Cuba, a medical power for foreigners.
Juan Carlos Hernandez Hernandez
 Director APLOPRESS.

Santiago of Cuba, 28 of March - (www.miamiprogressive.com) the file of the Cuban Government sending doctors, technicians, teachers and an endless number of professionals to fulfill mission internacionalist is larguísimo. So distant in the time and almost at the beginning of but the call “Revolution�, the 15 of June of 1963 started off, more than 30 doctors, two stomatologists, 14 technicians and eight nurses, from our country for the Republic of Algeria, to North Africa, becoming a constant that multiplies nowadays to different as remote countries as the Solomon Islands.

According to the official information the “Operation Miracle�, initiate in 2004 for the ophthalmological attendance to Venezuelans transferred to Cuba to be operated essentially of cataracts, has been extended to more than twenty nationalities. Until half-full from 2006, a total of 485,476 patients of 28 countries, from them more than 290 thousand Venezuelans, had been benefitted.

Nevertheless, in Cuba the thing is different. In Santiago of Cuba, a city with more than 250 thousand inhabitants, the General Hospital “Dr. Dark brown Juan Zayas Alfonso� is the unique one who offers services of ophthalmological urgencies. The hospital, that is located in the one of the Hut, is about 4 km of downtown, a significant distance if it considers the limitations and inefficiencies of our public transport. Only the santiaguero of on foot, that for diverse reasons, it must realize to this can understand it route.

when arriving at the hospital, in a showy mural the color code orients the patients, of which they are the cases that must be dealt with urgency and which do not require immediate medical attention. Between these last ones, indicated with green color it is the febrile symptom, nevertheless, 12 seats are reserved for those cases, where it is not allowed to seat to anybody, while a great number of patients remains standing up.

“Yara�, a young nurse who exhibited pulcro uniforms target informed to the patients just arrived that were several people for “Ophtalmology�, reason why had to hope. Just against the color code, another attractive mural informed the numbers of the doors of the 19 specialties that were taken care of in the hospital. Number nine is the one of “Ophtalmology�.

A patient to 11,45 a.m indicated that two hours ago and 32 minutes of his arrival and had number 25 for the consultation of ophthalmological.  Graciela, Magda and Javier argued that they had been three hours and approximately 15 minutes hoped by the arrival of the Head on watch, ordered abrir the keys of the water, reason for which had not been able to realize analyzes to him.

It was not necessary to have been previously in a jail to identify the aroma that was breathed in the baths, the cups of the overflowed sanitary services competed with any jail of a Unit of the Police or Operations in the Security of the State. The cleaning aid with great difficulty passed the bedspread dry as if outside she sweeps and by shame she did not raise the head.

Many left cursing the place, while the doctors doing use of an excessive professionalism delaying the consultations, as cases of surgery, stop by means of the despair to make diminish the list. The 45 percent of the patients, paradoxicalally was for the door number 9, Ophtalmology.

Next to motorist, that laboriously she looked for the official of the police, that guarded the access to the Guardroom, guardhouse, left patient number 25. The clocks doubled to bell fifteen minutes for the one of afternoon. A compassion wink directed to him to Graciela, Magda, and to Javier, who cuidosamente had doubled each prescription and medical papers in a piece of nylon and with its black espejuelos thicknesses decided to retire of the place.