• DOI:10.1177/0094582X05281111
• Corpus ID: 144553335

African Stalingrad

@article{Saney2006AfricanS,
  title={African Stalingrad},
  author={Isaac Saney},
  journal={Latin American Perspectives},
  year={2006},
  volume={33},
  pages={117 - 81}
}

• Isaac Saney
• Published 1 September 2006
• Political Science
• Latin American Perspectives

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Cuban Revolution continues to be the various internationalist missions it has sent to other countries. From the earliest years ofthe revolution, Cuba has sent thousands of doctors, teachers , and other personnel on humanitarian assignments to various countries (see, e.g., Erisman, 1991). In the mid-199Os, for example, Cuba had three times as many doctors as the World Health Organization serving abroad and providing free medical treatment (Castro, 1996: 30-31). The more than 25,000 Cuban volunteers working in Venezuela have made a crucial contribution to Venezuelan social development (see UNDP, 2004). In Haiti, despite the chaos that ensued in the wake of the overthrow of President Aristide, the 600 Cuban medical personnel there continued to provide health care to the most marginalized and impoverished communities. However, the most dramatic manifestation of Cuba's internationalism is little known in the West: the island's crucial role in securing the independence of Namibia and ending racist rule in South Africa. In the 1970s and especially the 198 Os, a mass international movement developed against racist rule in South Africa. As this period recedes in the popular consciousness, unresolved issues remain with regard to the forces and events that led to the demise of apartheid. A major lacuna in the literature is an adequate account of the impact of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale in southeastern Angola the decisive defeat of the South African armed forces by combined Cuban, Angolan, and Namibian troops in the largest battle in Africa since World War II. This dramatic confrontation occurred at a critical moment in the struggle, both internationally and within South Africa, against apartheid, and Cuba's contribution was vital in providing the essential reinforcements, material, and planning.