Che Guevara's letter to his eldest daughter before being executed
"Now you have the privilege of living in another era and you must be worthy of it"
They say revolutionaries are born. One year before his execution in 1967, Che Guevara wrote this letter to his eldest daughter, Hildita.
What struck me about his letter was his unwavering belief in the revolution. He was not only willing to sacrifice his own life ; he was willing for his own children to fight for it. This wasn’t about putting a gun on someone else’s shoulder and say fire. His love as a father, his realisation that fighting and killing weren’t necessarily good things, and his devotion to his ideals as well as his family, shines through with palpable honesty in extremely lucid prose through this letter.And in doing so he leaves all of us with a simple realisation. We may not be famous in our daily lives, communities or workplaces. But if we want happiness in our lives, the one thing we need, is purpose.
“Dearest Hildita,
I am writing you now, although you’ll receive this letter much later. But I want you to know that I am thinking about you and I hope you’re having a very happy birthday. You are almost a woman now, and I cannot write to you the way I write to the little ones, telling them silly things or little fibs.
You must know that I am still far away and will be gone for quite some time, doing what I can to fight against our enemies. Not that it is a great thing, but I am doing something, and I think you will always be proud of your father, as I am of you.
Remember, there are many years of struggle ahead, and even when you are a woman, you will have to do your part in the struggle. Meanwhile, you have to prepare yourself, be very revolutionary-which at your age means to learn a lot, as much as possible, and always be ready to support just causes. Also, obey your mother and don’t think that you know it all too soon. That will come in time.
You should fight to be among the best in school. The best in every sense, and you already know what that means; study and revolutionary attitude. In other words: good conduct, seriousness, love for the revolution, comradeship, etc.
I was not that way at your age, but I lived in a different society, where man was an enemy of man. Now you have the privilege of living in another era and you must be worthy of it.
Don’t forget to go by the house to keep an eye on the other kids and advise them to study and behave themselves. Especially Aleldita, who pays a lot of attention to you as her older sister.
All right, old lady. Again I hope you are very happy on your birthday. Give a hug to your mother and to Gina. I give you a great big strong one to last as long as we don’t see each other.
Your Papa”
Source: link
About me:
I write to learn. More about me here. Follow @hackrlife on X