Fidel Castro explains Cuban offer to send doctors to New Orleans : NOLA Indymedia

TRANSLATION POSTED TO:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/41784

Juventud Rebelde September 3 2005

http://www.jrebelde.cu/2005/julio-septiembre/sept-3/nipropaganda.html

Neither propaganda nor conditions, but solidarity aid to the people of the United States

Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Council of Ministers of State, repeated an offer of medical aid to the people of the United States on the television program Round Table, on September 2, 2005, "Year of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas."

(Stenographic version of the Council of State)

It was necessary to improvise this conference, as happens at times, when events are precipitous, and now I am going to explain why.

Yesterday a press conference was held at the Department of State, a regularly scheduled one, with the participation of the spokesperson for that department, Sean McCormack.

I must refer to the text of the spokesperson's declarations.

"Press room of the Department of State, Washington, DC, 12:46 p.m., Thursday, September 1, 2005."

(At that hour we were tied up in the assembly of the National Assembly attending to important matters; but among them the tragedy in the United States.)

Mister McCormack said: "Good afternoon. I wanted to begin with a brief account of a subject that I know is of interest for everyone present here concerning the aid efforts after the passage of Hurricane Katrina, as well as offers of aid from abroad.

"Permit me to begin by saying 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 plain that we will accept all the offers of foreign aid. Anything that might be useful in alleviating the difficult situation, the tragic situation of the people in the area affected by Hurricane Katrina, will be accepted."

Further on he continues:

"I can relate a list. To this point this is a growing list that is actually added to every hour.

"We have received general offers of aid, as well as other more specific ones from several countries and organizations, which includes Russia, Japan, Canada, France, Honduras, Germany, Venezuela, the OAS [Organization of American States], Jamaica, NATO, Australia, the United Kingdom, Holland, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, China, South Korea, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

"I will try to keep you informed as to what is added to the list. As I said, it literally is growing hour by hour."

It was only later, almost at night, after the Assembly session had ended, that we began to see the cables, and we could not even read them all. We received information from some of the dispatches this morning, from which I just read.

This places me in the position of having to clarify the position of Cuba, because really many people, friends, inside and outside of the United States, knowing that it is customary for our country to offer cooperation in situations like this, independently of conflicts, political or ideological differences or of any type, they began to call us, surprised that we had not offered any support to the United States because of the tragedy occasioned by Katrina.

The calls kept coming in, and therefore it was absolutely necessary to make this declaration, the content of which is self-explanatory. Among other things, it can be appreciated that we are not talking about a simple question of public relations, nor much less, but of an important fact, including from a practical point of view.

I am going to read a brief chronology of the offer of aid on the part of the Cuban government to the government of the United States respecting the hurricane.

"25 August 2005

"Hurricane Katrina pounds Florida, causing losses of human life and heavy material damage."

Days later. "29 August 2005.

"After reaching category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, Hurricane Katrina pounds the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The first news over the magnitude of the tragedy begin to circulate.

"On August 30 2005 the last gusts were blowing over these states, Louisiana and others of the South, with which we have commercial relations, at the least for important purchases of foodstuffs. We have even received visits from officials from that state and others associated with those purchases on the part of Cuba from the United States, which have been going on already for several years."

A lot of things have happened. I have spoken with several thousand farmers, because several hundred came to the first [agricultural] fair; I met one group after the other, and in these four years I have talked with thousands of U.S. farmers and visitors, state officials, governers, senators, representatives.

Visiting here just a few months ago was the governer of the state of Louisiana, a very genial person. She came, as governors do, interested on affairs and problems of their states, and these, the [states] most affected by the hurricane, are poor states; agriculture plays an important role in them, as well as the ports, from where they export their products.

"At 11:32 in the morning of August 30, 2005, I call our Minister of Foreign Relations, compan~ero Felipe, to ask him to immediately transmit, through the Office of Interest Sections of the United States in Havana and through our Office of Interests in Washington, a message in which condolences are expressed to the government of the United States concerning the hurricane, offering them aid in the area of attention to health, because we knew, by the news that was arriving, that there a catastrophe was in the making."

