A first group of healthcare workers is returning to Cuba after completing their mission, following the Guatemalan government’s announcement of the phased end of the current bilateral agreement.
In a simple yet moving farewell ceremony, the head of Cuban diplomacy in Guatemala City, Nazario Fernández, described the profound impact of the affection these professionals leave in the most remote areas of the country.
He commended their service and urged people to disregard the malicious minds and empty hearts that try to denigrate their work, as the humanism demonstrated daily for almost 28 years remains alive in the people of this sister nation.
At the event, which also paid tribute to Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro on the centennial of his birth and recognized each member of the medical brigade for their work, Fernández wished them a safe return home.
Earlier, Sheila Pamela Leyla, coordinator of the collaboration program at the Guatemalan Ministry of Health and Social Assistance’s Directorate of Integrated Networks, stated, “We are gathered here to say thank you.”
She described how the members of the Cuban medical brigade made the mountains, jungles, and poorest neighborhoods of this land their own home.
“You arrived not with weapons or preconditions, but with stethoscopes and an iron will. Since then, you have been the face of hope for millions of Guatemalans who, before seeing a Cuban doctor, had never had access to a decent medical consultation.”
“We are filled with profound pride to contemplate the magnitude of the work they have built, a task that transcends the professional to become a monument to fraternity.”
“They leave with their heads held high, with the heroic satisfaction of a duty fulfilled and with the certainty that their time in our country has left a mark of health and dignity that time can never erase,” Leyla emphasized.
“To be an internationalist is to repay our own debt to humanity,” she recalled, citing one of the precepts of the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution.
“Their work was not only technical, but profoundly humane. They taught us that medicine is not a commodity, but a calling,” the coordinator underscored.
In José Martí Plaza on Las Américas Avenue, members of the brigade and the Caribbean state mission, along with the group that had just completed their service, placed a floral offering before the bust honoring the island’s National Hero and loudly proclaimed: “Mission accomplished!”
Since November 5, 1998, Cuban white coat professionals faced many difficult situations in 16 of the 22 departments of this Central American territory, with a truly impressive dedication, example, and respect.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
