Latest update January 1st, 2025 1:00 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

The Cubana tragedy

Oct 05, 2009 Editorial

Tomorrow marks the thirty-third anniversary of the Cubana Disaster, that event that saw the death of some young Guyanese heading to Cuba to pursue studies in areas to benefit the country. A diplomat also died. She was returning to join her husband as did a child who would have been in her mid 40s had she lived.
The date of their death was October 6, 1976. It was a Wednesday.
The vast majority of those who died were Cubans heading home. There were also some North Koreans who were members of a fencing team returning home. Four Men who were anti-Castro placed a bomb on a plane that happened to be carrying harmless people. Their hate for Fidel Castro knew no bounds. They were hell bent on hurting Cuba that they did not care who else they hurt. In the process they hurt Guyana and North Korea.
They were Venezuelans and to this day they have managed to escape justice either by escaping from prison or by seeking sanctuary in the United States.
From Guyana’s point of view, this incident seems to have been all but forgotten. No longer does the government pay tribute to those dead Guyanese by even remembering them when October 6 comes around.
Barbados shirked the responsibility to try the perpetrators after they were arrested in Trinidad, having caught a flight out of Barbados as they tried to put as much distance between themselves and the aircraft they blew up.
The records would show that Barbados claimed that the aircraft came down outside the three-mile territorial limit that Barbados had at the time. A few years later, though, Barbados extended that territorial limit to twelve miles.
All that is in the past. To the credit of that country, it has erected a monument to the memory of those who died on that aircraft and every year there is a ceremony at that monument. This year is no different.
In the aftermath of that disaster, Guyanese would gather at the 1763 Monument for a ceremony. History will record that Guyana argued that since the men killed Guyanese, this country should have tried them. That request was denied.
Cuba could not get them because the western world, particularly the United States claimed that the men would not have got a fair trial. In the end, all the countries affected agreed that the men should be tried in Venezuela since they were Venezuelans.
Come Tuesday, the Cuban Embassy in Guyana would be hosting a ceremony and the Ambassador has invited Guyana to be a part. It should have been the other way around. Guyana should have been hosting the ceremony and inviting Cuba.
We will not attempt to assume how the Cubans view us whenever October 6 comes around. Suffice it to say that when we tried to establish a monument to the Cubana victims, the Government intervened and stopped the construction. The argument was that its location was such that it would have caused a traffic accident.
The government then announced that it would build a monument in the compound of the University of Guyana. That is still to happen. Perhaps the construction is not on the list of priorities as it has been in Barbados and Cuba.
The relatives of the Guyanese victims are still grieving after all those years and they are being asked to grieve alone although their children and cousins and brothers and sisters were going about their business in the interest of Guyana. The nation appears to have forgotten them.
We do not think that it has anything to do with the era in which the young Guyanese lost their lives. What is amazing is that each year, come November the nation remembers those who died, some  more than sixty years ago and others more than ninety years ago, fighting in what is being called the World Wars.
The thirteen young Guyanese might not have died fighting but they did die in a war in which one group wanted to impose its ideological beliefs on another. It is time the government makes a conscious effort to remember these Guyanese. It remembers five people who died on the sugar estates in 1948. Each year there are pilgrimages to the grave site and a programme at a monument established to their memory.
Are the Cubana victims any different? Were they lesser mortals?

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Keevin Allicock – the next torchbearer for Guyanese professional boxing

Keevin Allicock – the next torchbearer for Guyanese professional...

Dec 31, 2024

By Rawle Toney Kaieteur Sports- In the rich tapestry of Guyanese sports, few names shine as brightly as Keevin Allicock. A prodigious talent with the rare blend of skill, charisma, and grit, Allicock...
Read More
Guyana Harpy Eagles begin Fitness Preparation for 2025 CWI Regional Four-Day Tournament

Guyana Harpy Eagles begin Fitness Preparation for...

Dec 31, 2024

The business end has arrived, a place in the final is at stake tomorrow night

The business end has arrived, a place in the...

Dec 31, 2024

Thirteen-year-old benefits from Project “Cricket Gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana”

Thirteen-year-old benefits from Project...

Dec 31, 2024

Milerock stop Winners Connection 9-3 behind Drakes 5 goal spree, Botafago humble Capital Fc 8-3

Milerock stop Winners Connection 9-3 behind...

Dec 31, 2024

Dharry reigns supreme with second-round KO against Ramirez

Dharry reigns supreme with second-round KO...

Dec 30, 2024

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]