Remembering Che

Yesterday was the birthday of one of the greatest revolutionaries of the 20th century. Ernesto Che Guevara turned away from the comforts offered by life as medical doctor. Instead, he chose the life of an insurgent and joined the revolutionary movement in Cuba. After a tortuous guerrilla war that overthrew the US-backed dictatorship of Batista, he became the finance minister of Cuba and helped rebuild the country. Having secured stability in the country, he left for other countries to join the anti-imperialist struggle for peasants, workers, students and intellectuals. After a brief stint in Congo, he fought in Bolivia, where he was captured by Bolivian forces and extra-judicially executed by the CIA.

Che’s appeal comes from his decision to forego fame and power and look for zones where the excluded and the forgotten lived. His decision to stake his life and confront nothing less than the greatest superpower on earth confirmed that he had conquered the final horizon exploited by power ie the fear of death. 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