If in any event it was important to offer what we could offer, fundamentally because of the experience that we have in the battle against hurricanes and experience in the means of protection for the population, evacuation, support, etcetera, it is in the field of medical care. Right at the catastrophe of September 11, Cuba was the first country to offer support, because we heard the news that the planes were flying and could not land in the airports. What we did immediately was to offer our airports, and afterward we also offered what we could offer: medical aid, considering the magnitude of the enormous number of possible victims.

We are closer to New York than [is] California. Aid from Cuba can arrive first from Cuba to New York than from California, it's three hours from Cuba to New York. I believe it is double that time from California to that city.

Anyway, we offered medical aid. It was nothing ridiculous; at times to save a life you need a rare blood type for a transfusion. One, two, three, ten lives, that is not the problem; if you save one, there is the obligation of saving it.

"At 12:45, following instructions, the interim director of the Northamerican Department of MINREX [the Ministry of Foreign Affairs], Josefina Vidal, meeds with the second in command of SINA, Edward Alexander Lee, to give him the indicated message varbally, as well as hand him a written copy."

We did not lose one minute, that is the truth. Here is Compan~era Josefina:

"Following the received instructions, Compan~era Josefina Vidal expressed to Mister Lee textually: 'We want a time out.'--alluding to the present state of relations between Cuba and the government of the United States--'given the gravity of the situation provoked by Hurricane Katrina.' " It affected us as well, don't forget that when [the hurricane] was coming to Florida we were in the Round Table, and it had downed poles, it had cut the electricity.

It was a thing almost serpentllike. The tail of the hurricane, when it crossed Florida from east to the southwest of the peninsula, it affected us as well. Many flights were suspended, others had to be diverted, flights carrying patients to be operated on in Cuba: some went to Camaguey, others to Holguin, our planes that were to take off from Venezuela could not take off.

The following day, nobody knew where the hurricane was going to go. It even neared Cuba, created problems in Pinar del Rio, great rains; later it spun toward the north, leaving strong rain, flooding in some places, threatening flooding from the sea; breaches of the sea in Pinar del Rio, you have to see the photos. On the following day we too were really being affected by the hurricane, and we simply were hearing news that it was turning toward the north and that it was gathering force from category 4 to 5, exactly equal to the other one that passed through here a few weeks back.

Josefina, after her first words, read the indicated message, whose text is the following:

"On instructions from the leadership of the Cuban government, I express to you our condolences for the loss of human life and the material damages caused by the Hurricane Katrina, and I inform you of our disposition to send doctors and health personnel wherever needed in the affected zones, as well as three field hospitals with necessary personnel.

Following her instructions, Josefina concluded, expressing to Mister Lee that: "We do not propose making publicity out of this. We await your response." For that reason we did not make this public, really we did not publicize anything. It's that we did not want it to appear to be a question of publicity.

The same day, the 30th, "The chief of the Interest Section of Cuba in Washington, Dagoberto Rodriguez, was received, at his request, at 4:30 p.m. in the Department of State by a functionary, John Reagan, to whom was communicated exactly the same message that had been communicated in Havana, also leaving him a written text of the message."

On the 31st, at 2:15 p.m., "The chief of the Interest Sectiono of Cuba in Washington, Dagoberto Rodriguez, attended a meeting called by the Department of State with the diplomatic corps in Washington, in which information concerning Hurricane Katrina was given, and background was given concerning the mechanisms of informacion and of institutions associated with disaster protection." Truly, to us it appeared a positive gesture that on the following day the step was taken of inviting him, something that does not normally occur.

After two days had passed since our offer, yesterday, September 1st, at the time I mentioned and while we were in the National Assembly, the declaration of the spokesperson was produced, which I really only see today, the 2nd. We see almost all the messages today, [since] we were in the Assembly until 11:00 p.m., and afterward we received some visitors.

Since the appearance of yesterday's declaration, today a rain of calls has come about. We did not want any publicity with relation to this. But, what are we going to say to those who call? Are we going to sit now before all world opinion with a strange position, rare, [as if] before a tragedy of such magnitude we did not have even one word of condolence for the people of the United States?

There is something more: Exactly yesterday, at the opening of the Assembly, the first thing the is proposed by its president is a message of solidarity with the Northamerican people, which was published today.

It says:

"Message of solidarity with the Northamerican people"

"The people of Cuba has followed, with preoccupation the news related with the effects caused by Hurrican Katrina in the territories of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Still incomplete reports show that this is a true tragedy of extraordinary dimensions.

