but solidarity aid to the people of the United States
Photos: Reuters and Granma
========================
Fidel Castro: Neither
propaganda nor conditions,
but solidarity aid to the people of the United States
Photos: Reuters and Granma
========================
HERE ARE A SERIES OF COMMENTS
ON THE HURRICANE
AND THE CUBAN OFFER FROM A RANGE OF SOURCES:
http://www.walterlippmann.com/hurricane-discussion.html
http://www.walterlippmann.com/fc-09-19-2005.html
President Fidel Castro explains Cuba’s offer of medical aid to
the American people
on the Round Table program aired on September 2, 2005.
These
remarks had to be written in a rush, as sometimes happens when things occur
quickly and unexpectedly. I’ll explain the reasons for this.
Yesterday, a press
conference, the kind typically held in the US State Department, was held. The
Department’s spokesman, Sean McCormack, participated.
I
will read the spokesman’s declarations verbatim.
“State
Department Press Room, Washington, DC, 12:46 pm, Thursday, September 1, 2005”.
At that
time, we were in the middle of a National Assembly session, addressing important
matters; one of the points we touched on was the tragedy which befell the United
States.
“Mr.
McCormack said: Good afternoon. I wanted to begin with a brief update on a
matter which is of interest to everyone who is here today, on the aid efforts
following the passage of hurricane Katrina, and on offers of aid coming from
abroad”.
“Let me
begin by saying that we have received numerous and generous offers of aid from
foreign governments and organizations, and Secretary Rice, after consulting with
the White House, has made it clear that we will accept all foreign aid offers.
Anything that will help alleviate the difficult situation, the tragic situation
faced by people living in the area affected by hurricane Katrina will be
accepted”.
Further on,
he says:
“I can read
you a list. Until now, this list has grown and is being updated constantly,
every hour, in fact.
“We’ve
received general offers of aid and more specific ones from a number of countries
and organizations, including Russia, Japan, Canada, France, Honduras, Germany,
Venezuela, the OAS, Jamaica, NATO, Australia, the United Kingdom, Holland,
Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
Mexico, China, South Korea, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
“I will try
and keep you posted on what is added to the list. As I said, it literally grows
by the hour”.
It was only
later, almost at night, after the Assembly session ended, that we started to
look at the press wires, and we weren’t even able to read them all. Some of the
news we received in the morning, today, the piece I’ve just read among them.
This puts me
in the position of having to clarify Cuba’s position, because many of our
friends, within and outside the United States, who know that our country always
offers assistance when situations like these arise, regardless of existing
conflicts, political, ideological or any kind of difference, started calling us,
thinking it odd that we hadn’t offered any kind of aid to the United States
following the devastation wreaked by Katrina.
The calls
kept coming in, one after the other, so this declaration, whose text is
self-explanatory, became indispensable. Among other things, you can appreciate
that it is not simply a question of public relations —not in the least—but
rather a matter of importance, even from the practical point of view.
I’m going to
read you a brief chronology of events, in which you can see the various offers
of aid made by the Cuban government to the United States in connection with the
hurricane.
“August 25,
2005. Hurricane Katrina lashes Florida, resulting in the loss of human lives and
heavy material damage”.
“Days later,
on August 29, 2005, after reaching category 4 in the Saffir-Simpson Scale,
hurricane Katrina lashes the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The
first news revealing the magnitude of the tragedy begin to be divulged”.
“On August
30, 2005, the last gusts of winds of the hurricane were still blowing over
Louisiana and other southern states, with which we have trade relations,
purchasing significant amounts of food products. Authorities from that state and
others have even visited us in connection with these purchases, made by Cuba
from the United States, which began a number of years ago”.
Many things
have happened. I’ve talked with thousands and thousands of American farmers,
because hundreds came for the first fair we held; I met with one group, then
with another, and, in the course of these last four years,
I’ve exchanged with thousands of US farmers and state authorities, governors,
senators and representatives.
