Dear Mr. Vianda,
That is frankly BS - and you should know better, if you have any idea whatsoever about the real situation on la isla- as opposed to what El Nuevo Herald tells you.
My best friend is a physician who went to med school for 5 years in HAV, got out of Cuba, got the med degree from Barcelona University in less than a year, got a residency at a major university program in the US and is now in the 2nd year of a fellowship. I'm not more of a friend of the Cuna system as you are, but please, only talk when you know something about the subject at hand. Which means you should obviously better stay silent on this one.
Cuba may no produce a lot that is competitive in the global market place, but they can justly be proud of their well trained physicians.
#18 Whilst it is relatively easy to obtain a tourist(visitors visa) to a country like Australia and for a Cuban to obtain the necessary exit permit the difficult one is obtaining a residents visa in such countries. Mind you if the US applied the same immigration policies/procedures to Cuba as it is does to all other countries then that might be a step forward in this debate?
Graywolf, thank you for correcting Poster #19, who routinely posts disinformation.
And Johnabbotsford, also thanks for pointing out the relative ease for a Cuban to obtain either a tourist visa or an exit permit from their own government--providing the country of their destination will let them in. Of course it's financially difficult for Cubans to obtain either visa without hard-currency help from abroad, but then, that's true of the majority of people in poor countries the world over.
I have four Cuban friends who've left, all legally & without obstacle : living in Miami, Geneva, Madrid & Mexico C. I have also been to both doctor & dentist (twice, once @ policlinico!) in H., and found all staff exceptionally professional.
With the deficit of trained nurses in Massachusetts (-2,000), I think that Cuba's well-trained healthcare workers could fill a real need here, too. Not that Hillary will do SQUAT about that.
#23 good joke. very funny
hope to read yur contribution after living few years in Cuba as a (non priviliged CUC) Cuban
Can some one please post the name and city of a Cuban trained "doctor" practicing in the Civilized world without having to attend a minimum of 5 MORE YEARS of MEDICAL trainning.
Armand.......what's the name of that Doctor in Miami????
#21
FYG:
All European Union countries who are linked by the Schengen accords decided about 3 years or so ago, that they will fortwith not give a tourist visa to any Cuban anymore unless
- he/she is over 65 years old
- owner of a house or apartment in Cuba +
- has spouse and/or kids remaining in Cuba +
- can prove that he/she has sufficient income in Cuba
- has a sponsor in the guest country who signed a notarized document making him/her liable without limits in funds or time for any
medical, legal etc. etc. problems their invitee might encounter in Europe.
A Cuban friend of mine who last year applied for a tourist visa at a European embassy in HAV was asked, what his income in Cuba was. When he answered '200 CUP' he was told: " On that income no one can live; hence you are a major risk of becoming an illegal alien in our country, forget the visa."
Seems Cubans should get to OZ while they can.
Graywolf: Interesting the tighter restrictions on Cubans attempting to enter EU countries. For some considerable amount of time, Cubans (most especially their trained professionals!) have been more welcome in poorer countries who greatly value their contributions.
tt:
Correct. But it seems that about 90% of all Cuban 'tourists' (especially to Spain + Italy) did become 'illegal aliens', hence the crackdown. Which makes it even more likely that those who do manage to get a visa overstay it - after jumping thru so many hoops they know they might not get a 2nd chance.
Asi es la vida.
trusted partner
