Cuba Steps Up As Usual

[lame54]

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=18130

HAVANA TIMES, Jan. 13 — Cuban President Raul Castro sent his condolences to Haiti’s President Rene Preval after a major 7.0 earthquake on Tuesday caused devastation and widespread loss of lives in Port au Prince. Castro promised the “unselfish” help of the Cuban people in these difficult moments.

Cuban families back home were relieved to learn that all the 152 Cuban medical and education personnel working in the Haitian capital were reported to be in good health. Two suffered minor injuries during the quake on late Tuesday afternoon.

The island’s media reported that “The Cuban medical brigade providing services in Port-au-Prince has already established a new hospital camp next to the one that was brought down by the earthquake.”

By Wednesday morning, “more than 800 patients had already been provided medical care including some operations.”

The TV news reported that an additional medical brigade from Cuba will arrive soon in Haiti, equipped with the medicines, clothes, food, saline solution and plasma bags needed for such emergency situations.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Wednesday helping Haiti was a priority for Cuba “following a devastating earthquake that caused huge human and material loss in that country.”

[niyad]

1. not at all surprising for the cubans. I remember how swiftly they offered assistance after katrina

and were ignored.

[HopeHoops]

2. How's Limbaugh going to spin this? "Evil Communist Cuba Helps Haiti" just doesn't work.

:shrug:

[murray hill farm]

5. He will not spin it because...

in order to do so, he would have to mention first that Cuba's help was there so quickly and that Cuba helped at all. CNN and MSNBC have also not mentioned Cuba's involvement...and probably will not. Venezuala also one of the first to offer help. No mention of that will occur either.

[HopeHoops]

9. They won't mention France either.

Fucking "freedom fries". Good fucking grief.

[Junkdrawer]

3. Funny how the "Communist" country has less red tape.....

My heart sank when I found out that the US military sent in "evaluation teams" only yesterday and that emergency relief is still days away.

[DevonRex]

4. Uh, the earthquake only hit the previous evening. WTF? nt

[Junkdrawer]

8. Sorry, but I think there were things that could have been done WHILE...

coordinating a larger response...like airlifting medicine for the NGOs in place.

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. Until this morning they had no way of knowing what NGOs were IN place.

They couldn't fly supplies in to a country which had no functioning airports. They couldn't contact people on the ground there as all communications were out.

The only way the response could have been faster would be if the quake happened in the morning instead of the evening, giving 12 hours more daylight to find out what was going on.

Other than parachuting in containers of bottled water, I'm not sure what more they could do. Is it reasonable to drop a container of medical supplies when the people who find it have no medical experience? 3/4 of the supplies would be destroyed as people dug through them to find what they need. Gotta have the medics on the ground first, to see to the distribution of the supplies.

Cuba, OTOH, is close enough that they could helicopter their entire medical brigade over to Haiti, and hit the ground running.

[Junkdrawer]

13. I knew Tuesday night that Doctors without Borders was there and in need of help....

http://doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=4147&cat=field-news

Are you saying that the US government didn't know that?

[RaleighNCDUer]

18. Of course they were there and needed help.

EVERYBODY who is there needs help. The hospital was badly damaged and many of the patients were evacuated - and there was no way to know if the place would even remain standing with all the aftershocks. Communications were spotty, at best, and even those who had cell phones were quickly falling silent as their batteries went dead and could not be recharged. What good would it do to drop medical supplies, even on the doorstep of the hospital, if the hospital had been moved 5 miles out of town?

There is a difference between knowing someone needs help and being able to actually help them.

A mobile air traffic control unit had to be inserted at the airport before the airport was usable, and that didn't happen until yesterday afternoon because it takes time to get things there. Once it was in place, and the airfield was deemed safe to use, things could get flown in. But that could not be done until someone got there and looked at the situation and said "This is what we need..."

As I've said elsewhere, this is the fastest international response to a disaster I've ever seen. Of course, Cuba and Venezuela reacted faster than we did - they are MUCH close than we are. It was easier for them to see what was needed where and respond.

I think we're doing a fine job, under the circumstances.

[unapatriciated]

14. You are right about Cuba being closer and able to helicopter the med team in.

This post is not about what the US has not done yet or how quickly, but about the positive things Cuba has done now and in the past.

[UTUSN]

16. "less red tape," haHAH: What Shrub said, "easier to be a dictator." n/t

[malaise]

17. Most of the Cuban doctors already work in Haiti

Not one of the Caribbean territories could survive without Cuban doctors. 40% of our local doctors have long migrated to the US, Canada, Britain and Australia. They're want money. We've been subsidizing tertiary level education for developed countries for decades.

[Redstone]

6. Cuba has a large number of superbly-trained doctors, and I'm not

surprised that they're helping their neighbor.

Were I the President of the US, it would have been one of my first priorities to get rid of the stupid, inexplicable "embargo" and normalize relations with Cuba.

Redstone

[lame54]

20. it's WAY overdue

[Mika]

7. Henry Reeve Cuban Medical Brigade in Haiti

From LBN ....

Henry Reeve Cuban Medical Brigade in Haiti
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4224750

[unapatriciated]

12. Thanks for the post on the Henry Reeve's Medical Brigade.

both post get a big k&r from me.

[malaise]

10. Cuba is the kind of neighbor people talk about

with pleasure - caring, professional and unassuming. Yep I knew they had field hospitals up since yesterday.

[Mudoria]

15. As usual the rest of the world did too...

[Greyhound]

19. ..