Only two
months ago, the governor of the state of Louisiana, a very affable person, paid
us a visit; she came, as governors do, because she was interested in addressing
matters and problems affecting her state. These states that have been most
severely affected by the hurricane are among the poorest. Agriculture is most
important in their economies, like ports used to export their products.
“At 11:32 am
on August 30, 2005, I called our Minister of Foreign Affairs, our colleague
Felipe, to ask him to immediately convey to the government of the United States,
via the US Interests Section in Havana and Cuba’s Interests Section in
Washington, a message expressing our sympathies over the damage caused by the
hurricane and offering assistance in the area of health, as we knew from the
news we were receiving, that what was happening there was catastrophic”.
If there is
anything we can offer that may be considered important —primarily thanks to the
experience we have dealing with hurricanes and in the implementation of measures
to protect, evacuate and offer assistance to the population, among other things—
it is in the area of medical services. Following the catastrophic events of
September 11, Cuba was the first country to offer the United States support.
Upon receiving news that there were planes in the air that could not be
authorized to land on US airports, we immediately offered our airports and,
later, we offered what we were in a position to offer: medical assistance, in
response to the magnitude of the damage and the immense number of potential
victims.
We’re closer
to New York than California is. Aid from Cuba can reach New York before aid
coming from California, it’s a three-hour trip from Cuba to New York. I believe
it’s twice that time from California to New York.
Anyway, we
offered medical assistance. It wasn’t a ridiculous gesture, since sometimes a
blood transfusion can save someone’s life, and a rare blood type may be
required. One, two, three, ten lives, that’s not the issue: if you can save one
life, you’re duty-bound to save it.
“At 12:45,
complying with these instructions, the acting head of the North America Office
at the Ministry of Foreign Affair, Josefina Vidal, met with the deputy chief of
the US Interests Section in Havana, Edward Alexander Lee, to pass this message
to him verbally and, in addition, to give him a written copy of the same”.
We don’t
waste one minute, that’s the truth. Comrade Josefina is with us, here.
“Following the instructions
received, comrade Josefina Vidal told Mr. Lee, verbatim: ‘We would like to put
our differences aside for a moment’
—this alludes
to the current state of relations between Cuba and the government
of the United States— ‘in view of the serious situation caused by hurricane
Katrina’”. The hurricane affected us also, don’t forget that, as it was
approaching Florida, we were gathered for a round table discussion, and it had
already knocked down electric poles and caused power failures.
It was
something almost unexpected. The tail of the hurricane, as it crossed Florida
from the east to the southeast of the peninsula, affected us also: many flights
were cancelled, others had to be rerouted, and these were planes carrying
patients that were to be operated on in Cuba. Some had to land in Camaguey,
others in Holguin; Cuban planes scheduled to leave Venezuela were unable to take
off.
The
following day, no one knew what the path of the hurricane was going to be; it
even neared Cuba and caused problems in Pinar del Rio, heavy downpours. Then, it
turns north, leaving behind it heavy showers and floods in some areas. Warnings
about sea flooding in Pinar del Rio are issued, you have to see the photos. In
fact, the following day we were also suffering the effects of the hurricane, and
receiving news that it was headed north and that it was gathering strength,
between a category 4 and 5, exactly like the one that passed through here
several weeks ago.
After this
introduction, Josephine read the message, which reads as follows:
“On
instructions from Cuba’s top leadership, I convey to you our condolences for the
loss of human lives and the material damage caused by hurricane Katrina and
inform you of our willingness to immediately send the medical and health
personnel that may be needed to any of the affected areas and, in addition to
this, to set up three field hospitals with the personnel needed”.
Complying
with the instructions, Josefina concluded telling Mr. Lee that “we are not after
publicity. We await your reply”. That is the reason we didn’t make the offer
public, we didn’t publish anything, in fact. We didn’t want it to be interpreted
as a publicity effort.
