Article and fotos by Yaimi Ravelo on September 19, from Havana
From a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon to Cuba and Latin America
There are stories that are more than just a “news brief,” and we’d like to tell them firsthand—especially when they come to us from places where humanity barely reaches. Even more so when someone close to you finds the words that perfectly describe a place, the people, and the feelings.
Two Palestinian doctors trained in Cuba are presented with a red scarf bearing the image of Che at the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP). It seems like a simple gesture, one that doesn’t quite make the headlines of the sensational stories circulating on social media and in high-impact news outlets.
Life in resistance is modest, but it is lived as part of a history that refuses to bow to ignominy. Resistance forges symbols for peoples who cling to dignity, to their rights, to sovereignty, and to standing firm in the face of injustice—which is to say, in the face of Zionism, imperialism, and fascism.
The Story of the Red Scarf Bearing Che’s Image
Graciela Ramirez receiving the red scarf in the Shatila Refugee Camp,Lebanon in 2015
During a visit to Beirut in September 2015, at the invitation of her Lebanese journalist friend Wafica Ibrahim, Graciela Ramírez was able to visit the Shatila Refugee Camp, where, in a moving encounter, the prominent Argentine activist met Kifah Afifi, a former Palestinian combatant and ex-prisoner who has been closely involved in the Right of Return for Refugees and in speaking out on behalf of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Graciela arrived in Beirut having fought tirelessly alongside comrades from every continent for the return to Cuba of the Five Cuban Heroes who were imprisoned in U.S. jails.
That day, the “People’s Hall” at the Shatila Camp was filled with emotion and hope—not only because it marked a gathering of Palestinian refugees from Syria and camp residents but also with a comrade arriving from Cuba.
Kifah Afifi approached Graciela and handed her a red scarf bearing Che’s image—a gift from a Palestinian mother who had brought it to her in the prison where she was detained for seven years in Israel. “It helped me endure all those years,” Kifah said.
“Take it, so it may accompany you in your struggles and aid your resistance; I only ask that you never stop speaking out about Palestine,” Kifah insisted—and Graciela also recounted that she accepted the scarf with the promise to fulfill the Lebanese activist’s request. Those of us who know Graciela, a tireless defender of Cuba and the Palestinian cause, can always be seen with the keffiyeh draped over her shoulders, demanding an end to the genocide in the Gaza Strip, freedom for the Palestinian people from the river to the sea, and the lifting of the blockade—which is a war crime against Cuban families.
Kifah was born in the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut; as a child, she witnessed tragic events such as the Sabra and Shatila massacre in 1982, in which her three brothers were murdered.
At age 17, she became an active member of the Palestinian resistance. She was captured and imprisoned between 1982 and 1995 in the brutal Khiam prison, located in southern Lebanon—which was occupied by Israel at the time—where she endured prolonged solitary confinement and all manner of torture. During that period of imprisonment, she received the scarf that gave her the strength to endure all the unimaginable abuses and horrors, because the image of Che reminded her of Cuba—and for her, Cuba is a symbol of life and hope.
Images from the meeting at the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut (2015).
The example set by the Cuban Revolution helped a young Palestinian-Lebanese prisoner to resist, and demonstrates that the struggle against imperialism and Zionism is one and the same struggle.
The scarf arrived in Cuba in Graciela’s hands, on a mission to pass it on as an “amulet” to confront injustices, as a symbol of solidarity and internationalism in the anti-imperialist trenches. With that spirit, it was given to comrade Inés Luigi of Venezuela to accompany her in the resistance, when the fascist right was burning people who looked like Chavistas alive—as if ideology had a face—violating public peace and pushing for a coup d’état through the guarimbas of 2017.
Carmen Diniz receiving the red scarf of Che
It then passed into the hands of our Brazilian sister Carmen Diniz when Lula was imprisoned in Curitiba; every morning, the scarf accompanied Carmen as she saluted the president, a prisoner of injustice and Brazil’s fascist right wing. Lula was released, and today the red scarf bearing Che’s image returns to Cuba.
“Today it returns to help once again, from hand to hand, from resistance to resistance, from this Cuba that resists the brutal aggression of imperialism and will never abandon you. The red scarf bearing Che’s image is being presented today at the headquarters of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) to a delegation from the heroic Palestinian Youth to strengthen you and your heroic people, and all of us in our struggles,” said Graciela during the modest ceremony to present the scarf.
The small room where the young ICAP officials—Yahimi Rodríguez, director for Africa and the Middle East, and Yara Valera, director for Latin America—presided over the presentation ceremony welcomed members of the International Committee for Peace, Justice, and Dignity for the Peoples, a delegation from the Carioca Committee of Solidarity with Cuba, the Martin Luther King Center, and friends of the solidarity movement with Cuba and the Palestinian cause.
