Cuba to create doctors' brigade (named after American- Henry Reeve)

[Mika]

Cuba to create doctors' brigade
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4263552.stm

Cuba's president has announced the creation of an international medical brigade to assist countries affected by natural disasters or serious epidemics.

It would initially be formed by the 1,500 doctors Cuba offered the US after Hurricane Katrina, Fidel Castro said.

The brigade has been named Henry Reeve, in honour of a US doctor who fought in Cuba's independence war.

The doctors must have epidemiological knowledge, speak two languages and be in good physical condition.

The brigade is expected to be 3,300-strong as recently graduated doctors and students in their final years join.

--

This is a must-read for those interested..

Remarks by President Fidel Castro Ruz to the medical doctors assembled in Havana on September 4 th (the Henry Reeve Brigade) to offer assistance to the American people in areas affected by hurricane Katrina..
THE HENRY REEVE BRIGADE IS CREATED TO ASSIST AMERICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS-By Fidel Castro Ruz

<snips from speech>

It was clear to us that those who faced the greatest danger were these huge numbers of poor, desperate people, many elderly citizens with health situations, pregnant women, mothers and children among them, all in urgent need of medical care.

In such a situation, regardless of how rich a country may be, the number of scientists it has or how great its technical breakthroughs have been, what it needs are young, well-trained and experienced professionals, who have done medical work in anomalous circumstances, and that, with a minimum of resources, can be immediately transported by air or any other available means to specific facilities or sites where the lives of human beings are in danger.

Cuba , a short distance away from Louisiana , Mississippi and Alabama , was in a position to offer assistance to the American people. At that moment, the billions of dollars the United States could receive from countries all over the world would not have saved a single life in New Orleans and other critical areas where people were in mortal danger. Cuba would be completely powerless to help the crew of a spaceship or a nuclear submarine in distress, but it could offer the victims of hurricane Katrina, facing imminent death, substantial and crucial assistance. And this is what it’s been doing since Tuesday, August 30, at 12:45 pm , when the winds and downpours had barely ceased. We don’t regret it in the least, even if Cuba was not mentioned in the long list of countries that offered their solidarity to the US people.

-

If, ultimately, we do not receive any reply or our cooperation -your cooperation- is not needed, we shall not be demoralized, not you, not us, not any Cuban. On the contrary, we shall feel satisfied for having complied with our duty and extremely happy knowing that no other American, of the many that suffered the painful and perfidious scourge of hurricane Katrina, shall perish from lack of medical care, if that were the reason our doctors were not there.

The Henry Reeve Brigade has been created, and whatever tasks you undertake in any part of the world or our own homeland, you shall always bear the distinction of having responded to the call to assist our brothers and sisters in the United States , and that nation’s humblest children especially, with courage and dignity.

[CottonBear]

1. What an excellent idea! Nice touch, naming the brigade after an American

doctor. :) Too bad, they were not allowed to come to help NOLA and the Gulf Cost.

[Mika]

2. Cuba is chock full of nice touches..

.. and tributes to fine Americans of distinction.

Its shameful that Americans are banned by the US gov from going there to discover this for themselves in person.

[leftofcool]

3. Very nice and quite dignified.

I like that alot.

Left of Cool

[Judi Lynn]

4. Some details of the history of Henry Reeve:

....Henry Reeve arrived in Cuba on May 11, 1869 aboard the ship Perrit, as part of an expedition of revolutionary Cubans who had sailed from New York under the leadership of Thomas Jordan and Francisco Javier Cisneros. Reeve had joined the Cuban independence effort due to his abolitionist and anti-colonialist ideas, the same causes he had defended during the US Civil War.

His military experience and his ability to adapt to the island contributed to his promotion: in seven years and three months, Reeve reached the rank of Brigadier General in Cuba ’s Liberation Army. He took part in 400 battles and was wounded more than ten times.

He is remembered with awe and admiration for his being shot by a Spanish firing squad on May 27, 1869 near Las Calabazas, Holguin province, from which he surprisingly resulted unconscious but alive. He immediately returned to the struggle. His contemporaries said that, at that moment, Reeve, the Mambi (Cuban independence fighter), had been born.