That same August 30, “The
head of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, Dagoberto Rodríguez,
was
received, at his own request, at 4:30 pm in the State Department by the official
John Reagan, to whom he passed the exact same message delivered in Havana and
gave the same written text”.
On the
August 31, at 2:15 pm, “the head of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington,
Dagoberto Rodríguez, attended a meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited in
Washington called by the State Department, in which information about hurricane
Katrina, information mechanisms and institutions linked to disaster protection
efforts was given”. We felt that the fact they invited him the next day,
something which doesn’t happen often, was a positive sign.
Two days
later we made our offer, that is, yesterday September 1, at the time I said,
while we were meeting at the National Assembly, the spokesman makes his
statement, which I really didn’t get to read until today, September 2. We got
nearly all of the news today; we were at the Assembly until 11:00 pm, and busy
receiving visitors after that.
After that
statement yesterday, we began getting a downpour of calls today. We didn’t want
any kind of publicity in connection with this. But, what were we supposed to say
to the people calling us? And are we going to allow the world’s public opinion
to perceive us in a strange position, to think that, following a tragedy of this
magnitude, we don’t even offer our condolences to the American people?
There’s
something else: yesterday, at the beginning of the Assembly session, the first
thing the members of the chair proposed was that we send out a message of
solidarity to the US people, a message which was published in full today.
It reads as
follows:
“Message of solidarity to the American people”.
“The people
of Cuba have followed with deep concern the news on the damage hurricane Katrina
has caused in the states of Lousiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Though the
information received is still lacking in detail, it allows us to surmise that
the hurricane constitutes a tragedy of immense proportions.
“In terms of
the physical destruction and material damages caused, the hurricane is
considered the most costly natural disaster recorded in US history. This
country’s Red Cross believes it will have to work harder than it did following
the atrocious attacks of September 11, 2001.
“Tens of
thousands of people are trapped in flooded areas, have lost their homes, been
displaced or taken in by shelters. The governor of Louisiana described the
situation in New Orleans —where water levels continue to rise— as desperate.
This city’s Mayor declared that hundreds, perhaps thousands of people may have
perished there.
“This
disaster, with its death toll and suffering, affects all citizens of the United
States, but its scourge is felt all the more strongly by Afro-Americans and by
poor Latino and US workers, who constitute the majority of those who are still
waiting to be rescued and taken to safe places, and account for the greatest
number of fatal victims and people who have lost their homes.
“These news
bring much pain and sorrow to the Cuban people. On their behalf, we wish to send
out a sincere message of solidarity to the American people, to state and local
authorities and to the victims of this catastrophe. Every nation must feel this
tragedy as its own.
“National
Assembly of People’s Power of the Republic of Cuba,
Havana,
September 1, 2005”.
A minute of
silence was observed for the victims. It was truly a moving and sincere gesture,
on behalf of our people, towards the people of the United States, respectful
towards the authorities, not in the least bit offensive or aggressive.
This is the
situation we’re facing, the news we’re receiving are ever harsher. There may be
thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people amazed that Cuba
didn’t offer any kind of aid, and we’re the next-door neighbour. No country is
closer to the United States; we’re certainly much closer than Japan, any
contribution, modest as it may be, will get to the south of the United States
much more quickly if it comes from Cuba rather than Japan or Asia. Well, they’ve
expressed their admiration for Sri Lanka, for the aid they offered in spite of
the country’s difficulties. The Arab Emirates are even farther away.
Actually,
we’re closer to the United States than Honduras is, closer than Central America
and considerably closer than any country in South America. We’ve done the math:
in an hour and fifty minutes, one of our planes can reach the international
airport closest to the place where the tragedy occurred.
The main reason for our being here is to make the truth known and reiterate our
willingness to cooperate. We are not here to criticize, that’s not our
intention. We were not mentioned in that long list and we were perhaps the first
to offer aid; if you have a look at the time when the instructions were given
and the message was passed, I think it’s fair to say we were quick to make our
offer, which was concrete: doctors to work in the affected areas, precisely what
they need now in many places.
