He was an extraordinary man.
The more they tried to break him, the more his
titan courage grew. He was a president without a
state; a leader without freedom; a citizen without
a home. He even lacked a piece of ground in which
to bury his remains; nonetheless, he is a giant of
the 20th century, a man without whom we
could never honorably write the history of the
world.
With these words, Imad Jadaa,
the Palestinian ambassador, unveiled a bust of
Yasser Arafat, who passed away exactly one year
ago.
The sculpture, covered by the
typical Palestinian kaffiyeh or headscarf always
worn by Arafat, was unveiled by the ambassador
along with Sergio Corrieri, president of the Cuban
Friendship Institution and Dr. Rodrigo Alvarez
Cambra, president of the Cuban-Arab Friendship
Association.
Members from the Communist
Party of Cuba, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, the Arab Union, ambassadors and other
representatives from diplomatic missions where
also on hand for the uncovering of the statue, at
the Palestinian embassy in Havana.
In the words of its sculptor,
Andres Gonzalez Gonzalez, the bust reveals "a
kindhearted leader who fought hard for the freedom
of his people." The monument measures 1.95 meters.
Remembering Arafat, Ambassador
Imad Jadaa said, "as a guardian of the Palestinian
people, may you rest in your homeland, in the same
place where you lived the last few years of your
life, under siege and cornered, but with your iron
will intact. Your courage is an enduring lesson
for all."
(Granma) November 15, 2005
