Castro Posted September 4, 2005 The Two Americas by Marjorie Cohn Last September, a Category 5 hurricane battered the small island of Cuba with 160-mile-per-hour winds. More than 1.5 million Cubans were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the storm. Although the hurricane destroyed 20,000 houses, no one died. What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret? According to Dr. Nelson Valdes, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico, and specialist in Latin America, "the whole civil defense is embedded in the community to begin with. People know ahead of time where they are to go." "Cuba's leaders go on TV and take charge," said Valdes. Contrast this with George W. Bush's reaction to Hurricane Katrina. The day after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Bush was playing golf. He waited three days to make a TV appearance and five days before visiting the disaster site. In a scathing editorial on Thursday, the New York Times said, "nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis." "Merely sticking people in a stadium is unthinkable" in Cuba, Valdes said. "Shelters all have medical personnel, from the neighborhood. They have family doctors in Cuba, who evacuate together with the neighborhood, and already know, for example, who needs insulin." They also evacuate animals and veterinarians, TV sets and refrigerators, "so that people aren't reluctant to leave because people might steal their stuff," Valdes observed. After Hurricane Ivan, the United Nations International Secretariat for Disaster Reduction cited Cuba as a model for hurricane preparation. ISDR director Salvano Briceno said, "The Cuban way could easily be applied to other countries with similar economic conditions and even in countries with greater resources that do not manage to protect their population as well as Cuba does." Read the entire article and reflect. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baluug Posted September 4, 2005 Looks like although Fidel Castro is portrayed as a man who doesn't care about anything but keeping power,he does seem to care more about his people than Bush does. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sheherazade Posted September 4, 2005 When asked about his opinion on Bush's response to the tragedy Castro said, 'this is not the time to kick an adversary - while he's down.' :cool: He's offered to send 1100 doctors and 26 tons of medicine and equipment to the US. Altogether now, 'Aww'. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Warrior of Light Posted September 4, 2005 Castro, is the man, I know people have had their misgivings with socialism but at the end, the community wins. Cuba has an excellent medical system and community service. I really feel sorry for what happened in the states wasnt what I expected. Another thumbs up for Castro, offering services to help those affected. Mashallah is all I can say, He is a LEADER. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rudy-Diiriye Posted September 5, 2005 lets not be naive about this dude castro..he killed thousands of his ppl.. more than any freaking hurricane!! k so america f.. up..u know damn why..nobody cares about poor ppl here! it sucks big ime...but this just goes to show u the leaders in this century...one is cold killa and 1 is plain moran !! take your pick......! every where u look.....there is a pathedic moranic leaders!! god help us all. is the gene getting bleached!! all the septic shyte flooting on top! sorry 4play....i know u like him... but i rather follow reverend moon that bad boy castro come on compare this castro dude to mlk, mandela or gandhi! no comparison dude!! its like a day and nite!! so what gives!! u get off killing ppl.....! :mad: :mad: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