Our position cannot be perceived as resentment or even complaint. As the deputy
chief of the US Interests Section, Mr. Lee was told we were not after any kind
of publicity. Perhaps their interpretation was that we wanted no publicity
whatsoever. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding; I’m not saying Cuba’s name was
intentionally omitted. Even if it had been omitted intentionally, it’s not
something that worries us, we’ve never done anything for recognition or to be
thanked, that’s the way we’ve acted not once, but many, many times.
Somoza was in office in Nicaragua when that terrible earthquake destroyed the
city, however, the Cuban field hospitals and doctors were among the first to
arrive there.
We had no
relations with Peru, and with many other countries, and that’s never been an
obstacle, we’ve always and immediately offered our aid.
Immediately
after the tsunami hit across the globe, we sent medical brigades to two
countries. That was costly, sending a plane, which consumes much more fuel, say,
than a Boeing —our planes consume quite a lot of fuel— it’s costly. Sending a
medical brigade to Oceania in one of those planes is costly, we’re talking about
hundreds of thousands of dollars, precisely because of the costs of plane fuel
today, and the costs of the medication and tents, which aren’t brought back to
Cuba, they stay there.
When Santo
Domingo, Haiti and Central America were terribly battered by hurricanes which
claimed tens of thousands of lives in the latter, we did even more. These events
gave rise to the brigades that today make up a huge movement. The Latin American
School of Medicine was also born of these events. In terms of training for
doctors, of the services it brings to the region and to humanity as a whole,
this is an extraordinary institution which will produce 200,000 doctors, doctors
that Venezuela and Cuba will be graduating in the course of 10 years.
All of this
was born of the spirit of cooperation, recognized in many parts of the world
today; even in Honduras, where there was talk of removing the doctors, there
have been a number of declarations by the population, insisting that not one of
them be removed; that they are attending to 2.5 millions of people who do not
receive any other kind of medical care from anyone else. Everyone mobilized to
keep the doctors there, and we said that we would never remove them on account
of any grievance, that we would not withdraw our medical assistance, unless the
country’s government requested it. Our doctors remain in these countries even
when war breaks out; that’s what happened in Haiti, not one of them left and
they treated the ill, the wounded and anyone in need of medical care.
That is how
our doctors behave, that is the code of ethics that guides our doctors and our
country too. We’re not going to send a medical team overseas to bring it back
home due to a diplomatic skirmish, when differences or even things that are very
offensive for our country arise. We would never act that way.
That’s where
we’re coming from, which is why I say this is not the time to complain about the
fact Cuba was omitted from the list read by the State Department spokesman.
So, we would like to
reiterate our wish to cooperate with the American people, and all the more so
after what we and the world have seen. Therefore we would like to take this
opportunity to state exactly what position we are taking and repeat it with even
more precision:
Our country is ready to
send, in the small hours of morning, 100 general doctors an specialists in
Comprehensive General Medicine, who tomorrow Saturday, at dawn, could be in
Houston International Airport, Texas, the closest to the region struck by the
tragedy, in order to be transferred by air” –it would be in helicopters
mainly--, “river or land” –amphibious crafts that sometimes enter heavily
flooded areas-- “to the more distant shelters, facilities and neighborhoods in
the city of New Orleans, where the population and families are that require
emergency medical care or first aid treatment.
These Cuban personnel
would be carrying backpacks with 24 kilograms of medications, known to be
essential in such situations to save lives, as well as basic diagnostic tools.”
They will have to take
blood pressure, pulse and other readings, all these basic resources are needed
to establish a clinical report, something which our doctors have a lot of
experience in. At the moment tens of thousands of them are working overseas, and
in many places there was no X-ray machine or ultrasound equipment, there was
nothing, not even blood or other lab tests, and they arrive and make clinical
diagnoses with an exceedingly high level of precision. They are practically
clinical experts, because they are used to working in areas of the Third World
that don’t have diagnostic equipment. “They may work alone or in groups of two
or more people, depending on the circumstances, for as long as necessary.”
