Are There Any Doctors Left in Cubaland?
the following is a translation of this article by Cuban writer Marilyn Diaz Fernandez
We Need Doctors in Cuba
by Marilyn Diaz Fernandez, Lux Info Press
CAMAGUEY, Cuba - August (www.cubanet.org) - "Cuba has 71,000 doctors, twenty times more than at the time of the Revolution," or so stated a national t.v. broadcaster this past August 23. When I heard the statement, I was amazed that he could be so wrong. The statement simply is not true.
The government of Cuba is not Cuba, only a small elite that has misgoverned the people for 47 years. That group in power has put into practice plans to make itself look good in the eyes of the world, such as graduating thousands of doctors to send them to any country in the world, since those doctors have no choice but to obey the government and go wherever it may send them.
For that reason, the newscast should have stated, "The Cuban government has 71,000 doctors scattered throughout the world."
The lack of doctors in Cuba gets worse day by day in hospitals, clinics, medical posts, and family doctor offices. Of the much-touted medical establishment only the infrastructure remains, and even that is in a process of absolute deterioration, as there are no material resources to keep the infrastructure in working shape.
Doctors, nurses, technicians, and health workers are spread around the world offering their services. Those who remain in Cuba await the opportunity to travel abroad and thus fix their economic problems.
Meanwhile, Cubans walk almost to exhaustion to find medical help. They are cared for by medical school students, and in some cases, by foreigners who staff emergency rooms. They must wait for months to see a specialist, even a pediatrician.
The doctors who remain in Cuba see approximately one hundred patients per day, and are on break from June to September. Cubans have to wait for medical treatment, no matter what disease may ail them. Or die trying.
These and other facts that are not published by the official press were the cause of my astonishment when I heard the news. If there were really 71,000 doctors in Cuba, we would be truly well cared for, and we would avoid much grief.
We Need Doctors in Cuba
by Marilyn Diaz Fernandez, Lux Info Press
CAMAGUEY, Cuba - August (www.cubanet.org) - "Cuba has 71,000 doctors, twenty times more than at the time of the Revolution," or so stated a national t.v. broadcaster this past August 23. When I heard the statement, I was amazed that he could be so wrong. The statement simply is not true.
The government of Cuba is not Cuba, only a small elite that has misgoverned the people for 47 years. That group in power has put into practice plans to make itself look good in the eyes of the world, such as graduating thousands of doctors to send them to any country in the world, since those doctors have no choice but to obey the government and go wherever it may send them.
For that reason, the newscast should have stated, "The Cuban government has 71,000 doctors scattered throughout the world."
The lack of doctors in Cuba gets worse day by day in hospitals, clinics, medical posts, and family doctor offices. Of the much-touted medical establishment only the infrastructure remains, and even that is in a process of absolute deterioration, as there are no material resources to keep the infrastructure in working shape.
Doctors, nurses, technicians, and health workers are spread around the world offering their services. Those who remain in Cuba await the opportunity to travel abroad and thus fix their economic problems.
Meanwhile, Cubans walk almost to exhaustion to find medical help. They are cared for by medical school students, and in some cases, by foreigners who staff emergency rooms. They must wait for months to see a specialist, even a pediatrician.
The doctors who remain in Cuba see approximately one hundred patients per day, and are on break from June to September. Cubans have to wait for medical treatment, no matter what disease may ail them. Or die trying.
These and other facts that are not published by the official press were the cause of my astonishment when I heard the news. If there were really 71,000 doctors in Cuba, we would be truly well cared for, and we would avoid much grief.
posted by Yimboro | 4:44 PM
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