Cuba Seeks to Have Defecting Physicians Return to Work in the Island

Cuba Seeks to Have Defecting Physicians Return to Work in the Island /
Juan Juan Almeida

Juan Juan Almeida, 27 January 2017 — With notable determination, the
Cuban government seeks to lure, or rather rope-in, physicians, nurses
and other healthcare workers who have defected while serving on medical
missions outside Cuba.

To this end, it has sent out a flyer in which it assures that the right
of return is guaranteed–just as long as they maintain a respectful
attitude toward the Revolution and have not joined counter-revolutionary
organizations.

Everyone knows that healthcare is a strategic factor in the development
and wellbeing of any society. The diplomacy of white coats, as the
export of medical services is also known, is among the principal revenue
sources of the Cuban state, and a very effective tool for political
influence.

Cuban medical doctors serve in remote areas. Cuba's contribution to the
fight against the Ebola virus in West Africa still resonates in the
memory of European, and even North American, politicians. For this
reason, any defection or escape poses a concern for the Island authorities.

A medical defector, besides becoming a bad investment for the country's
economy, also symbolizes the unquestionable link in the chain of
failures of the Cuban healthcare system. But a traitor who returns
signifies a social, economic and public relations triumph.

They must be induced to return. To this end–and to take advantage of the
tremendous uncertainty planted by the announced end of the "wet foot,
dry foot" policy and the Cuban medical professional parole program–the
government has started a campaign that covers every municipality of the
Island, visiting the families of every ungrateful malcontent health
worker, making them complete a form and using it as a communication link
or bait.

The form is as follows ("collaborator" in this case being a positive term):

Proposal to Exchange Information with Relatives of Ex-Collaborators

Date: Location:

Name and surnames of the ex-collaborator:

Name and surnames of the interviewed relative:

Relative's political affiliation:

Degree of kinship with the ex-collaborator:

Duty to Inform:

The family member is to inform the ex-collaborator regarding the Cuban
Government's disposition to guarantee the right of return to the
country, according to the requirements of the Migration Law, as long as
individual maintains an attitude of respect towards the Revolution, and
has not joined a counterrevolutionary organization.

Translated by: Alicia Barraqué Ellison

Source: Cuba Seeks to Have Defecting Physicians Return to Work in the
Island / Juan Juan Almeida – Translating Cuba -
https://translatingcuba.com/cuba-seeks-to-have-defecting-physicians-return-to-work-in-the-island-juan-juan-almeida/