September of that year, he met Cuban independence leader Ignacio Agramonte, who admired him greatly because of his human and political qualities. In March of the following year, Agramonte named Reeve a member of his General Staff.

Reeve took part, alongside Agramonte, in the famous rescue operation of patriot Julio Sanguilly on October 8, 1871 , one of the most daring war actions quoted in Cuban history.
snip/...)

http://www.cubanow.net/global/loader.php?&secc=5&item=618&cont=show.php

What a great idea!

[Mika]

6. The Cuban Drs brigade will never be invited to the US, yet..

.. they will be named after an American of distinction.

This is the Cuba that I know and love.


Viva Cuba!

[Judi Lynn]

7. A President with respect for the American people in Louisiana

would have welcomed their help.

Cuba has been noted all over the world already for its quick response teams helping in Haiti, during the _Bush initiated right-wing takeover there, and the ensuing brutality, massacres and after natural disasters everywhere.

[Joe Chi Minh]

5. Ah, but those doctors are fearfully jealous of our freedoms!

Particularly our freedom to dine at the Ritz or sleep under a bridge.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[killbotfactory]

10. They put missles on their island because we kept (and have kept)

trying to overthrow their government by employing cuban exiles who were mostly from the previous dictator Batista regime or people involved in the mafia. See "Bay of Pigs". The Cuban rebels were heavily influenced by the US sponsored overthrow of many democratic governments and placing repressive military dictatorships in their place. There is no moral highground when it comes to our dealings with Cuba and the rest of Latin America.

[Mika]

11. That is Cuba past. Look into Cuba now.

Before the 1959 revolution

75% of rural dwellings were huts made from palm trees.

More than 50% had no toilets of any kind.

85% had no inside running water.

91% had no electricity.

There was only 1 doctor per 2,000 people in rural areas.

More than one-third of the rural population had intestinal parasites.

Only 4% of Cuban peasants ate meat regularly; only 1% ate fish, less than 2% eggs, 3% bread, 11% milk; none ate green vegetables.

The average annual income among peasants was $91 (1956), less than 1/3 of the national income per person.

45% of the rural population was illiterate; 44% had never attended a school.

25% of the labor force was chronically unemployed.

1 million people were illiterate ( in a population of about 5.5 million).

27% of urban children, not to speak of 61% of rural children, were not attending school.

Racial discrimination was widespread.

The public school system had deteriorated badly.

Corruption was endemic; anyone could be bought, from a Supreme Court judge to a cop.

Police brutality and torture were common.

___



After the 1959 revolution

“It is in some sense almost an anti-model,” according to Eric Swanson, the programme manager for the Bank’s Development Data Group, which compiled the WDI, a tome of almost 400 pages covering scores of economic, social, and environmental indicators.

Indeed, Cuba is living proof in many ways that the Bank’s dictum that economic growth is a pre-condition for improving the lives of the poor is over-stated, if not, downright wrong.

-

It has reduced its infant mortality rate from 11 per 1,000 births in 1990 to seven in 1999, which places it firmly in the ranks of the western industrialised nations. It now stands at six, according to Jo Ritzen, the Bank’s Vice President for Development Policy, who visited Cuba privately several months ago to see for himself.

By comparison, the infant mortality rate for Argentina stood at 18 in 1999;

Chile’s was down to ten; and Costa Rica, at 12. For the entire Latin American and Caribbean region as a whole, the average was 30 in 1999.

Similarly, the mortality rate for children under the age of five in Cuba has fallen from 13 to eight per thousand over the decade. That figure is 50% lower than the rate in Chile, the Latin American country closest to Cuba’s achievement. For the region as a whole, the average was 38 in 1999.

“Six for every 1,000 in infant mortality - the same level as Spain - is just unbelievable,” according to Ritzen, a former education minister in the Netherlands. “You observe it, and so you see that Cuba has done exceedingly well in the human development area.”

