Cuban doctors in Turkey: the impact of love and solidarity

HAVANA – Turkey’s Ambassador to Cuba Vehbi Esencel expressed his gratitude today for the solidarity assistance provided to his country by Cuban health professionals after the strong earthquakes of February 6.

True friends meet in difficult situations and the work of the island’s doctors is something we will not forget, because it left an indelible mark in the hearts of the Turkish people, he told the press after receiving Cuban aid workers at Jose Marti International Airport. , in this capital.

For Dr. Marilyn Tang-Borrego, a Comprehensive General Medicine (IMG) specialist, being in Turkey reminded her of her first assignment to Pakistan as a member of the Henry Reeve International Unit of Physicians Specializing in Disaster and Critical Epidemiology.

They are two very grateful people and the Turkish people constantly showed us this, he said, when in fact we were the lucky ones to contribute a grain of sand to alleviate their suffering.

He noted that this is an experience that strengthens them as professionals and as people, and reaffirms Commander in Chief Fidel Castro’s principle that health workers in Cuba and the world give lives.

Dr. Ruber Ortiz Legrá, specialist in IGM and holder of a diploma in intensive care and adult care, commented that with his three experiences of collaboration: Venezuela (2013), Azerbaijan (2020) and Turkey (2023), he felt in the latter country the strongest human warmth.

When we arrived on February 12, there was so much devastation and pain, we started working in field hospitals, then went by ambulance to remote communities devoid of medical care and the acceptance was incredible. “The Turkish people love the Cuban people very much,” he commented.

Within 24 days, the brigade treated a total of 3,755 patients and provided more than 10,300 different services, including nursing procedures, community care, and emergency room care.

Before their arrival in Cuba, for the assistance rendered to that fraternal country, the collaborators received a plaque in the name of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Istanbul, which read: “With our deepest thanks and gratitude.”