-DATE-
19720610
-YEAR-
1972
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
SPEECH
-AUTHOR-
F. CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
OPENING-FRANK PAIS SCHOOL
-PLACE-
NOWA HUTA, KRADOW
-SOURCE-
WARSAW PRELA
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19720613
-TEXT-
At Krakow Grade School

Warsaw PRELA in Spanish to PRELA Havana 2143 GMT 10 Jun 72 C--FOR OFFICIAL
USE ONLY

[Speech by Maj Fidel Castro, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba
and prime minister of the Revolutionary Government, at the opening of the
Frank Pais School in Nowa Huta, Krakow, on 9 June]

[Text] Dear comrades of the party and Krakow officials, dear professors,
dear parents of the children, dear little friends of the Frank Pais school:

We have all experienced great emotion this morning to be here with you, to
watch the unveiling of the plaque bearing the name of Frank Pais, to visit
the classrooms and to see how you have worked, have written and have
painted pictures whereby you have tried to express you idea of Cuba. I am
not going to to much explaining because you have much imagination and with
the help of books and photographs you will progressively come to know what
Cuba is like.

We are especially moved by the honor of your having chosen the name of
Frank Pais for your school. He had been studying to be a professor when the
struggle began. He was a good student. He was like you, as you are today.
He passed all the subjects, all the grades. He worked in the school and
later, before completing his training as a teacher--by this time he was in
college--the revolution began. Frank Pais possessed those qualities which
have been mentioned here: He was a studious youth, he was very brave,
well-disciplined and very revolutionary; he devoted himself fully to the
revolution and served it in an extraordinary way. He was the leader of the
revolutionary organization in Santiago de Cuba, Oriente and nationally. He
used to help the guerrilla fighters.

The last we saw of Comrade Frank Pais was during a visit he made to us in
the mountains. He returned to the city where he continued with his
revolutionary work. He was much persecuted. A search was out for him daily.
One day he was discovered, identified and killed. He was very young. He
would have been able to achieve and create many things, but, unfortunately,
he died very young. Our people remember him and love him very much. Today
many mass organizations and teachers brigades bear his name--many schools,
as we have said here. This is why our people are highly honored and are
deeply moved by the fact that him name has also been given to a school here
in Krakow.

But we must also bear in mind that this school is located here in the Nowa
Huta workers' area, where the workers of the Lenin metallurgical combine
and the workers of many other new industries live. In other words, this
school is located in a proletarian section, in a revolutionary section of
Krakow.

We are very grateful for this gesture and we hope the children of the
school will be examples of good students and of good revolutionaries. We
hope the children of this school will keep in touch with children of Cuban
schools, that you will write to them and send them news of this school, of
the combine, news of Krakow and photographs, and that they will send you
news from Cuba, news about the Cuban children and news of their revolution.
I hope that one day you will send a delegation to Cuba.

On entering the classrooms this morning we were greeted by several children
who told us that they were representing the school. We could see that they
were intelligent, studious and well-educated children You have many among
whom to choose when you decide to send a delegation to Cuba, and maybe one
day you will receive the visit of a delegation of Cuban children.
[applause]

Much attention is paid to education in our country. Much attention is given
to the children and to schools. When the revolution triumphed many children
were without teachers, many children were without school. Today all the
children have schools, all the children have teachers. Of course, not all
of our teachers have vast experience. Many of our teachers have not been
able to graduate from school; but now we have an extensive teachers
training program that will train tens and tens of Cuban youths--and may
Cuban children are planning to become teachers themselves. Many schools are
being built in Cuba. We have an extensive program of school construction.
They are very pretty prefabricated schools. We are building grade schools
and high schools. When you delegation visits Cuba it will most likely visit
some of these schools and will be able to bring back photographs to your
comrades.

The comrades who spoke before me said that the children would do their best
to honor the name of Frank Pais, but we must say that our people and our
youth will strive, will study and will work toward carrying forward the
revolution, to construct socialism to construct communism, to help other
peoples. In this way we will be fulfilling our duty toward you and we will
deserve the honor which you have bestowed on our country by naming your
school after Frank Pais.

This ceremony is an example, a beautiful example, of solidarity among
peoples, a beautiful example of international solidarity. In Cuba we will
also honor the memory of Polish heroes in our schools, and in this way we
shall be exchanging experiences, knowledge and news, and we will be
developing friendship. And in the future when you shall have become adults
and the Cuban children also shall have become adults tomorrow, you
relations and relations between Cuba and Poland will be increasingly more
firm, increasingly stronger.

Long live friendship between the children of Cuba and the children of
Poland! [applause]
-END-