Indeed, in Ritzen’s own field, the figures tell much the same story. Net primary enrolment for both girls and boys reached 100% in 1997, up from 92% in 1990. That was as high as most developed nations - higher even than the US rate and well above 80-90% rates achieved by the most advanced Latin American countries.

“Even in education performance, Cuba’s is very much in tune with the developed world, and much higher than schools in, say, Argentina, Brazil, or Chile.”

It is no wonder, in some ways. Public spending on education in Cuba amounts to about 6.7% of gross national income, twice the proportion in other Latin American and Caribbean countries and even Singapore.

There were 12 primary school pupils for every Cuban teacher in 1997, a ratio that ranked with Sweden, rather than any other developing country. The Latin American and East Asian average was twice as high at 25 to one.

The average youth (age 15-24) illiteracy rate in Latin America and the Caribbean stands at 7%. In Cuba, the rate is zero. In Latin America, where the average is 7%, only Uruguay approaches that achievement, with one percent youth illiteracy.

“Cuba managed to reduce illiteracy from 40% to zero within ten years,” said Ritzen. “If Cuba shows that it is possible, it shifts the burden of proof to those who say it’s not possible.”

Similarly, Cuba devoted 9.1% of its gross domestic product (GDP) during the 1990s to health care, roughly equivalent to Canada’s rate. Its ratio of 5.3 doctors per 1,000 people was the highest in the world.

The question that these statistics pose, of course, is whether the Cuban experience can be replicated. The answer given here is probably not.

“What does it, is the incredible dedication,” according to Wayne Smith, who was head of the US Interests Section in Havana in the late 1970s and early 1980s and has travelled to the island many times since.

Here are some of the major parties in Cuba. The union parties hold the majority of seats in the Assembly.

http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/cu.html

* Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC) {Communist Party of Cuba}
* Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Cuba (PDC) {Christian Democratic Party of Cuba} - Oswaldo Paya's Catholic party
* Partido Solidaridad Democrática (PSD) {Democratic Solidarity Party}
* Partido Social Revolucionario Democrático Cubano {Cuban Social Revolutionary Democratic Party}
* Coordinadora Social Demócrata de Cuba (CSDC) {Social Democratic Coordination of Cuba}
* Unión Liberal Cubana {Cuban Liberal Union}

Plenty of info on this long thread,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/duboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=6300&forum=DCForumID70


http://www.poptel.org.uk/cuba-solidarity/democracy.htm

This system in Cuba is based upon universal adult suffrage for all those aged 16 and over. Nobody is excluded from voting, except convicted criminals or those who have left the country. Voter turnouts have usually been in the region of 95% of those eligible .

There are direct elections to municipal, provincial and national assemblies, the latter represent Cuba's parliament.

Electoral candidates are not chosen by small committees of political parties. No political party, including the Communist Party, is permitted to nominate or campaign for any given candidates.

--

Representative Fidel Castro was elected to the National Assembly as a representative of District #7 Santiago de Cuba.
He is one of the elected 607 representatives in the Cuban National Assembly. It is from that body that the head of state is nominated and then elected. Raul Castro, Carlos Large, and Ricardo Alarcon and others were among the nominated last year. President Castro has been elected to that position since 1976.

http://www.bartleby.com/65/do/Dorticos.html

Dorticós Torrado, Osvaldo

1919–83, president of Cuba (1959–76). A prosperous lawyer, he participated in Fidel Castro’s revolutionary movement and was imprisoned (1958). He escaped and fled to Mexico, returning to Cuba after Castro’s triumph (1959). As minister of laws (1959) he helped to formulate Cuban policies. He was appointed president in 1959. Intelligent and competent, he wielded considerable influence. In 1976 the Cuban government was reorganized, and Castro assumed the title of president; Dorticós was named a member of the council of state.

The Cuban government was reorganized (approved by popular vote) into a variant parliamentary system in 1976.

