The late Fidel Castro
The Centre for Latin American Studies held a short event at the Maison Française, in the Reginald Amonoo Building to commemorate the death of Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution and longtime President of Cuba. The Cuban leader, who had survived up to 600 assassination attempts, died of natural causes on November 25, 2016.
In her welcome address, Dr Joanna Boampong, Acting Director of the Centre for Latin American Studies characterized the event as a symbolic gesture in acknowledgement of the immense impact Cuba, through the vision of its revolutionary leader, has had on the peoples of Latin America, Africa and indeed Ghana as a whole. She underscored the long-standing relationship Cuba has had with the Spanish Section of the Department of Modern Languages, especially in the provision of Technical Assistants and the hosting of Year Abroad students in various universities of Cuba.
Dr. Joana Boampong, Acting Director of the Centre for Latin American Studies
Prof. Samuel Agyei-Mensah, the Provost of the College of Humanities noted that Ghana has maintained a long-standing relationship with Cuba dating back to the early years following the Revolutionary leader’s triumphant assumption of power in 1959. In his view, for over the 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Cuba has been a strong pillar of support for Ghana. This has taken the form of bilateral cooperation especially in the areas of trade, commerce, education, agriculture, and health. He added that developing countries in Africa and Latin America as a whole have benefited immensely from Cuba’s internationalization policies set up by Fidel Castro’s administration.
The highlight of the event was the screening of the documentary Fidel Castro: The Man behind the Myth which was followed by a discussion. Discussions covered several topics including aspects of Fidel Castro’s life, Cuba’s impact in the world, revolutions, dictatorships, and the evolution of US-Cuba relationship.
The event was attended by members of Faculty, Prof. Horace Campbell, current occupant of the Kwame Nkrumah Chair in African Studies, Dr. Albie Walls of the CSU-OIP University of Ghana, Undergraduate and Graduate Students and past students of the year-abroad program in Cuba.