“Likewise, Cuba is ready
to send via Houston, or any other airport of your choosing, 500 additional
specialists in Comprehensive General Medicine, with the same equipment, who
could be at their destination point at noon or in the afternoon of tomorrow,
Saturday, September 3. Thus, the 1100 said medical doctors, with the resources
described, would be caring for the people in most need of attention in the
aftermath of the hurricane.
“A third group of 500
specialists in General Comprehensive Medicine could also be sent, and would
arrive in the morning of Sunday, September 4. Consequently, in under 36 hours,
1100 of these doctors equipped with said resources’ –the back-packs--, ‘which
amount to 26.4 tons of medication and diagnostic kits’ –mostly medication--
‘will be caring for the neediest people in the aftermath of a hurricane like
Katrina.”
And the damage that it
left in its wake, in a flat, low area with many rivers. That is to say, it seems
that accidents have happened there as well, levees that burst, all those
occurrences. A hurricane is a hurricane, ranking five on the scale is a
hurricane. The one that hit Cienfuegos was a category four. It hit with more
force, in fact, when it got closer.
“These medical doctors
have an elementary knowledge of the English language that would allow them to
communicate with the patients.
“All we are waiting for
is a response from the U.S. authorities’
Our doctors have worked
in South Africa, in many English speaking nations, and even in areas where
dialects are spoken; but it is very easy to communicate with doctors. Children
of eight months, for example, cannot speak, and doctors diagnose them simply
because they are able to make diagnoses, sometimes language isn’t even needed;
but they do have the basic language skills.
The significance of this
proposal can be deduced from a press wire from New Orleans, dated today,
September 2, from the EFE agency. It is worth reading and says, and I quote:
‘Due to the fact that the
hospitals are without electricity, the drug stores of New Orleans are under more
than a meter of water, thousands of patients have no access to sanitary care and
there is growing threat of infection, the health of tens of thousands of people
affected by hurricane ‘Katrina’ is at risk.
‘The crisis that has hit
New Orleans and large areas in southern Louisiana is made worse by the fact that
the majority of the tens of thousands of people trapped by the water are the
poorest of the country’s poor; individuals who suffer from more mental and
physical illnesses that any other social group’.
‘A tragic example of the
sanitary problems that ‘Katrina’ and the accompanying floods have caused the
inhabitants of New Orleans could be seen last Thursday in the doorways of the
city’s Convention Center, where between 20 000 and 25 000 people have taken
shelter.’
‘Against one of the
outside walls of the center is the corpse of an elderly lady, sat in her
wheelchair with a blanket over her. On the other side of the Convention Center,
two people try to resuscitate a man lying unconscious on the floor, in a vain
attempt to save his life’.
‘The elderly, young and
sick of the poor of New Orleans –where, according to official figures, almost a
third of the 1.4 million inhabitants are poverty-stricken, almost half a
million-- ‘the most vulnerable are the ones paying the highest price for the
disaster.
‘Some experts have begun
to warn about the psychological consequences that the chaos and violence that
prevail in New Orleans will have on the children that experience the crisis at
first hand, in some cases without their parents.
‘Another concern that
experts have begun to express is the outbreak of infectious diseases such as
cholera or typhoid fever.
‘80% of New Orleans is
under water. Authorities fear that hundreds, probably thousands, of people have
died over the last few days or are trapped by the water in the attics of their
homes’.
We are talking about
helping people who are trapped in a building, in a stadium, wherever, in small
communities, a medical team that will reach them, with medication. This medical
team could save the lives of people like that man who was being resuscitated
following a heart attack, and medication for these and other serious problems
that doctors and their backpacks with essential medication can sort out. Who
knows if maybe they could have saved that person in the wheelchair. Nobody knows
what she died of.
What I am trying to say
is that we are not offering to send our doctors to Disneyland or to stay in
five-star hotels.