You can read a short version of the Cuban system here,
http://members.allstream.net/~dchris/CubaFAQDemocracy.html

Or a long and detailed version here,
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0968508405/qid=1053879619/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-8821757-1670550?v=glance&s=books



----

Cubans wanted universal health care for all Cubans, and they have it. They pushed for government that represented their ideals, and organized and formed infrastructure that enabled Cubans to create a fair and complete h-c system. Cubans wanted universal education for all Cubans, and they have it. They pushed for government that represented their ideals, organized and formed infrastructure that enabled Cubans to create a complete and world class ed system, and they have it. Cubans want to assist the world's poor with doctors and educators, instead of gun ship diplomacy.. and that is what they have done WITH their government, not at odds with their government.

Can Americans make this claim about their own country? I'm afraid not.


Cubans want normalization between the US and Cuba, and they have thrown their doors open to us - even offered much needed help in some of America's darkest hours (the NOLA debacle), but, it is our US government that prevents what the majority of Americans want their government to do - normalize relations. Worse yet, the US government forbids and has criminalized travel to Cuba by Americans - something that Cuba hasn't done.



Viva Cuba!

[Say_What]

12. What about China and Vietnam??

We buried the hatchet with them and it's time we made peace with the island--that sick, 45 year, politically driven vendetta is the last relic of a cold war that's been over since the Berlin wall fell.

<clips>

Washington D.C. - On the 40th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the eve of the broadcast of a new documentary film on Kennedy and Castro, the National Security Archive today posted an audio tape of the President and his national security advisor, McGeorge Bundy, discussing the possibility of a secret meeting in Havana with Castro. The tape, dated only seventeen days before Kennedy was shot in Dallas, records a briefing from Bundy on Castro's invitation to a U.S. official at the United Nations, William Attwood, to come to Havana for secret talks on improving relations with Washington. The tape captures President Kennedy's approval if official U.S. involvement could be plausibly denied.

The possibility of a meeting in Havana evolved from a shift in the President's thinking on the possibility of what declassified White House records called "an accommodation with Castro" in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Proposals from Bundy's office in the spring of 1963 called for pursuing "the sweet approach…enticing Castro over to us," as a potentially more successful policy than CIA covert efforts to overthrow his regime. Top Secret White House memos record Kennedy's position that "we should start thinking along more flexible lines" and that "the president, himself, is very interested in {the prospect for negotiations}." Castro, too, appeared interested. In a May 1963 ABC News special on Cuba, Castro told correspondent Lisa Howard that he considered a rapprochement with Washington "possible if the United States government wishes it. In that case," he said, "we would be agreed to seek and find a basis" for improved relations.

The untold story of the Kennedy-Castro effort to seek an accommodation is the subject of a new documentary film, KENNEDY AND CASTRO: THE SECRET HISTORY, broadcast on the Discovery/Times cable channel on November 25 at 8pm. The documentary film, which focuses on Ms. Howard's role as a secret intermediary in the effort toward dialogue, was based on an article -- "JFK and Castro: The Secret Quest for Accommodation" -- written by Archive Senior Analyst Peter Kornbluh in the magazine, Cigar Aficionado. Kornbluh served as consulting producer and provided key declassified documents that are highlighted in the film. "The documents show that JFK clearly wanted to change the framework of hostile U.S. relations with Cuba," according to Kornbluh. "His assassination, at the very moment this initiative was coming to fruition, leaves a major 'what if' in the ensuing history of the U.S. conflict with Cuba."

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB103/

[Joe Chi Minh]

13. Well, to begin with,

Cuba was under threat from the US. Ring a bell? Wouldn't you want to go down fighting.

Another point is that Cuba is now substantially owned by the people, instead of American mafiosi, formal, and informal qua business associates. Organised crime in bed with government and big business is not desirable, yet America, with its crypto fascist history has an extraordinary history of ties with organised crime, both at home and abroad - particularly, I believe the Republicans - nor, plainly, are the "values" of organised crime, in any wise, antithetical to the imperial/robber baron values of the military-industrial complex.

After the war, the US government released a mafia chief from prision ("Lucky" Luciano, I believe it was), to take up a senior post (if not the leading post) in the government of Sicily; and another "eminent" mafiosos was appointed, I believe, commissioned as a middle-ranking officer, I think, in the military there. This, purportedly, in order to hasten the pacification of the island - when the reality was, that it had aleady been pacified. Thus, they managed to demolish probably the only good thing Mussolini had achieved, i.e. the virtual suppression of the mafia from Italy.

