Project C.U.R.E. to send $2.4 million in gear to Guantanamo hospital
By Jeff Kass, Rocky Mountain News
Monday, May 26, 2008
"Socialism or Death" reads the sign on the local government headquarters
in Guantanamo, Cuba, but locals are eager to practice English with an
American.
Jeff Kass © The Rocky
"Socialism or Death" reads the sign on the local government headquarters
in Guantanamo, Cuba, but locals are eager to practice English with an
American.
The 10-year-old X-ray machines at Agostinho Neto provincial hospital
sometimes don't work 100 percent.
Sometimes, they don't work at all.
Just as residents on this island nation tinker with their 1950s
Chevrolets to keep them running, the staff at Agostinho Neto jury-rigs
medical equipment when replacement parts are in short supply.
But Project C.U.R.E., a Centennial-based aid organization, plans to send
at least six containers of donated medical supplies worth some $2.4
million for Agostinho Neto and two other medical facilities in
Guantanamo Province. Three have already arrived.
"I can't say one thing is more important than another," said Dr. Roberto
Nicot, director of Agostinho Neto, of the cargo. "We use it all."
The pale, five-story hospital sits near edge of Guantanamo city and was
completed in 1985. Nicot's office has a framed, poster-sized photo of
Fidel Castro. Two government officials sat in on an interview with him
and tagged along on a hospital tour, but did not put any questions or
areas off-limits.
Project C.U.R.E. has funneled donated medical supplies to countries
ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe. Part of the Cuban shipment will end up
in a place right next to one of the most disputed strips of land in the
Western Hemisphere.
Some 14 miles from Agostinho Neto is the U.S. Naval Station at
Guantanamo Bay. The United States pays just over $4,000 a year in rent
but the Cubans refuse to cash the checks, apparently as a show of disgust.
Revolutionary billboards and posters are common throughout Cuba, and the
local government headquarters in Guantanamo city is no exception:
"Socialism or Death," declares the rooftop sign. Agostinho Neto hospital
is named for the now deceased doctor and Angolan independence leader
supported by Cuba.
Everyday life in Guantanamo, however, contrasts with the military posturing.
It is a city of more than 200,000 with few tourists and a mellow central
square. Located on the other side of the island from Havana, it counts
both horse-drawn carts and a large baseball stadium. And as in other
parts of Cuba, the word on the street contrasts with the party line:
Locals greet an American and are eager to practice their English.
Local Guantanamo officials also make a distinction between the American
government, which they blame for the naval station, and the American
people, which they credit for the donations.
"Perhaps it is ironic that the two types of people exist in America:
Those who are interested in war and those who are interested in
solidarity," said Alejandro Louit Correa, who handles international
relations for the provincial government.
Project C.U.R.E. President Douglas Jackson calls the Cuban venture "fun"
and "cutting edge." His organization, he said, is apolitical.
"Project C.U.R.E. is operating within the terms of the governmental
policies and regulations of both countries and, within those
constraints, we are trying to do as much good as we possibly can for as
many people as we can impact in as short of a time as possible," Jackson
wrote in an e-mail.
This medical supply donation also stands out for Project C.U.R.E.
because of the red tape that had to be cut and the political sparks that
spin off from a nearly 50-year duel between the U.S. and Cuba.
The Boulder Rotary Club, for example, donated $3,000 for shipping only
after its World Community Service Committee discussed whether the
supplies might be improperly diverted to tourist hospitals or
re-exported to other countries for Cuban propaganda purposes, according
to the committee co-chairs. Those concerns were allayed by requirements
that the donations be monitored.
The Boulder-Cuba Sister City Organization first spoke with Project
C.U.R.E. about the donation in 2004, said Joan O'Connell, who
coordinates the organization's health activities. Her group, along with
Denver and Boulder rotary clubs, and a Denver fund-raiser, raised some
of the $105,000 to ship the six containers.
Earlier this year, Castro announced he was stepping down as president
after nearly 50 years. It remains unclear whether Cuban, or U.S.
politics, will change. But James Bonn, a co-chairman of the Boulder
Rotary World Community Service Committee, thinks the medical donations
could help warm relations.
"Castro leaves power," he said, "and the Cuban people see the generosity
of Americans."
Travel rules
U.S. citizens and those under U.S. jurisdiction are prohibited from
traveling to Cuba for tourism. But there are a number of ways to legally
visit the Caribbean nation.
* The three main exceptions to the travel ban are:
* Members of the U.S. government, foreign governments and international
organizations on official business.
* Regularly employed journalists on assignment.
* Research or attendance at certain professional meetings or conferences.
* Other exceptions, which require prior government approval or a
"specific license," include activities such as:
Business
Educational programs
Freelance journalism
Human rights efforts
Humanitarian efforts
Performances and athletic competitions
Religious activities
Teaching
Visiting a family member
* How Americans travel there anyway:
Typically through a third country such as Mexico or Canada.
* If you break the law:
Up to 10 years in prison, $1 million in corporate fines and $250,000 in
individual fines. Civil penalties up to $55,000 per violation also may
be imposed.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/26/centennial-aid-group-ships-medical-supplies-to/
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