Rome, March 22.- The Italian city of Crema remembers today with gratitude and affection the arrival two years ago of a Cuban medical brigade to help deal with COVID-19 in the most difficult period of the pandemic.
The 36 doctors, 15 nursing graduates and a logistics specialist, belonging to the Henry Reeve Contingent, reinforced the work of their Italian colleagues and contributed to raising the population's confidence in the possibility of overcoming the challenge imposed by the pandemic.
Dr. Carlos Ricardo Pérez, a specialist in Internal Medicine with previous internationalist missions in Djibouti and Chile, headed the group of health collaborators, who worked for two months in a field hospital built by the Italian army in an area adjacent to the main hospital. from the city.
A central figure in that event was the mayor of Crema, Stefania Bonaldi, who in statements to Prensa Latina recalled with emotion how the health collaborators arrived “at a time when in our community we were truly hitting rock bottom due to the Covid-19 emergency. ”.
After two years, I must say that we are still absolutely grateful and moved by the generous and supportive embrace received from Cuban doctors and nurses and, through them, from the entire country and all the people of the island, she said.
Recalling that "these were difficult times and great suffering," Bonaldi described as "a moving act and a sign of great solidarity" the fact that unknown people came from so far to "care for us and take care of our patients."
According to the mayor, the presence of the Antillean health professionals "was a moment of great teaching" as a result of which, she said, "we are proud to be friends of the Cuban people."
For this reason, the municipal administration designated the square where the field hospital operated as the "Henry Reeve Brigade", "in tribute to them, because we want our children and grandchildren to remember this historic moment of great solidarity and brotherhood that united the city of Crema and the people of Cuba”.
The National Association of Italy-Cuba Friendship (Anaic) was also closely linked to the brigade and its solidarity work, then chaired by Irma Dioli, who specified that "two years after the arrival of the Henry Reeve brigade in Crema, the solidarity and generosity of Cuba are still present in the Italian people”.
At a time of deep desperation and lack of preparation of hospital structures in the fight against Covid-19, while the West left us alone, Cuba immediately responded to Italy's request for help, Dioli said.
The presence of the first medical brigade in Europe, she pointed out, continues to represent an event of world historical importance, an example of high-level humanist and internationalist medical cooperation that, as the National Italy-Cuba Friendship Association, we are proud to have fostered.
The 52 members of the brigade were acknowledged as brave and specialized heroes who risked their lives in the fight against Covid-19 in the Lombardy region, heavily affected by countless deaths, said the former president of the solidarity organization, who remains as an executive board member.
In this regard, she stressed that “the mayor Stefania Bonaldi, the local administration, the associations and all the citizens, made them feel at home. Their preparation, altruism and generosity were decorated and highly appreciated locally and nationally.”
So that this important legacy is not lost, she stated, the Anaic has supported multiple activities, some of them carried out along with the city council of Crema, such as a book in preparation and the designation of the aforementioned square.
In the heat of the experience lived with the group of professionals on the island, the Association dedicated its new committee in Crema to them, while continuing to develop, throughout the country, campaigns and other initiatives to support health in Cuba.
With deep affection and appreciation, we thank, once again, the Cuban brigade, its government and people for the example and help that we will never forget, she recalled.
In Crema, as happened shortly after with a second group of collaborators in Turin, Cuba and Italy demonstrated the value of collaboration between countries of different languages, cultures, political systems and levels of development, united in the effort to save lives. (Text and photo: PL)