‘With temperatures of
over 30°C’ –that’s nothing for a Cuban doctor– ‘the decomposing bodies of people
and animals are rapidly becoming a breeding ground for bacteria’.
‘Furthermore, the sewers
in the metropolitan area of New Orleans have emptied their contents into the
stagnant waters in the city’s streets, through which its inhabitants are forced
to walk in their attempt to flee.’
And as if this wasn’t
enough, patches of dangerous chemical products can be clearly seen from the air
floating in the water discharged by companies and industries, such as refineries
or farms, located in the outskirts of New Orleans.’
‘Experts warn that human
contact with this water could cause infection’.
The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) warned that the population should avoid eating or drinking
perishable products such as meat, fish, milk and eggs that are not stored
appropriately, as they could cause illness if consumed, even if they have been
cooked correctly.’
To deal with all these
problems it is essential to have a professional there, where there may not be a
doctor, to say what type of food can be eaten, if it is canned food.
The doctors with their
backpacks of medication, well distributed in hundreds of different places, could
be of extraordinarily use.
It is even thought that
they will be able to tell us, if they have the means of communication to do so,
what they need and then it will be much easier, they will make diagnoses, and
realize if an epidemic is about to break out, identify the first symptoms. There
is no way they could not be useful.
If there was ever a
situation where this was needed it is this, in which many doctors who have been
to the jungles, to the plateaus, to lots of places could participate; not
because they’re Cuban, it’s not the enemy that’s going there to kill, it’s a
professional, like the tens of thousands that we currently have in other
countries, where others don’t go.
‘The FDA added that ‘no-one should eat any food that has been in contact
with the flood water.’
‘With the desperate pleas
for water and food by the thousands of people trapped in the Superdome and the
Convention Center’ –I don’t know if they have been evacuated by now or not--,
‘who in some cases haven’t eaten in the last three days, there is a strong
chance that the FDA’s warning –if it reaches the ears of the victims-- will not
have much effect.’
This cable arrived today,
I received it a few hours before I arrived here.
That is why I have come
to reiterate the offer. We stuck to the notion that we didn’t want any publicity
so resolutely that three days went by and no-one found out about what we were
willing to do. Everyone has said; ‘I offered this, I offered 50 000 dollars, I
offered that’. We offer lives, to save 10, 100, 500, 1000; to help to take
measures that could save tens of thousands, at least to avoid the sorrowful
sight that the world is witnessing.
Are they going to reject
our cooperation because of the things that have gone on between our two
countries? I feel that it would help everyone and it would be a good example,
set not only by us, but by them as well, because these phenomena could repeat
themselves.
Today a group of American
experts were saying that a strong hurricane like this one could hit within a
month or two, one more violent that this one could sweep the United States.
Therefore our gesture is
sincere and peaceful. It does not seek publicity or impose conditions of any
kind, it does not request that the blockade be lifted or anything like that. We
have never imposed conditions on anybody; we offer what we have and this is what
we have; we do not have a large financial capital. The costs are covered by us;
the travel, the fuel; we don’t even have to get fuel over there, it’s so near.
They can go there or to another airport, or to a military base, if there is one.
They are not going to make statements or seek publicity, I want us to be clear
on this.
We are hopeful, seeing
that today another change took place, as the Secretary of State herself said
that they would accept any help. This means that they’d even accept help from
the Martians if it was offered; but they haven’t. A little island on this
planet, that’s only a few minutes away from that place has offered to help, and
it has a moral right to discuss the possibility of sending doctors over, it is
something that is now acknowledged by the world.
What we want is not to
criticize, not to put the U.S. government in an awkward situation. We are aware
that the authorities are going through a difficult time, the target of harsh
criticism. We aren’t the type of politician –we’ll call ourselves politicians,
in case the word revolutionary scares anyone– who opportunistically takes
advantage of certain situations to deal a blow to an adversary. I want to make
that clear, because this is the real spirit of cooperation.