As a consequence, Italy has ever since, been plagued by mafia corruption, even up to the level of national government, indeed, to that of at least one President. Moreover, it has cost the lives of a number of very honest and courageous judges and police chiefs, who sought to root out government ministers with mafia ties.

Interestingly, if unsurprisingly, America's puppet head of state in China, Chiang Kai Shek, had had close ties with organised crime there in his younger days.

Remember Christ's express teaching: "By their fruit, you shall know them". Then contrast the activities and the poisoned fruit of organised crime throughout the world, with the universally beneficial fruit of the socialist governments in Scandinavia, as well as of the less corrupted forms of Communism, such as that of China, particularly before the so-called liberalisation, and Cuba.

But I can't help asking myself, why am I having to spell this all out to you. You must have read of the benefits of the universal access to the highest levels of education and health care, free of charge, to its people, in Cuba. Does that not compute with you as something so admirable as to seem almost Utopian? Fidel has blazed a trail and shown what is possible, even in a small country, and in the teeth of the economic sanctions of a giant, hostile neighbour.

[jwirr]

15. Some of us are old enough to remember Castro BEFORE

the US abandoned his country to support the crime syndicates. He had good reasons for fighting to control his own country. I remember the day that Eisenhower decided we were not going to support the people of Cuba and from that moment on Castro joined the other side. Somewhat similar to the North Vietnam leader who was educated in our country (I think) and when US leaders supported the oppressors he turned to the USSR for help.

Also, the things you are talking about happened years ago and Cuba no longer has the ties it did then. We believe in looking at reality, not revenge.

[Billy Burnett]

16. Love for Cuba on DU? Ha ha ha. Just admiration for good deeds by a few.

Interesting that a thread about Cuba forming a brigade of doctors to help the poor and hurting in the US and other nations in need of help during emergencies and natural disasters would stir your ire enough for you to post on DU. Not only that, but that you dust off cold war history and the red herring argument of the 60's for your post.

Interesting as dog puke.

[Mika]

17. Yeah! Love it.

Good to see ya BB. :hi:

:pals:

[Say_What]

9. Bush held up Cuba help over politics

An op-ed by Wayne Smith former chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana

<clips>

What a shame. Not even in the face of the massive human suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina could the Bush administration put aside its knee-jerk rejection of anything coming out of Cuba. Only two days after the storm hit the Gulf Coast, the Cubans quietly offered humanitarian assistance. No response.

On Sept. 1, the Cuban National Assembly expressed solidarity with the American people and on Sept. 2, Fidel Castro publicly offered to send some 1,100 doctors, with 25 tons of medicines and medical equipment, to the devastated areas. They could be dispatched on Cuban aircraft immediately, he said, and to emphasize that they were ready to travel, the next day had them gather at the School of Public Health with their backpacks on. He also increased the number to 1,586 doctors and the medicines to 37 tons. Castro stressed that there was no political motive behind his offer. The U.S. and Cuba had disagreements, yes, but they should now call "a time out" to address this catastrophe.

Had there been any difficulty in sending the doctors on Cuban aircraft, Fort Lauderdale-based Gulfstream Airways had immediately offered to fly them all up free of charge. "I couldn't think of a better way to help our brothers and sisters on the Gulf Coast than to get these excellent Cuban doctors to them as quickly as possible," said CEO Tom Cooper.

Given the desperate situation on the Gulf Coast, one might have expected a rapid response from Washington, especially as MEDICC (Medical Education Cooperation With Cuba), a nonprofit association based in Atlanta, described the Cuban doctors as highly trained and noted that "Cuba's experience and expertise in disaster management is so relevant to the current crisis and its aftermath in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast."

http://ciponline.org/cuba/opeds/091605Smith.htm

[Joe Chi Minh]

14. And, I suspect, Sweden.

[Say_What]

18. Cuba's Ricardo Alarcon, Blasts 'Neoliberal' Katrina Response

<clips>

...AMY GOODMAN: How would you assess the government's response to hurricane Katrina here in this country?

