The author of the Arabic-language book from which this excerpt has been translated, Ahmed Sa‘id (1925-2018), was from 1953 until the wake of the 1967 Six-Day War the inaugural director and main announcer of the Cairo-based Arab nationalist Sawt al-‘Arab. This radio was a crucial public relations instrumentfor the post-revolutionary Egyptian government and the by far most popular station in the Arab world in the 1950s-60s. Consequently, Sa‘id was a household name to Arabs.

While most Arabic books on non-Arab decolonization movements and, related, anti-imperialistmovements in the 1950s and 1960s concerned African states, there was much interest in other countries, too. One was Cuba, where a revolution that had started in 1953 succeeded on January 1, 1959. For realpolitik reasons Cuba early on became a Soviet ally, and eventually in the 1960s turned communist, though it continued to pursue a rather fiercely independent foreign policy including armed engagements in Africa, as Piero Gleijeses’ Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 (2003) showed. Egypt, on the other hand, repressed its domestic communists, though entertaining considerable ties with the USSR and defining itself as a socialist state. Thus, when Sa‘id accepted a Cuban invitation to attend the revolution’s second anniversary celebration, it was not leftism that attracted him most. Rather, he in this book depicted Cubans as fellow fighters in a continuous revolution against US-led imperialism, a political battle superseding any cultural or linguistic differences.

Mao and Pita Rodríguez discuss various topics such as the need to reform intellectuals and continue the fight against American imperialism in their respective countries. They also discuss the then recent assassination of US President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

Mao extends deep sympathy and support to people struggling against imperialism in Arab and African countries. This report was originally published in the People's Daily on April 29, 1961.

Mao expresses support for the Cuban struggle against American imperialism.

Mao congratulates the visitors from Iraq on their successful July 14 revolution. While expressing support for the ongoing anti-colonialist struggles in Iraq, Iran, and Cyprus, he discusses a variety of topics, including American aggression, Taiwan, Cuba, and the eventual downfall of imperialism.

Mao describes the history of Western imperialism in China and discusses ways that people around the world are opposing imperialism. He pledges to support the anti-imperialist struggle in Africa and calls for unity. (Note: in this 1968 edition, the names of a Cuban national hero and his younger brother [presumably Fidel and Raul Castro] are redacted.)

Guevara discusses the US intention to implement an economic blockade of Cuba in the OAS after the Quito conference as well as the possibility of the US implementing a naval blockade of the island. He argues that other Latin American governments must fight American imperialism.

Fidel Castro speaks about Cuba's domestic situation since the revolution, plans for holding a Popular General Assembly in Havana in September, and his attitude toward the OAS and American imperialism.

The Cuban Foreign Minister addressed the following issues in a talk: Cuban-Uruguay relations, Cuban-Mexican relations, Asian-African-Western European relations, Cuban-Soviet-US negotiations in UN, anti-imperialism and anti-revisionism, and the Cuban Embassy's work in China.

Bulgarian Ambassador to Cuba Stefan Petrov analyzes Cuba’s domestic and foreign policies in an informational report to Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov. Petrov criticizes Cuban Communist Party policies and claims they are incompatible with Marxism-Leninism (e.g. Cuba’s focus on conflict between imperialism and national liberation rather than socialism and capitalism). Cuba has adopted an anti-Soviet attitude and believes Cuban leadership is the vanguard of communism. Petrov reviews Cuba’s conflicting relations with Latin American communist parties and Cuba's support to guerilla movements in the region. Petrov notes that Bulgarian-Cuban relations remain positive.