Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC) is protesting the new
restrictions on travel to Cuba (see press release, below). As you may have
heard, the Bush administration has determined that educational travel
licenses to Cuba will no longer be issued to organizations such as MEDICC.
Many MEDICC alumni and supporters have asked what they can do to protest the
new travel restrictions. Here are ways to make your voice heard (any/all
will be appreciated):
1. Write to The U.S. Treasury Department via the following URL:
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/comment.html.
In the space provided, note that you are commenting on Part 515 of the Cuba
Travel Regulations (31 CRF). The Treasury Dept. has announced that it will
accept comments regarding the regulations during this “interim period” and
will finalize them after that. Hopefully our voices will make a difference.
The comment period deadline is August 14, 2004.
2. Send a copy of your comments to Secretary of State Colin Powell
via this URL:
http://contact-us.state.gov/ask_form_cat/ask_form_secretary.html;
or by mail to: U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC.
20520.
You can also write to the Cuba desk to this email address:
[log in to unmask]
Powell has recently adjusted the regulations to allow students from the
Latin American Medical School to continue their studies in Cuba. Hopefully
he will be interested in hearing about the value of MEDICC’s elective
programs and residency rotations.
3. We also ask that you send a copy of your comments to your Congressional
representative as as a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper. Also,
MEDICC would appreciate a copy of your comments, sent [log in to unmask]
Talking points to consider in your message:
You may want to address the issue of educational freedom, or the value of
international
educational programs in general for U.S. health sciences students. If you
have recommended MEDICC programs to students, or have participated yourself,
be sure and indicate the value and impact of this experience. For more
background, see the press release, below, and also our website, where we
have posted MEDICC’s comments to the U.S. Treasury Department.
www.medicc.org
You can find updated information on the travel restrictions and their
ramifications at www.cubacentral.com, which also offers a petition you can
sign (Click on “Speak out against tightened travel restrictions”).
Thank you very much for your support in this endeavor.
Diane Appelbaum, RN, MS
US Director, MEDICC
(404) 727-5229
Press release:
July 5, 2004 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Medical Educators Oppose New White House Limits on Academic Travel to Cuba
Atlanta—A national program enrolling students from 115 U.S. universities is
urging the Bush administration to rescind new restrictions on academic
travel to Cuba. Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC), an
Atlanta-based organization that offers courses in Cuba for medical, nursing
and public health students, says that its electives are being “shut down” by
the new rules, which take effect August 15th.
Dr. Peter G. Bourne, Chair of the MEDICC Board, addressed comments to the
Treasury Department today, attaching letters from 26 deans and directors of
international study programs at U.S. health sciences schools, which gave
MEDICC high marks:
• an “unsurpassed international health experience” with a “rigorous
curriculum” (Dr. Marla Salmon, Dean, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of
Nursing, Emory University, and Director, Lillian Carter Center for
International Nursing);
• “a model of international education” (Dr. Linda Rosenstock, Dean, UCLA
School of Public Health);
• an “essential part of our international health program” (Dr. Michele
Barry, Professor of Medicine and Global Health, Yale University School of
Medicine);
• an “educational curriculum unparalleled by any other international medical
educational exchange” (Dr. Vince WinklerPrins, Dept. of Family Medicine,
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine);
• “excellent educational programs” (Roberta Gianfortoni, Assistant Dean for
Professional Education, Harvard School of Public Health);
• and expressing “strong support” for continuation of MEDICC courses (Dr.
Patricia Rodney, Dept. of Community Health, Morehouse School of Medicine).
Since 1998, nearly 1,000 students have joined MEDICC programs in Cuba,
enabling them to study one of the few universal health care systems in the
developing world, internationally recognized for its impressive health
indicators, says Dr. Bourne. He notes that course evaluations show that
“the greatest influence of this program on future career plans is to
encourage (students) to work at the community level, integrating prevention
and health promotion into practice in medically under-served and immigrant
populations in the United States.”
But MEDICC will be forced to suspend its courses now, according to Dr.
Bourne, since it is not a degree-granting institution, its students are
drawn from schools across the country, and its programs last four to six
weeks--“compatible with medical, nursing and public health school
curricula”--not the ten weeks newly required by the Treasury Department.
The MEDICC Board urged Treasury to rescind the ruling, arguing that MEDICC
participants have the “right to engage in serious academic study and
exchange with colleagues in Cuba, and that the exercise of this right can
only enhance the skills of our future health professionals and the health of
people both in Cuba and the United States.”
For further information: Dr. C. William Keck, MEDICC Board of Directors,
and Associate Dean, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine,
[log in to unmask], (330) 325-6170.
MEDICC (Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba), Emory University School of
Nursing, Room 438, 1520 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA, 30322-4207. (404)
727-5229. www.medicc.org.
(End of press release)
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