban and world history
changed forever in 1959 as
Castro, thronged by rebel
fighters and cheered on by
the Cuban people, rode into
Havana after overthrowing
the brutal military dictator
ship of Fulgencio Batista.
During his 49-year reign,
Castro oversaw dramatic
changes in Cuban society.
With his revolution came
important accomplishments
and advances in racial
equality, housing, educa
tion and healthcare for Cu
bans, but the revolution did
not stop at Cuba’s borders.
Castro exported his revo
lution and Cuba’s material
and intellectual resources to
other parts of the world, in
jecting itself into the world’s
disasters, emergencies and
conflicts.
Shortly following
his release after 27 years
spent in jail as a political
prisoner, Nelson Mandela
made a trip to Havana to ex
press his gratitude to Castro.
Cuba under Castro opposed
apartheid and supported
the African National Con
gress, Mandela’s political
organization. Cuba was the
only country in the world to
send soldiers to fight in the
anti-apartheid struggle. In
stark contrast, the United
States supported the South
African apartheid govern
ment, placing Nelson Man
dela and the ANC on a ter
rorist watch list until 2008;
refused to impose sanctions
on the apartheid regime; and
in 1986, President Reagan
vetoed the Anti-Apartheid
Act.
At the time, I was
a leader in New Orleans of
the Free South Africa move
ment that advocated for
comprehensive economic
sanctions and succeeded in
lobbying Congress to over
ride President Reagan’s
veto.
It is no wonder that
Mandela described Castro’s
revolution as “a source of in
spiration to all freedom-lov
ing people.” Cuba was an
ally in many African inde
pendence movements and,
despite its country’s poverty
and U.S. backed sanctions,
managed to provide resourc
es, including doctors and
teachers, to poor countries
in need.
Castro’s revolution
also failed in many respects.
His strides in social policy
were woefully unmatched
in the political arena. Erika
Guevara-Rosas, Americas
director at Amnesty Inter
national, described Castro
as “a progressive but deep
ly flawed leader.” Human
rights were trampled under
his leadership. Early-revo-
lution promises of free elec
tions were never kept; free
speech was, and continues
to be, suppressed; political
opponents were executed;
and thousands were jailed or
forced into exile.
Castro erased il
literacy and tuberculosis in
Cuba, an unattainable feat
in better-resourced nations.
But, Castro summarily de
nied the people of Cuba their
basic political and human
rights. That is the paradox of
Fidel Castro, a paradox that
can, and will, teach us all
valuable lessons for decades
to come.
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Greenbriar Childrens
Center Holds
w Rap-Off Contest
Greenbriar Chil
dren’s Center will hold its
annual Celebrity wRAP-
OFF contest beginning at 2
p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17,2016
at Oglethorpe Mall, 7804
Abercorn St. in the Macy’s
Department Store court at
the gift wrap area. The Gift
Wrap Center is manned
by Greenbriar volunteers
and will run throughout the
month of December until
Christmas Eve to raise much
needed funds for this chari
ty
Local celebrities,
politicians, and communi
ty leaders including Alpha
Media’s Claire Beverly,
WSAV’s Kim Gusby, Rev.
Clarence Williams and the
Berean Association, Mid
way Mayor, Dr. Clemontine
Washington, The Westin’s
Director of PR and Com
munications David Moses,
and others. Hunter Ma-
cLean, Exley and Dunn’s,
Wade Herring will join in
Greenbriar’s Wrap Center
festivities as the emcee this
year. The celebrities and
their supporters will dress-
up in holiday costume and
perform either a cover or an
original rap song incorporat
ing seasonal messages and
reference to Greenbriar’s
mission. The wRAP-OFF
contestants will be judged
on their costume, rap, and
the donations received
during their segments and be
invited to volunteer to help
wrap gifts.
a gift certificate to The
Westin’s Aqua Star Restau
rant, an Oglethorpe Mall
gift certificate, jewelry from
Kendra Scott Jewelry and
more. The Wrap Center it
self will open on Dec. 2 with
a special ceremony at 3 p.m.
and remain open until Dec.
24. All proceeds will go to
Greenbriar.
The mission of
Greenbriar is to promote
the healthy development of
children and the strengthen
ing of families. Greenbriar
provides services that in
clude an emergency shelter,
runaway/homeless support,
residential care, independent
living, family preservation,
early childhood education
and care, and Project Safe
Place. Each year Greenbri
ar operates the Wrap Center
and wRAP-OFF contest to
raise funds to continue to
support their mission.
“We are moving
full-speed ahead preparing
for this year’s wRAP-OFF
and can’t wait to see the cre
ative costumes and raps the
participants come up with
this time around,” Greenbri
ar Executive Director Gena
Taylor said. “This is always
such a fun way to get in the
holiday spirit while support
ing a local non-profit with
the best and brightest people
this community has to offer.
We are grateful to all of our
volunteers and we hope they
have as much fun participat
ing in the wRAP-OFF as we
have watching!”
Prizes
include