Lech Walesa, former President of Poland

The history of mankind in a former epoch is a history of wars, changing borders, and putting up walls.  Whole nations were disappearing; it was a fight for survival, for domination and for this reason, in such circumstances, such actions were profitable.  Along with the collapse of this epoch, the fall of communism, and the development of civilization, we have created a new epoch. Our generation has created an epoch of intellect, information, the Internet and globalization.  None of the generations, on a global scale, had such a chance as we had.  Obviously, not everyone has completed that epoch.  Our meeting is heading in this direction to help some of those who are stuck in the past in order to come into a new epoch.  Some nations can not stay behind in the worst station of civilization.  However, some questions arise:  How should an economic system look like? How should a political system look like?  Some propose to base it all on the principles of freedom and lack of excessive regulation, others say ''no''; globalization will not remain without values. So how to determine these values?

I hope that by talking about Cuba, but not the idea of imposing anything or to expose ourselves to an accusation that we encouraged the Cuban nation to a revolution, to fights, and that leading them out onto the streets, we ordered them to start shooting.  It is necessary rather to talk about a global prospective in which Cuba also needs. In my opinion, it is impossible to solve the many problems of the world when Cuba will not be present in the international community.  We should all participate jointly in the process of globalization.

For many years, I have been interested in Cuban affairs.  And I have to say immodestly and in  a contradictory manner that if I had lived in Cuba, a revolution would have been over and done with.  Another system would have been here a long ago. Why? Because we have somewhat different experiences here in Poland. We always find solutions. And they are also there, but we should fight in a different way.  That is why, nowadays, Cuba needs us as we need Cuba.  Such a way of thinking is needed in this struggle.  Where ever one country does not develop, it restrains our solutions and our opportunities.  If anyone blocks the way, it means that he or she blocks everyone - the whole world.  We only have to talk to Cuba and about Cuba, but through globalization - through challenges and hopes of this epoch.  As I had said earlier, ladies and gentlemen, not any generation has had this kind of chance so far. Our generation has the opportunity for peace, tranquility, and growth.  As an experienced revolutionist, I am convinced that everything that we have dealt with to the end of the 20^th century, in relation to structural and political programs, suited the reality of the old epoch and those needs. During the epoch of political divisions, blocks, and systems, it all worked fairly efficiently, but in the present epoch, it has to be changed. Briefly speaking, nowadays, the world needs a large desert and Moses to lead humanity through the desert, because the generation who thought in an old manner has died out; they can see the new epoch, but do everything as if still remaining in the old epoch. We still think in terms of the past. That is why I am faced with a question, again as a revolutionist, whether we have to learn any lesson like communism or Solidarity, only until then to come into the epoch of globalization, or are there enough previous experiences to start building it.  A lot depends on us. 

Translation from Polish: Dana Szypcio