We Send Doctors, Not Soldiers
by Fidel Castro Ruz
In my Reflection of January 14, two days after the
catastrophe in
sister nation, I wrote: "In the area of healthcare and
others the Haitian people has received the cooperation
of
country. Approximately 400 doctors and healthcare
workers are helping the Haitian people free of charge.
Our doctors are working every day at 227 of the 237
communes of that country. On the other hand, no less
than 400 young Haitians have been graduated as medical
doctors in our country. They will now work alongside
the reinforcement that traveled there yesterday to save
lives in that critical situation. Thus, up to one
thousand doctors and healthcare personnel can be
mobilized without any special effort; and most are
already there willing to cooperate with any other State
that wishes to save Haitian lives and rehabilitate the
injured."
"The head of our medical brigade has informed that 'the
situation is difficult but we are already saving
lives.'"
The Cuban health professionals have started to work
nonstop, hour after hour, day and night, in the few
facilities that remain standing, in tents, and out in
the parks or open-air spaces, since the population
feared new aftershocks.
The situation was far more serious than was originally
thought. Tens of thousands of injured were clamoring
for help in the streets of
persons lay, dead or alive, under the rubble of clay or
adobe used in the construction of the houses where the
overwhelming majority of the population lived.
Buildings, even the most solid, collapsed. Besides, it
was necessary to track down, in the destroyed
neighborhoods, the Haitian doctors who had graduated
from the
them were affected, either directly or indirectly, by
the tragedy.
Some UN officials were trapped in their dormitories and
tens of lives were lost, including the lives of several
chiefs of MINUSTAH, a UN contingent. The fate of
hundreds of other members of its staff was unknown.
facilities, including several hospitals, were left in
ruins.
The catastrophe shocked the whole world, which was able
to see what was going on through the images aired by
the main international TV networks. Governments all
over the world announced they would be sending rescue
experts, food, medicines, equipment, and other
resources.
In accordance with the position publicly announced by
Spain, Mexico, and Colombia, among others -- worked
very hard alongside our doctors at the facilities they
had improvised. Organizations such as PAHO, friendly
countries like
medicines and other resources. The impeccable behavior
of Cuban professionals and their leaders, who chose to
remain out of the limelight, was absolutely void of
chauvinism.
Cuba, just as it had done under similar circumstances,
when Hurricane Katrina caused huge devastation in the
city of
American citizens were in danger, offered to send a
full medical brigade to cooperate with the people of
the
has vast resources. At that moment what was needed
were trained and well-equipped doctors to save lives.
Given
thousand doctors of the "Henry Reeve" contingent
mobilized and readied to leave for that city at any
time of the day or the night, carrying with them the
necessary medicines and equipment. It never crossed
our mind that the President of that nation would reject
the offer and let a number of Americans who could have
been saved die. The mistake made by that government
was perhaps due to the inability to understand that the
people of
enemy; they do not blame them for the aggressions our
homeland has suffered.
Nor was that government capable of understanding that
our country does not need to beg for favors or
forgiveness of those who, for half a century now, have
been trying, to no avail, to bring us to our knees.
Our country, also in the case of
responded to the US authorities' requests to fly over
the eastern part of
they needed to deliver assistance, as quickly as
possible, to the American and Haitian citizens who had
been affected by the earthquake.
Such have been the principles characterizing the
ethical behavior of our people. Together with its
impartiality and firmness, these have been the
ever-present features of our foreign policy. And this
is known only too well by whoever have been our
adversaries in the international arena.
that has taken place in
the Western hemisphere, is a challenge to the richest
and more powerful countries of the world.
Haiti is a net product of the colonial, capitalist, and
imperialist system imposed on the world.
slavery and subsequent poverty were imposed from
abroad. That terrible earthquake occurred after the
Copenhagen Summit, where the most elemental rights of
192 UN member States were trampled upon.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, a competition has been
unleashed in
and girls. UNICEF has been forced to adopt preventive
measures against the uprooting of many children that
will deprive their close relatives of their rights.
There are more than one hundred thousand dead victims.
A large number of citizens have lost their arms or
legs, or have suffered fractures requiring
rehabilitation that would enable them to work or manage
their lives on their own.
Eighty percent of the country needs to be rebuilt.
meet its needs according to its productive capacity.
The reconstruction of Europe or
on the productive capacity and the technical level of
the population, was a relatively simple task compared
to the effort that needs to be made in
as well as in most of
World, it is indispensable to create the conditions for
a sustainable development. In only forty years' time,
humanity will be made of more than nine billion
inhabitants, and it is faced right now with the
challenge of a climate change that scientists accept as
an inescapable reality.
In the midst of the Haitian tragedy, without anybody
knowing how and why, thousands of US marines, 82nd
Airborne Division troops, and other military forces
have occupied
neither the United Nations Organization nor the
government has offered an explanation to the world's
public opinion about this deployment of troops.
Several governments have complained that their aircraft
have not been allowed to land in order to deliver the
human and technical resources that have been sent to
Some countries, for their part, have announced they
would be sending an additional number of troops and
military equipment. In my view, such actions will
complicate and create chaos in international
cooperation, which is already in itself complex. It is
necessary to seriously discuss this issue. The UN
should be entrusted with the leading role it deserves
in these delicate matters.
Our country is accomplishing a strictly humanitarian
mission. To the extent that it is possible, it will
contribute the human and material resources at its
disposal. The will of our people, who take pride in
their medical doctors and workers who cooperate to
provide vital services, is strong and will rise to the
occasion.
Any significant opportunity for cooperation that is
offered to our country will not be rejected, but its
acceptance will be entirely dependent on the importance
and significance of the assistance that is requested
from the human resources of our homeland.
It is only fair to state that, up until this moment,
our modest aircraft and the important human resources
that
arrived at their destination without any difficulty
whatsoever.
We send doctors, not soldiers!
Firma Fidel Castro Ruz January 23, 2010
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