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Cuba's Doctors Help in Indonesia A seed planted on the other side of the world By MARICELA RECASENS (Periodico26) Three months have passed since a powerful earthquake devastated a large portion of the island of Java and the members of Cuba's International Henry Reeve Contingent were swiftly dispatched to Indonesia to help the victims. They are still deployed in the most remote areas of the municipality of Klaten, one of the hardest hit by the disaster. The pathologies related to the earthquake have started to dwindle, but the precedent established by the Cuban medical brigade in central Java goes beyond all types of borders. Today, Cuban field hospitals are not only visited by the inhabitants of Klaten, but also the residents of he heavily populated neighboring province of Yogyakarta, as well as people from remote surrounding villages. People make long journeys by nights to arrive early in the morning to the waiting areas of the Cuban hospitals to be assisted by the island's personnel. "Termia kasik, terima kasik, terima kasik" Niki repeated over and over again. She is the mother of a six year old girl who was thanking the orthopedic team that operated on her daughter who had an open femur fracture from when her house collapsed after the earthquake. "We did not know that there could be people so different, so unselfish," an emotional Niki told the Cuban specialists who took care of her daughter. By August 20, I a little more than two months after their arrival in Indonesia, the Cuban medical brigade has assisted a total of 89,550 of low-income or extremely poor patients. Of those, 47,451 were seen on field calls and 1,865 underwent surgery in the two Cuban field hospitals. The first Cubans with a lot of work in the operating room were the orthopedic experts who had to deal with open fractures, hip prosthesis and external fixtures implants, as well as other innovations of Cuban medicine, brought to this humanitarian mission. WEDI'S TRAUMA The picturesque district of Wedi, bordering Gantiwarno, in Klaten, is a valley covered by lush vegetation. Its quite and peaceful atmosphere was suddenly disturbed on the fateful morning of May 27. The earthquake destroyed most of its villages and turned them into piles of rubble. 75% of the houses were destroyed and three out of every four inhabitants sustained injures. In Wedi, there are still makeshift bamboo beds, while many elders lie without roofs exposed to the sunlight. The damage in the area was more severe due to its proximity to the earthquake epicenter. Nani is a friendly 10 year old girl. She is still visibly shocked when she recalls the events she witnessed. Although she starts her story with a calm tone, suddenly she pauses and losses all her serenity: "I was very scared!" she exclaims with sad eyes. "What hurt me the most was to lose my school". But her sadness dissipates when she reminisces about the time she spent at the Gantiwarno Camp, aided by Cuban personnel who carried out activities to cheer up the children of the community: "Now I'm happy because the doctors have come to visit us, they vaccinated my little sister and other children from my school." Just like Nani and her sister, the Cuban Medical Brigade in Indonesia has also conducted prevention and education drives. Some 10,000 inhabitants from Klaten have been vaccinated by the Cubans against tetanus. SAVED LIVES "Thanks to God and the Cuban medical doctors my husband is alive. I didn't have the money to pay for the blood he needed," said Rianti, the wife of the first Indonesian who received Cuban blood, from Hectico, as everyone calls him. "Keep on saving lives and keep on helping the poor as you have done here in Indonesia," said Rianti while she kissed and gave a tight hug to this nurse, who has become the contingent's symbol. PLANT THE SEED Vonny is a joyful Indonesian young lady of 25 who has voluntarily joined the Cuban contingent as an interpreter. She is the leader of a group of 10 locals who share with the Cuban personnel intense hours in the hospitals and on the field visits. It was Vonny who taught us some of the history and traditions of the people here. "Women here give birth in their homes," she explained surprised after witnessing how Dr. Angelita assisted the first delivery 45 days after the brigade's arrival in Indonesia. Today, Vonny is still astonished. Fidelia was the first to be born, Mariana followed, then Celia, Ernesto, Vilma... By August 20, thirty one children had been born in the Cuban field hospitals. "I am following the pregnancy of 104 women," said Dr. Angela del Toro, a few minutes before having to leave her lunch intact to rush to perform an urgent caesarean. "At first I was skeptical, I thought that no woman would come to deliver in the hospital, but now I am proud to see that they trust us." Prenatal care has become one of the top priorities of the Henry Reeve Brigade in Indonesia. Today, 107 expecting women are being taken care at the field hospitals of Prambanan and Gantiwarno. "We are here exclusively for humanitarian reasons," Dr. Luis Oliveros Serrano, chief of the medical brigade, told CNN. "Authorities from the Indonesian government have been cooperating with us all the time and they have voiced their profound appreciation for our work. The visit of their foreign minister to the hospitals, as a well as those by other high ranking officials brings a lot of satisfaction to us. It is a sincere demonstration of respect to Cuba and to our people." The mission in Pakistan after another devastating earthquake in October 2005 blazed the trail for the "Henry Reeve" International Contingent, which was formed shortly before to offer Cuba's assistance to the victims of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, but rejected by George W. Bush. The 96 members of the brigade in Indonesia, who also worked in the Himalayan Mountains, spend time recalling anecdotes of an experience that marked their lives forever. Now they continue planting seeds in another part of the world. Cuban medical team ends mission in Klaten, Central Java Solo (ANTARA News) - A medical team from Cuba has completed its humanitarian mission in Klaten, Central Java, in the aftermath of the May 27 earthquake and has officially been withdrawn, a Cuban diplomat said. During its three-month assignment in Klaten, the team had given medical services to at least 103,000 patients, Cuban Ambassador to Indonesia Jorge Leon said on Monday. He said the 135-member team worked in two field hospitals in Prambanan and Gantiwarno where it performed some 773 big operations and 1,436 small operations and helped 34 delivery processes. The team did not only serve quake victims but also the public in general. He added all the two field hospitals and the facility as well as 60 tons of medicines would be handed to the Indonesian government. back to: Documents index