By MSc. María Inés Álvarez Garay (*)
For almost 60 years, the people of Cuba suffer the consequences of the unjust and cruel blockade of the United States against our sovereign nation.
The purpose of this policy has been, since its inception, to impose its will on us through coercion and force, in defiance of the norms of international law and against the will and decision of the Cuban people to defend sovereignty and the right to freedom and self-determination. They have not achieved their purpose, but without a doubt, they have caused considerable damage to the economy and the inhabitants of the largest of the Antilles.
Their destabilizing lies, their constant infamies, their terrorist acts and campaigns that try to discredit the altruistic and supportive work of the Cuban medical missions in the world, only demonstrate the cruelty of their entrails.
Faced with so much injustice, only our truth, our principles, values and our firm conviction as revolutionaries and internationalists, brave, tireless and unwavering, remains.
The Cuban Medical Brigade in the Gambia (BMC) carries out human work that already leaves an indelible mark on the heart of this African people, we demonstrate it every day with our actions that are our passport to face so many slander and aggression.
In a distant corner of the Gambian geography we find an outstanding group that not only faces and fights diseases, but also inclement weather, the intense almost unbearable heat of this region at this time of year.
Bansang, a region where a hospital is located that treats a large number of patients and where more than 10 Cuban collaborators work, among them the gynecologist Dr. Annia Celia Ocaña, the general surgeon Dr. Gleidis Acosta Guerrero, the anesthetist Lic. Alejandro Fonseca Fuentes , who together with their Gambian colleague Dr. Edredsa Jawo have just saved two lives, high risk cases that thanks to this team are now stable and in recovery, without risks to their lives.
The first case underwent surgical intervention, a 50-year-old patient with a giant ovarian tumor, who underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy with double adnexectomy, with successful results.
The second case was a 34.2-week pregnant woman, who suffered a snake bite on her lower left limb, developing a compartment syndrome at that level as a complication. She underwent a cesarean section in the first stage and a fasciotomy of the left lower limb in a second stage.
We will continue fighting and overthrowing death together with the Gambian people. We vote for life, that is our watchword, as our invincible and eternal Commander-in-Chief, Fidel Castro, said:
<p class="has-drop-cap has-text-align-justify" value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">Down with the blockade! Long live Cuba in solidarity!Down with the blockade! Long live Cuba in solidarity!«…. Because everything that is done for others, everything that is done for other peoples, everything that is done for humanity, is what can give meaning to the life of a revolutionary. It is the only thing that it allows us to feel like members of the human family ”.
(*) Collaborator and professor of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Gambia
"An Island on a Continent" 