"In terms of physical destruction and material damage, this is considered as the most costly natural disaster in the history of the United States. The Red Cross of that country judges that its task will be harder that that it confronted after the atrocious attack of September 11 of 2001.

"Tens of thousands of persons are trapped in flooded areas, have lost their homes, are homeless or made refugees. The governor of Louisiana characterizes as desperate the situation of New Orleans, where the water continues rising. The mayor of that city declared that hundreds and perhaps thousands of people may have died there.

"This disaster, with its enormous toll of death and suffering, hits the entire population of the United States, but particular pounds Afroamericans, latino workers and poor Northamericans who form the majority of those who still await to be rescued and taken to safe places, and it is among them that is concentrated the greatest number of fatalities and of people who have been rendered homeless.

"These news cause pain and suffering to Cubans. In their name we wish to express our profound solidarity to the people of the United States, to the state and local authorities and to the victimas of this catastrophe. The entire world should feel this tragedy as its own.

"National Assembly of Popular Power of the Republic of Cuba, Havana, Septermber 1 2005."

A minute of silence was held for the victims. It ws truly an emotional and natural gesture in the sentiments of our people toward the people of the United States, and also respectful toward the authorities, without any offense, without any attack.

We are faced with that situation, the news are continuing to get worse, there will be thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people dismayed that Cuba has not offered any support, that we are here on the sidelines. No country is closer; it is much closer than Japan; anything that is needed, as modest as it may be, arrives sooner from here to the south of the United States that from Japan or Asia. Well, they haveeven mentioned, with admiration, I believe that even Sri Lanka has offered some aid in spite of its difficulties. The Arab Emirates are much farther away.

Well, we are closer than Honduras, closer than Central America and quite a bit closer than any country of South America. We have done all the calculating; in an hour and fifty minutes one of our planes can land in the international airport closest to the scene of the tragedy.

To show the truth and repeat our readiness to cooperate is the fundamental cause of this appearance, not in order to criticize, that is not what motivates us. We are not mentioned in that long list, and we may have been the first, because if you see the hour in which instructions were given and the message was transmitted, it seems to me that our offer was pretty rapid and that they were of concrete things: doctors to the place of the tragedy, precisely that which is lacking now in many places.

Our position cannot be that of resentment of any kind of complaint. As what was truly said dto the second chief of the Office of the Interest Section, Mister Lee, that we did not propose to publicize this, perhaps this was interpreted as us saying that we did not want any publicity to be made. It could have been a mistake, I am not saying that the omission of the name of Cuba was produced intentionally; but even if this had been done intentionally, it is not anything that worries us, we have never done anything for recognition or to be thanked. Thus we have acted not once, but many times.

Somoza was in Nicaragua when that tremendous earthquake occurred that destroyed the city. Among the first things that arrived there were field hospitals and Cuban doctors.

We did not have relations with Peru, and many other countries, and that has not been an obstacle, we have helped them immediately. As soon as the tsunami occurred in the other side of the world we sent a medical brigade to two countries, and that was costly, because of what it costs to send an airplane, that does not save as much fuel, let us say, as a Boeing, ours uses a lot. To take a medical brigade to Oceania in one of those planes is costly, it is hundreds of thousands of dollars, precisely because of today's cost of aviation fuel, and the medications that it carries, and tents, that are not going to be brought back again in the airplane, they remain there.

In Santo Domingo, in Haiti and in Central America when they were terribly hit by hurricanes that cost the last region mentioned tens of thousands of lives, we did something more. From such deeds were founded the [medical] brigades that todday form a tremendous movement, from which also was born the Latin American School of Medicine, which is already almost, from the point of fiew of the training of doctors, like a service to the region and service to humanity, something extraordinary, from which are going to be derived the 200,000 doctors that we are going to train in 10 years, between Venezuela and Cuba.

All that was created precisely alwsays from the spirit of cooperating, today recognized in many places, because even in Honduras, where there was talk of retiring [our] doctors, the people have produced a series of statements asking that in no way should the doctors be sent away, that they are attending 2.5 million people that do not receive any other attention. Everybody mobilized to prevent their being sent away, and we said that never, despite any insult, would we take away our doctors, except if the government of the country demanded it. Our doctors remain even when there is war, and thus it was in Haiti, none moved and they took care of sick, wounded and whoever needed attention.

TO BE CONTINUED