As I was getting ready to go on a family vacation to Cuba two weeks ago, I did all the things we ostomates do to get ready to travel. My medications and ostomy supplies were packed, and I was up to date with my travel medical insurance. The biggest things on my mind were getting through customs without being stopped because of my ostomy, whether I had enough supplies to get me through a week of fun in the sun, and enough medication in case I got another case of traveler's diarrhea. You see, my husband and I experienced a nasty case of traveler's diarrhea on our last trip to Cuba and had to see the doctor for a shot of Gravol and a 7-day treatment of antibiotics. During this time, we were surprised to find that a doctor in Cuba makes less money than most of the people that worked at the resort. I had the privilege of meeting a man with Crohn's disease, and he started telling me his unbelievable story of being diagnosed. I made it my mission to get him the Crohn's medication, which he was unable to get in Cuba even though Castro (Cuban president) brags about how good their country's free health care was. I got doctors here to donate some Crohn's medication and supplies and sent it through travelers to my new friends with Crohn's disease. This year I packed up everything I could get my hands on: diabetic meters, medication, eyeglasses, and anything else I could jam in the suitcase I was allowed to take for free, full of medical supplies. Helping these people made me feel so good inside because I was making a difference in someone's life. Until... we were faced with a real emergency that had us all in awe of the conditions of the real Cuban health care. My father-in-law had a fall that took us to the closest hospital, and I use the word hospital lightly.
Foreigners like us who visit Cuba are fed the official line from Castro's propaganda: "All Cubans are now able to receive excellent health care, which is also free." But the truth is very different. Castro has built excellent health facilities for the use of foreigners, who pay with hard currency for those services. But Cubans are not even allowed to visit those facilities. Cubans who require medical attention must go to other hospitals (like we visited) that lack the most minimum requirements needed to take care of their patients. In addition, most of these facilities are filthy, and patients have to bring their own towels, bed sheets, pillows, or they would have to lay down on dirty bare mattresses stained with blood and other body fluids. Imagine the most horrific hospital movie you have seen... Garbage and pools of water everywhere. The perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and disease. Old and outdated instruments, there weren't any windows, the lights flickered on and off. There was running water that flowed down the hallways, mold grows up the walls. The public bathrooms had no plumbing (just a hole), and there were no signs of any hospital workers until we woke them up. It was like we were in a bad dream but couldn't wake up. So I started to do some investigation myself and found the real ugly truth that most patients died because of the negligence of those in charge of this hospital, and after they died, hospital officials threw them on a table, one on top of the other, like bags of garbage at the local dumpster. These poor patients show marks that indicate that patients were beaten before they died.
As we walked the dark and dingy halls, all I could think was... This is the fantastic health care that Cuban patients receive? They are treated worse than animals. It is the cruelty of that brutal regime that has been oppressing the Cuban people for more than 51 years. Could this all be true? I had to find out, so I found a person that spoke English who was willing to talk to me and share a recent article about slave doctors that Cuba lends out to foreign countries, which explains why being a doctor in Cuba does not hold the same opportunities as we have here in North America. In fact, being a doctor can have you torn away from your family, friends, and life to work for the Castro regime.
Letter from a slave doctor in Angola
A relative of a Cuban slave doctor, who was sent by the Castro regime to work in Angola, has sent me a copy of a recent email he received where the doctor explains how the Castro brothers exploit those who are forced to abandon their families and go work in foreign countries.
The name of the doctor has been omitted for obvious reasons. Here is a translation of what he said:
"Let me explain how the contract works. The Angolan government pays Cuba US$10,000 monthly for each doctor, but from that total, the Cuban government pays Angola's Ministry of Health US$6,000 per month to guarantee our housing and transportation. We have to pay for our own food. Of the US$4,000 left, we only receive US$600, but 30% of the $600 is paid to an account in Cuba. I spend about US$150 buying food that I have to cook myself, and if you check the phone bill, it costs around US$40 to call Cuba. As you can see, it is not easy."
Note - According to the relatives, the 30% that is paid in Cuba is in CUC Convertible Cuban Pesos that are worthless outside of Cuba.
Based on this breakdown, Cuba is receiving US$4,000 net after expenses for each doctor. The Cuban government pays US$420 ($600 less 30%) to the doctor and 180 CUC goes to an account in Cuba.
And the difference, approximately US$3,400, goes to the pocket of Castro & Castro Slave Traders Unlimited.
Some exiled doctors that I've talked to believe that the figure that the Cuban government pays for the "housing and transportation" seems high and is probably what the government told the doctor.
If that's the case, the difference that goes to the Castro brothers' pockets could be even higher.
Multiply that by the thousands of Cuban doctors who are currently working in foreign countries, and you can understand why Forbes lists Fidel Castro as one of the world's richest dictators.
Next time you hear one of those foreign ignorant talking about the "generosity" of Cuba's leaders in "sharing" thousands of Cuban doctors to help the poor and the needy around the world, show them this letter.
After reading this, I couldn't help but sit and cry. The whole situation had overwhelmed me. I couldn't help but feel blessed for living with a disease that if I had been living in Cuba, I would have surely died from complications and lack of medication. All of a sudden, I was embarrassed for all the times I have complained about waiting to see a doctor or have been impatient because the pharmacy was out of stock, and I had to wait a day or two for my medication. Sometimes there comes a time in your life where one turn of events changes your life, changes the way you see things differently. This was that moment for me. This trip has changed me forever. Even though my father-in-law has been in a Canadian hospital awaiting surgery to replace his shattered shoulder for over a week, you will not hear a complaint from us. We all sit patiently waiting for his surgery, knowing that the care that our father receives is among the best in the world, and we are truly blessed to live in a place where we have our freedom and rights that we sometimes take for granted! Today, as I spend Thanksgiving with family and friends, I know that I have a lot to be thankful for!!!!
