The fight against Ebola is the new theater of war

Cuba: The fight against Ebola is the new theater of war / Juan Juan Almeida
Posted on November 4, 2014

Every interesting story has light and dark parts, epic actions, and a
protagonist who inspires. The rest consists of weaving reasons and
emotions together by way of origami.

The Cuban government knows very well how to put into practice its
habitual juggling act in order to locate itself opportunely at the
center of all news flashes. Cuban doctors have been sent to fight the
Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and by taking advantage of this, the
government feeds the false image of having no self-interest in this new
theater of war, where everything is tested, even human sacrifice.

We could see that during the recently-concluded Summit of the Bolivarian
Alliance for the Peoples of Our America Trade Treaty of the Peoples
(ALBA-TCP) the moment of emotion was at the meeting of the heads of
state, delegations, and invited personalities with the Cuban
collaborators from the medical brigades, who that same night, October
21, left for Liberia and Conakry, Guinea.

Hail, Caesar; those who are about to die salute you. They know that if
they become contagious they can't come back to the country until they
are cured or die. A hard but wise decision, because the island is not
prepared to receive the sick without activating the usual chain of
errors that, as we already know and even have suffered, facilitated the
epidemic proliferation of conjunctivitis, cholera, chikungunya, dengue
fever, and a long list of contagious etceteras.

The photo of the Summit is beautiful, but the Summit didn't provide
much. A declaration with 23 points of agreement and little money. Cheap
politicking. The illness continues unabated. According to data offered
by Mr. Bruce Aylward, the Assistant-Director General of the World Health
Organization, the situation is alarming. They have confirmed cases of
infected people in seven countries, and it's estimated that by the
beginning of this coming December, if things continue as is, the number
of people infected with Ebola could reach 5,000 to 10,000 cases weekly.

It's clear that the Cuban government wants to pursue more than just
aiding and combating the mortal virus. With this new crusade, in
addition to confronting an emergency, it will receive a spurt of dollars
to spend excessively without needing to justify it. The government is
developing a strategy to favorably influence the UN vote on human rights
and the American embargo. A key point.

It's clearly persuasive. There is no greater veneration in the human
condition than for the action of saving lives — even more captivating
when the effort means risking your own.

We can criticize them or see from the computer how General Raul Castro
and his buddies are gaining space in Realpolitik (practical interests
and concrete actions). The other option would be to equal or, even
better, to surpass them. To silence, with real actions, the humanitarian
chatter of the Cuban revolution, its hapless friends of ALBA, and its
cousins in the TCP.

But for that we would have to be ready not only to help the needy but
also to define who we are and what exiled Cubans can do. To act together
with international organizations who work in the center of the crisis.
To buy medical and hygienic supplies, protective uniforms, stretchers,
gloves, disinfectants, and instruments for the centers that treat the
sick. It's not difficult.

Certainly we can continue believing that we create a homeland on the
Internet, or we can grab the limelight away from the revolutionary
government. But that, paraphrasing the title of the bolero, is for you
to decide.

Translated by Regina Anavy

27 October 2014

Source: Cuba: The fight against Ebola is the new theater of war / Juan
Juan Almeida | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuba-the-fight-against-ebola-is-the-new-theater-of-war-juan-juan-almeida/