Commune Mayor Michele Tripodi, a member of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), expressed gratitude for the presence of the legislator and Ambassador Mirta Granda, during an emotional event held at the municipal headquarters, where a duo of saxophone and piano played La Guantanamera and other Cuban popular songs.
Tripodi highlighted the participation in the event of part of the medical brigade of 51 specialists and its head, Luis Enrique Perez, as well as Marco Papacci and Pino Scarcelli, president and regional coordinator, respectively, of the Italian National Friendship Association-Cuba (Anaic), an institution that organized this tour.
He pointed out that “the presence of Cuban doctors in the rooms of our hospitals is more than a necessity, since it allows our weakened territorial healthcare system to breathe,” and noted that since their arrivals less than two months ago, “immediately their dedication to work and competence was perceived.”
Cuban Ambassador Granda stated that this medical aid represents a new form of cooperation, which is being created, and pointed out that Cuba tries to repay this way the solidarity that it has received from the Italian people since the triumph of its Revolution.
The head of the medical brigade and surgeon Adrian Naranjo referred to the importance and the great challenge of the task they carry out in this Italian region, with the current presence of Cuban specialists in the Calabrian towns of Gioia, Melito Porto Salvo, Locri and Polistena.
In her speech, the Cuban parliamentarian recalled the long and beautiful history written by Cuban medicine after the triumph of the Revolution, with significant moments such as the first brigade to Algeria in 1963, and the creation in 2005 of the Henry Reeve Contingent.
Mariela Castro, who is also the director of the National Center for Sex Education (Cenesex), highlighted the work done by two brigades of that contingent in the Italian cities of Crema and Turin in 2020, during the most critical moments of the Covid-19 pandemic. Today’s feat has continuity, with the arrivals in December 2022 in Calabria of Cuban health collaborators, “whose work is a source of pride for their Homeland and their Revolution.”
“The Calabrian population demanded our help and our doctors are here, because it is a way of thanking this people who have always been in solidarity with Cuba,” said the legislator, who noted the support that Cuba has received from the Anaic since 1961.
At the end of the event, the mayor of Polistena announced the recent approval by the Municipal Council of that commune of a resolution condemning the criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba, and delivered it to the deputy, as well as the Cuban ambassador to Italy.
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