FORTY-three years ago, Sabrina Harrypaul, Eric Norton, Ann Nelson, Raymond Persaud, Margaret Bradshaw, Gordon M. Sobha, Rawle Thomas, Rita Thomas, Violet Thomas, Jacqueline Williams and Seshnarine Kumar were among 73 who perished when Cubana Flight-455 was bombed and crashed off the shores of Barbados. This incident occurred at the height of the Cold War that saw efforts to influence alignment to, and support for, the Western or Eastern bloc.

Guyana distinguished herself during this period by embracing the Non-Aligned Movement and policies, which allowed for the pursuing of national interest on the international stage independent of having to side with either bloc, though working with both in pursuit of our development agenda and making the world a better place.

The non-aligned principles allowed Guyana to play a leading role in the fight against Apartheid in South Africa, a system the Western powers gave support to because those African governments supported that bloc. As the Fidel Castro government provided military support in the fight against the apartheid system, Guyana made available its airport for planes to stop and refuel on their journey to and from Africa. While the West was distrustful of Cuba’s communist

government, which had come to power through a revolution that ousted the United States (U.S.)-supported Fulgencio Batista government, isolated the country and repeatedly accused its government of violating human rights, they embraced Southern African governments that practised Apartheid and denied the masses their fundamental rights and freedoms as a matter of law.

Guyana, over the years, has shared close relations with Cuba, which was informed by our non-aligned policy. This relationship, more than any other, has resulted in scholarships for Guyanese in the field of medicine, veterinary science, engineering, pharmacology, agriculture and other technical areas. Such support contributed significantly to improving the intellectual capacity of the nation’s human capital to pursue our national developmental goals. The bombing of Flight 455 was an act of terrorism not unlike attacks the U.S. suffered on September 11, 2001. The fact that a few exiled Cubans who despised the Castro government had the support of the Venezuela Secret Police to commit a cowardly act was designed to send a message.

Undoubtedly, the message to Cuba, Guyana and other Caribbean allies was a clear warning that there are forces prepared to destroy you rather than talk with you if they dislike your politics, influence and relations. In that era, the superpowers and their allies were jostling for world dominance. Cuba, being in the West’s backyard and reaching into the Caribbean and on the African continent, presented a geopolitical threat to one bloc, and empowerment to the other.

That threat, seen through the lens of the superpower in either bloc, led to acts of violating others, including invading countries on the justification of crushing or spreading an ideology. In this environment, newly independent small-state societies found it complex and problematic pursuing political, economic, social and cultural self-determination, having to navigate a bipolar politics that placed greater importance on alignment.

The support and protection offered to the terrorists by Venezuela, and the fact that the U.S. intelligence agency, though possessing knowledge of the plan well in advance of the attack, did not share the information with the Cuban Government, speaks volumes of the nature of the politics at the time.

During this period, U.S. and Cuba relations were hostile; the U.S. had severed diplomatic relations, imposed a trade embargo, and restricted its citizens from travelling to the country.

In revisiting Venezuela’s role, it would be recalled that in 1962, that country had made known to the United Nations that it no longer accepted the 1899 Tribunal Award that settled the Venezuela border dispute with Great Britain. Though Guyana is being seen as a nation not befitting its full sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the controversy remains a factor in relations between the two countries, ours has always been the quest for peaceful resolution.

Forty-three years hence, though the Cold War is considered over, acts of terrorism have grown more complex, and continue to wreak havoc around the world. In reflecting on those who were never allowed to live out their dreams and give of their contributions to the society’s development, it becomes more important to work harder to secure worldwide comity. October 6, 1976 should be integrated into the education curriculum, serving not only as knowledge, but more so being seen as important to the continued quest for global justice and not cower in the face of adversity. Where the misplaced belief is held that someone has the right to determine for the other, and there exists intolerance for the views and values of another, work remains to be done. Consequently, the 11 Guyanese that perished must not be seen as a marker in our history, but as the raison d’être for leading motivation to overcome.