What Cuba Teaches Us
The Code Pink Cuba trip has been a revelation-
A country that suffers from economic devastation
As a consequence of America’s immoral blockade
Which has devastated Cuba’s foreign trade
Since any product having even one tiny US-made constituent
May not be to Cuba sent
Not even humanitarian medical supplies can evade
Or elude the immoral and aggressive blockade
For a blockade in international law
Is an aggressive act of war
The Cuban people for fifty years have suffered from this banishment.
Which amounts to a form of collective punishment
In Cuba we see a society founded on the principle
That each should achieve his potential
The Literacy Campaign in the 60s did succeed
In teaching over 700,000 people to write and read
The film Maestra chronicles this stupendous feat
Where teachers as young as age seven
Fanned out into country and city to teach
So that in 1962 UNESCO decreed Cuba Illiteracy free.
Yes the emphasis here is on developing human capital
And literacy is fundamental to any intellectual endeavor
and increases the ability of every person
to contribute and be able to reason
and healthcare about which in the US I know much
differs here in that the entire emphasis is on prevention and is such
that there is an primary doc and the nurse for about 1200 people
and they live in the community and are constantly accessible
the emphasis on prevention reduces the costs
and requires minimal laboratory support
and only a small number of crucial drugs
and basic equipment to do the job
for pregnant women at high risk
the homes for expectant mothers
remove them from the chores of the home
in order to optimize a successful delivery
in like manner there are homes for the old
for the life expectancy in Cuba is 78 years
and the elderly are valued and revered
for the many experiences and wisdom they share
Modern tertiary care is an available intervention
but the whole emphasis is on prevention
intimate knowledge of patient and family
allows prediction and prevention of catastrophe
the Ministry of books is a marvel at which we should look
108 publishing houses print millions of books
proposals are submitted annually
and printed on merit independent of financial viability
in foreign affairs they primarily export
doctors and nurses of every sort
to help other countries in need
and with Ebola the Cubans were there indeed
and in biotechnology there is great sophistication
with the production of medicines and vaccines
scorned by the drug makers in the US
because they are incapable of commercial success
indeed the Cubans have developed and tested we see
a drug called Herberprot-P
For the diabetic ulcer a solution
that prevents the all too frequent amputation
a fundamental difference is clear
the emphasis is on the welfare of the people here
whereas in the US the situation most black
paints a $ on everyone’s back
it is a system destructive in the worst sense
that is destroying itself at great expense
to the rest of the world’s tranquility
as we bomb them with agility
the immoral Cuban blockade for years
has been the triumph of stupidity over logic
one would think capitalists would like to sell
but the result is Cuba is developing without us
and we tour the city and country in a Chinese made bus
and Chinese Geely cars populate the streets-
billions of potential revenue lost it seems
in the name of an ideology vengeful and extreme
no, instead of competition
we are into domination
the Chinese around the world are contracting
while we are constantly bombing and attacking
Chalmers Johnson says we must make a choice
between our Republic and our empire
if we preserve empire our Republic will expire
we will be left with a totalitarian state
for which the mechanisms are in place
Johan Galtung asks the question
the end of the American Empire;
and then what? Well he sees two
different possibilities that can transpire
A totalitarian state may ensue with flag unfurled
or a golden age of American progress
where the limitless bounties of the American people
are employed to better everyone around the world
Yes it would be in our interest to emulate the Cuban state
and focus our energies on creative building
rather than on the destructive and evil course we currently pursue
and make a much better world for me and for you
For the trip to Cuba has been transformational
in opening our eyes to human potential
hopefully all of us will return to pursue
what we have learned about what poor Cuba can do
Las ultimas palabras de Miguel Cervantes eran:
“Adios amigos, Adios amores
yo voy a verte pronto en el otro mundo.”
Good by friends, good by loves
I will see soon in another world.”
Perhaps we can build another world—a better world
Based on What Cuba Teaches Us…
Howard P. Charman, MD
On leaving Cuba 2-15-2015