(KPL\Prensa Latina) When 51 years ago the first Cuban medical brigade arrived in the liberated zone of Laos, the young doctor Ponmek Dalaloy was already serving, since its opening in 1972, as director of the Lao-Vietnam Friendship Hospital.

Dalaloy, who studied medicine in France, where he worked, returned to his homeland at the most difficult time: in 1967, when the war had escalated, to put his knowledge at the service of the Lao Patriotic Front, of which he was a member.

An excellent conversationalist, his face lit up when he recalled that just a year after his arrival in liberated territory, his daughter Vathana was born in one of the caves that served as their home.

 At that time, the revolutionary forces achieved a very important victory in the so-called battle of Phou Pha Ti, by destroying the radar station of the US air base “Lima Site 85”, located at about 1,700 meters above sea level, on top of a mountain.

From that strategic position, the bombings of the US air force against northern Vietnam and Laotian territory were guided, even at night or under any type of weather condition, hence the significance of this action.

In a conversation with Prensa Latina, the former Laotian Minister of Health (1993-2011) explained that the opening of the hospital in 1972 responded to the need to care for the population of the liberated areas, which by then represented two thirds of the national territory.

The Central Committee of the Lao Patriotic Front decided to transform the liberated areas into a true State and for this it was necessary to guarantee all basic services, including health, for which the help of Cuba was requested.

 The first Cuban medical brigade was very well organized and responded entirely to the real needs we had at that time, said Dalaloy, who remembers perfectly, with names, surnames and specialty, each of its eight members.

At that time in the entire liberated zone there were only six doctors, while there were many patients to be treated for war wounds, unexploded bombs and mines and accidents, in addition to endemic diseases and other common ailments.

So the arrival from Cuba of a pediatrician, an obstetrician, a surgeon, a clinician, two technicians (laboratory and anesthesiology) and two nurses was of great help.

In all cases, Dalaloy emphasized, they were excellent professionals, very trained not only theoretically, but also in practice; but above all they were colleagues with a high spirit of dedication, responsibility and discipline who remained, from beginning to end, completely dedicated to their human mission.

The high professional, ethical and moral quality, the knowledge demonstrated in daily practice by the Cuban colleagues were admirable, and for this reason they deserved all the respect of our team, who considered them true friends, he said.

Dalaloy, who was Laos' ambassador to Cuba from 1987 to 1989 and also vice president of the Laos-Cuba Friendship Association, stressed that the arrival of the brigade, at a critical moment, offered the Lao Patriotic Front great moral, practical and professional support.

It was a historic event that we greatly appreciate and cannot forget, because the spirit of those comrades was, in addition to being stimulating, a reflection of the internationalism cultivated by Commander Ernesto Che Guevara and, naturally, by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro,” he stressed.

Dalaloy is proud to know that, even though Laos and Cuba are thousands of kilometers apart, they are two nations with many similarities. “We are geographically very far apart, but we are very close,” he said.

And he illustrated his words by recalling that 1959 marked milestones in the history of both countries: on the island the Revolution led by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro triumphed. In Laos the reactionary regime imprisoned Prince Souphanouvong and 16 other leaders of the pro-independence Pathet Lao.

At the beginning of the 1960s, he added, both of us also faced many difficulties.  In 1962, Cuba faced the October Crisis and the formal implementation of the economic, financial and commercial block imposed by the United States, which still exists today.

At that time, Laos was waiting for a conference in Geneva that would lead to an international agreement on the country's neutrality, and was on the verge of a conflict that would last until the mid-1970s.

However, more than 50 years had passed since that first meeting with Cuban doctors in the liberated zone and our two nations - he said - survived the aggressions of the superpower, the United States, something that seems incredible, but is real.

"Today we have peace, independence, democracy, unity, and we are on the road to prosperity, despite all the difficulties," emphasized the veteran fighter before reiterating his deep gratitude for the unconditional support given to his country by Cuban specialists through successive medical brigades.

KPL