By Veronica Aleman Cruz on October 9, 2025 from Havana
All Photos: Enrique González (Enro)
This morning, Cuba woke up united against the genocide in Gaza. The entire population is saying: No to war! No more children should die, the news should never be about the sacrifice of innocent lives…Today, more than 100,000 Cubans gathered at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune, which has been turned into a plaza for fighting for the world’s just causes.
With the presence at this emblematic site in the Cuban capital of the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, together with the Palestinian ambassador, members of mass organizations, and, in particular, young Palestinians studying in our country, Cuba’s voice was raised for Palestine.
Cuban President Diaz Canal with the Palestinian Ambassador
Shortly before the start of the event against Israel’s brutal crimes in Gaza, students from the Raúl Roa García Higher Institute of International Relations also raised their voices. Beatriz Viciedo, a first-year student, declared alongside her fellow students: “We have been gathered here since dawn to support the Palestinian cause. To say NO! to the unjustified killing of women, children, and the elderly, to fight against all injustices in the world, and especially this one.“
”That image will never be erased from my mind,” said a young Palestinian woman, her voice broken with sadness, as she recalled the loss of her father in a war that has lasted seven decades of horror.
A hug from a girl from La Colmenita to this young woman gave way to Silvio Rodríguez’s famous song: “Sueño de una noche de verano” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
The impunity with which the Zionist regime of Israel acts has turned hunger into a weapon of war. Every day, 15 Palestinians die of malnutrition; 12 of them are children. This constitutes a crime against humanity. The image of Palestine today before the world is that of a mother watching her child die of hunger. It is unacceptable. It is painful. It is urgent to fight against.
Sabrina, a pioneer at the Nicolás Estébanez primary school in the municipality of Plaza de la Revolución, read her letter to the Palestinian children, the first to become a symbol of resistance: “No child should learn to be afraid before learning to read,” she said. “Amid the drones and the screams, you, the Palestinian children, dream of playing soccer, of hugging your grandparents again. Your hope is your greatest strength. And our hope is that we can meet in a world without weapons.”
Three young Palestinians sang and recited poetry, because culture is also a weapon against war.
A member of Global Summud offered his audiovisual testimony and thanked Cuba and our president for being part of this struggle.
The sixth-year Palestinian medical student raised his voice in support of his homeland and saluted the UJC and the FEU for their support of the Palestinian cause, as well as recognizing the women who shaved their heads for Palestine, brave Cuban defenders of freedom and the right to self-determination.
In conclusion, he asserted that the only solution we have is Fidel’s maxim: “Unity, unity, and unity.” In the face of genocide based on ethnic cleansing, in the face of lethal weapons, the will of the people is more powerful. Palestine will remain standing even if they try to subdue it a thousand times. Because their struggle is also ours: for self-determination, social justice, and human dignity. And as Lennon said: “Imagine all the people living life in peace…”
From Cuba, from this platform, from every child who thinks of another child under the dark sky; from every human being who falls among bombs, we say: Long live Free Palestine! Down with war! Long live international solidarity!
Source: Cubadebate, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English