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<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/kirk04162010.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.counterpunch.org/kirk04162010.html<br><br>
</a></font><font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">April 16-18,
2010<br><br>
</font><h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><b>Recent Media
Coverage of Cuba <br><br>
<br>
</i></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=5 color="#990000">
Selective Commendation, Selective Indignation
</b></font></h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4>By EMILY J.
KIRK, JOHN M. KIRK and NORMAN GIRVAN <br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=6 color="#990000">T</font><font size=3>
he January 2010 earthquake in Haiti caused some 230,000 deaths, left 1.5
million homeless, and has directly affected 3 million Haitians1/3 of the
population. On March 31, representatives of over 50 governments and
international organizations gathered at the United Nations Haiti Donor
Conference to pledge long-term assistance for the rebuilding of Haiti. At
the conference, Cuba made arguably the most ambitious and impressive
pledge of all countriesto rebuild the entire National Health Service.
While the efforts of other government have been praised, those of Cuba,
however, have largely been ignored in the media. <br><br>
The aim of Cuba’s contribution is to completely reconstruct the Haitian
health care systemand to do so in a sustainable manner. The new system
will be based on the Cuban model, embracing primary, secondary and
tertiary health care, in addition to the training of additional Haitian
doctors in Cuba. In summary[1]:<br><br>
</font>
<dl>
<dd>The primary level will include 101 clinics to treat annually an
estimated 2.8 million patients, perform 1.3 million emergency operations,
deliver 168,000 babies, and provide 3 million vaccinations.<br><br>
<dd>The secondary level will be provided through 30 community hospitals.
They will have the capacity to treat annually 2.1 million patients, and
provide 1 million emergency surgeries, 54,000 operations, 276,000
electro-cardiograms, 107,000 dental exams, 144,000 diagnostic
ultrasounds, and 487,000 laboratory tests. In addition, due to the high
numbers of poly-traumatized patients, the 30 rehabilitation rooms will be
included throughout the country and will provide 2.4 million therapeutic
treatments for some 520,000 patients. <br><br>
<dd>The tertiary level of health care will be delivered by the Haitian
Specialties Hospital, staffed by 80 Cuban specialists. It will contain
various clinical departments, and will be used for research and teaching,
as well as the further training of Haitian professionals who will
gradually replace the Cuban professionals.<br><br>
<dd>Finally, 312 additional medical scholarships are to be provided for
Haitian students to study in Cuba.<br><br>
</dl>What is also significant point is that these are not just ‘pledges’
from Cuba, but rather a development of medical assistance which has been
provided over the last eleven years, and dramatically increased since the
earthquake. A Cuban medical brigade has been in Haiti since 1999 and has
“a presence in 127 of the 137 Haitian communes, saved 223,442 lives,
treated 14 million people, performed 225,000 operations and delivered
109,000 babies”[2]. Furthermore much of the promised programme is already
in place, as “post-quake, 23 of these primary care health centers, 15
community reference hospitals and 21 rehabilitation rooms are up and
running”.<br><br>
The cost of the Cuban programme over a ten-year period is estimated at
$690.5 millionusing 50 percent of international prices for services of
this kind[3]. This is an enormous amount for a small developing country
(11.2 million population); and moreover one that has been under a
crippling economic blockade from its powerful neighbor for nearly
half-a-century. It is even more notable when compared to those of other
governments, particularly those of industrialized countries. For example,
Cuba’s contribution in relation to its GDP is 152 times that of the
United States, which pledged $1.15 billion[4]. Among other G-7 countries,
France, the former colonial power, pledged $188.93 million, Germany
$53.17 million, Japan $75 million, and Canada $375.23 million, while
Italy and the United Kingdom, though not specifically listed, were
probably included in the $203.19 million pledge that was made in the name
of “EU Remaining” group of countries.[5]<br><br>
Hence in absolute terms the monetary value of Cuba’s contribution is
almost 4 times that of France, 12 times that of Germany, and almost twice
that of Canada. Indeed, excluding the U.S., Cuba’s contribution is more
