A LETTER FROM COMRADE FIDEL TO RANDY ALONSO, DIRECTOR
OF THE ROUND TABLE INFORMATIVE
PROGRAM
Dear Randy,
The Round Table’s information yesterday
was especially interesting and valuable.
What a shame that at that time the island had no electricity, all the
way from Punta de Maisí to Cabo
de San Antonio. Only a few family homes, resisting strong winds, in the Camilo Cienfuegos neighbourhood,
had electricity. They were connected to the underground cable from the
generator of the
Whenever that vital energy of our era is
absent, everything is missing and nothing works. It makes us wish for the day
when all homes strong enough to stand up to a hurricane, like those I spoke of
a few days ago, get their electricity through underground cables. Unfortunately, this will take some time and
enormous expenses.
For one second, I imagined what would have
happened to the inhabitants of our island facing a natural disaster like the
one which just occurred, without the Cuban Civil Defense and the vital services
for the population such as hospitals, polyclinics, bakeries, information
centres and other similar facilities being supplied with electricity.
The images of destroyed homes and facilities,
ruined crops, uprooted trees, overflowing rivers, houses invaded by water in
low-lying areas, persons swept away by the fast-flowing currents and saved by
desperate efforts, were heart-rending. I think some of these should be
re-broadcast in the future so that those whose television sets were not working
can see them.
Never to be forgotten are the scenes of
our men of the Armed Forces and the specialized troops undertaking missions of
help and support to the population and the victims. It was impressive to see
the actions of the fire-fighters risking life and limb, in dangerous currents,
to help their compatriots.
One truly needs strict training and
courage to accomplish those tasks. Only in exceptional circumstances do we
learn about the existence of such men and they prepare in silence for those
critical moments. I must confess that it was exciting to see scenes where José
Ramón Machado Ventura and Ramón Espinosa Martín,
First Vice-President of the Council of State and Head of the Eastern Army
respectively, both well-seasoned by the struggle, together with younger
comrades, the presidents of Defense Councils, were tirelessly visiting the most
affected places and immediately indicating which measures had to be taken.
Other similar scenes were taking place with other upper-level Party leaders,
with Joaquín Quinta Solá, former Head of the Central Army and current
Vice-Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) and Leopoldo
Cintra Frías, Head of the
Western Army, and the presidents of the Defense Councils in the provinces and
municipalities being visited.
I saw more clearly than ever the value of
our symbols. Cuban flags sparkled like never before on the shoulders of the
Party cadres, both men and women, in the hour of difficulty. They are the
subjective factors without which all would be lost and without which victory
would not be possible.
The work of reporters who neither slept
not rested, at times facing rain and wind, has been excellent, informing the
country of what was happening, broadcasting the truth, examples and experiences
which make us feel we are part of a national community interconnected with all
the inhabitants of the planet. People
have been sending us their messages of solidarity, even though a great part suffers
from poverty and the punishment of nature which the consumer societies and
their sophisticated technologies are conducting towards a point that is
incompatible with human survival itself.
Now is the time for the analysis of
objective factors, rational and optimum use of material and human resources;
what should be done in each specific place, where one must invest or not; how
to spend each cent; how we respond to each question about what has to be done
in emergency situations and in normal circumstances so that everything returns
to safe levels -water and air. The normal lives of the children, teenagers and
adults will carry on, always prepared to fight and vanquish all the adversities
of today or tomorrow, never losing their spirit.
Our duty is to triumph!
Fidel
Castro Ruz
September
10, 2008
12:14
p.m.