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AN ENORMOUS RALLY has been held in Cuba’s capital, Havana, in honour of the country’s former leader Fidel Castro who died last weekend.
Leftist Latin American leaders in attendance have vowed to carry the torch of Castro’s revolution in honour of the late Cuban communist icon.
Hundreds of thousands of people packed the capital’s Revolution Square, chanting “I am Fidel!” across the vast esplanade where Castro gave many of his legendary, marathon speeches.
A giant picture of a young, bearded Castro in his guerrilla uniform and rifle hung on the National Library as his brother and successor, Raul Castro, waved at the crowd.
It was the end of two days of tributes in Havana, before Fidel’s ashes are taken on a four-day-long procession across the country later today.
One after the other, Latin American, African and Caribbean leaders – along with Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tsipras, the only European leader at the event – lionised the communist leader.
Ireland’s ambassador to Mexico, Sonja Hyland, attended the event as a diplomatic representative, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.
While Ireland has no embassy in Cuba, the Mexican ambassador doubles as Irish representative there via secondary diplomatic accreditation.
“Mission accomplished, comandante Fidel Castro,” said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose late mentor, Hugo Chavez, had a special bond with Castro.
Today it is up to us to raise the flags of independence of the great fatherland, today it is up to us to hold the flag of dignity and freedom of the people.
Maduro declared that Castro was “totally absolved by history”, in reference to the Cuban leader’s famous phrase “history will absolve me” at a trial following a failed uprising in 1953.
Ecuador’s leftist President Rafael Correa praised Castro’s ideology, telling the crowd: “We will keep fighting for these ideas. We swear!”
Leaders praised Castro in almost religious tones, with Bolivian President Evo Morales saying: “Fidel is not dead… Fidel is more alive than ever, more necessary than ever.”
Raul Castro, 85, spoke last at the rally, expressing thanks for the “countless gestures of solidarity and affection from around the world” and ending with the revolutionary battle cry: “Until victory, always!”
Castro’s death, however, comes as Latin America’s left is losing ground.
Maduro is facing a deep economic crisis and fighting opposition attempts to hold a recall referendum, while Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff was impeached in August and a conservative took over in Argentina last year.
Castro – who ruled from 1959 until illness forced him to hand power to his brother Raul in 2006 – died last Friday at the age of 90.
South African President Jacob Zuma hailed Castro as “one of the great heroes of the 20th century”, citing his opposition to apartheid and his deployment of Cuban troops to back Angola’s government against rebels in 1975.
Washington’s ‘significant concerns’
But several world leaders shunned the tribute, highlighting the divisive legacy of the major Cold War player.
The leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Spain and Canada dispatched others in their place, but even the presidents of friendly nations such as Russia, China and Iran sent deputies.
Castro spent decades feuding with the United States, brought the world to the brink of nuclear war during the 1962 missile crisis, backed guerrilla movements in Latin America and deployed his army to conflicts in Africa.
US President Barack Obama, who along with Raul Castro ended decades of enmity to restore diplomatic relations earlier this year, did not attend. A senior advisor and the top US diplomat in Cuba were designated, but without the status of a “presidential delegation”.
“We continue to have some significant concerns about the way the Cuban government currently operates, particularly with regard to protecting the basic human rights of the Cuban people,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
‘Caravan of freedom’
The rally followed two days during which Cubans, encouraged by the government, streamed past a picture of Castro inside the city square’s towering monument to 19th century independence hero Jose Marti.
“Fidel would be proud to see the square overflowing like this, especially with young people,” said 46-year-old teacher Tatiana Gonzalez.
Cubans were also urged to sign an oath of loyalty to Castro’s revolution in books placed in schools and other public buildings.
The urn holding Castro’s ashes will now be taken on a “caravan of freedom” across the country, retracing the route his guerrilla movement took to celebrate the toppling of dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959.
The commemorations are to end on Sunday, when the urn is laid to rest in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, where Marti is buried.
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Taking tips off the staff would be a low thing to do and would not promote good service ,the tip is for a service that the customer feels is due to the receipen not for the employer
@FlopFlipU: Tips given generally for all staff including in the kitchen I would have thought. If you include the tip on a card staff don’t get tip for a while until worked out by book keepers. Tip as cash gets to staff faster.
@Gillian Scully: you know this for sure what about the presentage supplied what does the chef get as opposed to the waiter get ,it needs to be trashed out in my opinion ,
@FlopFlipU: no would bes..it happens all the time
@Gillian Scully: I would generally reserve it for the server…but this can depend on the size of the premises. Small places, generally a tip jar for all and in larger establishments the person who has served me.
the management and owners deserve a share of the tips also.
