I have never been to Cuba. However, I have many memories associated with Cuba. As a student I admired Che Guevara and Fidel Castro for their revolutionary spirit and for challenging America in its own backyard. I was very impressed with the achievements of this tiny island country in the fields of education, health care and sports. Later in life, I had opportunities to interact with people associated with Cuba. These opportunities helped me to develop my perceptions about Cuba into convictions that under Fidel Castro’s leadership Cuba was forging ahead and it was setting examples for the other third world countries to follow. I met a doctor in the US who was originally from Sri Lanka. He got his medical education in Cuba. He told me many things about the medical education and health care in Cuba. He said that the medical education and health care in Cuba could compete with any developed country and in some ways it was better. Thousands of students from many Latin American countries come to Cuba to study medicine. Cuban doctors go to many Latin American countries to help in the delivery of health care in those countries. They also perform surgeries there. Patients from the other Latin American countries come to Cuba to have their surgeries there. People’s health is very good in Cuba and its health care statistics such as life expectancy, maternal mortality and infant mortality can be compared to any developed country and are better than some of them. Canada has very good relations with Cuba. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba developed very close relations and increased its trade with Canada by many folds. As a matter of fact Canada replaced the Soviet Union as the largest trading partner of Cuba. Many Canadians visit Cuba as tourists. Some members of our family and friends in Canada have gone to Cuba as tourists. Their experiences were very good. They felt that Cuba was very clean and safe country. They could not tell if they were in a third world country. In the year 2000, Elian Gonzales affair became very famous in the US and in the world. He was an eight years old boy whose mother took him with her when she escaped from Cuba and tried to reach the US. Their ship sank and she drowned. However, the boy was rescued by the US coast guard and was given to his relatives in Florida. The boy’s father wanted to take him back to Cuba. The relatives wanted to keep him in the US. They pleaded that it was in boy’s best interest to be raised in the US. Many people in the US and in the world felt that he should be sent back to Cuba to be united with his father. I wrote in many newspapers that the boy should be united with his father. I gave talks in the universities and other places that the boy should be sent back to Cuba. I argued that the American law upholds the principle that family unity and integrity should be promoted. The case went to the courts. In the end the courts decided that the boy should be sent back to Cuba and reunited with his father. About five years ago there was a meeting in Chandigarh to promote Cuba-India friendship. This was attended by the Cuban diplomats from New Delhi. I was also invited to the meeting and was one of the speakers. After the meeting the organizers asked me to have some informal interaction with the diplomats. I found them very personable and warm. I had not seen ambassador ranking people so down to earth before. They had very positive and friendly feelings for India and the Indians. When I told them about my role in the Elian Gonzalez affair, they became very emotional and embraced me. They asked to visit them when I was in Delhi. My wife and my son were also with me. When they found out that my son was a medical student, they told him that he could come to Cuba and study in Cuba and he would be a guest of the Cuban government. It was obvious that the Cuban diplomats were different than other diplomats. I could see reflection of Fidel Castro in them.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
