In an abrupt
decision, the government of Panama, led by entrepreneur
Ricardo Martinelli has decided to terminate the free eye
care cooperation program known as Operation or Mission
Miracle, under which poor people had their vision either
restored or improved free of charge.
This is the
end of a deeply humane program that since implemented in
March 2007, made it possible to operate on over 44,000
Panamanians suffering from cataracts, pterigium,
diabetic retinopathy, peripheral degeneration of the
retina, and acute angle glaucoma.
The
surgeries were made at the ophthalmologic clinic “Omar
Torrijos Herrera” in the Luis “Chicho” Fábrega hospital
in Veraguas province. But before that, over 5,000 had
undergone eye surgery in Cuba; in all, nearly 50,000
Panamanians were operated free of charge.
But
Operation Miracle was far from having met their goal.
According to the World Health Organization, some 32,000
people in Panama have gone blind due to cataracts alone,
and half of those people have lost vision in both eyes.
However, on
January 5th, without any prior warning, Panama’s Health
Minister Félix Bonilla announced the implementation of
program called “Vision 20-20” to replace Cuban
cooperation in this area.
A communiqué
issued by the Cuban embassy in Panama states that in the
26 days since the announcement was made, in a series of
meetings with Panamanian authorities, they have made
sure that there has been no misunderstanding and that
this unilateral decision is final, even though it
contradicts what had been stipulated in clauses 10th and
12th of the agreement still in force.
This was not
a bold move by a distracted official; this was the will
of a government incapable of assessing the human and
social impact of a program that has nothing to do with
politics or ideologies but with solidarity.
But this is
not the first controversial decision this government has
made. Not long ago, the government of Martinelli decided
to withdraw Panama from the Central American Parliament,
thus putting another stumbling bloc in the way for
regional integration. Although it is a fact that the
Central American Parliament or PARLACEN (by its Spanish
acronym) is an institution with many imperfections, it
should be improved not dissolved.
The
administration of Martinelli also backed the coup in
Honduras, established close ties with the regime of
Michelletti, acknowledged the elections made to
whitewash the coup, and Martinelli was the only head of
state to attend the inauguration of Porfirio Lobo.
And even
though there are still remainders of the bloody bombings
of the U.S. Air Force back on December 20th, 1989, which
killed thousands of civilians, the administration of
Martinelli agreed to the contractual return of two bases
to the U.S. military, one in Bahia Pina on the border
with Colombia and the other in Punta Coca, in the
western part of the country.
So, while
the rest of the countries in the region aim at
integration and cooperation and struggle for their
independence, Martinelli only feels the winds coming
from the north, standing as a clear cut example of
blindness to political and social sensibility.
