Haiti and Cuba, in very different times, had a January1st  of Revolution and victory. The land that gave birth to the heroes François Dominique Toussaint Louverture and Jean Jacques Dessalines, in 1804, José Martí and Fidel Castro in 1959.

Haiti was the second American country and the first in Latin America to win its independence after a singular abolitionist revolutionary process initiated in 1791 that led to its victory over France, the colonial rule since the late Seventeenth Century.

Cuba became the first socialist nation in the Western Hemisphere after its emancipation from neo-colonial yoke of Washington.

Speaking of coincidence, Haitian President Rene Preval welcomed the Cuban press special envoys in Port au Prince.
"In our countries, although at different times, revolutions shook the world and both were under a strong pressure from foreign governments.

"For example, France did not recognize Haitian independence until 1825, 21 years later. United States only recognized it in 1865. We had 51 years of embargo by the United States. Cuba also suffers the U.S blockade for 51 years.
"Today, Cuba, despite its hardships, is the country that has helped Haiti most. It has been present before the earthquake in the field of education, and health, and after the earthquake that support grew even more.

"Cuba has trained more than 500 Haitian doctors, and we will count soon on 1,500 Cuban medical aid workers working in the most remote areas of my country in a relentless fight against the cholera epidemic. It is the most significant, effective and efficient aid we have received.

"Haiti has been a concern of the State, the Government and the people of Cuba, and especially of President Fidel Castro. He has written more than five articles – Reflexions – on our hard situation.

"On the occasion of the double anniversary of the Cuban and Haitian Revolutions I am pleased to wish a happy new year to all the Cuban people on behalf of the Haitian people, its Government, myself, and in particular those aided by the Cuban medical teams.”

Until December 31, 2010 the Cuban Medical Brigade had saved the lives of more than 50,000 Haitians infected with cholera, of which 31.5% are under 15 years of age. It also continued to reduce the lethal rate of this dangerous disease at the cholera treatment facilities, which amounts only to 0.54%.

The Brigade Active Disease Detection Teams have interviewed 263 856 people in remote rural areas in Haiti, where they have found and saved from death  1 819 persons infected with cholera.

!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."