It was November 17th, 1939 when a group of young Czechoslovakians, determined to liberate their homeland from the Hitler’s yoke, carried out a heroic resistance in Prague. Several young were wounded during the confrontation against the fascist occupiers. Jan Opletal, a student at the Faculty of Medicine, was one of the victims. The news of his death became a call to intensify resistance.
On November 15, the day of the burial, the people took to the streets and held demonstrations at Prague’s universities and cities. The response of the nazis was brutal. Thousands of students were sent to a concentration camp. The news related to these events in Czechoslovakia quickly spread throughout the world. November 17 became a symbol that inspired the actions of students throughout the world against fascism and a day of proclamation of solidarity, freedom, democracy, social process and peace.
One of the countries that joins this commemoration every year is Cuba, member of the of the Students’ International Union and like other nations, performs different commemorative acts. When the International Students’ Day is celebrated every November 17, I always remember my school days, the challenges of each teaching and the love in each classroom. Being a student is a beautiful privilege on my island that with the passing of the years becomes a nostalgia for the old times and dreams.
