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The New York Times condemns U.S.
brain drain policy against
Cuba
WASHINGTON.— An editorial published on November 17
by the U.S. newspaper, The New York Times,
condemned the brain drain from Cuba stimulated by
the United States, and in particular the program
that encourages the migration of doctors to the U.S.
during official missions abroad.
This is the sixth time in just over a month that the
Editorial Board of the New York newspaper has
addressed the issue of Washington's policies toward
Cuba.
According to The
New York
Times,
there is much to criticize in terms of
failed
U.S. policies
regarding
Cuba
and the blockade it has
imposed on the island
for decades,
but the
program aimed at encouraging doctors to defect
is particularly difficult to
justify.
Entitled, ”A Cuban Brain Drain, Courtesy of the
U.S.” and published in both English and Spanish, the
paper
recognizes that in
2014 alone, 1,278
Cuban doctors emigrated to the
U.S., a record
number according
to figures from
the
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The editorial further notes
that
between 2006 and 2014,
Washington’s
illegal programs
led to
the migration of 5,490
Cuban doctors.
The
Times
points out the
absurdity of Secretary
of State, John
Kerry,
and U.S. Ambassador
to the UN,
Samantha
Power, praising the work
of Cuban physicians
caring for Ebola patients
in
West Africa,
while continuing their
plans to
bleed
Cuba
of its
medical strength.
"It is incongruous for the United States to value
the contributions of Cuban doctors who are sent by
their government to assist in international crises
like the 2010 Haiti earthquake while working to
subvert that government by making defection so easy
," the editorial underlines.
The piece recognizes
that the
U.S.
immigration system
should give
priority
to refugees and vulnerable
persons persecuted across
the world and that it
should not be used to
aggravate
the brain drain of
an adversarial
nation,
especially when improving
relations between the two
countries is a viable and
sensible goal.
The newspaper also recalls that the
program to rob Cuba of
doctors
began in August 2006,
when the
Cuban, Emilio
González,
strongly
opposed to the government
of the island, was in
charge of the United
States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
At that time - the editorial continues - the
government of President George W. Bush was
attempting to sabotage the Cuban government, and
facilitated the defection of doctors participating
in missions abroad as a means to attack the island’s
main diplomatic tool and humiliate the Cuban
Revolution. The New York Times highlights
that Cuba has one of the highest rates of physicians
per capita in the world and offers scholarships to
study medicine to hundreds of students from
different countries every year, among them some from
the U.S.
The article also highlights Cuban
medical efforts
abroad, including almost
46,000
professionals working in
Latin
America
and the
Caribbean,
and around 4,000 who
are offering services in
32
African nations.
The editors
of the
New York newspaper
argue that
the
U.S.
policies
encouraging a brain drain
inhibit
Cuba’s
capabilities
when responding
to
international crises and do
not help in
the slightest
to create
a more open society.
"As long as this incoherent policy is in place,
establishing a healthier relationship between the
two nations will be harder," the paper emphasizes. (PL)
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