US Doctors, Teachers Defy Cuba Blockade Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Steve Burke - April 16, 2002 4/15/02 Under Fire From Feds, 13 Teachers, Nurses and Docs Arrive in Cuba. On April 14 at 3:00 AM a plane from Montreal touched down in Holguin, Cuba carrying thirteen teachers and health care professionals from around the state of Maine. Twenty five people had originally planned to go on the research tour to Cuba, but the delegation was reduced when twelve people withdrew because of last minute threats of prosecution by Charles Bishop from OFAC (The Office of Foreign Assets Control) a department of the US Treasury that is charged with enforceing the US embargo against Cuba. On last Wednesday, three days prior to take off, Bishop placed a call to Merri Ansara of Common Ground Travel in Cambridge, Mass and informed her that the Maine tour she was working with did not meet the requirements for traveling to Cuba and that the travelers could face prosecution from the federal government if the trip went forward as planned. He also warned her that her license to organize such tours could be revoked if she proceeded with the tour. Common Ground Travel is one of 100 licensed travel service providers who are granted permission from OFAC to organize tours to Cuba for specific and narrowly defined groups of individuals that include professionals, such as medical personal and teachers, who travel to the island to interact with their Cuban counterparts and carry out research. During the one week tour in Cuba the Maine teachers will visit a variety of schools, from preschool centers to universities, including schools for handicapped children and schools for young people with special interests and talents. Some teachers are especially interested in learning about the Cuban literacy campaign of 1961 that raised the literacy rate to nearly 100% with in a year. Maine medical workers will learn about the Cuban system of family doctors which has become a model worldwide for the effective delivery of primary health care. The schools, universities and medical facilities the delegation will visit are located in Holguin, Cuba's eastern most and second largest city and the historic city of Santiago. Barbara West from Arrowsic who is a member of Let Cuba Live, a Maine based Cuba solidarity group explained, "the feds have a mean spirited attitude toward Cuba and toward people who would like to go there that I just don't understand." She added," If they are going to hit a delegation, they wait until the last possible moment until people have spent their money and made their plans. They want to inflict as much fear and pain as possible. They have a history of this behavior." Tom Whitney a pediatrician from Norway, Me. and his wife Allison a school nurse, are also members of Let Cuba Live. Both have traveled to the island many times. Whitney expressed dismay when he spoke of their intention to continue with the tour, "Among them, the travelers who couldn't go because of this, have lost $5000.00 in non refundable airline tickets, I'm not at all fond of the idea of confrontation with the federal government but I'm going anyway, I'm going in solidarity with the rest of the tour." Whitney explained that his group was involved in early stage planning for the tour before it was taken over by Common Ground Travel. When the travelers met in Augusta for the long ride to Montreal they spoke of their determination to continue with the tour. Some of the participants felt that there was a solid legal foundation for the tour. Others felt that the right to travel to other countries and meet with counterparts on a professional level is essential and must be defended. Shelia Wilensky - A teacher from Mount Desert, "I feel it is important to experience a culture very different from ours that's so close to us. We can talk about Afghanistan and the Middle East, but they're so remote. Here's a place 90 miles from home that we don't talk to" Janet Caldwell - A teacher from Portland, "I intend to travel to Cuba with the honorable intention of acquiring educational strategies regarding literacy, to understand how a country can increase their literacy to almost 100% through solidarity and with meager financial expenditures, and to open my heart and mind to the values of another culture. I am an English teacher, member of a school department's literacy committee, and plan to teach a course called "Crossing Cultural Borders." Some Spanish 4 students have written letters hoping to begin communication with Cuban students. My research in Cuba can be a great asset to the educational system in the United States which is financially overextended and finds fewer and fewer young people regarding school as a meaningful experience. I can not see any humane or professional reason to cancel my trip to Cuba". Tasha Jansen - A school nurse from Pemaquid, "I have been nursing for 22 years., and have seen the US health care system go through many changes, and have seen many needs not met. Cuba has been very successful with their health care and I feel we could learn from them. I'm not interested in politics, just the well being of the American people, especially the children who are our future". Sara Stalman - An MD from Penobscot, "As a physician, I have been impressed by Cuban Health Care for years -- particularly their focus on the needs of children. As a psychiatrist, I have spent my professional life studying the effects of fear on the developing brain of the child, and the relationship of that fear to the development of adult psychiatric illness. Visiting Cuba gives me the opportunity to share my research interest with other physicians focused on childhood development. Moreover, at 53 I cannot let anyone make me afraid: this last minute decision of the US government's could make me feel intimidated if I let it. Since I know that I am traveling within the legal research guidelines. I must go." For confirmation or information call Renee Cote - 207-786-4325 or Steve Burke - 207-273-3247 ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcari-04.17.02-16:15:35-30287