Peter Espeut | Vaya con dios, Cubanos

My family has been a beneficiary of the Cuban Medical Brigade. For some years, my wife, Velia, has been a patient of Dr Roberto Mirales, senior ophthalmologist in the Cuban Eye Care Programme at St Joseph’s Hospital. By all accounts he is an excellent surgeon. We can testify that he and his team care for their patients.

On several occasions we have had Dr. Roberto and some of his colleagues as guests at our home as a show of appreciation of the service they have rendered to the people of this land. They like Stella Artois, and they play dominoes too!

And so it was that we threw a farewell party for them earlier this week: Jamaican food, Cuban music, and not a few tears.

It is a shame that the Jamaican government is seeking to blame the Cuban government for the termination of half-a-century of neighbourly cooperation on the grounds that these doctors and nurses are victims of human trafficking. The grounds for this claim are that the medicos are not paid their full salary directly (much of it is paid directly to the Cuban government, which needs the foreign exchange); and that they are not allowed to bring their families with them to Jamaica.

HYPOCRISY

What hypocrisy and double standards!

Are the hundreds of Chinese construction workers building roads and high-rises in Jamaica paid all their salary in Jamaica? Are their families in Jamaica with them? Why are the Chinese brigades not labelled as victims of human trafficking and sent home?

If Jamaica is to be punished for hosting (alleged) victims of human trafficking, then what of the great United States (US)?

For many more than 50 years, rural Jamaicans have been “trafficked” to the cane fields of Florida, and the orange, peach and apple orchards of other states, as farm workers. Their full salaries are not paid to them in the US; the larger part of their wages is paid directly to the Jamaican government – I believe to the Ministry of Labour – in foreign exchange. When the workers return to Jamaica, they receive Jamaican dollars, which means that the Jamaican government benefits from the foreign exchange earned abroad by its citizens. What is the difference here?

Do the Jamaican farm workers take their families with them to the US? Hardly! That is unthinkable!

Is the great US not guilty of benefiting from human trafficking? Is the pot calling the kettle black?

Many of the Cuban medical professionals like it here (and under the present arrangements), and they have made good friends. Our farewell get-together was not the first in recent days by private citizens, and certainly not the largest. Jamaicans will not easily or quickly excuse the cowardice of the Jamaican government in asking them to leave.

Will Jamaica ever live down its earned reputation for ingratitude?

The Most Rev. Donald Reece, Archbishop Emeritus of Kingston – over 90 years old – attended our gathering to personally express the gratitude of the Roman Catholic Church for the service of the Cuban Medical Brigade to our people, and he offered prayers for them and their nation at this time.

SOLIDARITY

Earlier this month (March 2) the Catholic Bishops of the Antilles issued a statement in solidarity with the Cuban people. They declared, inter alia:

“As bishops of the Caribbean, we speak first as members of one human family and one Body in Christ. The Church cannot remain silent when dignity is threatened and access to food, healthcare, and basic necessities becomes increasingly uncertain. Our foremost concern is for families, the elderly, children, and the most vulnerable, who bear the heaviest burdens of circumstances beyond their control”.

They went on:

“We express our closeness to the Cuban people at this time, and to the Church in Cuba, whose members continue to serve courageously, and to have hope in the midst of uncertainty. In the spirit of our previous statements regarding the people of Venezuela and Haiti, we reaffirm our position that solutions must be pursued in a true spirit of genuine concern for our common humanity. Disagreements among nations must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy rather than by coercion or conflict. Humanitarian considerations must never be overshadowed by political or strategic interests. … At this critical moment, we invite all the faithful of the Caribbean to pray for the people of Cuba, for relief from suffering, for wisdom among leaders, and for pathways to peace, justice, and reconciliation. May solidarity replace indifference, and may charity overcome division”.

The Cuban medicos are being repatriated into a very difficult situation. Do we care about these men and women who have sincerely cared for us? And about a nation that came to our aid when we were in need?

When the events of this period are written, history will not be kind to our current crop of Caribbean leaders. An earlier generation of politicians who experienced rank colonialism, highly valued our negotiated sovereignty. I am sure that they did not foresee our sovereignty being surrendered by cowards, who promised urgent aid but didn’t deliver.

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and development scientist. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com