@frank murphy: No they dont…….
@FlopFlipU: The tips are intended for the waitress at least that is what I thought..As regards the chef he is been better paid than the waitress so in future a waitress should have some kind of bag or purse to keep the tips intended for them..If employers paid a proper wage to the waitress there would be no need to tip..But a waitress who gives good service to the customer deserves a tip
I am delighted to see this legislation, I tipped a young girl in a restaurant in Trim , she was so pleasant and even advised us of places of interest, but she told us that she would only be allowed to keep two euro per hour tip as the employer kept the balance of all tips and she was required to hand in her tips to the head barman, for her four hour shift, she was handed eight euro in tips , I was astonished that any employer would withhold tips from staff, I always assumed employers would have no right to such gratuities, this is a greedy practice and this legislation will put manners on employers who dip into their staffs tips.
@Honeybee: name and shame.
@Honeybee: that waitress sure did spend a lot of time talking to you ..
@Honeybee: that is horrible. The tip is from the customer and they make the decision to give it directly to the one person for their great services…I’d be fuming to think the employer took the tips and decided how they were divided out. If an establishment is small and there’s a tip jar and many hands made my night special I would like them all to receive a % of the tip. But if i directly hand it to a server for their good work, then it’s theirs.
I worked in this industry the tips were great. But why do we have tips. Was in Dunnes the other day the young girl working went our of her way to find a product for us. Tips should be across the board were people go beyond their duties.
@: __ Perhaps you should have given her a tip?
Hardly ever tip..food and already overpriced as it is.
That on top of the fact servers are earning at the very least minimum wage anyways.
@Leroy: hope you like eating boogers and cum
@Leroy: __ It’s a good job we’re not all skinflints.
@Fergus Sheahan: __ He probably would eat those rare delicacies, as long as they weren’t overpriced.
@Leroy: yea, someone on minimum wage, possibly second job/part time to make ends meet, prices aren’t the servers fault. If you can afford to eat out you can afford a small gratuity for someone you feel deserves it. Miserable attitude.
@Leroy: So you’re a tosser then? Could’ve just said that.
@Leroy: wow Leroy, your generosity knows no bounds
Tips are so important to the people in that industry….not sure why we decide to pick and choose who we deem worthy of a tip though…I tipped some young lad who brought down my Mc Donald’s meal to my table for me and the kids…look of gratitude on his face was worth the 2 quid.
Fair play, Bill.
Not doing this out of the goodness of there hearts. The revenue has been trying get there hands on cash tips for years
Government is a bit two faced here. Staff working in what is considered to be a tipping zone have their tax free allowance cut to take account of the possibility of extra income.
This is bull.
Must I tip now when I dine out in Ireland?
The whole point of the tip culture originates from a country with low minimum wage attributes, and no sick leave/holiday pay or any other kind of niceness.
The country is the USA.
I won’t be tipping you for doing your job in Ireland. A job which has benefits that are more than are afforded to me.
@Oliver McLoughlin: No, you need not tip, leave that to decent and generous people.
Who does this Bill think he is?
good
YES employers should not withold tips.. but WTF does this have to be regulated, oh I guess its to trumpet in the wonderful new leader of SF.
In some places its completely necessary for the employer to have dibs on the tips – there may be policies that tips are shared to kitchen staff or others, or it funds staff voluntary perks. Upset that balance and staff morale could be a mess… Or what do you do when the owner is a member of staff. Is he not allowed to have a part of the tip, what if the owners wife or son is …
There are so many tipping policies possible and now SF want busy bodies enforcing it..
Twould be easier if someone like tripadvisor had a seal/icon to say ‘staff-friendly-tips’ or ‘staff-shared-tips’ or no tipping.
Would SF every go back to laundering diesel properly…
Service charges should be outlawed , the price quoted should be the price to be paid.
Staff should be paid proper rates of pay ,which is included in what you are buying so no need for tipping .
Sinn Fein are trying to get on Pension gravy train .
Three Years for a Pension for Life. Is a great temptation ,ridiculous and should be brought to an end .
Those People with a Ministers pension in their pocket are the same people saying a Civil Servant pension after 40 / 45
Years is too generous ???.
Moons ago when waitressing, we all had set tables to wait, yet had to hand over all tips after each table left, which was than divided out to all staff which was cruel but kind as than everyone was included, but boss kept big portion for himself. In current Job not allowed except gifts/tips exception Christmas and everything pooled and raffelled out, We have to inform boss and ask permission to accept anything, it’s to prevent conflict of interest.
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