Once again I shall say
that this is not the first time. We have absolutely no interest in confronting
the United States or their government in any way, shape or form, I’ve already
said it, I say: ‘Let’s call a ceasefire’. And we are not asking for anything,
and we’ll foot the bill for all the medication and the transport and everything.
What it’ll be like over
there I don’t know, if they go to a small community, I imagine that they’ll have
whatever the people there offer them. I don’t know if they’ll take some water
with them, but our doctors are experienced in going thirsty, suffering the heat
and going without food along with the patients. In some places that they have
been we have sent them food, out of concern for them, and they have given it to
their patients.
When concerned for the
health of our teachers we sent them food and they gave it to their students, and
when our doctors receive something they give it to their patients first. These
are the ethics which shape our doctors, and there isn’t just one or two of them,
there are now thousands, now, right now, and tens of thousands more here.
A few days ago 1610 young
people from other countries graduated here, they have now finished their studies
and have gained lot of experience. About now almost 2000 more Cuban doctors
should also have graduated with clinical experience, thus constituting reserves.
Many of the experienced people on missions overseas are currently here on
holiday. We would send mainly experienced doctors to the areas most severely
affected. We already know who would go. All we are waiting for is some response,
and I hope that it comes straightaway, so as not to loose a minute.
All the measures have
been taken, everything is being prepared: backpacks, medication, clothes,
everything, because it’s now three days since we made our offer and we couldn’t
keep our men permanently mobilized. What we do know is how long it takes to
mobilize them and that it is the only way to get medication to all those people
who have spoken on TV. They can be there at the airport in Houston, and from
there go by helicopter to the areas in need in a very short space of time.
A helicopter doesn’t
require a runway, it will land in a place where it is filled with fuel, and take
the medical team to any place necessary, it is ideal; but sometimes it could be
a place where a boat or fast motorboat arrives, or perhaps an amphibious tank,
and there are men from the National Guard, American soldiers involved in this
task. I am sure that everyone is going to work together, and the fact that
American doctors, Cuban doctors, whoever, are helping to save others in this
sort of ceasefire, this truce, will set a very good example for the world.
This war is not between
human beings but is rather a war for the lives of human beings, a war against
disease, against disasters that could repeat themselves, and one of the first
things that this world should learn, now of all times, with the changes that are
taking place and with these types of phenomena, is to work together.
Our doctors went to
Indonesia, to Sri Lanka. Our doctors are in East Timor, and hundreds of doctors
from over there will soon be here receiving training. It’s on the other side of
the world, I think, between Oceania and Australia. Some weeks ago we sent a
delegation over, they went, came back, I spoke at length with them. I know the
situation, what doctors there are. We also have a program to train, within a few
years, hundreds of doctors, all that they need. It is a Portuguese speaking
country, very heroic, that lost tens of thousands of lives in the process to
attain independence.
We haven’t said a word
about this. I feel obliged to talk about it here today, briefly so that no-one
is in any doubt about the current situation and so that they forget about any
pre-conceived notions, because what exist are no longer just instilled lies, but
rather pre-conceived notions formed in the minds of many people.
Furthermore, as I was
saying, we have many friends in the United States, and around 200 well-known
names, administrative authorities from those southern states, with whom our
collaborators have relations, because they are constantly in touch through a
large number of activities related to the buying, shipment and transportation of
food and the payment of this, because we have been paying for this food in cash
now for four years, without ever being late and without ever paying even a penny
less. We have developed really strong relations, based on trust. We extended our
condolences to the authorities, to everyone, and they took it well, they were
grateful. We told them that we had informed the top U.S. authorities about this,
and we told all of them that we wanted to act with discretion.
They should know all
about it, and there are many witnesses, but it doesn’t matter. This isn’t about
quarreling or arguing. We’re not asking anyone to criticize themselves, nor are
we criticizing anybody; we are proposing something truly constructive that seems
to us to be just, and that uses practical, specific, immediate, action, that can
be effected in matter of hours. They can be there at 7 o’clock in the morning,
with their backpacks, which are now ready, the first hundred are ready. These
are the first hundred that could be there at dawn. The others could start to
arrive in the afternoon, and a second group of 500 could be arriving in the
evening and some more on Sunday.
