Repeating Islands

Amelia Duarte de la Rosa writes about the free medical services offered by Cuban volunteer doctors in Haiti and the moving stories of the people of Bassin Bleu, Haiti:

Bassin Bleu is an hour’s drive from Port-de-Paix, capital of Haiti’s Nord-Oueste department. While it is not the best in the area, neither is it the worst, although the commune, with more than 50,000 inhabitants, has no drinking water, paved streets or electricity. The only movement is around the small community reference hospital, the only one providing services free of charge and operated for the last two years by Cuban doctors. Patients arrive here from the entire Nord-Oueste region: on foot, in rustic carts, on motorcycles, or on stretchers carried down the mountainsides. There is nothing new in this routine for the 24 Cuban volunteers, but still, there are always surprises. Every case, every person represents a sad and precarious history.

To tour the hospital’s six rooms is a moving experience; that is the case in any hospital, but this one also emanates altruism. Sounds of pain in the corridors are eased by the Cuban doctors’ kind attention and professionalism. In the first aid room, the medical doctor’s office, the clinical laboratory, the emergency room, intensive care, surgery, rehabilitation, pediatrics, gynecological-obstetrics, sonogram, infirmary and pharmacy, everyone works tirelessly. Time is short to take care of so many lives.

A young boy eight years of age arrives at the hospital, accompanied by his father. His scant clothing is evident, as is his emaciated body and scabbed, infected skin. He presents an appalling image. His name is Drazzilien Dorelis and he has generalized piodermitis.

This condition is common among Haitian children. Poor living conditions, lack of hygiene, overcrowding and damp homes account for the presence of this bacterial infection produced by staphylococcus and streptococcus. Drazzilien cried during the medical exam, not knowing that the local and intravenous treatment will be more painful. The good news is that, within 72 hours, he will have improved; the bad news is that, unless his living conditions change, the problem will inevitably reappear.

In the hospital, the flow of people continues unabated, but it is not a sad day at the end of it all. Another patient, Alita Alen, is in post-operative recovery, after being operated on for peritonitis caused by a burst ovarian tube abscess. She arrived at the hospital in a life-threatening state after walking more than 60 kilometers. She had no money to pay for treatment at the Port-de-Paix health center. In the delivery room, a 19-year-old woman gave birth to a baby girl while another woman rested alongside her twin babies.

At the hospital exit, Enrique Scarli expressed his appreciation of the medical care provided there. His six-year-old son had undergone surgery for a groin hernia; he claimed that had it not been for the presence of the Cuban doctors, his son would have died. He concluded by saying, “We Haitians have a saying that goes: in Haiti, the Cuban doctors come after God.” One of the best places for verifying that proverb is Bassin Bleu, a great hospital for all who need it.

For original article, see http://www.granma.cu/ingles/ouramerica-i/22dic-haiti.html