Huron Expositor, 2016-12-07, Page 44 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, December 7, 2016
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Canaa'a
Meeting Fidel Castro as a journalist
Allan Thompson
Guest Columnist
Imet Fidel Castro twice while
I was a reporter with the
Toronto Star, one of those
rare privileges that a career in
journalism affords.
The first occasion was at the
Havana airport in 1998, after
Castro welcomed then Prime
Minister Jean Chretien on a state
visit to Cuba. The second time
was when Castro attended
Pierre Trudeau's funeral in
Montreal on a grey October day
in 2000.
On both occasions, I felt
myself to be in the presence of
history, at a loss for words. And
as both meetings occurred in
the days before selfies, I have
only my clippings from the
Toronto Star as a record of the
encounters.
In 1998, Castro was still at the
peak of his form and welcomed
Chretien to Cuba with a long,
fiery speech during the airport
arrival ceremony. When the for-
malities were over, Castro spon-
taneously announced to Chre-
tien that he wanted to take him
for a walk through a new airport
terminal building that was just
about to open. As this detour
was not on the agenda, the
media handlers insisted that
journalists weren't allowed and
should head to the hotel.
But I was determined to stay
close to Chretien and Castro for
as long as possible, to hear what
I could of their un -scripted
exchange. As the rest of the
press corps headed for the
media bus, I just stood next to
Chretien, then began to move
along with him and Castro as
they headed for their walking
tour.
Within moments, it dawned
on me that the security guards
were confused. The Canadian
security detail must have
thought I was Cuban and the
Cubans perhaps assumed that
with my dark suit and short hair-
cut, I was one of the Mounties
protecting Chretien. So both
sides let me tag along.
That's how I ended up alone
for nearly half an hour with Cas-
tro, Chretien and Aline Chretien.
With Mrs. Chretien translating
(she spoke Spanish), the wily old
Cuban leader tried to engage
Chretien in political chatter, but
recognizing me as a member of
the press corps, Chretien was
having none of it, and kept try-
ing to change the subject.
"Mr. President, I've noticed
that the colour red is used a lot
here," Chretien said at one point,
gesturing to the rows of new
seats in the terminal building.
"It's the colour of my political
party," he said. Castro replied:
"Yes, after your visit here you
will be accused of being a
Communist."
Indeed, in some quarters, he
probably was. But like me,
The First Presbyterian
Church completed the Huron
Christmas Bureau
The church opened its doors from November 28 until December 2.
Here is a picture of all the gifts gathered in the charitable initiative.
Chretien clearly had a grudging
respect for Castro, the political
survivor, the nemesis of genera-
tions of American presidents
and a legendary figure in much
of the developing world.
The next time I saw the Cuban
leader it was in early October of
2000, when Canadians were
mourning the passing of Pierre
Trudeau and I was among a half
dozen Star reporters assigned to
cover the state funeral.
On the evening of Oct. 3,
when Trudeau's body was lying
in state in Montreal's old city
hall on the eve of the funeral,
Castro was among the mourners
who lined up to walk past the
casket and his arrival caused a
buzz.
The next day, my assignment
for The Star was to write about
the dignitaries and world lead-
ers who attended Trudeau's
funeral. From my vantage point
on the steps of Notre Dame, I
could see Castro towering above
most others in the crowd, as he
walked along beside former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter in his
first ever meeting with someone
who had held the office of U.S.
President.
In my story for The Star, I
reported that Castro, "by his
very presence turned Pierre
Trudeau's funeral into a rare
international event"
To the disappointment of the
media throng on the church
steps, Castro refused to speak on
his way into the church, instead
shushing us by putting his finger
up to his mouth. After the
funeral, during which he served
as an honorary pall bearer, Cas-
tro went straight to a limousine.
I knew that he would be headed
across old Montreal to the hotel
where the reception was being
held after the funeral. And with
security clogging traffic, I made
a snap decision that I could
probably run the six or seven
blocks to the hotel faster than
Castro's limo could get there.
I was right and arrived at the
hotel's back entrance - huffing
and puffing - just as the Cuban
leader's limousine pulled up.
When Castro emerged, I blocked
his path with my arm, thrust out
my tape recorder and asked him
for his reaction to the funeral
service.
He paused, just for a moment,
and said something in Spanish,
the only part of which I could
grasp was "simplemente mara-
villoso." Later I called my wife
Roula, who speaks Spanish, and
played her the quote so that she
could translate.
"I was very moved by the cer-
emony, it was simply marvel-
lous," Castro had said, before
entering the hotel to give his
condolences to the Trudeau
family.
I would guess that now, all
these years later, the Trudeau
family will be returning the
favour.
We are the champions
The Atom Rep
team brought
home a new
banner for
the Seaforth
arena from the
Silver Stick
tournament.
They played
hard to win the
Consolation
Championship
beating Minto
7-6 in the final
minutes of the
game.
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