The red scarf of Che being passed around.
The red scarf bearing Che’s image was passed around in a circle through the hands of everyone—as a kiss, a hug, or a clenched fist—and was then presented to the young Palestinians to continue the struggle in defense of life in a Free Palestine and a Cuba free from suffocation and the blockade. May the journey of that red scarf continue, may it gather dreams, even if triumph and victory seem like a utopia in the face of this cruel and unequal struggle under the monster’s watchful eye.
Graciela Ramirez Visits the Shatila Camp and Holds a Meeting in the People’s Hall
By Hassan Bakir on Saturday, September 26, 2015
The chairwoman of the International Committee for the Cause of the Five Cubans, “Graciela Ramírez Cruz,” visited Shatila Camp and held a meeting with community leaders, Syrian refugees, and camp residents in the People’s Hall, on Saturday, September 26, 2015, where she learned about the living conditions and suffering of the Palestinians and listened to their suggestions and opinions regarding future steps and actions the committee could take regarding the issue of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons.
“Graciela Ramírez” is an Argentine journalist. In addition to serving as chair of the International Committee for the Case of the Five Cubans, she is chair of the International Committee for Peace, Justice, and Dignity for the Peoples, coordinator of solidarity campaigns with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and head of the “Al-Mujaz al-Latin” office in Havana. The meeting was attended by the secretary and members of the main branch, representatives of the National Security Forces and the People’s Committee, and the freed prisoner Kifah Afifi.
At the beginning of the meeting, Kifah Afifi spoke about Cuba, whose name means “fertile land,” which is what made it a symbol and a land of revolutions that demanded freedom for all oppressed peoples. She paid tribute to the Cuban people, who sacrificed and worked to free the five Cuban prisoners from U.S. prisons, where they had spent fifteen years. Kifah also spoke about the suffering of Palestinian prisoners, who are enduring great hardship in Israeli occupation prisons.
At the beginning of her speech, “Graciela” expressed her deep emotion at being in the Shatila refugee camp and meeting face-to-face with a people who have suffered and continue to suffer for 67 years. She conveyed greetings from the five Cuban prisoners, the peoples of Cuba and Argentina, and all progressive peoples and global solidarity movements. She said she could see the suffering in the faces and eyes of those present. She kept her remarks brief to allow the audience to speak and to hear their opinions and suggestions.
The audience’s questions focused on the suffering in the camps, the living conditions in the camps in Lebanon, and the plight of Syrian refugees amid the reduction of UNRWA services, as well as the suffering of the prisoners and the arbitrary Israeli measures against them. The audience called on the guest, in her capacity as a representative, to intensify efforts by the peoples of Latin America, global solidarity campaigns, and international and humanitarian organizations; to organize sit-ins in front of Israeli embassies; and to appeal to international forums to pressure member states to work toward the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
In her response, “Graciela” did not hide her fear regarding what is happening in Syria, stating, “It is a war in every sense of the word. People have come from all corners of the world to fight the regime and the people and to displace the Palestinians. Frankly, we see the situation in Syria as a specter haunting us, and we fear a tragedy and a humanitarian disaster.”
She spoke about the movement that led to the release of the five Cubans, attributing it primarily to the unity of the struggle and the Cubans’ united stance, as well as the involvement of a large international contingent in the sit-ins and protests—including twelve Oscar winners and His Holiness the Pope, who sought his counsel regarding their actions.
Graciela pointed out that “fascist Zionism is not only an enemy of the Palestinian people, but a threat to all peoples; it is supported by American imperialism and has worked tirelessly to divide peoples. It has several tools of terrorism that it employs everywhere, including in Latin America.”
She added, “We cannot confront an enemy of this magnitude and with these capabilities unless we unite and speak with one voice to confront the forces that are fighting us.”
She touched on the suffering of the peoples of Latin America, who have endured military regimes, dictatorships, U.S. occupations, the plundering of their wealth, and the weakening of their nations; yet in the end, victory belonged to the peoples, and Cuba was able to stand up and rise from the rubble, defeating the will of the United States.
“Graciela” believed that the outlook for the Palestinian people is not bleak, stating: “Victory is coming for the Palestinian people, and this tyranny called Israel will be defeated by the will of the Palestinian people.”
She pledged to convey the voice of the Palestinian people to all forums and international solidarity campaigns and to intensify efforts to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners. On the humanitarian and day-to-day level, Graciela pledged to publicize all this suffering in the media in Havana.
By Hassan Bakir
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – Havana