RICARDO ALARCON: I am still astonished to see how it was. First of all, it's a completely different case, and again, I don't want to join the blame games because I would blame more than the government. I don't see how in a society, in a capitalist society, especially with the brand of neo-liberal– extreme neo-liberal philosophy that prevails here. It's understandable that the individualistic approach of people may lead to a situation where it is possible to see– don't you remember that image that was around the globe while Katrina was in the Gulf heading towards New Orleans, those images that move around the world of long lines of cars getting out of New Orleans, and practically nobody getting into. Those people were leaving by their own, because they choose to leave and they had a car. They had the possibility to go somewhere else. It should be exactly the opposite. There should be a government responsibility at every level beginning from the head of state.

Fidel Castro, when there is a hurricane, you will see him there, even there at the place where the hurricane is attacking let's say, or he will be on TV explaining to the people, the details, the direction from where the winds are coming so on and so forth, and counseling people to be prepared. But you need – you cannot create a proper evacuation program after the hurricane is affecting you. You have to have that in the society, but for that, you have to change the priorities. You have to change the values in which the society is based. You have to spend resources, money, on that.

When I say, for example, this discussion with the insurance firms – My God, in my country, you may find people complaining because their house has not yet been rebuilt. They assume that they have that right, and that the state, the government, has an obligation. This is a completely different philosophy. Here, if the insurance company doesn't cover flooding, you're out. It's normal in this kind of society. In ours, it's – but that leads to very sad things. I am trying to figure out how 2,000 children were missed? How is that possible? I even know where my daughter is, I told you, before Rita approached Havana. Fortunately, it appears that it will not touch Cuba, the center of the hurricane – the winds and the water, yes, certainly. But how can 2,000 children disappear? Was that a war? Was this country attacked – attacked by whom? Attacked by nature? Again, I would blame the system.



more... http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/21/1423226

[Judi Lynn]

19. It's great seeing Amy Goodwin interviewing Ricardo Alarcon,

especially in light of the fact _Bush back-stabbed him by denying him a visa recently when he was expected to appear in the U.S., although he has been here other times before _Bush seized the White House.

His comments were excellent. I'm glad he is becoming one who is interviewed more often now by press people outside his country. He's terrific.



Ricardo Alarcon.

[Mika]

20. Thanks for posting the Ricardo Alarcon interview.

Although he is not as charismatic a speaker as Mr Castro, he is rock solid on his points and observations. I have seen him speak in Cuba years ago (before he was elected president) and he was very impressive in his range of knowledge. As mentioned before, Mr Alarcon is now the elected president of the Cuban National Assembly - the real seat of power in Cuba (not Castro this and Castro that).


Thanks for posting the DN link. :hi:

[1932]

22. Gott's book on Cuba:

He praises Alarcon for being an extremely competent president.

Gott also says that there are four key positions in the Cuban government, and Castro holds not one. He said that head of the military (Raul Castro) and President (Alarcon) were two of the positions. I forget the other two. Have you read Gott's book or, if not, do you know what the other two are?

I think they might be the equivalent of Sec of Agriculutre and Sec of Treasury, but I am not sure.

[Say_What]

23. Alarcon at the UN and Elian on 60 minutes

Interview with Elian should be interesting. :hi:

Bush family values... and Elian to open 60 Minutes new season.

...Washington's hostility keeps growing, and Alarcón has plenty to say about this.

"It is stupid. They presented the restrictions affecting Americans and Cuban-Americans as a decisive blow to our economy," he said about the prohibition against visiting Cuba more than once every three years, the redefinition of family that excludes aunts, uncles and cousins, etc.

"Those measures had an effect only on that segment," he said. "But tourism from other parts of the world surpassed expectations last year and new flights - like one from Monterrey, Mexico - have been added."

