Medics from Cuba, Elsewhere Help Bridge Divides Post-Disaster

Medics can play a role in uniting a community after disaster strikes.

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, medical providers often have the ability to soften sharp social and political divides in areas either experiencing violence or on the brink of conflict. Recent examples in Southeast Asia and New Orleans showcase the positive impact that personal contact between medics and survivors can have, as well as the larger gains that can follow from intimate interactions linked to medical aid.

After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunamis struck Southeast Asia, Cuba—a country renowned for its successful disaster preparedness and effective evacuation plans—sent doctors and humanitarian workers to several locations in the affected region. Cuba has a long history of providing medical assistance following international disasters, including major earthquakes in Chile, Peru, and Nicaragua in the 1960s and 70s; Central America’s Hurricane Mitch in 1998; and mudslides in Venezuela in 1999.

More recently, Cuba responded to the devastating earthquake in Java, Indonesia, in May 2006, which killed nearly 6,000 people and left 36,000 injured. The response to that event included 135 workers staffing two Cuban field hospitals and earned the respect of Indonesia’s regional health coordinator, Ronny Rockito. “Many villagers begged the Cuban doctors to say,” according to Rockito.

Though most media reports focus on Cuban doctors attending to victims of international disasters, Cuba’s “medical diplomacy” in fact covers a broad range of assistance, extending to 69 countries in 2006, according to a recent statement by foreign minister Felipe Pérez Roque. Each year, Cuba invites thousands of students from developing countries to be trained in its medical schools. The country even offers assistance to countries with which it is ideologically or politically at odds: shortly after Hurricane Katrina submerged parts of New Orleans, for instance, Cuba offered to send more than 1,000 fully trained and equipped doctors to the United States.

Although the Cuban offer was rebuked by the U.S. government, a second group of trained health workers—street medics—did enter the beleaguered city. Four young health care professionals from across the United States, experienced in providing medical assistance during protests, took their skills to the neglected New Orleans community of Algiers. As journalist Tim Shorrock explains in Mother Jones and Yes! magazines, the medics performed basic tasks such as monitoring blood pressure, testing for diabetes, and checking for anxiety and depression—earning the respect of local residents who felt otherwise abandoned by government officials.

The street medics were soon given space in a local mosque to set up a small clinic. Over the course of several months, the Common Ground Health Clinic became a critical meeting point and community support center, with volunteers from Algiers and elsewhere providing a range of first aid and mental health services. According to one longtime resident, the medics played a crucial role in diffusing racial tensions. “People saw what happened when they relied on the government to help them and the government didn’t,” notes Common Ground founder Brandon Darby in a video created by the group. “But people also see what happens with grassroots organizing and how it did help, and how it is helping.”

The clinic’s staff and volunteers have seen more than 15,000 patients since Hurricane Katrina hit more than a year ago. Today, it is clear the clinic has assumed a much larger role than that played by the four volunteer medics who ventured into New Orleans in the early days following the disaster.

This story was produced by Eye on Earth, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the blue moon fund. View the complete archive of Eye on Earth stories, or contact Staff Writer Alana Herro at aherro [AT] worldwatch [DOT] org with your questions, comments, and story ideas.