Sept. 15, 2005 – With an unknown number of displaced people facing an uncertain future and government health officials warning of the deleterious effects Hurricane Katrina is having on public health, the Green Party earlier this week called on the White House to accept Cuban President Fidel Castro’s offer to send trained doctors to aid in relief efforts.
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Cuba initially offered to send 1,100 doctors in three groups the day after Katrina hit and later reiterated the plan, after apparently being ignored. Cuba has a well-regarded medical education and health-care systems and regularly provides medical aid to impoverished African and South and Central American nations.
Calling the Bush administration’s refusal to directly address the offer "unconscionable," Tony Gronowicz, the Green Party New York City mayoral candidate, asked: "Why is the White House denying entry visas to hundreds of trained doctors, all packed and ready to save lives in Louisiana and Mississippi?"
Castro upped the offer to 1,500 doctors last week, Reuters reported. The medical brigade is learning English while awaiting deployment, the news service said. According to information provided by Castro, the doctors would carry backpacks full of medical supplies and provide on-the-spot medical assistance to people needing care in devastated areas.
A number of domestic newspapers have called on Bush to accept the Cuban doctors in the face of growing concern over the health and welfare of refugees, including the Minnesota Daily, the Daily Texan and a columnist with New York Daily News.
Last week, Senator Mel Martinez (R-Florida) broke with party leadership and said, "if we need doctors, and Cuba offers them and they provide good service, of course we should accept them," the Miami Herald reported. Martinez is Cuban-American in a state where many of his nationality take a very hard line toward Castro.
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The State Department said the offer would likely not be accepted as the number of US doctors that volunteered was enough.
