In a message addressed to the Cuban people, Van Niekerk, who is also head of the Chair in Public Governance at the University of Wits, recalled that the affection professed for Cuba in South Africa arouses from the ‘unconditional role it played to help defeat the evil racist system of Apartheid’ during the past struggle against that racial segregation system.

At this time, he added, we find that Cuba is in a position in which it is helping the rest of the world to develop a new model of international order, exemplified in the work done by the Henry Reeve medical brigade in 27 countries, to help them overcome the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

And under these circumstances, he continued, we now see that Cuba itself needs solidarity to protect its citizens from the harm of this pandemic and, to overcome that, ‘we must say out loud that we are totally opposed to the evil US blockade, which prevents Cuba from meeting many of its citizens’ needs.’

Cuba, the academic emphasized, has shared its destiny with poor people across the world, and now we, from the global community and in South Africa, reaffirm our position along with Cuba, and also the will to share our destiny with the Cubans while they fight against the imperialist, illegal US blockade.

mh/iff/mem/mv