Justin Pearce
ANYONE who had lost hope for international socialist solidarity in the 1990s would have been heartwarmed by the scenes at Johannesburg International Airport on Tuesday, when the first 96 Cuban doctors arrived in South Africa.
The placards held by the crowd of people who came to greet the doctors ranged from the mundane “Welcome to Mpumalanga province Cuban doctors” to the ideological: “Long live the spirit of Che Guevara.”
Accompanied by Cuba’s Deputy Minister of Public Health Dr Jorge Antelo, who himself worked as a doctor in Angola, the doctors were greeted on the tarmac by South African health minister Dr Nkosazana Zuma.
Waving ANC flags, and their lapels adorned with red carnations and “Mandela for president” badges, the Cuban doctors made their way from immigration to a reception with Zuma and the health MECs from some of the provinces in which the doctors will be working.
They were met by a crowd singing loudly enough to raise eyebrows in the next-door conference room where one of South Africa’s giant insurance corporations was holding a meeting. “Viva Fidel Castro!” chanted the reception party. “Phanzi America! Long live the South Africa-Cuba alliance! Viva the spirit of internationalism!”
A delighted Zuma turned and addressed the crowd in Zulu, her aide Vincent Hlongwane translating into English for Antelo’s aide, who in turn translated Zuma’s remarks into Spanish for her boss.
Zuma described the arrival of the doctors as “an extension of a friendship that started during our struggle. And although we have had elections the struggle is not over — we have a new struggle to transform society.”
Asked whether South Africa’s warm relationship with Cuba would not damage relations with the United States after American aircraft were shot down by Cuban fighter planes this week, Zuma said South Africa hoped to have cordial relations with both countries: “We do not expect America’s friends to be our friends, or America’s enemies to be our enemies.”