10-17-05, 9:38 am
Fed up by a Capitalist constant and inhumane message which says that all can be offered and bought as a merchandise, I was touched by president Fidel’s words when he organized the “The International Contingent of Doctors Specialized in Disasters and Serious Epidemics.”
The extraordinary thing lies not only in its unique existence in the world but also the meaning of this friendly gesture in a world overwhelmed by the obsession of richness and uncontrolled thirst of luxury and earnings of the few who already have a lot, I would say more than a lot, in a paradoxical contrast with many who have an only interest for money as a sole possibility to survive right in the midst of the most desperate poverty.
“We did no offer money, Fidel said, we offered to save lives” referring to what he called a “ ridiculous monetary offer of 50 thousand dollar” made by the United States after the passage of hurricane Dennis across the island.
Without any doubt, it was a hypocrite announcement since it came from a country which has subdued the Cuban population to the longest and toughest economic blockade ever existing in the whole history of mankind, with a cost of dozens of thousands of million dollars to the economy and with a loss of countless of human lives caused by military attacks, terrorist sabotages, biological aggressions, introduction of plagues and illnesses, denial of medicine selling, etc.
Of course, in a world where everything is evaluated through the use of money, it is a bizarre deed to organize such a contingent. In the first place, because its members are wiling to immediately go to any country to help people facing natural catastrophes or epidemics, without receiving any financial transaction in return or other kind of payment given by those receiving support.
It is also the fact that these professionals have been rigorously chosen and all count with a solid academic and practical formation, the experience in the exercise of Medicine in the farthest and hostile regions and as a requirement they are asked to count with epidemiological knowledge and of illnesses linked with catastrophes, the domain of two of the widest foreign languages and adequate physical conditions.
Maybe most astonishing thing is that this contingent is organized by a small country with few resources, economically chased when nations with highest development such as the United States or countries from the European Union, were not able to gather not even a hundred of professionals with due qualification to fulfill this altruist task.
Furthermore, there are hundreds of thousands of Cuban health professionals spread through the whole world, in farthest regions of the “civilized” environment of capital cities, taking care of the poorest sectors of the population. This is just unthinkable under the unfair and anarchical conditions of Capitalism.
And reasons for such a hindrance go far beyond peoples’ will, this situation is imposed by the system, because many study with the noble goal of saving lives, the Capitalist selfishness alienates and force them to earn money, in the first place to compensate the career’s high cost and later to keep the status that in this society a doctor is expected to have in order not to lose his clientele which can pay his services; in the end in order not risk his own professional survival. All this counteracts ethical considerations.
Contrary to this philosophy, Cuba did not offer money, but to struggle against death of hundreds or thousands of inhabitants from the devastated regions of New Orleans.
Fortunately, our doctors would not have made a difference to take care of a patient, analyzing first if he owned a fortune or counted with a social position. A person’s life is much more worthy than Mr. Bush’s ridiculous 50 thousand dollars, which is lesser than what the President himself would have been willing to pay to escape from the hurricane.
For us, the existence of any of the hundreds of impoverished black people who drowned in the Mississippi river’s polluted waters, are more important as anyone having resources to timely leave the disaster zone ( there were those who did not receive governmental aid or had money to allow them pay for a transportation in which they could escape from the tragedy)
Cuba’s generous gesture shows not everything in this world is bought or sold.
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