Up until now 64,367
patients from Venezuela and the Caribbean have been operated on, as part of
‘Operation Miracle’, at a rate of 1560 a day. Just think how many airplanes have
to fly back and forth bringing and returning these eye patients. We have a
taskforce here getting ready, we have a large number of paramedics if, as a
result of the hurricane, their services are needed in some emergency rooms, we
can send them over.
The United States have a
lot of doctors and resources, but they also have a special situation in a
specific area, due to a specific problem. This is no cause for shame. What I am
sure of is that it is very difficult to get all the teams necessary to where all
those people from the south are in 12 hours, or in 24 hours. It is impossible to
conjure up a doctor for extreme situations, it is impossible to conjure up a
trained general practitioner for this task, or a team of men that will go
anywhere. On the other hand, this isn’t the first time for us, this isn’t a new
experience for Cuba.
That is what I want to say. There are more than 200 people who know this now and
they were told that we have informed the authorities in Washington, and that we
wanted to be discrete. The others can judge whether or not I did the right thing
in asking you to give me a few moments to explain this, to address the American
people and give them a response so that they don’t think that we are vengeful
and that we didn’t want to help because of our differences with the United
States. And I’ll it say it again, we’re not asking for anything! The truth is we
don’t need anything.
Medication, yes, as much
as they want; equipment, yes, not for Cuba, but rather to save the lives of and
attend to Americans, and if they want more doctors, if they want a thousand,
we’ll give them a thousand more, if they want five thousand, we’ll give them
five thousand more, we have them and we know where they are, and they know how
to use X-ray machines, ultrasound equipment, endoscopes, and how to treat many
diseases. You may have a lot of equipment, but you also need the people who know
how to use it. The problem is how fast they arrive. That’s all I’ll say.
With this I am voicing
the good will of the Cuban people, the sentiments of friendship that they have
always felt towards the American people, which has been demonstrated for 46
years. One of the few countries in the world where the American flag has never
been burnt, where no-one would ever insult an American citizen, this is a for
sure. We are grateful to the country that supported the return of the little
boy, the country in which an increasing number of people support the pursuit of
justice for our compatriots, the country that we trust will one day form a bond
of friendship with us, and not only to help our two countries, but also,
fundamentally, to help others.
The government of the
United States and Congress approved 15 billion to fight AIDS, but money cannot
solve the AIDS problem if there are no doctors in the small communities in
Africa. And they haven’t got any doctors there, we have doctors there and the
numbers will grow, into the tens of thousands.
The Caribbean is going to
have thousands of doctors, we are going to help to train them and we have
already trained hundreds, who speak English, perfect English.
The world needs doctors,
doctors who go to these places. Central America is going to have doctors, even
now they have them, and we are one big family.
And if they urgently need
new equipment to help the people affected, Cuba has this equipment available, it
is in the warehouses, ready, the very resources that we acquired for our
programs; as long as we are building, there is always a supply. We are not going
to take this equipment out of our health centers. We are talking about resources
destined for other places that can be replaced in a matter of weeks.
We have also notified
those in Washington that we were going to call this meeting and that it was in
no way aimed at creating a confrontation, but rather to repeat our offer. At 5
o’clock in the afternoon the US Interests Section in Havana was informed of
this, and those in Washington were also informed. They are not finding this out
now on the television and they know in what spirit it is intended. I hope that
we can all learn a fruitful and useful lesson, get something out of this huge
and heart-breaking tragedy that has befallen this country.
I don’t think, Randy, and
fellow compatriots, that I have anything else to add, or that I should add
anything to what I have already said.
This page has been reformatted from
the original for ease
of readibility, skipping lines between paragraphs. Source:
http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/2005/ing/f020905i.html
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2005/septiembre/lun5/discurso-i.html
