As for the “slave” system of Cuban doctor’s first assignments, I fail to see how it is one iota more oppressive than the all-night internships and crushing debt that US-trained doctors are subjected to. And living in Guatemala, I have seen first-hand how often Cuban doctors are, by far, the best medical care available for people who really need it.

So before you talk about propaganda, take a look in the mirror. If helping people who need it is propaganda, then the Peace Corps is an arm of the CIA. Me, I’d rather believe in the possibility for good, even in overall evil systems like the Cuban government or the US State Department.

Your broadcast happily confirmed what I had observed more than a decade ago in Havana. These young articulate women got the essence. If impoverished Cuba can provide first class health care for its people so can other developing countries. Perhaps it is even possible for rich USA, if only it ceases viewing medicine as a marketable commodity.

Your broadcast impressed me how much hidden talent and bursting idealism exists in this country. It was a mere accident that Keesha Guerrier, Kereese Gayle and Akua Brown discovered the possibility of gaining a medical education without burdensome expense.

For me very striking was the difference between fourth year American med students and the black women you interviewed. By the time students here reach the end of med school, their idealism is largely tarnished. This is shown in a concrete way. Nearly none wish to enter primary care. The preferred choices are dermatology, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery and cardiology. These are astronomic money making specialties. For example in cardiology the starting salary is about $400,000 annually.

It would be interesting to repeat the interview after these young doctors return to the USA. How do they uphold their intense idealism against the tsunami force buffeting of market medicine?

Ever thanks for the inside view of Cuban medicine.

Of course, a lot of this isn’t specific to Cuba. Some of the things discussed had more to do with distinctions to US specificity or even with Anglo-American neoliberalism. Some of the experiences these women are describing happen all around the world, including in some communities in the US. And much of their discussion had to do with a truly Global attitude, which doesn’t rely on government politics but does have a lot to do with social politics.

I hope we’ll hear from these three women in the future. As long as their voices are heard, there is hope for cultural awareness.

With regard to the medical students you interviewed, I sincerely hope they “pay forward” their low cost, quality education by never trading their expertise for a high standard of living but rather devoting themselves fully to providing health care in parts of the world that are in desperate need of it.

And these three ladies’ education hasnt been free either, their propaganda value for the Cuban government is priceless, especially with “reports” like these that absolutely whitewash the true realities of Cuba and Cuban life.

Perhpas, Chris, had you truly wanted to learn about a real Cuban doctor, one borne of the system, you would have tried to interview Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, a true graduate of this vaunted healthcare education system. I suppose, however, the cuban government wouldnt have allowed you to interview the good doctor at his prison cell.

Many upon many thanks for your devoutness to your vocation, your exemplary professionalism, your ingenuity in carving out stories and themes for journalistic research. Elias, Russia.