than the rest of the G7 countries combined, as well as 35% more than the
contribution of the World Bank ($479 million). In all, 59 pledges were
made from governments, regional blocs and financial
institutions.<br><br>
In other words, while other countries are pledging money, Cuba is
actively creating an entire sustainable health care system which will
treat 75% of the Haitian population,[6] and save hundreds of thousands of
lives.<br><br>
And yet, in spite of the extraordinary value of this commitment, it has
been largely ignored by the principal North American media. An analysis
of coverage of the Haiti Donor Conference by five major U.S. mediaCNN,
the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, and the Miami
Heraldrevealed that, of 38 posts recorded in the ten days immediately
following the Conference, only one mentioned the Cuban contributionand
that only briefly. In fact the first four listed above entirely ignored
Cuba’s contribution; the one mention being in the Miami Herald. On the
other hand 22 of the 38 postings mention the U.S. contribution. The
amount of media coverage is also instructive in indicating the gradual
decline in media interest following the disaster. That said, the UN Haiti
Donor Conference was clearly worthy of widespread attention, with a major
gathering of some of the world’s leading decision-makersyet there was
noticeably little published about it, and especially about Cuba’s
extraordinary contribution. <br><br>
In addition, our analysis of the first fifty results in Google News for
‘United Nations Haiti Donor Conference’ generated only two articles that
mentioned Cuba’s role; one of which simply focused on the rarity of Cuban
and United States officials working together. By contrast, 31 of the 50
articles discuss the contributions of developed countries at the Donor
Conference, and 21 specifically discuss that of the United States9 of
which mention the $1.15 billion pledged by the US government. <br><br>
Indeed a content analysis of the articles reveals that their main theme
was the importance of the role of the United States in helping Haiti. The
dollar amount pledged was repeatedly stated, and the U.S. effort was
often described as being equally (or more) important than that of the UN.
According to one article, “The biggest contributions came from the United
States and the European Union”.[7] Even if one compares the absolute
amounts pledged, this is simply not trueas the Venezuelan pledge was for
$2.4 billion[8]. Another article singles out the United States,
explaining “Over 140 nations, including the United States, have provided
immediate assistance and relief to millions of Haitians”,[9] and in media
coverage the United States consistently headed the list of contributing
countries. Another article lists the United States as having a more
important role than the United Nations, noting “Haiti's friends, as they
are called - including the U.S., France, Brazil, Canada, the UN and the
Red Cross”.[10] In sum, while relief efforts in Haiti were/are an
international affair, the media have largely focused on contributions
made by the United States.<br><br>
Another common theme in coverage was the lack of assistance from other
countries. Hence, when the assistance of the United States was not
praised, those of other countries were denigrated. As one article states,
“The United States pledged $1.15 billion, in addition to the $900 million
it has already given... By comparison, China pledged $1.5 million yes,
you read it right, million with an ``m'' -- in addition to the nearly $14
million it has already given”.[11] Thus, there is a consistent pattern of
disproportionately positive representation by the media of the role of
the United States, one that both emphasizes the actual pledge and ignores
blatantly the significant Cuban pledge. <br><br>
There is a dramatic contrast between the cover-up of Cuba’s extraordinary
contribution to Haiti by mainstream US media and the enormous attention
by the same media on alleged human rights abuses in that country.
Literally dozens of articles on this topic have appeared in recent weeks.
Of particular media interest was the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo (a
jailed “dissident” with a criminal record who refused food for 80 days
before dying) and the hunger strike of Guillermo Fariñas. The death of
Zapata as a result of the hunger strike continues to be written about and
discussed. Indeed it has been used consistently as a springboard to
increase criticism of the Cuban government. Thus, between February 10 and
April 6 we found a total of 77 stories in the five media houses surveyed
about the hunger strikersfive in CNN, seven in the New York Times, 13 in
the Washington Post, four in the Boston Globe and 48 in the Miami Herald.
