Doctors Have (Limited) Internet Access

Doctors Have (Limited) Internet Access
HILDEBRANDO CHAVIANO MONTES | La Habana | 2 Oct 2015 - 12:27 pm.

They are starting to be connected, though at very slow speeds, and for
just 25 hours a month. But it does mark a step forward towards development.

Last week Cuban doctors had access to the Internet (25 hours / month),
as the well-known server Infomed came to form part of the globalized
world of communications. It wasn't easy, but it finally arrived,
although the Internet that Cuban doctors now access is slow. Very slow.
Instead of "broadband" we are talking about "narrowband." Nevertheless,
it does represent progress towards development.

Because this happened in Cuba, doctors had to find out about it, little
by little, over "Radio Bemba." There was no announcement, of course, in
the press, on the radio, or on television. The authorities in charge of
introducing changes are apparently not even authorized to inform the
interested parties. Everything happened under wraps, which means that
even the doctors are spreading the good news in whispers, and only to
trusted colleagues, as nobody knows what might happen if they are caught
committing such a serious indiscretion.

Internet, Wi-Fi ("wee-fee," as we Cubans say), smartphones and tablets
are revolutionizing Cuba, but not as some had envisioned, Arab Spring
style. They are changing minds, and have revealed to be

unfounded the fears harbored by some who are stuck in the Stone Age, who
had augured great social cataclysms caused by the new information and
communications technologies.

Doctors are eagerly looking for any information on their profession,
young people opt for videogames, relatives and friends chat and can see
each other via IMO, students do research on the subjects they are
studying, and bloggers and journalists get information and publish their
ideas and opinions, which may be valid or not, but it is their right.
The Internet, in spite of everything, and above all, is perhaps the most
democratic development in human history.

With a click I can say whatever I want, find out about what interests
me, and even what does not; or escape from disagreeable things and the
cyberstupidity that floods the Web. But, most importantly, I make the
decisions. Each individual has control over what he does, and that feels
good.

The terms chat, blog, and post are already part of a still small number
of Cubans' vocabularies. But their numbers will grow, based on promises
by the communications and computers authorities, not only because there
will be more equipment, but because prices will drop too. Hallelujah!

The world is changing, and so is Cuba, albeit grudgingly. Not long ago
the profits earned by the companies producing the most modern
technologies were bitterly criticized (Letter by Fidel Castro to the VII
Congress of the UNEAC, 1 April 2008), without pausing to perceive the
benefits that they bring to the economies of the countries where they
operate, regardless of whether their governments are on the Right or Left.

It will not belong before technological backwardness will be overcome,
along with psychological hang-ups leading to hunts for satellite dishes
and camouflaged cables. Fear of the Internet already belongs to another
era. One that is, hopefully, over forever. We look forward to the day
when we can see the world from the comfort of our homes, acquire
knowledge that is still barred, and see our grandchildren, born in
distant places, more often.

Source: Doctors Have (Limited) Internet Access | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1443715437_17252.html