I am so intrigued by the mid 20th century revolutionary movements around the world. The escape from colonialism by the asians, africans, latin americans, arabs, and how governments and power structures were formed. Who was aiding who, and why.
Cuba sent a troop of 130 black cubans and Che Guevara to help the Congolese fight against a rival faction that was backed by the UN. One African commented that it was weird that there was a black commander even with a white person in the troop. The Cubans said race simply didn't exist in their country.
Actually, in the documentary I am watching, one of the black soldiers was bewildered when they first formed the 130 man group because in Cuba he had never seen that many black people together. Imagine that. Segregation being a weird thing, back in 1960! And we still segregate here in the US. We are so separated on just Virginia Tech's campus. It is easy to go to black only parties.
But the thing that struck me was this idea of Internationalism. Russia held a parade for all the 'freed' nations around the world. It may be rhetoric, but the idea is simply just the class struggle, celebrating the workers being freed from owners and supporting them. The Cubans in the Congo weren't fighting to gain influence in the region, they simply saw fellow comrades struggling and helped them. They didn't want anything in return, they were practically fighting for their 'homeland' since they are not bound by nation. Really powerful idea. I want to learn much more about this.
Endnote- no, i am not a Soviet, I am just saying regardless of the corruption and external and internal forces that produce famine and dictatorships and aggression within these communism based regimes, the ideas that underpinned these things were really based. I guess it just takes a really disciplined regime to carry them out purely.
Cuba sent a troop of 130 black cubans and Che Guevara to help the Congolese fight against a rival faction that was backed by the UN. One African commented that it was weird that there was a black commander even with a white person in the troop. The Cubans said race simply didn't exist in their country.
Actually, in the documentary I am watching, one of the black soldiers was bewildered when they first formed the 130 man group because in Cuba he had never seen that many black people together. Imagine that. Segregation being a weird thing, back in 1960! And we still segregate here in the US. We are so separated on just Virginia Tech's campus. It is easy to go to black only parties.
But the thing that struck me was this idea of Internationalism. Russia held a parade for all the 'freed' nations around the world. It may be rhetoric, but the idea is simply just the class struggle, celebrating the workers being freed from owners and supporting them. The Cubans in the Congo weren't fighting to gain influence in the region, they simply saw fellow comrades struggling and helped them. They didn't want anything in return, they were practically fighting for their 'homeland' since they are not bound by nation. Really powerful idea. I want to learn much more about this.
Endnote- no, i am not a Soviet, I am just saying regardless of the corruption and external and internal forces that produce famine and dictatorships and aggression within these communism based regimes, the ideas that underpinned these things were really based. I guess it just takes a really disciplined regime to carry them out purely.
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