Post by Papa C. on Jan 3, 2006 1:49:50 GMT
The Independent 18 December 2005
Castro's 'miracle' cures the poor of blindness
By Tom Fawthrop in Havana
The rich tourists whose luxury yachts once crowded the idyllic Marina
Hemingway complex on the outskirts of the Cuban capital are shocked to find
all Havana's hotel rooms fully booked until mid-2006. More than a dozen
hotels have been temporarily closed to tourists to make way for a different
kind of visitor. Most of them arrive nearly blind; but all will be able to
see perfectly before they leave.
A remarkable humanitarian programme is under way here, which aims to restore
the sight of six million people through free eye surgery. Launched in July
by the 79-year-old Cuban President, Fidel Castro, and Venezuela's Socialist
leader, President Hugo Chavez, Operation Miracle has brought daily
planeloads of the poor from across Latin America and the Caribbean to Havana
for surgery. Cuba provides the medical skills, Venezuela the petro-dollars.
People suffering from cataracts and other eye conditions that can be quickly
remedied are candidates.
Cuba's comprehensive, free healthcare system has a ratio of one doctor for
every 170 Cubans, compared with 188 in the US and 250 in the UK.
Castro's 'miracle' cures the poor of blindness
By Tom Fawthrop in Havana
The rich tourists whose luxury yachts once crowded the idyllic Marina
Hemingway complex on the outskirts of the Cuban capital are shocked to find
all Havana's hotel rooms fully booked until mid-2006. More than a dozen
hotels have been temporarily closed to tourists to make way for a different
kind of visitor. Most of them arrive nearly blind; but all will be able to
see perfectly before they leave.
A remarkable humanitarian programme is under way here, which aims to restore
the sight of six million people through free eye surgery. Launched in July
by the 79-year-old Cuban President, Fidel Castro, and Venezuela's Socialist
leader, President Hugo Chavez, Operation Miracle has brought daily
planeloads of the poor from across Latin America and the Caribbean to Havana
for surgery. Cuba provides the medical skills, Venezuela the petro-dollars.
People suffering from cataracts and other eye conditions that can be quickly
remedied are candidates.
Cuba's comprehensive, free healthcare system has a ratio of one doctor for
every 170 Cubans, compared with 188 in the US and 250 in the UK.