...Those readers who remember Elián González, the shipwrecked Cuban boy made a cause célèbre by the cowardice of politicians and the hypocrisy of some of the Miami old guard, will want to know that "60 Minutes" will open its new season with an interview with the boy, now 11. "For the first time, he talks about his experience at sea and the time he spent in Miami," Alarcón said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/349446p-298172c.html

[Judi Lynn]

21. North American Educators to Teach English in Cuba

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

North American Educators to Teach English in Cuba

Three groups of Canadian and American volunteers are preparing to fly to Havana to teach English to the Cubans.

Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) September 23, 2005 -- Three groups of Canadian and American volunteers are preparing to fly to Havana to teach English to the Cubans. The 22-day programs are open to working or retired educators willing to pay their own costs, while donating their English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching skills. A knowledge of Spanish is not required.

Three ESL Cuba Volunteer departures are planned: November 12 to December 3, 2005, January 14 to February 4, 2006, and February 18 to March 11, 2006. The program will recommence in the fall of 2006. Registration is limited to 15 teachers per group, although non-volunteer spouses and partners are welcome to come along. An extra week of relaxation or travel in Cuba after the ESL project has finished is easily arranged.

Upon arrival in Cuba, the ESL volunteers are put through an eight-day orientation course which includes sightseeing around Havana, visits to schools and universities, meetings with leading Cuban educators and activists, and cultural events.

Weeks two and three are devoted to morning classroom teaching at the University of Havana's Faculty of Foreign Languages, with Cuban professors on hand to assist. Volunteers with academic backgrounds in such fields as geography, psychology, law, mathematics, and physics will be invited to teach technical English at one of the university's many specialized faculties. In the afternoon, unstructured tutor sessions are held at a community education facility. Volunteers can opt to work only in the morning or afternoon, as desired. Weekends and evenings are free.

Volunteers are encouraged to prepare their own ESL curriculums, in partnership with the Cuban teachers. The idea is to give Cuban students the opportunity to practice conversational English with a native speaker, while receiving help with pronunciation, grammar, idioms, and colloquialisms. The program organizers and previous ESL participants can provide ideas for effective teaching.
(snip/...)

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/9/prweb288560.htm

[Say_What]

25. Don't I love those photos!!

In one of Alarcon's recent interview he said Elian would be on the season opening of 60 minutes and talk about his experience at sea, in the cage at the MDR house, and being reunited with his father. Stay tuned--this ought to be good. If you hear anything about it, please post. :-)

...Those readers who remember Elián González, the shipwrecked Cuban boy made a cause célèbre by the cowardice of politicians and the hypocrisy of some of the Miami old guard, will want to know that "60 Minutes" will open its new season with an interview with the boy, now 11. "For the first time, he talks about his experience at sea and the time he spent in Miami," Alarcón said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/349446p-298172c.html

[Judi Lynn]

24. Embargo hampering restoration effort of Hemingway villa in Cuba

Embargo hampering restoration effort of Hemingway villa in Cuba

By Ruth Morris
Staff Writer
Posted September 26 2005

San Francisco de Paula, CUBA -- The bullfighting posters have been packed away, the famous Royal typewriter stored in a dry place. His Cinzano bottle is gone, too, and his hot jazz collection.

Restoration has begun on the Cuban hilltop villa where Ernest Hemingway hung his hat and hunting trophies for 21 years, from 1939 to 1960. The swashbuckling author, known to many as `Papa,' produced some of his most brilliant works at the house where he lived after leaving Key West.

It's also where he threw some of his most legendary parties. Cuban boxers and French existentialists raised glasses on the vine-draped verandah; movie star Ava Gardner reportedly skinny-dipped in the pool.

But as repairs progress, U.S. conservationists say the project lacks funding and materials they are eager to supply -- assistance banned under the terms of the 40-year-old U.S. embargo on travel and trade with the communist island.
(snip/...)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-ahemingwaysep26,0,2920869.story?coll=sfla-news-front



Hemingway and friend

[cire4]

26. Wow....I sure hope those Americans don't get caught....

The United States government would sink to yet another historical lowpoint if it started to prosecute teachers of Cuban children.

*EDIT* This was in response to post #21