[Marxism] IPS: Country Welcomes Cuban Doctors

[Walter Lippmann]

One might have thought the South Africa, which evidently was not
able to prevent those doctors - probably white, from abandoning
their home country, would deserve PRAISE for having made these
efforts to replace those who choose to leave with doctors from
Cuba. (I've no idea if there were any Black doctors permitted to
attend medical school or practice during the apartheid period.)

Evidently the South Africa bashers have found yet another way
to bash South Africa's post-apartheid government.

Cuban generosity is well-known, but I do not imagine that Cuba
provides its doctors free of charge. Cuba does provide medical
education to students - including from South Africa, for free.
Cuba only asks that the doctors it trains return to their home
countries and provide medical care there in underserved areas.

Edmondson complains that South Africa hasn't trained activists
who helped overthrow apartheid into becoming doctors. Somehow
I think that's a bit much to ask. Just because someone is good
as a political activist and leader, does that really mean they
would also be good as a physician?

Here are some details on the 400 South African medical school
students who are currently receiving their education in Cuba:
http://www.medicc.org/ns/index.php?s=30&p=4

Once again, the prefectionistic critics of the ANC government
never lose an opportunity to make an attack on the ANC. 

Cuba is training Venezuelans to become doctors, yet we've not 
yet begun to read of Venezuelan doctors trained in Cuba who've
returned home or travelled to other countries to practice the
medicine they've learned in Cuba. Under ALBA, goods are traded
rather than purchased and sold. The exact equivalents for the
trades aren't spelled out. However, Cuba is receiving oil from
Venezuela at agreed upon, and stable prices. I don't know what
those are, either.

South Africa's standing with Cuba diplomatically, politically
and terms of economic interaction and trade, also counts for
somewhere between little and nothing to our perfectionists. 

The South African government is a capitalist one, but unlike
the United States government, South Africa's government has
a completely favorable relationship with Cuba. For critics of
a perfectionistic bent, this, too, counts for somewhere between
little and nothing. But finding yet another reason to attack the
government of South Africa? Yes, that's quite satisfying to some.

South Africa does have critics internationally, including even
in faraway New Zealand. Wasn't there someone named Ferguson among
among the Kiwis criticizing South Africa's government, too?


Walter Lippmann
Los Angeles, California
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JOHN EDMUNDSON write:
It seems to me that all the kudos in this story should go to the
Cubans. The South Africans don't appear to have done anything
remarkable at all - unless accepting help from countries poorer than
themselves (South Africa's GDP is $13000 compared to Cuba's $3900) is
something to be proud of. By retaining a good relationship with Cuba,
South Africa has been able to benefit from the unequalled generosity
that Cuba extends through its medical aid program. Presumably in this
case Cuba does get something in return, since this is part of an
inter-government agreement between the two states - the article
Walter posted doesn't elaborate on this.

The bottom line is that South Africa had the opportunity to be a
world leader, like Cuba, or recently Venezuela. They've had years to
train up some of the highly dedicated and motivated activists who
catapulted the ANC into power. South Africa could have been providing
doctors to the rest of Africa instead of importing doctors, much
needed elsewhere, from Cuba.

Cheers, 
John

ps. Lots of those South African doctors (along with other white
flighters) have taken up residence in New Zealand. It's funny how
it's impossible to find any who supported apartheid though...


=========================================
     WALTER LIPPMANN
     Los Angeles, California
     Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
     "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================