International community cannot abandon Haiti

Speech by Felipe Pirez Roque, Cuban Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, at the 3rd Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of 
Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States. Panama City, 
February 12, 2004.

I have instructions from my Government to speak at this 
Ministerial Meeting of the Association of Caribbean States, not 
about Cuba — which, although blockaded and harassed, 
nevertheless cannot be subjected nor forced to renounce its 
dreams of justice and liberty — but to speak about the situation 
in Haiti.

Cuba believes that the international community cannot abandon 
Haiti. The social situation is getting worse. Added to the old 
problems derived from colonialism and exploitation are new and 
urgent difficulties associated with the unjust and exclusive 
international economic order.

Collaborating with Haiti has become a duty for all of us, its 
neighbours.

At this moment, Cuba has a 535-member medical brigade in Haiti, 
332 of them doctors.

They are distributed in every department of the country, and have 
75 percent of the 8.3 million Haitians under their care. To have 
an idea of how significant their work is one should be aware that 
Haiti has less than 2000 doctors, and almost 90 per cent of them 
are offering their services in the country's capital.

Over the last five years, Cuban doctors in Haiti have given 
nearly five million medical consultations, have attended some 
45,000 births, and have performed approximately 59,000 
operations.

In the areas covered by the Cuban doctors, the mortality rate for 
infants under 12 months has dropped from 80 to 28 per 1000 live 
births, and that for children under five from 159 to 39 per 1000 
live births. The maternal mortality rate has dropped from 523 to 
259 deaths per 100,000 live births.

However, to have an idea of how far there is yet to go, I should 
remind you that in Cuba, for example, the mortality rate for 
infants under 12 months is 6.3 per 1000, for children under five 
it is eight per 1000 and the maternal mortality rate is 39 per 
100,000.

During those five years, more than 370,000 Haitians — 80 percent 
of them children — have been vaccinated.

It is estimated that nearly 86,000 human lives have been saved by 
the Cuban health workers in Haiti.

In addition, Cuban technicians have repaired 2169 damaged pieces 
of medical equipment.

A total of 247 young Haitians are studying at the School of 
Medicine founded in their country by Cuban professors, while 
another 372 are studying medicine as scholarship students in 
Cuba.

In face of the current internal tensions in that sister country, 
which you are aware of and which have given rise to the departure 
of a number of foreign residents, on Tuesday, February 10, our 
government explicitly instructed our embassy in Port-au-Prince to 
maintain all the members of the Cuban medical brigade working 
without interruption at their posts in all areas of the country.

In addition, given the obstacles that could arise in the 
availability of medicines on February 11, Cuba dispatched 525 
special consignments of nearly 80 medicines so that all the Cuban 
medical volunteers can meet their tasks.

The Cuban medical personnel, who strictly adhere to the principle 
of non-involvement in Haiti's internal affairs, are honourably 
fulfilling their noble mission of attending to the health of the 
Haitian people.

In addition to this, the Darbonne sugar mill complex was rebuilt 
with Cuban technical help, and now is working on its fourth sugar 
harvest with the help of 30 Cuban experts. The complex is 
generating employment and guarantees electricity during harvest 
time for the area's population, previously lacking that service. 

Moreover, 20 Cuban professors are acting as advisors to a radio-
based literacy program designed by our specialists. To date, 
110,000 Haitians have learned how to read and write, and the 
program will continue to grow. Cuba also donated the educational 
materials, including manuals in French and Creole. 

Cuba is also lending its modest co-operation to Haiti in other 
areas. Thus, 20 Cuban veterinarians and technicians are 
contributing to the establishment of a health control program and 
training Haitian personnel.

A further 10 technicians are helping to consolidate the national 
aquiculture program, for which Cuba has donated 42 million 
larvae, that have already been released into the country's 
reservoirs, and for which specialised personnel have been 
trained.

Another 11 Cuban agricultural specialists are working in Haiti as 
part of the Food and Agricultural Organisation's Food Security 
Program.

Collaborationin other areas

Our country is also collaborating in areas such as culture and 
road construction.

In addition, I can affirm that more than 3000 young people from 
the Caribbean are studying in Cuban universities today. 

I am not saying all of this in order to boast. I say it with 
modesty, as evidence of what even a small and blockaded country 
such as Cuba can do for its sister countries. 

The Cuban people feel that they are fulfilling a duty, and 
moreover are paying a debt of gratitude to the peoples of the 
Caribbean, who have so firmly maintained their constant 
friendship and solidarity with Cuba.

Independent of its internal difficulties, we are helping Haiti at 
this crucial moment in its history, and let us not forget that it 
was there, 200 years ago, that the struggle for the freedom of 
our Caribbean and Latin American peoples began. 

Thank you very much.