PARIS — Over the weekend of March 21-22, 174 books by and about African revolutionary leaders like Thomas Sankara and Amílcar Cabral, as well as Cuban leaders like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, were eagerly picked up at the Pathfinder booth at the fifth Paris African Bookfair. Over 400 authors and 150 publishers took part.
Youth, workers and other visitors who came by the table wanted to learn more about the record of Cuba’s internationalist missions in support of African liberation struggles, part of why the U.S. government is targeting the Cuban Revolution. The country of honor this year was Angola, where thousands of Cuban volunteer fighters helped defeat invasions by apartheid South Africa.
This interest was reflected by the 31 copies sold of Pathfinder’s newest title, Cuba and the Independence War in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde: The Fall of the Last Colonial Empire in Africa, by Cuban revolutionary leader Víctor Dreke.
A handful of passersby were also interested in learning more about the fight to build revolutionary working-class parties by the Communist Leagues in the U.K., Canada and Australia and the Socialist Workers Party in the U.S.
Antoine Akodogbo, a young forklift driver in a pharmaceutical plant, picked up a copy of The Communist Manifesto. “Our generation needs to think how we can change society, capitalism isn’t working,” he said. “We need to change what’s happening in the world, these wars don’t stop. I don’t know much about communism but I want to learn more.”
Akodogbo explained there are debates on the job over Washington’s war on Iran, but “most workers want to see peace.” Pathfinder volunteer Jacques Salfati explained that there are two different wars going on there. One is U.S. imperialism’s drive to expand its domination and plunder of the Middle East, another is Israel’s fight to defeat Tehran’s drive to eliminate Israel and the Jews. Akodogbo gave his contact information to stay in touch.
“Why is it always the Jews who are scapegoated?” asked Ina Kuhn, a young woman from Germany who subscribed to the Militant at the fair last year.
“It’s because of their history as a people-class of traders and moneylenders under feudalism that today they are at the center of conspiracy theories used to divert the struggle of working people to take political power with — if successful — devastating consequences for workers and Jews alike,” Pamela Holmes replied. Interested, Kuhn bought a copy of The Jewish Question by Abram Leon and said she wanted to keep in touch.
“I want to understand the roots of women’s oppression. I don’t like it that people in power use religious scripture to justify women’s oppression,” said Oumy Dieye, explaining why she bought a copy of Cosmetics, Fashion, and the Exploitation of Women. Opposed to the U.S. war against Iran, she also subscribed to the Militant.
Books by Thomas Sankara, leader of the 1983-87 revolution in Burkina Faso, were top sellers. This included 48 copies of Women’s Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle, 19 of Thomas Sankara Speaks and eight of We Are Heirs of the World’s Revolutions.
A total of six subscriptions to the Militant were sold.