EDITORIAL: Thank you, Cuba!

There are friendships that are forged in conference rooms, sealed with handshakes and strengthened by trade agreements.And then there are friendships forged in blood. Namibia’s relationship with Cuba belongs firmly in the second category.As Namibia approaches Heroes’ Day, it is fitting to reflect not only on the Namibians who sacrificed their lives for freedom, but also on the international friends who stood with them when the struggle against colonialism and apartheid was at its most dangerous.Among those friends, Cuba stands apart. Thousands of kilometres separated Havana from Windhoek. Yet Cuba understood that the oppression of Africans in southern Africa was not merely a regional problem. Hence, they acted.Their soldiers fought alongside Angolan and Namibian forces in the Angolan war, culminating in the decisive confrontation at Cuito Cuanavale in 1987–1988. The battle became a major turning point in the regional conflict and contributed to the negotiations that eventually paved the way for Namibia’s independence.For Namibia, this was not an abstract act of solidarity. Cuban soldiers died. They left their families behind and travelled to a continent they had never known, prepared to confront one of the most powerful military forces in Africa.That sacrifice deserves to be remembered with the same seriousness with which we remember our own fallen heroes.True, generations of Namibians endured imprisonment, torture, exile, military attacks, displacement and death. The fighters of PLAN carried the armed struggle, while political leaders, activists, churches, students, workers and ordinary citizens sustained the broader resistance.But Namibia's friendship with Cuba was forged before there were oil discoveries, green hydrogen projects or large investment deals to discuss.Cuba stood with Namibia when there was little material benefit to be gained. That is a powerful lesson in an increasingly transactional world.

EDITORIAL: Thank you, Cuba!

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Namibian Sun 2026-08-17

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EDITORIAL: Thank you, Cuba!

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Namibian Sun 2026-08-17

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