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| Friday, 16 January 2004 |
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Che's controversial diary in Sinhala Ernesto Che Guevara Malini Govinnage's Bolivianu Dinapotha is the authentic Sinhala translation of The Bolivian Diary of Ernesto Che Guevara. The first English langauge edition of The Bolivian Diary was published on July 2, 1968 in the United States of America. It was later released as a paperback edition in Britain. The current edition is based on the Bolivian Diary translated by Michael Taber and Michael Baumann. It contains materials not available in any of the previous editions, in any langauge. The history of Che Guevara's Bolivian Diary is itself a political saga. Che used to carry it in his knapsack. However, the notes made in the diary were not meant for publication. As Fidel Castro says, they served only as a constant evaluation of events, situations, and men. They also served as an outlet for the expression of his keenly observant and analytical spirit, often laced with humour. Che was born in Argentina on June 14, 1928. After graduating from medical school in 1953 he set off to travel the Americas. While living in Gautamala he got involved in a political struggle supporting the elected government of Jacob Arbenz. Later he went to Mexico to join Fidel Castro and other revolutionaries of the July 26 Movement that finally ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista. Cuban Revolution When he landed in Cuba in 1956 to take part in the Cuban Revolution, Che was a troop doctor. However, he soon became a commander of the Rebel Army. Following the fall of Batista's regime, on January 1, 1959, Che became a central figure in the newly set up workers' and farmers' government. He held a number of key posts and frequently represented Cuba at the United Nations. Che Guevara was also instrumental in founding the Communit Party in October 1965. Instead of enjoying a plum job in government Che resigned from his numerous posts and left Cuba in the same year and returned to South America to take part in anti-imperialist struggles. Later he went to Congo (now Zaire) to support the revolution launched by Patrice Lumumba. In 1967 he led a guerrilla movement against the miliary dictatorship in Bolivia. The Bolvian Diary offers an insight into his practical activities, leadership qualities and strategies. The diary also holds a mirror to his outstanding qualities as a leader. Here are some entries made in the diary: November 16, 1966 The tunnel was finished and camouflaged; the only task remaining is to disguise the path... March 7, 1967 Four months. The men are becoming more and more discouraged, seeing the end of the provisions but not of the journey. March 28, 1967 The air waves continue to be saturated with news about the guerrillas. According to the reports, we are surrounded by 2,000 men... Capture The Bolivian army captured Che Guevara and put him to death on October 9, 1967. The authorities soon recovered his diary and a copy of it was rushed to Washington. The military regime in Bolivia used certain entries in the diary to justify widespread arrests and also to discredit the Cuban Revolution. Realizing the diary could be a money spinner, Bolvian dictators decided to sell the copyrights to the United States and French publishers. This they did without any respect for Che's widow, Aleida March, who had the copyrights. Meanwhile, microfilms of the diary were made available to Cuban authorities who decided to translate and publish it in eight different editions. In fact, copies of the diary were issued free to the Cuban people in 1968. However the Bolivian government quickly condemned it as "a factitious diary, falsified and conveniently presented". Malini Govinnage's translation of the Bolivian Diary records one important chapter in Che Guevara's life. The book vividly brings to life his sole aim to advance the fight of workers against imperialism. - R. S. Karunaratne ************** Novel with an indigenous imprint Kicking around Love Grass We have quite a good number of excellent English writers, some having established themselves as international novelists of repute. While most of them by now have very little to do with their homeland Sri Lanka, there are others like Punyakanthie Wijenaike and Carl Muller, who are essentially Sri Lankans. Their creative contributions pick themes from the Sri Lankan society and often move around family based relationships looked upon through an urban middle class lens. The novel "Kicking around Love Grass" by Kusal Perera stands out differently within that context. In that it tries to dissect another world in our midst and thus compelled this short exercise of reviewing it. This novel is written in three parts, each part introduced by a short but powerful and symbolised poem, with a prologue and an epilogue linking up the conclusion of the story. This covers a period of over 60 years of our recent history. The re-telling of this history is unique in that it unfolds the unwritten history of the untold lives of those people, whose lives never mattered in a nation's history. |
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