aljazeera.com
In Cuba, a day without Fidel Castro
The streets and parks of Havana are quiet, but when people talk there is only one topic to discuss
'Sitting on a bench, one man says to another: "I had to leave the house; I could not stand the antenna [the illegal signal of foreign channels], I don't understand how people in Miami are celebrating his death."
A woman, who is passing by, stops to say "He who celebrates death will have his punishment," before continuing on her way.
A 35-year-old man in a cap, who asks not to give his name, says: "My condolences to the friends of Fidel Castro. I do not like Communism nor him, but you have to admire him. I was in prison for 16 years and I do not hold a grudge against him. He is the greatest one."
An old man who has been quiet until now, speaks up: "When Hitler died, when Stalin died, when Lenin died, all his rivals formed a party, and that is why in Miami they are playing tumbadoras now."
The man in the cap replies: "That's from cockroaches, cowards, because they could not defeat him in life. Look, I do not like Fidel, but nobody can take away his achievements; the guy confronted Batista with wooden guns and stone guns and seized power. "
At the University of Havana, students and professors come together to pay tribute to Fidel. In the middle of the staircase, the students shout slogans like "you hear, you feel, Fidel is present" and sing the national anthem. Many are crying. Outside the Faculty of Law, where Fidel was once a student, photographs recalling his student days have been displayed. As afternoon settles, there is a stillness in the streets. On 11th Street, the sound of a drum can be heard.
A man dressed in white, wearing a green and yellow cap, leaves the house where the sound is coming from, looks up at the sky and then quietly says "Iború iboya Fidel", which means safe trip in Yoruba, before making the sign of the cross and walking away.' |
