I WOULD like to wish happy birthday to one of the greatest revolutionaries of the 20th century. Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara turned away from the comforts offered to a doctor and instead, he chose to join the revolutionary movement in Cuba with Fidel Castro.

They managed to overthrow Batista in 1959 and took control of the country. According to the BBC, Guevara was president of the national bank and then a minister. He travelled the world as an ambassador for Cuba as well.

“A strong opponent of the United States, he guided the Castro regime towards alignment with the Soviet Union. The Cuban economy faltered as a result of American trade sanctions and unsuccessful reforms. During this difficult time Guevara began to fall out with the other Cuban leaders. He later expressed his desire to spread revolution in other parts of the developing world, and in 1965 Castro announced that Guevara had left Cuba,” said the BBC.

The BBC added: “Guevara then spent several months in Africa, particularly the Congo, attempting to train rebel forces in guerrilla warfare. His efforts failed and in 1966 he secretly returned to Cuba. From Cuba he travelled to Bolivia to lead forces rebelling against the government of René Barrientos Ortuño. With US assistance, the Bolivian army captured Guevara and his remaining fighters. He was executed on October 9, 1967 in the Bolivian village of La Higuera and his body was buried in a secret location. In 1997 his remains were discovered, exhumed and returned to Cuba, where he was reburied.”

The romance with his persona stems from the breathtaking courage and incorruptibility that his life exemplified. He will always be a source of strength for us as someone who asserted the vitality and joy of life in the midst of unspeakable horror and death. And his smile will be an eternal source of fear and humiliation for those who think they can kill ideas through bullets. Che remains alive, young and undefeated.

Naveed Abbas Maitlo

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2019