The difference in the coverage of these two Cuba-related stories is
striking. It reveals a clear disinterest in providing positive
information on Cuba, but a significant appetite to criticize
Cuba.<br><br>
As a result, instead of reporting on an enormously important and topical
story on a programme aimed at improving the lives of 75% of Haiti’s
population, the media have chosen to focus on the individual cases of two
men who have consciously and deliberately decided to embark on a suicidal
course. It does not take much to work out that the aim is to embarrass
the Cuban government by following these “human interest” stories about
two individuals who oppose the Cuban government, presenting them as
martyrs. It is also obvious that there is a clear media filter, one which
seeks to prevent any media coverage that could be construed as being
positive of Cubain this case seen in the government’s commitment to the
reconstruction of Haiti.<br><br>
In examining the media’s representation of Cuba’s role in Haiti’s
development and the stories of two “dissidents”, it is clear that
politically biased “infotainment” has won out. Sadly (but perhaps
predictably), in their coverage of Cuba, the media in the “developed
world” have focused on the latter while ignoring Cuba’s remarkable offer
that will surely and significantly improve the lives of millions of
Haitians, (while at the same time highlighting the role and contribution
of the United States). Yet again we have an example of selective
commendation and selective indignation in the North American media’s
presentation of Cuba.<br><br>
Emily J. Kirk</b> will be an M.A. student in Latin American Studies at
Cambridge University in September. <br><br>
John Kirk</b> is a professor of Latin American Studies at Dalhousie
University, Canada. Both are working on a project on Cuban medical
internationalism sponsored by Canada's Social Science and Humanities
Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Professor Kirk co-wrote with
Michael Erisman the 2009 book "Cuba's Medical Internationalism:
Origins, Evolution and Goals" (Palgrave Macmillan). He spent
most of February and March in El Salvador and Guatemala, accompanying the
Henry Reeve Brigade in El Salvador, and working with the Brigada Medica
Cubana in Guatemala.<br><br>
Norman Girvan</b> is Professorial Research Fellow at the University of
the West Indies Graduate Institute of International Relations at the
University of the West Indies in St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. He
is Vice Chairman of the Board of the South Centre and member of the
United Nations Committee on Development Policy. <br><br>
Notes.<br><br>
[1] Details from the Statement by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez
to the Haiti Donor Conference, available at
“<a href="http://www.haiticonference.org/pledges-statements.html">Pledge
Statements”; United Nations International Donors’ Conference Towards A
New Future For Haiti</a>”. 2010. <br><br>
[2] From the Pledge Statement by Foreign Minister Rodriguez.<br><br>
[3] The total “includes the medical services provided, calculated at 50%
of international prices; the sustainability of these services and the
personnel providing them; and the training of a further 312 Haitian
doctors in Cuba”. Whereas the Official Text of the Cuban Statement
published on the
<a href="https://undp.box.net/file/412916690/encoded/39769548/be988a3663eeb8775a5e73766a4be61a">
UN website</a> refers to this cost “over four years”, the text of Foreign
Minister’s Bruno Rodriguez’s speech as published by Granma International
refers to this cost over ten years (see
<a href="http://overseasreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/statement-of-cuban-foreign-minister-at.html">
Overseas Territories Review</a>)<br><br>
[4] Cuba’s contribution of $690.6 million is the equivalent of 1.22
percent of its annual GDP ($56.52 billion in 2009); the U.S. pledge of
$1.15 billion is the equivalent of 0.008096 percent of its annual GDP
(14,204 of billion in 2008). Source of the Cuban GDP estimate is the CIA
Fact book figure at official rates of exchange; that of the US is the
World Bank’s World Development Indicators.<br><br>
[5] Ibid.<br><br>
[6] Ibid.<br><br>
[7] “<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8596080.stm">UN Haiti
Donor Pledges Surpass Target of Almost $10 Billion</a>”. BBC. 1 April,
2010. <br><br>
[8] The Venezuelan pledge, which has also been largely ignored by the
U.S. media, consists of $1,431 million via the PetroCaribe Oil Facility
for infrastructure and social spending, $409 million via PetroCaribe for
direct budgetary support to the Government of Haiti, $395 million in debt
forgiveness (announced shortly after the earthquake), $100 million
through the ALBA Bank, $37.2 million towards the Union of South American
States’ $200 million pledge, $2.3 million for emergency supplies via
CITGO, and unspecified support for food and education; for a total of
$2,420 million. Source:
<a href="http://www.haiticonference.org/pledges-statements.html">
Venezuelan Pledge Statement</a>.<br><br>
[9] Esther Brimmer.
“<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/esther-brimmer/rebuilding-haiti-a-global_b_528790.html">
Rebuilding Haiti: A Global Response to a Global Crisis</a>”. The
Huffington Post. 12 April, 2010. <br><br>
[10] Wilnetz, Amy.
“<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/04/12/2010-04-12_renew_haiti_from_the_ground_up.html">
Renew Haiti From The Ground Up</a>”. NY Daily News. 12 April, 2010.
<br><br>
[11] Andres Oppenheimer.
“<a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/03/1562417/china-should-be-ashamed-of-its.html#ixzz0ktnhldAK">
China Should Be Ashamed of Its Aid to Haiti</a>”. Miami Herald. 3 April,
2010.<br><br>
This article was written for Cuba-L Analysis and CounterPunch. <br><br>
<br><br>
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